Marty Essen's Blog, page 291

If Trump, Pruitt, and Zinke were actual humans . . .

Marty’s photo of the day #2510: I photographed this caribou in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I feel sorry for people like Donald Trump, Scott Pruitt, and Ryan “I’m a Navy Seal” Zinke, who have no appreciation for nature. While an actual human being might look at this photo and appreciate the majestic caribou or the beautiful scenery, in the minds of Trump, Pruitt, or Zinke, the caribou is something to be killed and the scenery would be greatly improved if it included an oil well.

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Barred owl

Marty’s photo of the day #2509: A few years ago I spoke at Tanglewood Nature Center in New York. After my show, I got to hold this beautiful barred owl.

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Tide pool falls

Marty’s photo of the day #2508: Depending on the device you are using, today’s photo may actually be larger than actual size. This tiny waterfall is roughly four inches wide.

(Photographed on the Oregon coast)

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Artsy photo day

Marty’s photo of the day #2507: It’s artsy photo day. Or as the orange shell might declare, “I gotta be me!”

(Photographed along the Oregon coast)

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It’s a rock! It’s a bird! It’s a . . .

Marty’s photo of the day #2506: Early each morning I go on a bike ride. Since it’s still dark, I’m always scanning for mountain lions, bears, and sasquatches in my path. Two days ago, I was heading down the narrow dirt road from my house and my bike light caught what appeared to be a large rock in the middle. I slowed down, so I could push it off to the side, but it turned out to be a spruce grouse that was just as reluctant to move as a rock would have been. Anyway, that sent me through my photos to find this spruce grouse that I photographed at the edge of the same road a few years ago.

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Scary times ahead?

Marty’s photo of the day #2505: It’s unsettling to know that some of the things I wrote about in Time Is Irreverent, depicting America in 2056 as a theocracy, are starting to come true. Yesterday, Donald Trump signed a memorandum to deploy the National Guard along the Mexican border. In my book, the guards are there after the wall is built, because all it takes is a rope ladder to get over it, and the troops shoot the Mexicans as soon as they stick a head above the wall. If Trump gets his wall built, and the troops stay, be very scared.

Also, Republican Congressman Dan Donovan is in the process of introducing legislation that will mandate that post offices display photos of the president and the vice president. It that bill passes, the sick, demented faces of Trump and Pence will greet you every time you visit the post office. What’s next? A title change to “Supreme Leader Trump?”

When I read about Congressman Donovan’s bill, I immediately thought of this photo I took in Malaysian Borneo. Malaysia is technically a federal constitutional monarchy, but they maintain laws against same-sex relations and have other laws based on primitive religious beliefs. Long live the King!

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Trumpeter swans

Marty’s photo of the day #2504: Trumpeter swans doing their dance.

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My favorite frog

Marty’s photo of the day #2503: Here’s my favorite frog—a monkey frog. She was so docile, and just crawled around on my arm while I took photos.

(Photographed in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru)

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Crossing the Drake Passage

Marty’s photo of the day #2502: To get to or from Antarctica, you must cross the Drake Passage, which is famous for having the roughest seas in the world. Why? If you put your finger on the globe, just a little below the southern tip of South America, you will touch the Drake Passage. Now spin the globe. Your finger is on the only spot where such a spin will not hit any land. Consequently, there is nothing to break the wind or the waves.

I took this photo from the bridge of our little ship, crossing the Drake Passage, on the way back from Antarctica. Other than the fact that almost everyone was seasick at that moment, riding the waves was loads of fun!

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First ever photo of a tundra taipan!

Marty’s photo of the day #2501: You are looking at the rarest snake in the world—the elusive tundra taipan! Scientists didn’t believe that snakes could survive north of the Arctic Circle until I documented it with this photograph, taken less than a mile from the Arctic Ocean.

It is believed that the tundra taipan’s venom actually freezes the blood of its prey (primarily lemmings), making escape impossible. Once the prey is immobilized, the snake simply opens its wide mouth and sucks down the animal like a Fla-Vor-Ice Freeze Pop!

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