This guy is cool.
Thank you Rachel, who pointed out this post to a local DC blog.
Archive for the ‘Great Outdoors’ Category
Commuting on the Anacostia
February 5, 2012Everglades Adventure
January 3, 2012
Long fall, but Rachel and I are just back from a two weeks canoeing and camping in the Florida Everglades National Park. As the photo suggests there were restful moments. This is our campsite on Turkey Key, where we were stranded an extra day by stormy weather. In between, we canoed perhaps 80 miles through mangroves and (much to our chagrin) some surprisingly rough gulf waters. Lots of birds, fish, alligators, and LOTS of bugs – I encountered the first scorpion I have ever seen while building a fire not far from where I’m resting in the photo above. I also learned a lot about the tumultuous political history of the Everglades from Michael Grunwald’s excellent book The Swamp, which I picked up at the National Park Service book shop as we were setting out. What a trip!
Great Outdoors
September 6, 2011
Rachel and I are back from a long weekend camping at Big Bend campground in Monongahela National Forest. Depicted above, Rachel prepares a Girshick-family tradition – Krusteasz pancakes.
Why is this macaque smiling?
July 9, 2011
From a remarkable series of “self-portraits” in the Daily Mail (via Andrew Sullivan):
Visiting a national park in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, award-winning photographer Mr Slater left his camera unattended for a while.
It soon attracted the attention of an inquisitive female from a local group of crested black macaque monkeys, known for their intelligence and dexterity.
Fascinated by her reflection in the lens, she then somehow managed to start the camera. The upshot: A splendid self-portrait.
Apparently that’s not a smile, but rather a grimace directed at its reflection.
South Branch
July 6, 2011
We celebrated Rachel’s birthday over the holiday weekend with a trip to West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest (a name I still can’t pronounce). Rachel’s colleague suggested we camp at Big Bend Campground near Petersburg, WV, which sits on a big bend in the South Branch of the Potomac River. We hiked and swam, I fished. We had a positively splendid couple days in an otherwise busy summer.
David Attenborough!
April 5, 2011
I love my job, but I’d trade with David Attenborough in an instant. Rachel and I recently finished Attenborough’s massive series “Life on Earth” and “Life of Birds,” now we’re working on the equally massive “Life of Mammals” (all happily available on Netflix Instant View). I’m no naturalist, but after 20+ hours of Attenborough, I’m willing to give it a try!
Even more local wildlife
April 4, 2011
A muskrat spotted tooling around just outside the Greenbelt Metro stop this weekend…
Local wildlife
April 1, 2011
Osprey pair captured at Belle Haven Marina south of Old Town Alexandria, part of a series by Flickr user Mr. T in DC
Local wildlife
March 22, 2011
On Sunday, we went with some friends for the first time to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, a DC institution along the Anacostia river. Here’s the National Park Service map. As it turns out the world famous waterlilies are still wintering, so we saw a lot of muddy water. But, it was a sunny day and it gave us a chance to admire nature’s resilience given the awful pollution of the Anacostia river.Rachel spotted the creature pictured here – I think he’s a black rat snake. We also saw a wide variety of birds, a little turtle, and trash.
