Nature

[Zhukov]

Aaarg motivated me with his pictures of his hiking to find some of my own past photos. These are some of them. They are all taken in Tasmania at various locations that aren't that far away from each other to warrant me remembering where I took them.

Please post images of the great outdoors that you have taken. I'm sure I would upload more if people cared, too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF1575.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF1470.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF1538.jpg

[executioneer]

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c44/executioneer/Nisqually%20National%20Wildlife%20Refuge/100_0218.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c44/executioneer/Nisqually%20National%20Wildlife%20Refuge/100_0204.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c44/executioneer/Nisqually%20National%20Wildlife%20Refuge/100_0231.jpg

these are all from the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge right before they flooded the largest trail to add more habitat area

[Aaarg]

what cool pictures. if you've got more, totally post 'em!

[The Leader]

In my parent's backyard:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/2902400955_c2e523d5fb_o.jpg

[Zhukov]

Willie, are those barns in your second picture? That's also a pretty purple swamp.

Also, that's a fantastic creek your parents have in their backyard. We used to have one when I was growing up. Better than a TV I say.

This one is from Wineglass Bay. COOL ROCKS.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF1340.jpg

Here is a Tasmanian devil that I saw there. It's only a baby. I wouldn't get that close to a grown one.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF1508.jpg

[Tadao]

You guys have great places to hide bodies.

[executioneer]

Willie, are those barns in your second picture?
they are! it used to be a dairy farm before they made it into a wildlife refuge. there were so many swallows nesting in the eaves it was ridiculous.

[Fathom Zero]

We have the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge a couple miles from where I live. Srsly, I'm pretty sure there are bodies there.

[Kitsa]

Horizon's a little wonky, tree must be crooked:

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/gorgeoustree.jpg

These first two were taken at Lake Loramie in Ohio. I go there to watch herons.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/lakeloramiedock.jpg

Cherry tree:

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hanami1.jpg

Juvenile mantis:

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/scuseme.jpg

[Zhukov]

they are! it used to be a dairy farm before they made it into a wildlife refuge. there were so many swallows nesting in the eaves it was ridiculous.
That's so god damn American, I love it.

[The Leader]

Also, that's a fantastic creek your parents have in their backyard. We used to have one when I was growing up. Better than a TV I say.
Agreed. I spent hours out there playing every day during the summer.

[executioneer]

http://www.angriestmonster.com/blarg/barnbirds.jpg
closer view of barns w/ swallow nests

http://www.angriestmonster.com/blarg/duckage.jpg
a coupla wood ducks!

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c44/executioneer/Nisqually%20National%20Wildlife%20Refuge/100_0202.jpg

and i also got some snaps of this great blue heron

[Aaarg]

oh yeah kitsa aren't you in/near nelsonville? post some pictures from the hocking hills!

[Kitsa]

Ayuh, about 2 hours from there. (Also, <3 great blue herons)

These first photos are of Cantwell Cliffs:

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikerscabin1.jpg

One of the hikers' cabins along the trail.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers9.jpg

This looks like the cover of every biology text I've ever had.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers8.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers7.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers5.jpg

Watch out, that first step's a doozy...

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers4.jpg
This one creeped me out because it looked like a zoo gorilla enclosure.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers3.jpg
This staircase is called "Fat Woman's Squeeze", I think. I didn't test it.

[Kitsa]

These are from Rock House, a natural cave that was used by Native Americans and appropriated by bootleggers:

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers14.jpg

I hate curves in the trail like this. I was hugging the wall. That sharp turn you see drops off the face of a cliff.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers13.jpg

When there's water, this is a beautiful waterfall.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers12.jpg
Inside Rock House, looking out.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers11.jpg
Got this photographer as he was taking a picture of one of the openings. You can't see well here, but the floor is littered with dead pigeons.

And the rest of these are from Old Man's cave, which I dislike because it's too touristy, built-up and crowded:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers10.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers15.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hikers16.jpg

[Aaarg]

Oh god damn it, why did Ashley never cement the plans she was making for us to camp out in the Hills for a weekend?

Looks like my kind of place. I love rocks and caves and above-ground caves.

She fell off a waterfall there!

[Zhukov]

Those ph


Tell me, why are trees (in general) in the US all the same colour green? Do you only get one type of tree in each area, or is it that all the different trees are just very well matched? It's strange.

[Zhukov]

Those ph...... otos are fantastic Kitsa.

[Geggy]

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs034.snc1/3260_1162106012453_1221914078_30468653_5845153_n.j pg

[Zhukov]

Waterfall at Cradle Mountain
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF1462.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF1455.jpg

[Aaarg]

Depends on the forest, really. Most forests are made up of a few different trees of a similar species, but yeah for the most part in eastern deciduous forests everything's the same shade of green.

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/coopers2.jpg
There is some variation in the green, though!

And...
http://z.about.com/d/forestry/1/0/3/k/smoky_mt_fall.jpg
Looks different in the fall (this is just a search engine picture, not something I've taken)

[Kitsa]

Thanks

Every time I see the Appalachians or the foothills in the fall, I think of those model train sets with all the different color moss blobs for trees. It looks just like that to me.

[Shrubfest]

And representing Britain: The snow that made everyone freak out eariler this year.>:
http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp221/Shrubfest/DSCF0391.jpg

[Tadao]

I still wanna see the bunny fields :(

[Shrubfest]

Those ones by the trees are. So you have seen some!

[Tadao]

Top left? I thought so!

[Aaarg]

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/caneyd.jpg

[dirtyxblondexdame]

a pretty lake on the way up to my friends Bryan and Julie's house a few weeks ago. still amazed that it came out, being that i took it with my cell and was on a moving express train........

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m120/horrorchick86/lake.jpg

edit: oh yeah i'm in northern NJ :)

[Kitsa]

zhukov, what's that leaf in the second pic from the top?

[Zhukov]

Hmm. Good question. I checked with my botanist friend at work, and the best he could come up with is that it's probably endemic to the area. Other than that, both he and I are in the dark. It's interesting though, isn't it? The leaf itself is contoured in such a way to maximise water collection - or that's what it looks like.

Second prize is some more pictures of plants from the Cradle Mountain area:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF1474.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF1559.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF1571.jpg

[Aaarg]

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/wayah0.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/wayah9.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/wayah8.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/wayah7.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/wayah6.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/wayah5.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/wayah4.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/wayah3.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/wayah2.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/wayah1.jpg

[Kitsa]

I wonder what that last one is.

[Dr. Boogie]

A mushroom.

[Kitsa]

Uh huh.

I can't see the base of the stem. It could be this:

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~5361~source~gallerychooserresult. asp

Or maybe this:

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~6218~source~gallerychooserresult. asp

Not sure.

[Aaarg]

I know absolutely nothing about mushrooms, but I was just looking at a ID key website and I realize I really should have looked at the underside of the thing.

I also like the really spiky one.

[Kitsa]

I just know enough to be afraid of them.

[Aaarg]

Meeee toooooooo.

We re-watched all the Planet Earth and Blue Planet DVD's recently. Some of that stuff (the time-elapsed footage of parasitic fungi growing from the corpses of insects, for instance) which is absolutely amazing regularly is mind-blowing when you're high.

[Zomboid]

And...
http://z.about.com/d/forestry/1/0/3/k/smoky_mt_fall.jpg
Looks different in the fall (this is just a search engine picture, not something I've taken)

That's awesome.

I just have a few pictures from the mountains and Shuswap lake from this Summer's houseboat trip. Nothing overly exciting there. I'm more a fan of winter and trees than summer and mountains :\

[Aaarg]

I love mountains anytime, but I prefer spring/summer/fall as I tend to get uncontrollably unhappy in the winter.

I can't wait for the fall now that I've moved here. For the first few weeks I was down, I commented that "everything is so green here" so I look forward to everything being red and yellow and brown and orange.

[Zhukov]

The red, yellow, orange leaves do look aweseome, I've only ever seen green.

Well, in the wild. My nan has a Japanese maple that gets a deep red that I really like.

[Kitsa]

WV is beautiful in the fall.

[Zomboid]

I fucking love Fall and Winter. Dying and dead nature to me looks a lot more peaceful and serene than when it is covered with bugs and plant life and shit.

[stevetothepast]

I look forward to our winter. can't come to work today, my cars stuck (and the fridge is full of beer).

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sE3hHtT2w6c/SVzqVSsk4wI/AAAAAAAAAMk/POtS8g3ewFs/s400/IMG_5151.JPG

well, I guess I'll have another few months before this shit comes.

[Sparkles the Fairy]

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/wayah5.jpg

How did you find where I live?! Did you trace my ISP or something?! :x

[Wiffles]

Hey miss Sparkles, what happens if a person harvests and eats your home? ^^;

[Sparkles the Fairy]

Hey miss Sparkles, what happens if a person harvests and eats your home? ^^;

Then they'd be doubled over with cramps and vomiting six hours later. My home is deadly poison.

[Aaarg]

Ah, I was wondering why there was a satellite next to that mushroom.

[Sparkles the Fairy]

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/wayah2.jpg

I'm even more stunned as to how the hell you found my vacation cottage as well. That place doesn't even have an Internet connection.

[Wiffles]

Your vacation cottage looks hallucinogenic o.o

[Aaarg]

Not wildlife by any means but this is where I've been living since May:
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/dillsbord.jpg
there are a few more layers of mountains but it's overcast today so they're invisible!
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/dillsbora.jpg

[Zhukov]

I miss living in the countryside. Suburbia is boring to the point of maddness.

Here are some orchids in flower. There are plenty more where that came from.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF1949.jpg

[Kitsa]

Orchids are beautiful. I have two at my mom's house, but my dad keeps over-watering them so they might not last long :(

[Jeanette X]

But are they meat-eating orchids that forgive no one just yet?

[Aaarg]

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/balsamc.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/balsame.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/balsamh.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/balsaml.jpg
I liked the way those clouds looked. Especially because in every other direction there were storm clouds.

[Kitsa]

it looks like one of those "identify the cloud types" drawings you get in 3rd and 4th grade.

[Aaarg]

Haha, I was thinking that too when I took it. Well, kind of.

The rest of the clouds looked like this:
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/balsamk.jpg

[stevetothepast]

Are these pictures you've taken Aaarg?

If I had some of those views at my disposal I'd be a happy man. Shits beautiful as FUCK.

[Kitsa]

make with pics of the Anne of Green Gables tourists, steve. I know you've got 'em.

One time I was in a Niagara Falls gift shop and this group of Japanese tourists thought I was an Anne of Green Gables impersonator. They were all taking pictures of me. True story.

Fuck my red hair :(

[Aaarg]

Those are all pictures I've taken. The only one I've posted here that isn't is the picture of autumn colors.

I moved down here in May of this year, and yeah I'm much much much happier here than the DC suburb I grew up in or the shitty West Virginia city I lived in for a while.

Basically going in any direction for 15-30 minutes will bring you to somewhere worthwhile: The Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cashiers/Highlands (the people and towns suck but the nature is fantastic).

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/rock_n_road.jpg
That's the "highway" at the end of our street.
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/dillsborb.jpg
The driveway.

[kahljorn]

i should take some pictures of the nature around here :O

[kahljorn]

I didn't take this picture but this is basically what i would take a picture of:
http://lamarguerite.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/yannarthusbertrand_oilfields_bakersfield.jpg

[Aaarg]

yiiiiikes.

[Kitsa]

no wonder you're so pissy all the time.

[Aaarg]

no joke, if i lived in a wasteland i'd be the most miserable person ever.

[stevetothepast]

make with pics of the Anne of Green Gables tourists, steve. I know you've got 'em.

One time I was in a Niagara Falls gift shop and this group of Japanese tourists thought I was an Anne of Green Gables impersonator. They were all taking pictures of me. True story.

Fuck my red hair :(

I can't complain about tourists too much, they give a lot into our little economy. but yeah... it gets pretty annoying in the heat of summer.

where abouts do you live Aaarg?

[Aaarg]

Near the southwestern corner of North Carolina.
http://web03.bestplaces.net/city/Sylva_NC.gif
In the dot!

[kahljorn]

no wonder you're so pissy all the time.:lol
coming from the person with the highest pissy thread creation rate :O haha do you live in an ugly place too?

[Aaarg]

c'mon, she lives in ohio. . .

[kahljorn]

I'm not sure if thats good or bad :(

[Zhukov]

Well I just got back from a whirlwind tour of Australia's Northern Terrirtory and New South Wales, so I have plenty of photos that I need to put in here when I can be bothered.

[Aaarg]

Sweeeeet.

[Zhukov]

I didn't get to spend very long in the Northern Territory; I only got a little over a day in two different national parks, and that was it. The first one my female companion and I visited was Litchfield, just south of Darwin.

Darwin has the worst weather I have ever experienced so far in my life, by the way. 33 degree heat is hardly anything to worry about, but the air was so wet and humid we couldn't walk 50 meters down the road without needing to rest, drink water and complain. It was a chore to breathe. Anyway, Litchfield was about 35 celcius, but dry so it was nice.

First photo is of magnetic termite mounds. They look like gravestones. The termite nests act as huge sails that face East; maximizing morning and evening sun and minimizing it in the noon.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2024.jpg
Cathedral termite mounds dotted the place too. They just build massive nests that get to be as big as trees and hundreds of years old.

More Litchfield.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2034.jpg

Twin Falls; I swam there.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2035.jpg

Twin falls was where I began my love affair with a reasonably large type of green arsed ant that when you licked it's abdomen it tasted like lime. For the next five days I licked these ants wherever I saw them :\
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2044.jpg

I think I might have known what this tree is called at some stage, but I can't remember. It is a parasite sucking on another tree.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2067.jpg

Swam here too.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2055.jpg

This plant is a carnivore. It attracts insects by smelling rather nice, then when they wander in to have a gander, they get stuck on the sticky, dew tipped hairs. The leaf then folds in on itself to consume it's victim. I think it's called a sun dew something or something. Maybe not.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2063.jpg

More to come.

[Kitsa]

drosera, sundew, yeah. Very cool :) I've only ever seen one, and not in the wild...just in a terrarium :(

Edit: the lime taste (lime because it's green?) is formic acid. Ants squirt formic acid from their asses when they're threatened; I'm guessing having their asses licked is perceived as enough of a threat to give you that burst of lime flavor. Most people say it's lemony, so it's interesting you went with lime. The french word fourmi, ant, comes from the same root as formic acid.

Anyway, humans aren't the only ones who learned to take advantage of it. Certain species of birds practice something called "anting"...mostly jays, who are pretty intelligent although they're asshole birds. They antagonize the ants and stuff them under their feathers. The threatened ants squirt formic acid, and the acid kills the mites that are bothering the bird. As a consequence of anting, jays are typically pretty clean birds.

[Zhukov]

Alot of the time it's the small things (not always literaly) like that that can be the thing which interests you most. I didn't expect to see them there, because I had read about them and thought I remembered that they grew in boggy or marsh like areas. There were hundreds, and although most were only about ten centimeters across, there were a few as big as your hand. Or clusters of several plants, I should say.

[Kitsa]

I like stumbling across plants in the wild that I'd only seen in books before. I remember when I came across some Viper's Bugloss (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echium_vulgare) in a waste area and being so excited. My field botany teacher encouraged me to harvest one for my pressings project, but was enough of an asshole to neglect to tell me that I needed to wear gloves.

Turns out that there are little poison spikes in the stems that protrude when the stem is compressed, injecting fun little squirts of poison into your hand, like nettles. I had a bad rash on my hands for days :(

No consequences from your self-anting?

[Zhukov]

Ha, was that meant to teach you some sort of lesson?

No, I had no side effects come with my anting. You don't go around tasting things in Australia without knowing with 100% certainty that it wont kill you, so I wasn't as surprised with the ants as I was with the sundew.

On a related note, these are deadly:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2225.jpg

Not really. Actually, they could have been, so I didn't try them just in case.

[Kitsa]

I'm not sure. Science professors can be inscrutable.

[Aaarg]

Awesome pictures. Makes me want to visit Australia.

Also, Kitsa, I love your random nuggets of information. Have you taken courses in natural resources/wildlife/etc. or are you just a reader/observer?

[Kitsa]

All of the above. One of my undergrad degrees is in music and the other was biology with a zoology emphasis. I was taking medschool classes at the same time by special permission, but I had to leave school for health reasons before I could do my MCAT and get in for reals. But then I did some graduate work anyway. And I used to keep massive amounts of reptiles and amphibians, because I liked to raise them.

But I think most of what I know comes from me being a paralyzed kid who read for entertainment instead of running around and being an idiot like a normal kid, heh. Also, I basically grew up in a hospital.

Documentaries are more interesting than crap fictional tv anyway.

[Aaarg]

Ah, cool.

Yeah, we've been watching Cosmos and I really like it regardless of how silly Sagan was.

[Kitsa]

You're too young to remember Leonard Nimoy "In Search Of...", I think, but that one was fun too. But it was more BS science than real.

[Zhukov]

Kitsa, you remind me of Stephen Fry. In a good way.

This is a random billabong somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I found long necked turtle shells all over the place, and lots and lots of fish skeletons. This area was ruled by a large white eagle that was hovering off in the distance. Did not swim here as it would be filled with crocodiles.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2080.jpg

This was called Yellow River or some such. Lots of birds. In the distance you can just make out some water buffalo.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2229.jpg

These were bigger than they look. The seeds inside tasted like peanuts.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2101.jpg

THERE'S ONE.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2115.jpg

There's another one.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2124.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2106.jpg

Good sunset, but obscured by clouds today. Like Aarg, I seemd to be interested in the clouds in a lot of these photos. Good clouds make a photo more pituresque I think.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2243.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2128.jpg

[Kitsa]

I like Stephen Fry. I just hope you're not talking about the manic-depressive way :(

That's a beautiful wading bird there at the end. Is it some sort of crane? I can't see the markings, but it didn't look like a heron at first go.

Are snakes a big problem on your hikes? I know that in NZ they're not, typically, but you seem to hike a bit north, too.

I'm trying to remember what the birds were in an Attenborough special on NZ that I was so taken with, but now I can't. Some sort of flightless mountain birds, they were fascinating.

[Zhukov]

The manic depressive way is hardly the "good way" now is it? Stephen Fry amazes me by being full of knowledge but also full of wit and humour. Most people can only have a little of column A, a little of column B. If they are lucky. You and he seem to have lots of both.

It is a crane. Or a heron... or maybe an ibis. Honestly I don't know too much about birds. I took many photos of herons and cranes, but you can't post them all, can you? There were snake-necked herons that would dart into the water, then pop their head and S shaped neck out while zooming around looking for fish; it looked gloriously absurd.

On a related note, I was attacked by White Ibis in Sydney for my sandwich. They are native, and can usually be found hanging around bins.

Snakes are only a problem if you go looking for them, off any tracks. You can run into them, but they generaly are well hidden and will try to stay that way. People that get killed by snakes are usually trying to antagonise them, or getting "a closer look". My photos of snakes (actually, just 'snake') are blurred and don't show anything other than the speed at which I was flinging the camera about. I only saw a few little snakes, in fact I see more snakes here in Tasmania than in the North.

The NZ bird... are you talking about the Kiwi? The MOA? That big, grey, parrot look-alike that has trouble mating and whose name alludes me right now?

[Kitsa]

That's very nice of you to say. It all seems a bit bizarre that my big, expensive education all came to nothing for health reasons and that now I'm doing art. But I hope I can pass stuff on to my kid. Learning is good.

I have a catalog with a Stephen Fry alarm clock. Apparently he wakes you with 100-odd spoken phrases.


This is part of the documentary...

1Ve_ME8IitE

[b_squared]

This is a view from the trails I ride near home. It's sagebrush and dry but I think it's pretty
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/bjhat/moms006.jpg
Here is my ride,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/bjhat/moms010.jpg

[Zhukov]

Wow, cool. Where is that? My first thought was Spain, but somewhere like California or nearabouts seems more likely.

Also, horse. Cool.

[b_squared]

Yes I'm in California. We have some nice oak trees on that trail, I just did not get a picture of them.

[The Leader]

That horse looks so ashamed.

[Zhukov]

Oh yeah, it does. :lol


I promise I'll be done now. Sorry for hogging.

St. Andrew's Cross spider. They look great and some of them have weird zig-zag effects on their webs. I say 'effects' as if they used photoshop.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2191.jpg

One aspect of my short trip I didn't think would appeal to me was Aboriginal cave paintings, instead, however, I was totally in awe all of the time I spent in Ubir, a sacred painting site. There were probably around a hundred visable paintings, all between 20-40 000 years old, apparantly. I thought it was quite impressive and took way too many pictures. There was a European painted standing near a boat with big boots and a pipe, ahaha. A Tasmanian Tiger, too, because ten thousand odd years ago they lived all over Australia.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2189.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2173.jpg

Good view at the top, too.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2177.jpg

See that debri stuck on the tree on the left? That's bark, branches leaves etc that get washed around during the wet season. The whole place gets flooded and is pretty much underwater. Hard to believe it right then. We visited on the cusp of the wet seaon, and actually experienced the first rain the area had seen in 8 months. Monsoonal rain is intimidating, since it doesn't drilzzle then lead up to heavy rain, it just drops it all in one go, then stops soon after.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2218.jpg

Most fires are started under controlled conditions so the bush can regenerate as naturally as possible while still being SAFE.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2167.jpg

Luckily for me there were plenty of signs about. Really though, you just have to stay away from water that is murky or has plenty of wildlife/food around.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2217.jpg

Did swim here though.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2280.jpg

My gal.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2288.jpg

Thanks for looking. Now, more pictures from other people please.

[Kitsa]

That's a really beautiful set of photos.

I've been a little depressed that I can't hike as much as I've been doing due to my various issues. My parents have suddenly gotten very active outdoors and have been all over, I'll have to see if they came up with anything pretty I can show you.

[b_squared]

I have photos of native american pictographs and petroglyphs. I took way too many pictures of them too. I'll have to post some of them later. I've been to Yellowstone and Yosemite this year maybe I'll will post some of those as well.

[Kitsa]

Not nature exactly, but this is the typical scenery, an Amish traffic jam in town:

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/amishtrafficjam-1.jpg

These are from Charleston Falls and some other little woodsy parks near here that make for nice day hikes. My mom took these:

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/charlestonfalls1.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/charlestonfalls2.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/charlestonfalls3.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/charlestonfalls4.jpg

[Zomboid]

It snowed today! First day of Winter!

[stevetothepast]

you guys always get the white stuff first.

[Aaarg]

kitsa, is that in the hocking hills?


also zhukov, keep hogging. the pictures are gorgeous.

i'll probably take some hikes in the near future. things are dying, colors are changing.

[Kitsa]

Nope, not Hocking Hills. This is about 1.5 hours away from (west of) Columbus, around Springfield and Yellow Springs.

[b_squared]

Here are the petroglyphs:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/bjhat/029.jpg

[b_squared]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/bjhat/603.jpgArches national parkhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/bjhat/036.jpgDouble arch, My daughters are in the middle of the picture
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/bjhat/379.jpg

[Kitsa]

very cool. Much cooler than our local "twin arches", which I excitedly went to expecting a natural rockbridge and instead found some old rotting canal gates :(

[Zomboid]

The only place in Canada that's colder right now is Saskatchewan. Go Alberta!

[Kitsa]

We had our big entertainment yesterday- bought a cheap loaf of bread and went to feed the fish at a private lake.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/lake7.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/lake1.jpg

The catfish were pretty entertaining- they were like sharks circling.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/lake10.jpg

Two osprey having a loud fight:

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/lake6.jpg

We were trying to figure out what made this. Beaver? Otter?

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/lake3.jpg

It came up out of the brambles on one side of the trail like this:

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/lake4.jpg

...and then ended with the little mud-waterslide into the lake.

[Zhukov]

Catfish! They are huge.

[Kitsa]

The ones that were brave enough to come into the shallows were about 2 feet long, but I suspect that there are some out in the depths of the lake that are absolutely gigantic.

I was amazed at how sharklike their movements were.

[Aaarg]

Took the pup out for a nice little hike.

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/waterrock1.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/waterrock3.jpg
I tried to get a shot of this view with the dog looking at it, but he only stood there for a second before noticing a smell in the woods immediately behind us.
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/waterrock5.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/waterrock6.jpg
I'm growing a fondness for balds and high-elevation (for the Appalachians at least) areas, though they're kind of ugly and scrubby.

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/woodfina.jpg
This is the type of color that the leaves are supposed to be, mixed with equally vibrant reds and oranges. The colors this year are kind of dull. Things have been slowly turning yellow and then quickly turning brown.

But the pup didn't care about any of that, he had a million scents to smell.

[Zhukov]

Mountains and clouds certainly make for a good view. The odd tree sans-leaves thrown into the mix also helps. Those are some great views, Aarghh.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2406.jpg

Bit of vertigo here:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2471.jpg

Funnel web spider lairs. Deadly. I wear steel toed walking boots because their fangs can easily pierce leather, they can puncture your toenails.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2457.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2483.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSCF2415.jpg

[Aaarg]

what kind of tree is that from? also those cliffs look awesome.

[Kitsa]

I think if I visited australia I'd spend most of the time in the fetal position thinking of all the things that could kill me.

My parents once sent a box of glue traps to mom's Australian boss because there was a funnel web spider that liked to frequent his child's potty chair.

agh.

[Zhukov]

Aarg: It's a paperbark tree. Not a very imaginative name, to be honest.

Kitsa: I'm sure they accepted the glue trap happily, but there is no way that you would want a funnel web spider "trapped" in your house. The best way to get rid of them is to attract them with a tied up goat (live) and then shoot them.

[Aaarg]

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/nowhereroad1.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/nowhereroad5.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/nowhereroad6.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/nowhereroad7.jpg

[Zhukov]

The leaves on that mangled looking tree certainly don't seem "dull" to me.

Also; SLUGS.

[Aaarg]

Usually more trees look like that! I took the picture of that one mostly because the leaves were so vibrant, but it didn't turn out so great. They kind of look orange in the picture, but were bright pink.

The one immediately after that also didn't turn out so great in the picture. Too much sun, I guess, since the pink is supposed to be pinker and the green is supposed to be greener. Most of the pictures I took didn't turn out, which is disappointing.

The tunnel was neat, though.
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/nowhereroad3.jpg

[Zhukov]

Yeah, the tunnel drew my attention first. I don't know what I can say about it other than 'slightly creepy, but I don't know why'.

[Aaarg]

The tunnel is the attraction for most people to go there. It's an abandoned road project tunnel, so the road ends almost immediately past it. Unfortunately the inside of the tunnel is covered in spraypaint and you kick the occasional beer can walking through. It's a shame people have to fuck everything up.

It's definitely pretty creepy. Not so much, looking in, as it looks very short. It's deceptively long, and by the time you hit the middle it feels like it isn't going to end. I commented that I'd hate to be in a tunnel in any altered state of mind, but I'd love to hear music played in the center of it--that would sound crazy.

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/nowhereroad2.jpg
All the way through. Even in the middle, in complete darkness. If you had a flashlight, you'd see plenty of crudely-drawn dicks on the wall because people are idiots.


There's a cool canal tunnel in West Virginia I'd like to visit again, since I haven't since I was 12 or so.
http://canal.mcmullans.org/images/Paw%20Paw%20Tunnel.jpg

[Zhukov]

You know, I don't remember ever going through a tunnel in my life.

[Aaarg]

Even on roads? There's a bunch on the Blue Ridge Parkway here, and other places in the mountains.

We have bridges that have underwater tunnels in the middle.

You're not missing much, as much as driving goes. Walking through tunnels is neat, but not as neat as caves!

[stevetothepast]

AAARG.

[Aaarg]

sí señor

[Aaarg]

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/winterrock3.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/winterrock5.jpg
Cooler in person, but I dig the tree reflection in the top.
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/winterrock6.jpg
Awesome.
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/winterrock7.jpg
Pretty sky.

[The Leader]

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/winterrock6.jpg
Awesome.
What am I looking at?

[Aaarg]

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaby.

[The Leader]

Yeah, but why is it shaped like that? :(

[Aaarg]

That I can't tell you, but if anyone could, I'd be interested!

I've never seen it that, uh, long before. It was all over the place up here, though.

[Aaarg]

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/snowday3.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/snowday2.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/snowday1.jpg

[Zhukov]

Fantastic photos. Great view.

As far as the ice goes, I've always assumed that it's from water droplets forming on the ice, then they freeze, then droplets form on top of them, then they freeze etc etc. ... Could be wrong, I'm just guessing.


I wish it would snow here for Christmas.

[Aaarg]

I'm going to have to look it up, because I'm curious now. It looks more like fiber optics than ice. Gorgeous, though.

I'm hoping it's not snowing on Christmas day, I have to cross the Appalachians and go home.

And the snow here now is already melting. It kept snowing until 9:30 or so, and now it's 11 and everything's dripping off the roof.

EDIT: that was easy!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needle_ice

[Babs]

Where you do live at again Aaarg?

[Aaarg]

http://www.northcarolinarental.us/images/north_carolina_a.jpg
In the little excerpt in the corner, the western tip. Somewhere between the dots for Franklin, Waynesville, and Bryson City.

[Zhukov]

There is a place there called Sparta.

[Babs]

Hey Aaarg, we should take a little bit of some mushrooms and lay a top of the hills in your area.

[10,000 Volt Ghost]

There is a place there called Sparta.


I need glasses bad. I saw Sparta and thought it said Sports.

[Aaarg]

Help yourself to the mushrooms, I'll stick to pot!

[Pentegarn]

I went to see the redwoods awhile back. Seeing them in person is something else.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q1/Pentegarn/redwood.jpg

[Aaarg]

California or what? Pretty sweet. Someday I'll go west.

[Zhukov]

That's a huge god damn tree. I'd love to see redwoods one day, it's one of my many, many life goals.

We used to have the biggest tree in the Southern Hemisphere in Tasmania, but the government accidentally killed it with fire.

[Pentegarn]

California or what? Pretty sweet. Someday I'll go west.

Northern California. Lena (my GF) and I drove the Pacific highway one day and looked at beaches and redwoods (we almost got stuck in that redwood park because we rented a car and the fuel gauge was backward from the ones we are used to so we were dangerously close to empty :P )

[Aaarg]

Haha, wonderful!

I look forward to seeing the Pacific coast.

I wanted to take some good pictures but as soon as I got out of the car it started slowly raining and quickly picked up, I turned around ~1/4 mile up the trail and was super pissed (but also super wet and the rising winds made me pretty cold). Did not anticipate rain, was not dressed accordingly, only got some pictures of ice:
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/whiteice1.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/whiteice2.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/whiteice3.jpg

[Zhukov]

My internet is spastic at the moment and I can only see one picture. Of ice.

Looks good. For ice.

How cold is it up there about now? We are out of the heatwave period of summer, but it's been crazy with scorching heat and then drenching rain here.

[Aaarg]

There's two pictures of ice and one of a boring trail surrounded by rhododendron and a bit of ice in the middle, haha.

Yikes, we don't get extreme weather like that.

It gets up to the mid-50's (fahrenheit) in the day and down to maybe the 20's at night. Three weeks or so ago we had a few days in which the highest temperature was 17 degrees F.

[kahljorn]

its the australian monsoon :O

[Nick]

http://carletong.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/forest_fire_mccolgan1.jpg

[executioneer]

are they remaking Bambi as a live-action or something

[Sam]

FUCK THE YOUNG PRINCE

[Zhukov]

I like rhododendron. Still not loading for me though. Oh well.

The FIRE picture is, however. That is AWESOME.

[executioneer]

i've seen fires like that :( i never wanted to look away

[Aaarg]

I can't watch a fire unless it's a good one (fireplace, campfire, etc.) and then I love it.

Our neighbor's house was burning a few nights ago, I looked for a second and felt terrible and couldn't look anymore. I don't imagine seeing a forest fire would make me any less uncomfortable.

[executioneer]

well the one i saw was a controlled intentional fire to clear brush off of a clearcut hill rather than a "real" forest fire :(

[kahljorn]

http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt152/maryannkopp/nature.jpg

thats where i got married at :O

[executioneer]

is your wife a mermaid :o

[Tadao]

he's the incredible mr limpert :O

[kahljorn]

that was like one of my favorite movies when i was a kid :(


AND I ALWAYS WANTED TO LIVE IT OUT IN REAL LIFE.

[elx]

i went on a reallllyyyyy creepy hike in the middle of nowhere during a storm, got lost and had to decide between going through thigh-high swampy disgustingness or a pitch black forest. the pictures turned out kinda boring and not very good but i wanted to share this one:

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/kelcnr/6-1-1.jpg

i didn't have time to take a good picture, because once i saw it i was pretty much running my ass out of there, but it was a deep foggy red and totally scary. does anyone know of anything other than the obvious that would have caused this? i don't think it was the obvious because it was pretty big and deep for a little pond thing.


http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/kelcnr/9.jpg

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/kelcnr/4.jpg

[Colonel Flagg]

Sorry, I can't see what you see, try as I might. BTW why spoiler tag a muddy sneaker and a panoramic view of ... was that the swamp? I agree - it creeps me out, even in broad daylight - but hardly spoiler material.

What do you think you saw?

[The Leader]

If you stare at it long enough you can see the face of God.

[Sam]

how dare you ruin your nice shoes your mother will have a fit

[Tadao]

the red was most likely red clay.

[kahljorn]

do you know how long your mother had to work to put those shoes on your feet?

[elx]

Sorry, I can't see what you see, try as I might. BTW why spoiler tag a muddy sneaker and a panoramic view of ... was that the swamp? I agree - it creeps me out, even in broad daylight - but hardly spoiler material.

What do you think you saw?
it looked like a big creepy pool of dark blood in the middle of the forest during a storm not far from swampy disgustingness to me. i tried to convey that by showing just how disgusting this experience was, but i failed :(

[Zhukov]

Those shoes belong in the INAPPROPRIATE THREAD.

[kahljorn]

I'm surprised that you're even scared of swamps, rain and forests considering your vast experience.

[elx]

those shoes are awesome ok, i've had them for seven years

[Zhukov]

They might look good, and feel comfortable, but how are they going to stop a snake bite, or a twisted ankle? Go and buy some ex military boots. It will make you feel tougher, too, so you wont be scared of spooky swamps anymore.

Also, do your feet not grow? Seven years?!

[Zhukov]

On the subject of nature, I was attacked by a seagull today after work. I left the building, and while waving goodbye to some people it came swooping down at me squawking. I ducked and swore and people laughed, then it came at me again flapping it's wings, and I ran. I felt like a numpty, and people were laughing at me, but then it swooped at me for a third time and I had to hide behind a car, checking the sky for my attacker. I saw the coast was clear, so I ran doubled over to get to the cover of the bus stop.


I guess it thought I was in it's territory, or was going to take it's food or something like that.

[kahljorn]

maybe it thought you were a seagull cause you were flapping your arms around waving good bye :O

[Zhukov]

Hmmm, that sounds like a reasonable explanation.

[kahljorn]

the secret to seagulls is to punch them

[Babs]

I was walking around the other day and couldn't help myself but marvel at the beauty of the world around me. Every corner had a nice surprise for me and for my wondering curious mind. Talking simply won't do it justice so let these pictures fill in a thousand words in your ill informed, unbeautified minds.


WARNING! The following picture makes the Grand Canyon look like a welfare check.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v424/LifeInMono/DirtyParkingLot1.jpg

VIOLA! Unaltered pictures of the beautiful insight that modern living can bestow upon all.

Lets zoom in a little bit closer and we can see that American dream has been right under our noses this whole time.

http://www.newstalk650.com/files/u17/Victoria_4.jpg

This concludes my point.... God is an American.

[Kitsa]

A lot of reddish swampwater comes from tannin, from decaying leaves.:themoreyouknow

[Tadao]

RED CLAY I TELL YOU

[kahljorn]

guys i think that elx would already know all of these things

[Aaarg]

Nothing worthwhile, but the clouds this morning looked pretty neat:
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/cloudsy.jpg

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/cloudys.jpg

[Terra]

Dude, what happened to your house?

[Babs]

His roof was on fire and he didn't need no fucking water.

[Aaarg]

That's not just the roof! The entire interior is black and destroyed.

He wasn't home and he lives alone with no pets. He was out drinking when a space heater sparked and took the whole house down. He was drunk when he got a call that his 60 years of possessions were being reduced to ash.

http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/snoa1.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/snoa2.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/snoa3.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/snoa4.jpg
http://www.klimp.dk/glown/photos/snoa5.jpg

[Kitsa]

hiking in SW Ohio.

High Crime!!!
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/highcrimeyall.jpg

Hazardous Cliffs!
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/hazardouscliffs.jpg

Hand-sized spiders! (Pretty sure this is a fishing spider)
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/enormousfreakingspider.jpg

Steep cliffs!
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/bigoldcliffs.jpg

Dark caves! Possibly used condoms!
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/cave.jpg

Treacherous paths!
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/trail.jpg

[Kitsa]

(continued) Actually, it was pretty.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/charlestonfalls2-1.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/charlestonfalls.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/cliff.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/pathwithsteppingstones.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/poolinthewoods.jpg

[Kitsa]

Some more....not too many

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/reflectivepool.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/stagnantbeforewaterfall.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/stream.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/cliftongorge2.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/cliftongorge4.jpg

[Zhukov]

Looks very serene. Were you by yourself? The spider and the hole are creepy as hell though.

[MLE]

That reminded me of Watkin's Glen.

[Kitsa]

Went to Kiser Lake State Park (http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/parks/kisrlake/tabid/751/Default.aspx)today. We were excited because we knew it had a beach.

Turns out "beach" means "a few hundred feet of raked substrate that's about 80% mud and 19% sand".

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/beachatkiserlake.jpg

"...and 1% banana."

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/beachbananas.jpg

I fared better elsewhere.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/osageorangeart.jpg
(:art)

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/monarch.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/underdasea2.jpg

[MLE]

I hope you kept that feather

[Kitsa]

nope, OCD and paranoid of mites :(

I do have a great blue heron feather somewhere, though.

edit for zhukov: Thanks, and I was there with family...although if you mean were there other visitors, yes, it was unpleasantly crowded :(

[Colonel Flagg]

Kit - that looked awesome. Did you actually see any prophylatics in the wilderness, or did you just mean it was a likely habitat?

MLE - I was thinking the same thing. Watkins Glen is a favorite of mine. :)

[Kitsa]

No used condoms, but a lot of handholding teenagers, so I figured there must be one somewhere. The trash wasn't too bad, which was nice...one diet mountain dew can on a bench, one discarded wad of paper. The fishing-spider was about 3 feet from the mouth of the cave and was quite enough to persuade me not to get too near.

In regard to Watkins Glen...heard of it, haven't seen it. I went to Ithaca and Cornell...same area, different lake. So I can imagine.

[MLE]

Cornell is beautiful, too. Visited that area on the same trip.

[Zhukov]

Out of all your latest photos, I like the banana one the best, Kitsa.

[Kitsa]

thank you.

[Zhukov]

I live about a stones throw away form the beach (well, if said stone was being thrown by a powerful robot) so here's some beach. Or rocks near the beach more like.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0369.jpg

Got more, and some of the tessolated stones in the area which geologists FLOCK to see, but my computer is being rather slow right now.

[Kitsa]

:(

My favorite beach is a wild, sand dune-y area that I think I posted early on in this thread. I love beaches. Not the populated kind, the wildlifey kind.

[Kitsa]

Can't find them now. Here they are again:

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/indianadunes1.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/indanadunes2.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/indianadunes3.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/indianadunes4.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/indianadunes5.jpg

What I like best about these photos is that they were taken with a $2 disposable camera.

[Fathom Zero]

Love 'em. Fuck megapixels.

[Zhukov]

These so-called disposable cameras are such a farce. I took one on my trip to Devenport, now I have no record of a perfectly enjoyable holiday.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0359.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0373.jpg

[Kitsa]

When I was a kid, I had this fantasy of running off and living in the crevices between large beach rocks.

Love the coloration of that second one.

[Zhukov]

I think we all had that one.

I was taking photos of Bondi Beach near Sydney, and I saw a homeless guy living like a king in a cave. The guy had seperate rooms seperated with tarps, along with the usual totems warding away evil spirits.

A few months ago he was in the news for raping several women.

[The Leader]

Man, I never run into any celebrities.

[Kitsa]

I'm curious as to whether you would have been more alarmed if he'd just been in the news for raping several men.

I can see it now..."Ah, no vagina, I'm safe."

[Zhukov]

Probably not. I sent my ex (who I saw him with) a link to the news report, as a "haha, remember this guy? Look at this!" sort of thing, and she assumed I was trying to scare her about how close she came to being raped or something.

If it was men being raped I don't think I would have even considered myself in danger, no.

I'm not an attractive man, you see.

[Kitsa]

is it about attractiveness now?

You do all right.

Life is weird with criminal encounters. When I was a kid, I toured the Ambrosia Chocolate Factory while Jeffrey Dahmer was working there. I might have seen him and never known it. The factory's long gone now, but they used to have chocolate pizza in the gift shop...big slab of dark/white chocolate as the crust, red and green cherries as peppers, and white chocolate drizzle as the cheese. When you're a kid, that's some pretty amazing stuff.

[Zhukov]

I don't think of myself as a valid target, that's all I'm saying. It might be because I am a male, and gay rape or not, it's just not something I worry about.

That's probably it. Gay rape me a bunch of times and I might be singing a different tune.

Jeffrey Dahmer is a big one, certainly beats cave-rape guy. But Martin Bryant lived on the same street as my school, and he killed 35 people. Which beats Jeff.

[The Leader]

GUYS THIS ISN'T A CONTEST

[Kitsa]

I'm aaaaaallllllmost certain this is a carolina mantis, but not 100%.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/mantid1.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/mantid2.jpg

[Kitsa]

My mantis pictures made whatsthatbug.com (http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2010/08/27/carolina-mantis-2/) :love

Went to a nature preserve last night and saw a doe and two fawns.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/deer6.jpg

See her? She's looking right at you.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/deer7.jpg

The doe crossed the trail first, followed by both fawns. Very close...they feel safe there and aren't afraid of humans.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/fawn.jpg

[Zhukov]

Very awesome. Two creatures I have never seen and would very much like to.

[Kitsa]

I always figured kangaroo were pretty much Australia's equivalent of deer.

[Zhukov]

We don't have kangaroos here, only wallabies. I've only seen kangaroos on holiday or in zoos, rather than just walking around.

Wallabies are smaller, furrier, cuter and taste a lot better.

[Zhukov]

I guess our equivalent of the mantis is the Australian Mantis.

[Kitsa]

The mantises look about the same. This is the first time I've seen a carolina mantis around here, although one might argue that it's just because she was probably so well-camouflaged. I typically see the familiar green version several times a year, because I have butterfly bushes that attract an easy lunch.

[Pentegarn]

The mantis pic reminds me of that thread WhiteRat had where he made various exotic bugs fight

[Babs]

jesus tits this is some really intense LSD

my jaw has its own atmosphere

[Kitsa]

i'll teach your grandmother to suck eggs

[Zhukov]

Piss off babs.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0431.jpg


This is a tree.

[Kitsa]

very cool, the branches on the left look like legs with very baggy tights on

[Aaarg]

the right looks like a loooong torso. mostly for the naval, and the upward arms and leaning neck at the top.

[Kitsa]

I went here (http://www.nps.gov/indu/) yesterday.

On the way there, there was this eerie wind farm that had hundreds of turbines, as far as the eye could see, for 11 miles. They were just all silently turning, some at different rates, and something about them freaks me out a little.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/windfarm4.jpg

This is the view between the parking lot and beach...acres and acres of beautiful dunes anchored by grasses and trees.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/pathtoparkinglot.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/desertisland.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/duneslandscape.jpg

This is the staircase that's part of the Succession trail. The college where I did my Bio undergrad is very near this, and during one of my field botany classes I had to hike this damned thing at least twice a week, rain or shine, charting the locations of sand cherry trees and jack pines. My calves got huge.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/successiontrailstaircase.jpg

More beautiful dunes shots:

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/beautifullandscape2.jpg

Some of the flora and fauna here are completely unique and can't be found anywhere else in the world.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/beachflowers.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/cottonwood.jpg

They discourage going off-trail because disturbing the grasses causes the dunes to shift, covering paths and structures. People do it, though.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/pathoverdune.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/shininggrasses.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/tree.jpg

Between the dunes and beach there's a bath house. There are usually rangers there to discourage all fuckery literal and figurative. Walking through the bath house, the beach opens up before you with this amazing view:

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/viewfrombathhouse.jpg

Look to your left, and there's Gary and Chicago off in the distance.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/beachlandscape2.jpg

See Chicago? That hazy group of skyscrapers out there?

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/chicago.jpg

The path to the right leads to various trails.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/beachlandscape1.jpg



continued...

[Kitsa]

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/wavesonthesand.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/wavesonthesand2.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/wave.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/steelmills.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/sandformation.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/raindropsonsand.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/nicelittlewaves.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/log.jpg

Kite we flew to entertain the baby...

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/kiteoverbeachgrasses.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/driftwoodonbeach.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/deadmonarch.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/anotherdriftwoodpic.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/driftwood.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/wavebreakingoverdriftwood.jpg

[Zhukov]

My internet is running slow, so it's going to take me a month to see all of those :(

But what I can see looks interesting, as usual.

[Aaarg]

beautiful pictures.

i wish i hadn't forgotten this thread for so long, and i wish i'd take advantage of my surroundings. ffffff.

[MLE]

I want the lens of my camera to be fixed. It's about to be fall in the new england area again.

[Kitsa]

That reminds me...if anyone has a good idea for how to get sand out of a DSLR lens without accidentally abrading it, please, I'm all ears.

[The Leader]

You're fucked.

[Zhukov]

Vacuume cleaner.

[Kitsa]

I'm afraid of dragging the grains across the lens as I get them out, however they go.

Got some more Enormous Spider Pics for you, Zhukov. This is an orb weaver found in our garden. She could have comfortably fit in the palm of my hand.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/beautifulorbweaver3.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/beautifulorbweaver1.jpg


http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/beautifulorbweaver2.jpg

[executioneer]

well having no experience whatsoever with that sort of thing i'd say put unflavored gelatin in it, let it set in the refrigerator and then suspend it upside down from something so that when the lens reaches room temperature the gelatin will fall out taking the sand with it :completelyretardedidea :don'tdoit :i'mprobablydrunk

[The Doctor]

Apple Picking

http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee443/Patrick_Whitaker/DSC_0366-1.jpg

http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee443/Patrick_Whitaker/DSC_0339-1.jpg

http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee443/Patrick_Whitaker/DSC_0330.jpg

http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee443/Patrick_Whitaker/DSC_0338.jpg

http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee443/Patrick_Whitaker/DSC_0365-1.jpg

http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee443/Patrick_Whitaker/DSC_0279.jpg
http://www.i-mockery.com/forum/CoolKidsBoard.com

[elx]

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/Indiana%20Dunes/deadmonarch.jpg

:( :( :(



also i like that you're not one of the lazy people like me that just names files ajfoklfae because i can easily identify which of your image codes i want to diret my commentary towards which saves me like 14.6 seconds of my life.

[Zhukov]

That butterfly one actually made me giggle a little.. before realising that I have turned into a horrid, bitter old man. :(

The dunes are cool, and the spider is.... ugh. Creepy.

The Doctor I LOVE apple picking. I used to be a Tasmanian cliche and do it as a summer job. My dad worked on an apple farm, and his father and so on. Nice pictures. Were you there to collect apples or photo opportunities?

Here is my waltz up a mountain:

It is tradition to lump a pile of snow on the front of your car so that people know you have been up Mt. Wellington. When you go around corners it slides off and hits cyclists, who then procede to write to the newspapers complaining about "icy death missles".
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0535.jpg

I didn't get any pictures from the bottom, but this is about half way up. That's the pinnacle.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0613.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0623.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0614.jpg

On the top
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0572.jpg

We made a snow animal. I'm not sure what though.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0567.jpg

It was very cold and windy up here, and it was swarming with packs of children who threw snowballs. We put rocks and bits of glass in ours.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0584.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0585.jpg

Here is Hobart.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0542.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Vincered/DSC_0543.jpg


The End.

[MLE]

That last picture is especially stunning.

[Kitsa]

Beautiful!

We went hiking again yesterday. Same place as before.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/stream-1.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/shagbark2.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/redleaf.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/falls3.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/falls2.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/cave-1.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/1steppingstones.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/1falls.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn199/kitsa_for_imockery/woods.jpg

[Zhukov]

It must be the lack of sleep but I'm really creeped out by not only The Hole, but also the bark on the tree. It still looks cool.

Your country has good leaves.

[Aaarg]

shagbark hickory!

ooh i should know the latin name for that. i know it's in the juglandaceae family but that's as far as i can go. (apparently it's carya ovata, yeah, that wasn't saved in my memory)

also i'm always so upset that i never visited the hocking hills. :(

also i need to go outside.

[The Doctor]

The Doctor I LOVE apple picking. I used to be a Tasmanian cliche and do it as a summer job. My dad worked on an apple farm, and his father and so on. Nice pictures. Were you there to collect apples or photo opportunities?


A little of both we took our 3 year old and a couple of friends for some family type photos and the back drop is gorgeous this time of year. But also apples are delicious especially in pie.

Your pictures are fan-fucking-tastic, I respect the snow on cyclists, dam cyclists (shakes fists)

[Kitsa]

Wild honeysuckle.

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/winterberriesbest.jpg

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/winterberries.jpg

[Zhukov]

Nice photos.

[The One and Only...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

NATURE YOU SCARY :faint

[executioneer]

fast forward to 2:47
rdKFioMyieQ

[Kitsa]

Like most of the midwestern US, we're having a massive snow/ice storm. It was actually sort of warm, then when we woke the next morning pretty much everything we had was encased in about a quarter inch of solid ice.

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/ice-encrustedplant.jpg

Each exposed blade of grass had its own coat:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/iceglazedgrass.jpg

The shrubbery by the front door is a block of solid ice:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/iceglazedbush.jpg

The roof of our outdoor dog kennel when I inspected it (the dog has been and will be inside, the kennel is for summer play).

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/icecage.jpg

[Zhukov]

Wow, cool.


No pun.


Love the last photo.

[Kitsa]

Flowering moss:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/floweringmoss.jpg

Sort of neat mossy patch up on a mountain:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/neatmosspatch.jpg

Bluets:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/patchofbluets.jpg

Bluets, side view:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/bluetssideview.jpg

Spring Beauties:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/wildflower.jpg

Apple Blossoms:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/appleblossom2.jpg

[Kitsa]

And then I went on my annual Cherry Blossom rampage, during which I like to think the trees sense me coming and say, "Oh, here she is with that damn camera again."

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/blossoms2.jpg

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/blossoms3.jpg

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/blossoms5.jpg

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/blossoms.jpg

Petals blowing off the trees, with bees all around:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/blossomsandbees.jpg

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/closeup1.jpg

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/closeup2.jpg

Soft focus lens filter:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/blossoms4.jpg

And night photography, not one of my talents:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/atnight.jpg


The slightly less showy Japanese Maple blossom (they're tiny, you sort of have to squint under the leaves to see them)

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/mapleblossom.jpg

And this, which I took with a grainy filter and am very pleased with. Might even print him out big and hang him somewhere.

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/awesome.jpg

[Kitsa]

Springtime hike in the woods. I had a scavenger hunt list of flowers in my head and got most of them.

Going to break this up into 3 posts because there's one hell of a lot of woods.

Flowering buckeye tree:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/buckeyeflowersmall.jpg

Small cave:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/cavesmall.jpg

Jack-in-the-Pulpit, which I hadn't seen growing wild in years:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/jackinthepulpit3small.jpg

Mayapples:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/mayapplessmall.jpg

Red trillium:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/redtrilliumsmall.jpg

Water bubbling from a crevice at the foot of a cliff. I don't think it was a spring...probably runoff, but it was neat to see it just bubbling and gushing out of the rock like that.

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/waterfromcrevicesmall.jpg

[Kitsa]

Trying to take a shot of some flowers on a mossy overhang, but it was raining pretty hard and the raindrops screwed this one up:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/flowersonoverhangsmall.jpg

Base of a waterfall:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/fallsbottom.jpg


Mayapples and violets:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/mayappleandviolets.jpg

Mayapple army advancing:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/mayapplearmy.jpg

Nodding Trillium:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/noddingtrillium.jpg


Stream:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/stream.jpg

Some sort of phlox I didn't expect to see:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/phlox.jpg

[Kitsa]

Deer path:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/deerpathmaybe.jpg


More falls:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/fallsclose.jpg

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/falls.jpg

Fern in a rocky outcrop:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/fernincliff.jpg

Another deer path with a buckeye tree in flower nearby:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/floweringbuckeyeanddeerpath.jpg

Another rocky outcrop:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/flowersonrockyoutcrop.jpg

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/mossyrockface.jpg

Mostly dry streambed:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/mossyrockinstream.jpg

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/mossystream.jpg


Obligatory rotting log photo:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/rottinglog.jpg

Another shallow stream:
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/shallowstream.jpg

Smaller side falls:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/sidefalls.jpg

Standing in a stream, probably getting diseases:

http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy271/kitsa_for_imockery2/stream-1.jpg

[Kitsa]

It was just in the news that a guy fell to his death from a 60 foot waterfall in the northeast corner of Ohio. He and a woman were wading, he fell, and she wasn't able to catch him.

It is sad and horrible, but you wouldn't believe how casual people are about going off-trail. That's one of my big pet peeves, especially at more popular trails like in Hocking Hills. I've seen people letting their kids climb dangerous cliff faces or just run amok through the woods like it's a playground. I don't know if they're assuming it's safe because it's public, or what.

That and people throwing a ball to see their dog jump off a 20 foot cliff to a pool of water below. I hate that too.

[The Leader]

You just hate fun.

[Zhukov]

I had to wait for my internet to become fast again before I could see those last pictures Kitsa, and they are really cool. I know you think you are a bad photographer, but you take great photos of cool things.


In the Northern Territory they had signs in just about every swimming hole (that wasn't crocodile/barramundi/something infested):

CLIFF JUMPING CAN CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH

Didn't stop Italian tourists from climbing as high as humanely possible and leaping into shallow pools. No deaths though.

[Fathom Zero]

I like landscapes, but if I had to criticize Kitsa's photos, I would suggest better composition. Most of the subjects tend to be in the absolute center, which isn't very good? flattering? exciting? Whatever the word is, anyway.

This is a good guide!

http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/10-top-photography-composition-rules

http://www.ultimate-photo-tips.com/photography-rule-of-thirds.html

[Kitsa]

Thanks. Yeah, I'm working on that. Never claimed to be a brilliant photographer. I get so worried about capturing something that I don't take the time to mess around with composition.

Also, on that last hike Mr. Kitsa was being less than cooperative in regard to wrangling a toddler. I was trying to make grabs for her with one hand and take photos with the other, before she jumped off a cliff and became the sort of statistic I would tut tut over.

[Kitsa]

...also, remember (mainly with the plant ones) that I had a hell of a long drudge education-wise through the fields of botany, biology and taxonomy. I think in the back of my head, those sort of pictures are classified under "what it would look like in a field guide" vs. "art".

[Zhukov]

Yeah, I was going to say that with botanical photography you usually want the plant to be the centre and only focus.

[Fathom Zero]

Hey, far be it from me to tell you to do otherwise. It just that they're pretty pictures that can be even prettier. YOU DO GOOD, KITSA. I just felt that a good constructive critique would be nice.

I can't do nature - I don't have the eye for it. :\ I just end up taking blurry pictures of animals.