utenzi

Well, not exactly bayou. It's more like a lake with very little water movement. Here you see a log in the distance under yonder tree. And maybe a few lumps near it. Now you use that powerful 12X optical zoom on my new Fuji and lo and behold, it's a turtle and it's buddy the alligator. The exposure wasn't great from this side so I walked along the shore a bit and got the next shot from a slightly different angle. The glint of sunlight on the scaly hides wasn't as bad from over there. I really like the new Fuji. I'm so glad it came a week before I expected it to.

I wanted to do two things today and oddly enough, I did them both. Usually I'd procrastinate long enough to at least discard one of my goals. That fellow up above (or girl--I have no idea how to tell the difference (in turtles, that is)) was encountered while hiking up a small mountain in Hillsborough. I was over a mile from the closest water and pretty far above any free flowing water. I have no idea how long that turtle had been walking to get to the path I saw him on but it must have been quite a while. We haven't had much rain this summer and no doubt the small creek --which has dried up-- down the slope was his former home. Since it was over 90 today and is expected to be around 100 for the next 3 days, I don't think he's going to do well on his journey. Poor turtle. Below you can see the risotto I made tonight. Usually when I have risotto Julie makes it and I, at best, assist a little. This time it was all me. It wasn't as good as hers but that was probably l...

I went hiking with Jules after work last night. We went along the bank of the Eno River which isn't very far from where she lives. That's safest since I don't want her to know where I live. She's a little off at times and it's best to be safe. N'est pas? We came upon those two turtles sunning on a branch about 2 miles up the river and almost immediately after Jules saw the Mama Goose. I was still looking back at the turtles and Jules hissed at me to stop just moments before the goose followed Jules' lead with goosey hissses of her own. Of the two, the goose sounded far more like she meant business. Ha! I didn't approach any closer but I did get 3 good pictures of the Mama guarding her orbs.

I took some pictures of turtles last week when I was walking along the paths at Sarah Duke. Most didn't turn out well due to my inability to focus on the little suckers while they were in the water but here's 5 that are mostly in focus: