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Nature and Such

2006-04-29 John Winkelman

This afternoon, having nothing better to do, I hied me over to Blandford Nature Center wherein I discovered much nature.

Up until about a year ago one of the main attractions at the Center was a rescued fox. About a year ago the fox passed on, and a new tenant has recently moved in:

bobcat_1

This bobcat is about four years old and was raised as a pet until it became too much for its family (and neighbors) to handle. It is quite fearless around humans and so, out in the wild, would not be able to fend for itself, and would probably have had to survive on a diet of garbage and small yappy dogs.

bobcat_2

I do have to say, though; he is an absolutely beautiful animal.

Since the bobcat was not interested in what I was doing, I wandered around and looked at the other rescued animals. I immediately discovered something else new:

vulture_1

The turkey vultures are expecting. That thing to the lower right of the bird is one of their two eggs. Which just goes to show, everyone is beautiful to someone. Especially in the spring.

Onward and inward. Every inch of the park was teeming with life.

click_beetle_1

Some of the photos just seemed to compose themselves:

leaf

trillium_2

On the way back out of the park one of the attendants was preparing to feed the cat. Like any other cat, he sat at the door and waited impatiently. Once the door was open, he hissed at the attendant and swatted her in the leg.

bobcat_3

Note that this is NOT a small animal. He didn’t use his claws, however, and for his rudeness the attendant squirted him with a water bottle. Now, I have seen this tactic used on house cats with a great deal of success; but a 40 pound bobcat? Who’d’a thunk? Next time I am on safari in Africa and a lion charges me, I am going to squirt it in the face with a water bottle. It should keep me perfectly safe!

I watched the cat eat for a minute, then discovered why it was angry at the center employees:

bobcat_4

Jeez, what a slap in the face.

On the way out of the park I was surprised by one more Piece of Natureā„¢:

garter_snake_1

I guess this one hadn’t learned the “crawl quietly through dead leaves” trick yet.

Posted in PhotographyTagged Blandford Nature Center

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JordanrosenfeldJordan Rosenfeld@Jordanrosenfeld·
21 May

Don't like "Show, don't tell?" Try: "Demonstrate, don't lecture." Characters use words & deeds. #writetip #characters #scenes

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The_Lady_RedThe Lady Red- the night is dark and full of terror@The_Lady_Red·
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@notcapnamerica

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JohnFugelsangJohn Fugelsang@JohnFugelsang·
20 May

But the archbishop gladly still serve Holy Communion to pro-death penalty politicians.

And the death penalty, unlike abortion, was actually something Christ spoke out against.

In case you thought this had anything to do with Christ. https://twitter.com/sfchronicle/status/1527733939275702274

San Francisco Chronicle@sfchronicle

JUST IN: The San Francisco archbishop issued a notice Friday that he would no longer allow House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to receive Communion, an escalation of his feud with the Catholic Democrat over abortion politics. https://trib.al/Q3mKsI0

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