Category Archives: animals

WMEO Breaking News Alert: Rabid Beaver at Lake George

Posted on by | 2 Comments

Now from the feline news desk at WMEO 9 — We Meow, You Listen — we bring you the latest update on the rabid beaver situation in beautiful Lake George, NY.

Dateline: Turtle Island, Lake George, New York The WMEO newsroom is issuing an urgent wildlife safety alert after a rabid beaver attacked swimmers on July 4th. The victims fought off the animal and were transported for hospital treatment, including post‑exposure rabies shots.

A dead beaver was later recovered . The beaver subsequently tested positive for rabies.

Story credit: WPTZ NewsChannel 5.

Rabid beavers are extremely rare. Cape Cod has had rabid raccoons in the past, and officials believe this beaver may have contracted rabies from a raccoon. Rare doesn’t mean impossible — and this incident is a reminder that wildlife can behave unpredictably when sick.

WMEO Newsroom Reaction

Banner’s Response

Banner immediately leapt onto the anchor desk, puffed up like a tiny orange emergency beacon, and announced:

“I knew beavers were suspicious! This is why I don’t swim. Water is plotting things.”

He then attempted to draw a “danger map” of Lake George using a paw dipped in tuna juice. It was… interpretive at best.

Balboa’s Response

Balboa froze mid‑snack, eyes wide, tail tucked, and whispered:

“Rabid… beavers? Deborah, I’m staying inside forever. I’ll just live in my box.”

He checked the WMEO garden cam three times to ensure no beavers were approaching the house.

WMEO Safety Bulletin

While the newsroom cats are spiraling, here’s the real takeaway:

  • Never approach wildlife, even if it looks calm or curious.
  • Leave swimming animals alone — especially if they’re behaving strangely.
  • Report unusual or aggressive behavior to local authorities.
  • Rabies is fatal if untreated, so post‑exposure shots are essential.
  • Any mammal can carry rabies, even species we don’t normally associate with it.

Nature is beautiful — but it’s also wild, and sometimes dangerous.

WMEO Closing Note

Banner has issued a formal statement demanding “protective floaties for all cats.” Balboa has requested “a beaver‑free perimeter around Turtle Island.” Both requests have been denied.

Stay safe out there, friends. Respect wildlife. And remember: if a beaver starts swimming toward you with purpose… exit the water immediately.

A beaver swimming in calm water with its wet head and upper body visible above the surface, surrounded by ripples and floating leaves.

End of bulletin. Please resume your regularly scheduled scrolling.

This has been a WMEO 9 New Update!

 

The Reality Behind the Shot- Wildlife Photography Tales

Posted on by | No Comments

A large brown bear moves through dense autumn foliage, its head visible among branches covered in bright orange leaves.

The Truth About Wildlife Photography (As Told by a T‑Shirt)

Red fox baby on MondayEvery once in a while, something comes along that perfectly sums up an entire hobby. For wildlife photography, it isn’t a dramatic eagle shot or a fox leaping through golden light — it’s a T‑shirt. A T‑shirt that insists photography is simply “being in the right place at the right time”… followed by a dozen more “right” things, from the lens to the batteries to the background to the angle. It’s funny because it’s true, and every wildlife photographer knows it.

Why This T‑Shirt Gets It Right

People love to say, “Wow, you must have been lucky to get that shot.” Luck plays a part, sure, but it’s the smallest slice of the pie. Wildlife photography is mostly patience, persistence, and a willingness to stand in uncomfortable places for long stretches of time while your subject does absolutely nothing. It’s waiting for the light to cooperate, adjusting settings on the fly, and hoping your batteries don’t die at the exact moment a squirrel finally decides to pose. (Click Here for my squirrel Story)

The wildlife itself adds a whole extra layer of unpredictability. Animals don’t care about your perfect composition or your carefully chosen lens. They wander off, turn around, hide behind rocks, or stare at you like you’re interrupting their day. Sometimes they give you the “I might charge you” look, and suddenly the shot doesn’t seem quite so important anymore.

And yet, we keep doing it. Because every once in a while, everything lines up — the light, the moment, the subject, the settings, the batteries, and your own stubborn determination. You get the shot that makes all the waiting, sweating, freezing, and gear‑lugging worth it. (Having the right gear is very helpful too)

That’s why this T‑shirt is so perfect. It doesn’t glamorize wildlife photography. It doesn’t pretend it’s easy. It simply tells the truth with a wink: it takes a whole lot more than being in the right place at the right time. It takes all the “right” things coming together at once — and a photographer who’s willing to chase them.

Disclosure:

Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you decide to buy something through them, I may receive a small commission — it helps support the site and my photography adventures, at no extra cost to you. Team Arounddustyroads thanks you

 

Lost in the Photo Mines: My Mid‑Summer Report from the Tagging Front

Posted on by | No Comments

A grid of small photo thumbnails from my digital photo library, showing a mix of desert landscapes with red rock formations, blue skies, and close‑up shots of colorful flowers and plants.

Checking In on My Mid‑Summer Projects

I’ve been plugging along, blogging my little heart out, sharing whatever thoughts drift through my head, and since we’re smack in the middle of summer, I figured it was a good time to stop and take stock. Have I made any progress on the projects I’ve been yammering about?

Six Months Deep Into the Great Photo Tagging Project

The biggest one, of course, is the Great Photo Tagging Project — and yes, I’m still at it. I may skip a day here and there, but I always come back like a determined little homing pigeon. I started this madness in March, which means I’ve been working on it for almost six months now. (Six months at the end of August, but who’s counting? Oh right… me.)

To keep myself from getting lost in the digital swamp, I’ve learned the magic trick: keep a log. My photos are organized by month and year, and each page holds 20 pictures. So if a month has 40 photos, that’s two pages to tag. Simple math, but it keeps me from wandering off into the weeds.

I started with the newest photos first, and any time I add a picture, I tag it right away. My once‑humble 10,000‑photo library has now ballooned to 11,700, and I’m currently working on April 2017 — a month in which I apparently lived with my camera glued to my face, because I added 149 photos.

The WordPress Tagging Surprise That Changed Everything

But then I discovered something the other day that made me want to flop onto the floor like a fainting Victorian heroine. I was searching for a photo I knew I had tagged… and it wasn’t coming up. After much stumbling, muttering, and clicking around like a confused raccoon, I finally found it.

That’s when I realized the problem: WordPress only searches the file name, not the tags I’ve been adding inside the media editor.

Which means — brace yourself — if I tagged a photo but didn’t also put that tag in the actual file name, WordPress won’t find it. The tag might as well be written on a sticky note taped to my monitor. Completely useless.

So here’s the rule I learned the hard way: I can add tags to the file name if I separate them with commas, and that’s the only way WordPress will recognize them in a search. All those beautiful, carefully chosen tags I added the “normal” way? WordPress politely ignores them like a cat ignoring a $40 toy in favor of the cardboard box.

Which means that once I finish tagging all 15 years, 180 months, and 11,700 photos… I’ll need to go back and refine the file names so the tags actually work. Because if the tag isn’t in the file name, WordPress pretends it doesn’t exist.

Now, WordPress updates constantly, so maybe someday they’ll give us a better filtering system. Or maybe I’ll get better at tagging. Either way, I’m not giving up. Even with my bungling, I can see a major improvement in my organization.

Tips for Anyone Tackling Their Own Photo Library Cleanup

So that’s my mid‑summer update. If I’ve inspired anyone else to tackle their photo library, I hope you’re having better luck than I am — or at least learning from my mistakes.

 

 

 

Here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way:

  1. Put commas between tags in your file name.
  2. Make sure your tags match your file names. Add a general tag and a specific one (example: waterfall, Niagara Falls or birds, gulls).
  3. Track your progress. It keeps the overwhelm monster at bay.
  4. Take breaks. It took years to create the mess; it’ll take time to fix it.

Share your progress — and any tips — in the comments. I’d love to know if I’m the only Dummkopf lost in a photo‑archaeology dig, or if there are other brave souls out there with dust-covered digital archives of their own.

Sea lion holding a fish in its mouth near the water’s edge.

 

Time to Celebrate Our Feline Companions with International Cat Day

Posted on by | No Comments

# 🐾 **WMEO BREAKING NEWS BULLETIN** We Meow. You Listen…

Two cats sit behind a newsroom-style anchor desk labeled “WMEO 9.” The orange cat and the black cat each have a sheet of paper in front of them, with a microphone centered between them. Behind the desk is a blurred cityscape and multiple monitors, creating the look of a professional news studio.
**Dateline: Taunton — August 8**
**Subject: International Cat Day Launches with Global #ThinkCAT Initiative**

This just in from the WMEO Newsroom:
Today is International Cat Day, and the world is celebrating with this year’s official theme — #ThinkCAT — a three‑part mission to help humans everywhere level up their feline care.

WMEO’s esteemed anchors, Banner and Balboa, have issued the following guidance from their respective command centers.

—

C — Cat Friendly

 

Banner, reporting from atop the newsroom printer (which he has declared a sovereign nation):
“Cat-friendly means predictable routines, quiet zones, and respect for our delicate emotional ecosystems. Also, stop moving chairs without notifying us.”

 

 

 

 

Balboa, speaking from inside his fortified cardboard bunker:
“Mobile vets count as cat-friendly. They come to *us*, which is correct. Please continue this policy.”

—

A — Annual Check-ups

WMEO Health Desk notes that cats are elite-level illness hiders.
Annual exams are essential — even if the exam requires… additional measures.

Balboa’s official statement:
“I must be medicated to survive my yearly physical. I do not apologize. I am simply built different.”

Banner adds:
“I personally enjoy performing my own check-ups by screaming at birds.”

—

T — Tips & Advice

Expert-backed guidance helps cats thrive from kittenhood to their senior years.
WMEO’s Science Desk encourages humans to stay informed, stay gentle, and stay stocked with treats.

Balboa’s tip

“Breakfast in bed. Every day. Forever.”

Balboa notes that this practice supports:

  • Reduced morning stress
  • Improved human compliance
  • Optimal biscuit‑making conditions
  • A smoother transition from Sleep Mode to Guardian Mode

He further clarifies that breakfast should be delivered directly to the box, bed, blanket fort, or designated soft zone, depending on the day’s emotional landscape.

Banner’s tip:
“If your cat stares at you from across the room, they are either admiring you or plotting. Both are valid.” Banner gooes on to respond to Balboa’s Breakfast tip: by demanding “second breakfast,” citing fairness.

 

—

How to Participate

WMEO encourages viewers to join the celebration:
– Highlight one Cat Friendly change you’ve made at home
– Remind friends to book their cats’ annual check-ups (mobile vets welcome and endorsed)
– Display the “Supporting International Cat Day 2026” badge proudly

—

WMEO Editorial Note:

Banner has proposed turning International Cat Day into a federally recognized holiday.
Balboa has proposed snacks.

End of bulletin. Please resume your regularly scheduled scrolling.

 

 

Beavers in the Sky (With Parachutes)

Posted on by | No Comments

A cartoon beaver wearing black sunglasses parachutes through a partly cloudy sky. The yellow parachute above it reads “Idaho or Bust” with a small blue silhouette of Idaho. A flat, golden-brown landscape stretches below, creating a humorous, adventurous scene.

The Beaver vs Human Conundrum

Growing up in New England, we had a beaver colony on our property that turned our backyard into a yearly battleground. The beavers kept damming a small brook and flooding the area, and my mother — armed with determination and whatever tools she could grab — kept tearing the dam down. The beavers rebuilt. She tore it down again. They rebuilt faster. This went on year after year, a stubborn standoff between one determined woman and a colony of equally determined engineers.

Eventually, the beavers disappeared. Maybe my mother finally won. Maybe Fish & Game quietly stepped in and relocated them. All I know is that today, the old homestead is beaver‑free.

But while our family’s beaver drama played out the usual way, Idaho took a very different approach. A much more dramatic approach. An approach involving… parachutes.

Beavers in the Sky: Idaho’s 1948 Airborne Solution

After World War II, Idaho faced its own beaver problem. Development was booming around Payette Lake and McCall, and beavers — being beavers — were busy damming streams, flooding yards, and chewing through anything that resembled a tree. Removing the dams didn’t work. Moving the beavers by truck wasn’t possible. The Chamberlain Basin, the perfect relocation site, had no roads leading into it.

So Idaho Fish & Game got creative.

🪂 The Parachute Plan 

With surplus WWII parachutes sitting in storage, a Fish & Game employee named Elmo Heter devised a plan that sounds like folklore but is absolutely true: parachute the beavers into the wilderness.

Heter designed special wooden boxes that would hold a beaver securely during the drop and pop open on impact. Then came the test subject — a beaver affectionately named Geronimo.

Geronimo was dropped again and again to perfect the technique. He survived every jump. He even seemed unfazed by the whole experience, which is impressive for an animal that normally prefers to stay on the ground building dams.

Once the system worked, Idaho loaded up the rest of the beavers — more than 70 of them — and parachuted them into the Chamberlain Basin.

🦫 Did It Work?

Amazingly… yes.

All but one beaver survived the drop. The relocated colonies thrived. And the Chamberlain Basin became a beaver paradise — full of streams, ponds, and wetlands shaped by their engineering.

In 2015, Idaho Fish & Game released archival footage showing the actual parachute drops — tiny wooden boxes drifting down like odd little airborne packages carrying very confused beavers.

🌲 A Conservation Story With Lift

The Beaver Drop wasn’t just a quirky stunt. It was early, innovative wildlife management — a humane solution to a growing conflict. Instead of killing the beavers, Idaho found a way to give them a new home, even if it meant dropping them from the sky.

And it worked.

Final Thoughts

From my mother’s annual dam‑tearing battles in New England to Idaho’s airborne beaver brigade, the Beaver vs Human Conundrum has always required creativity. Sometimes that creativity looks like persistence with a shovel. And sometimes it looks like parachutes drifting over the Chamberlain Basin.

Either way, it’s a reminder that wildlife management can be messy, surprising, and occasionally hilarious — but when done right, it gives animals a second chance and ecosystems room to thrive.