Category Archives: animals
Photo of the Week ~ 15
We did a little better in the Photo of the Week area. Seals off Plymouth just nosed out the Dandy Daffodil by 1 point!
The week 15 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is Seals Off Plymouth with a total of 26 points.
Votes calculated from activity at www.dustyroadsphotos.com.
To Order Prints click here: http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p161572686/h285f6d88#h285f6d88
First Annual Herring Run Festival
What was that I was saying about missing out on things because they were on the weekend and I worked? A perfect example was this past weekend.
I saw signs the day I drove over to the Grist Mill Pond; “Oliver Mill festival April 11-13”. I’d never heard of the Oliver Mill festival.
I like to take pictures at the Herring Run. There are bridges, stone ruins , a park with picnic tables and of course the fish ladder. There’s usually gulls and birds and often a Great Blue Heron for photo subjects.
Last year was a bit harder for photos than previous years because it was very crowded with people fishing and trying to kayak. All the human activity drove away some of the wildlife so I spent less time there and more time checking out alternate locations.
But back to the festival. Another photographer I know attended on Saturday.
http://photobee1.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-first-annual-middleborough.html?spref=fb
I was going to take a run down there in the morning Sunday only to find out it didn’t start until 11 am. I’d just have time to get there and have to turn around and come home to work. So I did the next best thing…I looked it up on the internet.
I found this little blip:
MIDDLEBOROUGH — This old town’s first big push to draw in tourists will be launched this weekend with a three-day party to celebrate a centuries-old annual phenomenon.
Organizers expect thousands to gather for the First Annual Herring Run Festival, based primarily at Oliver Mill Park on Route 44 but with other activities planned all over town.
Crowds of alewife and blueback herring, as they do every spring, are already making their way up the Nemasket River, adjacent to the park and considered the largest herring run in the state.
Last year, more than 850,000 herring made the trek to the 5,000 acres of spawning and nursery habitat in the river’s upper reaches where they lay eggs before returning to salt water.
That explains why I’d never heard of it before, this is the first year. Maybe next year I’ll be on that Mon- Fri schedule and able to attend for myself.
For really interesting comments and great photos check out : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Photo-Bee-1-Photographing-the-Natural-World-Around-Us/191608700932223
SUPERVOLCANO and The Mis-information Superhighway
You saw it on YouTube, then Turner Networks and even the local newspapers. Bison are fleeing Yellowstone National Park. Earthquakes are “unzipping” the super volcano caldera!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMSPrHXvyws
Is a mega disaster imminent?
Not likely says Park Spokesman Dan Hottle. The bison are actually running toward the interior of Yellowstone right toward the ancient 55 X 18 mile magma chamber, the location of the past super volcano explosions.
The Video originally posted on March 20 and sparked stories as far away as Australia. Mainstream news outlets picked up the story and the video went viral. By now more than 700,000 people (make that 700,001) have viewed the alleged bison exodus.
When news of Sunday’s 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit the airwaves, Turner Radio Network broadcast ” It appears the super volcano is unzipping !” The earthquake, which was the largest in 34 years, was actually centered north of the caldera boundary. It was generated by a system of fault lines, not magma.
Yellowstone has thousands of tremors every year. How could it not with geysers exploding and mud flats bubbling. There have been more than 250 tremors in just the past month. It is business as usual for the geothermal area.
But just in case the bison are trying to commit a mass suicide Spokesperson Hottle says he’s ready. “I’ve got my tent packed and a couple of bags of microwave popcorn. I’ll be ready!”
Just goes to show you can’t believe everything you see on the internet.
Oh one last comment for our Russian friends…Old Faithful will not burn down. 🙂
( Last year there was a 2 tree fire 8 miles south of Old Faithful. A Russian television station called asking if Old Faithful was going to burn down. )
All is Not Calm
Ahhh Springtime at the Pond. Not so peaceful really. The mating rituals seem to lead to a lot of grumpy behavior or maybe it’s the cold, rainy spring after the long winter.
Bring on the grumpiness!
The Canada Geese are especially temperamental.
They always seem to be rather grumpy anyway but this time of year the grumpiness goes up dramatically.
They don’t seem to get along whether on land or water.
