Monday in Nature Weekly Photo April 21, 2014

[bing_huey1]

<p>Nice thoughts, Laura. I've found that, of all the periodic observances we have during the year, Earth Day does feel the most inclusive, as it should.<br>

All beautiful images as usual. Roberta, your dragonfly is breathtaking.<br>

Last weekend I visited an area of Mt. Diablo that was part of a much wider swath burned last September. This shot shows the new growth at the bases of the chaparral shrubs (mostly chamise, Adenostoma fasciculatum) which are both fire-resistant and fire-dependant. While the process observed here is natural, it must be disclosed that the fire was determined to be of human origin.</p><div></div>

[rarmstrong]

<p>The ice is finally leaving from Lake Superior...</p><div></div>

[jpalmer57]

<p>Paul, very nice shot of the lizard. Being a geologist I really like the idea of a lizard named for a rock!<br>

Among the things I look for each spring is the appearance of the ferns starting with their 'fiddle heads'. </p><div></div>

[Edwin Barkdoll]

<p>One who did not not make it to Spring but appeared as the snow finally retreated. Death, birth...</p><div></div>

[SteveH]

<p>Made a new friend at the Sullys Hill National Game Preserve in North Dakota last weekend.</p><div></div>

[Laura Weishaupt]

<p>It's hard to image any celebration of the planet without the Sun and Moon. Beautiful images, as always.</p>

[Gup]

<p>Today started a bit miserably for me. Finally some warm weather has dispatched our snow so we quickly grabbed the opportunity to rake up the fallen sticks and leaves while we had the chance only to discover a dead deer under our main deck. In 23 years here this has never happened (the deck is only 7 winters old, but I've never found a dead deer so close to the house). It was 'one of the twins', a young buck I've watched for three years. Quite sad. <br>

This winter we have experienced record snow falls, that's since the beginning of modern record keeping, and many deer have succumbed to starvation. It's been generally accepted that the deer population here has exploded in recent years, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone living here that nature is taking some of them back.<br>

After taking care of the problem I took my dog for a long hike and shot a few pictures with my Blackberry. It was pouring with rain the entire time we were out so I left the Nikon in my car. This is a shot of my part of Georgian Bay enshrouded in fog created by 14C temperatures and rain falling on ice.<br>

Have a good week everyone.</p>

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[User_6502147]

<p>I had a chance to experience the first Earth Day and hope to see many more. Speaking of downstream, Laura, many years ago (and Gup may know something about this) the remnant pieces of Polaroid film ended up inside a substantial number of dead moose. Yes, this took place near the lakes in Canada....and it shows how careless photographers (if they can call themselves that) can be. I can't point a finger at the offending country, but if people don't care or lack the education about environment (here or there)....they may re-offend. Since the internet offers lots of info (not all accurate), I'm optimistic that newly acquired knowledge + action will change things for the better. OK, call me naive.</p>

<p>Partial view of Sunshine Coast (BC) and somewhere in the background are the Olympics in Wash.</p>

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[Gup]

<p>Hi Leszek, yes the residual garbage from the Polaroid craze was substantial sometimes and toxic. I flirted with a couple of instant cameras in the 70's but soon got over it. The beginning of our lust for instant gratification? I got tired of having to pack out all the garbage for substandard results. I actually wore a bag on my belt during that phase to collect the paper and chemical emulsions left behind by others. <br>

There is no accounting sometimes for human indifference to the environment. I once drove 14 hours north from my home here to Hurst, Ontario, just about as far north as one can drive. From there I boarded a bush plane, my canoe lashed to a pontoon and flew another hour north. The vista was breathtaking of thousands of lakes separated only by narrow bands of black spruce as far as one could see. Moose could be seen clearly everywhere. I picked a lake to camp on for a couple of weeks, we landed and taxied to shore. Within ten feet of where the plane's pontoon bumped the shore was a submerged 12 volt car battery, callously discarded to leak its toxicity into the water. I was stunned then and still can't shake the memory. In all that pristine wilderness the last thing I expected to see were footprints of man. I'm still saddened by it. <br>

I practice zero impact camping, leaving only footprints. All we can do is lead by example and hope others learn from us.</p>

[didereaux]

<p>Spring is almost past its peak down here. Birds and critters everywhere and all hungry...and 'spring-timey'.<br>

<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8OIb0rHVtjI/U1grO0SS1cI/AAAAAAAACYg/n5z6Jb91gEc/s800/IMG_4834.JPG" alt="" /></p>

[scarlet_brown]

<p>How about this spider.<br>

<img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4110/4989202586_6fbd4e3a80_o.jpg" alt="" /></p>

 

[Laura Weishaupt]

<p>Scarlet, it's a lovely shot. Welcome to MiN.</p>