Hi, Bell Fen! - Luminous Hyaena

Agelaius phoeniceus, Red-winged blackbird

Painted Tree Rat Callistomys pictus

A rodent from the state of Bahia, Brazil. The painted tree-rat is found in the Atlantic forest. It also occurs in cocoa plantations where some native trees remain. As far as known, it is nocturnal.

Endangered

“The Land of Fire & Ice” by | Jan Waider

Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola). Family Charadriidae, order Charadriiformes.

Hirundapus caudacutus [ハリオアマツバメ,White-throated needletail]

Something very weird is happening to the starlings right now: they are getting spotted.

Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus musangus), juvenile, family Viverridae, Malaysia

TURACOS!!!

Red-crested Turaco (Tauraco erythrolophus), family Musophagidae, order Musophagiformes, endemic to western Angola

photograph by Lisa M

White-cheeked Turaco (Menelikornis leucotis), family Musophagidae, order Musophagiformes, found in Ethiopia and Eritrea

photograph by Charles Hu

White-crested Turaco (Tauraco leucolophus), family Musophagidae, found in central and Eastern Africa

photograph by frankie.low33 

Hartlaub’s Turaco (Tauraco hartlaubi), family Musphagidae, found in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya

photograph by @takanagaphotogallery

Purple-crested Turaco (Gallirex porphyreolophus), family Musophagidae, South Africa

Photograph by Richard Flack

Great Blue Turaco (Corythaeola cristata), family Musophagidae, Kakamega Forest, Kakamega and Nandi County, Kenya

Photograph by takanagaphotogallery

Ross’s Turaco (Tauraco rossae), family Musophagidae, Kilima Camp, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

photograph by takanagaphotogallery

Violet Turaco (Tauraco violaceus), family Musophagidae, order Musophagiformes, The Gambia

photograph by Hans Haek

Violet Turaco (Tauraco violaceus), family Musophagidae, order Musophagiformes, The Gambia

Dancing Trees of Sumba, Indonesia

“Ripples in the Sky”

I really love the sea.

I was born far away from it, surrounded by forests, fields, rivers and lakes. I didn’t see the sea for the first time until I was about seventeen, when I finally traveled to the Black Sea.

Before I got married, I traveled and spent my holidays by the sea whenever I could. I never needed a swimming pool. I could spend hours by the water, watching sunrises and sunsets. It never felt too hot or too cold. I simply loved being there.

After I met my husband, we started spending more time at lakes instead. I adapted to his interests because I wanted us to spend more time together.

And then the children came, and I brought the sea back into my life ,but in a very different way.

Anyone who has children will probably understand. Sand gets everywhere, the sea is salty, their eyes sting, the beach is too hot… and somehow the swimming pool always wins.So for almost ten years now, most of my holidays have been spent by the pool.But wherever we travel, I still try to find my way back to the sea. Even if it’s only for a short walk, just to look at it, or to sit quietly on the shore in the evening and watch the sun disappear.

This painting came from one of those evenings in 2021.

Some things in our lives change completely. But somehow, we keep finding little ways back to the things we love.

Chacoan Peccary Catagonus wagneri

Also called the taguá, it is found in Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina. It lives in the hot, dry Gran Chaco region, dominated by low-lying succulents and thorny bushes. It uses its tough snout to roll cacti on the ground, rubbing the spines off before eating. It may pull off the spines with its teeth and spit them out.