Nikki's Photography

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A Photo Smoothie

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This is the second time around for doves nesting in the wreath by our back door. I’m sure it’s the same pair who devotedly cared for two eggs, taking turns in shifts as they are now. The first brood hatched in May, but only one egg, which mysteriously disappeared after two days, and the other egg didn’t hatch. There was no trace of that chick anywhere…no body, bones, feathers…nothing, and it was not old enough to fend for itself. Did other birds carry them away to eat I wonder? or ate them on the spot? or could the parents have eaten them? We do have Anoles, but I would expect that they would be too small to manage a comparatively large egg. A complete mystery.

Maybe there was something wrong with it, or the parents were first-timers. The lizards and salamanders around here are too small to eat a meal that size, and other birds would not have been brave enough to come so near to the door I don’t think.  Nature takes care of itself though, so no tears! Hopefully these ones will survive and we can watch them mature.

Sept. 3rd:One of the chicks hatched! Sept. 4th update: The chick appears to be so much larger today, and it’s the first time I’ve seen it so exposed. It seems so vulnerable on that small flimsy nest.  Sept. 5th: The chick has been left on its own a lot in the past 24 hours, also becoming quite vocal.  The other egg is unlikely to hatch. Sept.9th: The nest is overcrowded. When the parent sitting on the chick is up in the air above the nest, it’s time for little chicky to leave!

It’s so funny when the parent sits on top of the chick trying to hide it – there is hardly enough room for two in the nest, and she/he is not fooling anybody! The chick ruffled its feathers and snapped its tiny beak at me when I took these photos – how sweet is that?! – the survival instincts are strong. Sept. 12th: Fortunately I walked out just in time to see the chick fly from the ground to the fence nearby. There it remained for about 90 minutes then it was gone. I wondered where it would be sleeping that night, and if it was truly on its’ own now without parents, and how it would survive. Less than a month before it was not even in the form of an egg!! Sept 13th: ..didn’t expect to see it again, but while sitting outside at dusk, there they were, the mom (or dad) and chick. It was so pleasing to see them sitting on the fence together. Sept16th: I still see the little one come into the yard, much bigger now. It is smaller than an adult, and I’m sure that must be the same chick.

Parts of the I30 and I35 highways (Texas) were closed as a series of explosions at Southwest Industrial Gases Inc., located next to downtown Dallas, sent flaming debris into the air for more than half an hour, July 25th.

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Raccoon family and below, Canada Goose gosling, Ottawa, ON

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Howler Youth, Dallas World Aquarium, Dallas, Texas. The Howlers are m favorite subject at the DWA, which is really so much more than an aquarium. They are very difficult to photograph though, because they curl up together just beyond the branches.

Cottontop Tamarin, DW Aquarium, Dallas, TX

Freshly painted red benches along Lake Chapala, improvements for tourism in San Crystobal de las Casas, Mexico

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A little boy sits on the doorstep, putting on his shoe.

Signature piece for the Heart shapes in Nature series