Son of Sasquatch in the Suburbs

For a couple of years I’ve been walking my dog through a path in the woods. There’s a creek in there too, and where the path wends through it’s flat, so the creek flattens out. It’s more like a wetland, really, and it’s popular with ducks. There’s also a blue heron that comes by, when things are quiet.

I’ve been trying to get a photo of that heron for almost a year. Last May, I managed a grainy shot of the heron that’s only visible with either 1) a magnifying glass, or 2) a hearty imagination. (See “Sasquatch in the Suburbs” for previous middling photographic attempts.)

But last week on a quiet weekday morning, there he was again! But my standard-issue dog-walking equipment includes my cheap old cell phone,  not a camera with a zoom lens. So, I snapped a photo:

To assist with definitive identification, I even circled the blob heron this time. Can’t you see he’s facing to the right? Can’t you admire his noble profile? Can’t you tell I need to start bringing a better camera?

To answer your question: No, National Geographic has not called about the photo rights. But I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

Shooting the Stranded Balloon Rodents

The other day I blogged about the difficulties of capturing a certain blue heron, because on the days I see him, I have only a crap cell phone camera with me — and when I bring a better camera, he’s not there.

So it seems only fitting to describe the opposite situation, when the only reason I got an interesting photo was because I happened to have a camera handy. In this instance I was flying home from Paris, and  I wanted a camera in my carry-on bag so I could take pictures of airplane snack foods — which makes more sense if you read the blog post.

(I certainly didn’t intend to shoot photos of the airport. The terminal at Roissy/Charles de Gaulle was nice as far as terminals go, but I have to agree with Douglas Adams, the author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, who said, “It is no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase ‘As pretty as an Airport’ appear.”

But before I got on the plane I was in the airport terminal at Roissy/Charles de Gaulle, waiting to check my baggage, when I happened to look up.

Balloon refugees on the airport ceiling at Roissy/Charles de Gaulle

I have no idea how Mickey and Minnie got stranded up there, or why there’s a whole flock of them. Maybe the Balloon Rodent Liberation Front managed to free them of some child’s clutches, only to have them snag on the ceiling. Mabye it’s an obscure EuroDisney promo.

As the French say, on ne sait jamais.

Possibly the Worst-Ever Corporate Communications Photo

Ragan.com claims this photo is straight from a corporate publication:

Ragan’s even running a caption contest (which seems like overkill, IMHO). Whatever. Enjoy it while it’s hot and fresh and ridiculous.