A squirrel learns about failure

The squirrels have been very active as they prepare for winter. While we were hiking last week, I saw one fall out of a tree. I think he fell at least 30 feet. He didn’t just lay there! Next think I saw was him climbing up another tree. Clearly, this beautiful animal has learned from failure. The lesson: when you fail, get up, dust yourself off, and move forward. Failure is a wonderful teacher, and required for success.

~ Rick

---

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.

©2018 Rick Cartwright

Turkey for dinner?

I have been waiting to share this photo for a few days now. This is a wild turkey and it comes with a great story.

We had gone out for a drive, and were headed back to the lodge. I really can’t describe the road .. remember, we were in the mountains of Yosemite, and the roads wind through the mountain like a noodle in a pile of spaghetti. Winding roads for miles, trees, and not much margin for error. There are spots where the edge of the road end, and then there is just a clift .. a large drop off. I was just focused on my lane so as not to hit an oncoming car, or drop over the edge. My fear of heights didn’t work with me.  

As we come around a curve in the road, I see this very large bird in the road. Right in the middle of the road. My 1st reaction was, “Pheasant”. I really knew better .. it didn’t look like a pheasant. It turned toward us and started this turkey trot, trying to get out of the way. I stopped in the middle of the road as we both scrambled to get a camera. The funny thing is, I was holding my iPhone. But there we were were, two phones and still looking for a camera. Teresa snapped a couple of photos. This was the best one. 

The Turkey was so surprised: We were so surprised. I guess it was almost turkey for dinner.  

~ Rick

---

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.

©2018 Rick Cartwright

Hey nuthatch!

Every now and then, I have one of those special days when I see a bird or some other wildlife that I have not previously photographed. Every time this happens, I get super excited. That happened this past week. This is a white-breasted nuthatch. I could be wrong, so let me know if you know better. 

I really enjoyed watching her go up and down the tree limbs, searching for insects. She was so intentional about her search. She finally stopped long enough for me to capture this photo. Beautiful!  

~ Rick

---

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.

©2018 Rick Cartwright

There goes Peter Cottontail

I guess I surprised Peter. He wasted no time getting away. I guess it’s that time of year 😱.  

Many years ago, I raised rabbits. They are an interesting and cute creature. It’s not uncommon for us to find a nest of them near our home in the spring / early summer. So, how did the rabbit become part of the Easter tradition? From Wikipedia: 

“Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behavior at the start of the season of Eastertide.” (wikipedia) 

The folklore and symbols ... Christmas? Interesting.  

~ Rick

---

 Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.

©2018 Rick Cartwright

“Duck love is recognizable in any language.”

The quote is from the book, “King Perry”, by Edmond Manning. I am not absolutely certain, but I believe this is a duck couple. They couple appear to have just had a spat. Cute, but why swim upstream? 

This second photo is from Las Vegas. I was having a late lunch and this duck swims up beside me. There was two of them, but this is the better photo. They were not interested in swimming .. it was all about my food:).   

 ~ Rick

---

 Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.

©2018 Rick Cartwright