I am excited to announce that today marks the official 5th week out from surgery! Let me get my calculator out..tap, tap, tap, tap 6, tap tap tap, minus, tap, tap, 5, tap, tap, carry the one, tap, tap, divide by PI, tap tap invert, tap log, tap, tap….tap tap tap equals…YES the answer is 1. That’s right, only one more week left in this 6 weeks of no weight hell. I now have firsthand experience how people can go batshit crazy. That will just get me to the boot, but PT will start that day and physical pain means strength and strength is the road back to the trail! To my credit, I have been keeping busy since getting the stitches out. Maybe a bit too close to former “work”, I’ve been in front of the computer for hours on end each day getting caught up on the photo queue (almost done with Texas March 2024), tackling the heavy lifting posts (2024 Haunted Trail recap), producing the Intrigued Haunt YouTube tutorials (Haunted Tree) and doing my very best to get caught up on all my post reading – whew!
In case you are interested, here are the links to the 2024 Haunted Trail recaps:
Trail of Fears 2024 – The Clearing, the Build and then the Panic – link here Haunted Trail 2024 – The Dark Woods – link here
I’ll put the latest tutorial video at the end of this post for those that want a behind the scenes look at how we created our 9′ by 10+’ haunted tree in tribute to the previous broken elbow “incident” – yes, the Root of all Evil!
Of course, we know the main reason you are here and that’s feather watching – we have something for that as well.
Today’s featured feathered friend is a fitting selection for the “hard work” theme. Hit the jump to learn a bit more about this diminutive bird.
Halfway through the daunting task of getting through the Haunted Trail of Fears recap for 2024. Admittedly, a bit late in the year getting to this as the next one is only 2 months away. All good things take time I guess – or more accurately push the tedious stuff of as much as possible ha. My fingers are finally recovered from part one of this series. If you want to check out the behind the scenes build process and see some of the trail in daylight, pop back to the previous post (link here). Need to mention that we were light on our picture taking after the sun went down for the 2024 event. I think part of the problem was absolute exhaustion from the late hour issues that were covered in part one. We did get some and I’ll share those now.
Here’s my partner in haunt Paul posing at the start of the trail. The 12′ Inferno Skelly was added the previous year, but we did pick up a few of his minions to assist in its quest to terrify our guests – I am sure the fact that Paul is smiling is not helping his cause ha.
Hit the jump to see more of the after dark sights on the 2024 Haunted Trail of Fears.
Ever have those things just hanging over your head that you just never seen to get time to address? Some of those are due to not wanting to deal with a painful grind to get it taken care, some you just know are going to be a rabbit hole of issues once you pop the top and then there are those things that just take time that isn’t there. That is the case with this series of posts. I am once again delinquent on the recap of our annual haunted Halloween trail. The 2024 Trail of Fears was held the last weekend of September – we are nearing almost a solid year behind and now this year’s scarefest is just around the corner. I don’t mind getting behind on my photo queue, but don’t want that to happen on the haunt front as we use these as references for the next year (what went right, what went wrong, how we go bigger – normal postmortem activities). If there is one advantage to being laid up, it’s being able to address the busy work. Brace yourselves, we are going to burn through your browser cache in these posts!
Hit the jump for a behind the scenes look at how this event all comes together. They say it isn’t work if you enjoy what you are doing and without question we live for all things orange and black!
We are officially at the 4 week mark since the ankle surgery. That means it is has been 4 weeks since I have put any weight on it. I have noted that is quite an accomplishment for me. Unfortunately, I have ANOTHER two weeks of this insanity before I can start the physical therapy phase and finally get start introducing weight bearing (in between the screams from the PT). I have been doing my best to keep myself busy. A huge chunk of time has been devoted to working on my backlog (did I just hear cheers, someone definitely cheered), trying my best to catch up on my post reading and all the work in the haunt lab – I’ve linked the latest short video at the end if you are interested). YouTube is now my friend – there isn’t stupid Cat video I haven’t watched! In all this, there are always posts I can work on, so let’s get to it!
Battling my inner Venom:
“Do it!” “But I don’t want to do it” “Yes you do, do it now” “Umm, really don’t wanna” “You shall do it and like it” “But it pains me” “You are already in pain, what’s the difference!?!” “Hmm, that is a valid point, but I’d rather do something else…anything else” “Do you really want to stare at that series in the queue anymore?” “Sigh, but I’ll say you twisted my ankle”
Here you go, today’s featured ugh, feathered ugh, friend double ugh Finch – make it stop.
As a general rule, I take at least one picture of every bird I see when out in the field. The amount of additional shots I take of a specimen is based on a complex internal mental algorithm which would probably rival any current AI engine. Is the lighting halfway reasonable, did I get a good enough shot to officially claim the check, is there a good story to share on the blog, what is likelihood of seeing it again, are there new behaviors to document, where does it rank on my “cool birds” list, is it on my “crap bird” list (I’m talking about you Asshats link here) and is it out of region all come into play. The logic engine turns, the lights dim and depending on the results zero or more pulses will be triggered to the shutter finger. This processing is repeated, of course, on subsequent shots.
Every once in a while I surprise myself in the digital darkroom and ask myself – “what the hell Bri, did the algorithm glitch?” Hit the jump if you want to see more of apparently one of those surprise results from the field.
It is ironic that most of the time here I am complaining about how fast the year is progressing, but now that I wouldn’t mind the minutes rolling by more rapidly…it seems like everything has slowed to a crawl. Such is fate I guess. Actually this is a good week at Intrigued. Brad and Jan have wrapped up everything related to the annual St. Jude charity run and on their recovery phase, Home Depot FINALLY released this year’s Halloween offerings yesterday (at 5am) and tomorrow my stitches come out. Fingers crossed that leads to better night’s sleep! It also officially marks the halfway point for the 6 week no-weight segment. Looking back I have to applaud myself for being the “good” patient (got a lot of people ready to drop the hammer on me if I don’t) and looking forward, well, “holy hell, get me out of here”. Thankfully there are plenty of pictures to process, Halloween props to wire, haunt tutorials to make and posts to keep my eyes off the clock. Speaking of all things haunt, a curious reader brought to our attention that we missed the post quota last month (we have some demanding readers ha) – turns out they missed my 2024 tombstone review on the Mothership (Boy’s Got Some Stones link here). Feel free to take a look if you are curious how those turned out. While I mentally prepare for thread being pulled out of my ankle, please enjoy another adventure from Brad and Jan.
Take it away Brad…
Jan and I first saw this bird at the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Preserve (RFNWP) a couple of years ago. However, one of my rules for publishing photos is that the image must be usable if I have to resort to severe cropping. I am always saying, “I don’t want a 6-pixel image of a backlit dark object.” Well, with our new cameras, that may have increased to a minimum 60-pixel image. But still, who wants to look at dark fuzzy thing on the screen and try to guess what it is. With my years of experience photographing wildlife (all couple of years of it), I don’t even try for those photos any longer. Not taking them saves time sorting and editing later as well as saving clicks on my camera shutters. That 250k mark on the shutter assembly rolls around quickly enough as is.
On our semi-annual Wildlife Intrigued Rocky Mountain editorial staff visit with our daughter Allyson, Jan and I went to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (RMANWP). One of the perks of visiting is that we get to use her Honda CR-V to drive all over the place while she is working her primary job. RMANWP is a very large park at nearly 16,000 acres. The park is large enough to have an 11-mile, mainly square-shaped, Wildlife Drive embedded within it, plus a couple of miles of road on either end. Visitors enter the one-way Drive by crossing a set of bison guards embedded in the road and then driving anti-clockwise around the Drive. For those not familiar with a bison guard, or cattle guard, it is a series of horizontally mounted rails or pipes embedded over an empty space in the roads. The theory, and reality, being that hooved animals will not want to cross the guard; therefore, no actual gates are needed over the roadway. This means easy access for vehicles while keeping livestock inside, or outside depending on which way you are travelling. Fencing is obviously required up to the edge of the gates in the roads and beyond.
At the end of the 11-mile wildlife drive, just before the final set of bison guards in the road, a dark object flew through the sky and landed in a tree less than 50 feet from us. Since it was far larger than 60 pixels, Jan and I wanted to begin taking photos.
Now what do we have here, hit the jump to learn more about this spiffy looking Hawk.
First off, I would like to congratulate Brad and Jan on their soon to be completed (later today) St. Jude charity run from Memphis, TN to Peoria, IL. Jan running legs over the multi-day event and Brad in support. Such a good cause for the children (and their parents) going through a really tough time. Makes all of our bumps, bruises and recovery trivial in comparison.
I have been processing pictures as of late and came across a more whimsical series I thought I would share as the first post in August (how can we be in August already ugh).
Hit the jump to view more of our featured feathered…actually make that flowered friends we saw on our April trip to Vegas.
Howdy everybody. This year’s haunt projects are starting to heat up in preparation for the annual Haunted Trail event. Due to my current medical condition, the event has been pushed back into October to give me time to at least get out of the boot phase of the ankle recovery. Even with the extra month, still going to be a push to get everything done in time..as they say…”the usual” ha. While tossing ideas around about this year’s batch of new tombstones, it occurred to me that I had not featured last year’s set. So, without further delay, here were the 2024 Haunted Trail tombstones courtesy of the Intrigued Haunt Department (link here).
Hit the jump to get a behind the scenes look on how we created these new Trail of Fears Cemetery additions.
Hello everyone! Going to let Brad have a small break from covering for me while I’m on the mend. Difficult enough bringing you the recent rapid fire posts, but having to deal with all the standard stuff around the headquarters is a daunting task without the added burden of keeping our unruly legal department under control – may have to up his bonus this year, but don’t tell him that. As far as an update on the surgery front, there has been a small hiccup with the transition from the surgical dressing to the surgical boot that has brought some unexpected discomfort (oddly more painful than the surgery itself). Other than that, surgeon says everything looks good. He also reiterated the “no weight for 5 more weeks” edict within earshot of Linda which threw a giant wrench in my well contrived plans – back to the drawing board. Seems like everything I want/need now is just out of reach from my crutches and scooter which is starting to annoy me – oh, except for my running shoes that are beyond just “out of reach” to the point I have no idea where the hell they are now. Linda’s devious I tell you, devious. Let’s see, pull up browser, type in H-O-K-A.com and get me some new sho…oh crap, here she comes…backspace, backspace, backspace, H-A-U-N-T.com, “Who, what, me!?! No, no, I’m, just looking for new haunted trail props” – this is going to be a long 5 weeks. Note, I did make a new haunt-to video which I’ll mention at the end in case you are interested.
While searching through the photo queue, I noticed something in one of the image sets that made me laugh in reference to my current situation. Perfect, welcome to tonight’s featured feathered friend.
Hit the jump to see a Northern Flicker characteristic I have never seen before!
Down three posts and coming to the end of July. You are likely going to get some rapid fire posts in large part thanks to Brad, as I am still working through the first phase of the ankle surgery recovery – I thought I would be keyboard warrioring it over the entire 5 week no-weight period, but so far, still getting adjusted to this boat anchor. Once simple tasks are turning out to be a test of my strength and/or will. I did absolutely laugh out loud the other day (something I needed). Last year I ran my last Bix7 road race putting a cap on 20 straight years of toeing that line (link here). Linda relayed a funny scene she witnessed when had made it to the top of the Brady Street hill (she opts for the walker option). A lady and her ~7yr old kid had just made it to the top near her when she noticed the kid was basically balling. The mother notices and responds “I am sorry, I didn’t prepare you mentally, physically or spiritually to make it up that hill”. I’ve been meaning to write a story on the mothership about this scene as it is shockingly antithetical to the manner in which Linda, my brothers and I were raised. That quote has been attached to my monitor ever since then. And there I was, leaning on my crutches looking down at the 6 inch ledge to our shower. That quote had a completely new and profound meaning hehehehe! Tasks are getting easier each day – dealing with this mentally for another 5 weeks is going to be tough. While I push through, Brad is going to “Let the Dogs Out (who?, who?, who?)”.
Take it away Brad…
For regular readers of Wildlife Intrigued, at first this story will seem like a departure from the norm, meaning no feathers. When you see what I have in store for you, forgiveness may be in order. Wildlife Intrigued does include all types of wildlife, feathers or not.
Jan and I were visiting the Wildlife Intrigued Rocky Mountain editorial staff (our daughter Allyson) when we found ourselves with a half day to spare. Shhh, don’t tell the bosses. A quick review of available birding locations revealed an obvious choice not very far from the hotel where we were staying. Nice save going birding in our free time, don’t you think? The other advantage of having a half-day free is that we could use our daughter Allyson’s Honda CR-V while she was working. It sure is nice to have the younger generation working to help support the older, newly retired, generation. Truthfully, other than camping or ski trips on weekends, her car does not get used very often and it seemed to enjoy being out on the road.
For those that aren’t familiar with the 2004-2006 model year Honda CR-Vs, they have built-in picnic tables as the floor of the cargo area. This is one of the best features EVER offered in a car for active people. Once you are at a camp site, picnic site, or ski mountain base parking lot, and have most of the cargo area unloaded, simply remove the cargo floor, extend the legs, and Voila! Instant picnic table. There is also a hole in the middle of the table if you have an umbrella (sold separately) for sunny locations. I’ve told the Honda people they are losing sales to younger buyers because they took this feature out in 2007. Honda, if you are reading this, put the picnic table back in the CR-V.
OK, back to the regularly scheduled story. After driving for about a dozen miles and only getting lost once or twice (not quite sure about map apps sometimes) we found our destination: Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Preserve (RMANWP). Yes, even the acronym is a mouthful. I know, the “arsenal” doesn’t conjure up images of cute furry or feathered things. However, that’s exactly what Jan and I found, at least the small furry kind. I’ll try not to overload our dear readers with cuteness. Fair warning: If you are susceptible to cute-furry overload, please only read between the photos.
We are serious, if you are overly sensitive to cuddly wildlife images…do NOT hit the jump … something tells me you are going to do it anyway ha!
As you can ascertain from this post, I survived the ankle surgery! Quite the ordeal, but Brad and I have two friends going through heart valve replacements up at Mayo right now, so comparatively minor in context. Just wanted to give a quick update as some of you had reached out. Unfortunately, once they got everything opened up, the doctor discovered the injury was worse than expected – not what you want to hear as you are clearing the fog of anesthesia. I’ll get more details during the followup. From Linda’s understanding, in addition to the multitude of expected repairs, the tendon was torn severely beyond initial assessment and strongly suggested those extra 48 miles in the race …..were not helpful (I’ll spare you Linda’s commentary, there might be delicate ears looking over your shoulder). Been some rough nights so far, but Linda is taking great care of me and Brad and Jan are keeping good tabs on me. Won’t keep you any longer as I know you would rather get to another adventure from Brad. Oh, apparently there were some comedians in the operating room as Linda found this when we got home…admittedly, I do laugh out loud every time I see it!!
Take it away Brad…
It’s not very often that Wildlife Intrigued photographers are at risk from their subject matter. Not often, but it does happen. Upon reflection, it does seem to be that Jan is the one that most often steps into harm’s way for these stories.
It was a lovely February day on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. By lovely, I mean clear skies and no rain. The temps, however, were hovering just above the freezing mark. Sea spray overnight had frozen on the fences and seagrass near our hotel on the ocean. Jan and I decided to wait until the temperatures were at least in the 40’s before venturing outside. Cold fingers and cold camera batteries do not make good photos.
After lunch at one of the cool breakfast/lunch restaurants on the island, we chose to drive to Jarvis Creek Park. You may remember Jarvis Creek Park from last year’s visit. The park includes a nice pond/lake (depending on your definition), nearly one mile of paved walking and fitness trails, clean restrooms, picnic areas, a fishing pier, and even a bike repair station. On the other hand, before you let the children run amok in nature, it also has alligators. We’ve only ever seen the gators close to the water in the lake, but nothing stops them from crawling up the bank to the walking path, except maybe the effort to get uphill. (see here for gators from Jarvis Creek Park)
But that’s not what this story is about. This is a story about a threat not from the water, but from the sky. Well, almost a threat in retrospect.
Jan and I had been wandering around the lake trying to photograph some spastic flying blue streaks (tree swallows) when we paused under the pine trees near the water. Jan was a bit further along, still trying to catch the tree swallows (future story) and I was watching a gator try to get down it’s first meal of the season. It was rather gruesome, so no photos here. We both paused for a second to give our memory cards a chance to catch up, when there was a minor kerfuffle from a tree near the water.
Life Intrigued 