Just got back from a dog walk. We decided to go for a moonlight stroll (or should I say crescent moonlight? not much light!) to the bluff over-looking the sea (the place I took all those wild flower pictures at the beginning of the month). It's a great place to tire the dog out a bit 'cause even if it's too dark to go walking around much, there is a nice steep slope to throw rocks down and make a four-legged-furry-critter overjoyed to chase.
It's the first time I've been around there in the dark... and I'll have to try it again sometime with my camera just in case we come across more encounters such as this one:
Sorry for the not great quality, but it was taken with my cellphone and lit with a small flashlight I have hooked on my key-chain. :p
A bit closer up at mister Hedgehog:
We came up on him in the middle of a path, but Luna chased him into the shrub before I could get my cellphone into camera mode. But now I'm on alert and we'll get him next time! ;o)
It's amazing to still find wild critters like this within the city limits! And ok, this is a "protected" park over-looking the sea... but a couple of months ago we came across another one in a dirt lot between two apartment complexes near my parents' place. Remnants from when this entire area used to be rural. Hard to believe that was barely over a decade ago! Damn 90s construction boom... :s
It's the first time I've been around there in the dark... and I'll have to try it again sometime with my camera just in case we come across more encounters such as this one:
Sorry for the not great quality, but it was taken with my cellphone and lit with a small flashlight I have hooked on my key-chain. :p
A bit closer up at mister Hedgehog:
We came up on him in the middle of a path, but Luna chased him into the shrub before I could get my cellphone into camera mode. But now I'm on alert and we'll get him next time! ;o)
It's amazing to still find wild critters like this within the city limits! And ok, this is a "protected" park over-looking the sea... but a couple of months ago we came across another one in a dirt lot between two apartment complexes near my parents' place. Remnants from when this entire area used to be rural. Hard to believe that was barely over a decade ago! Damn 90s construction boom... :s
They're cute huh!! Surprised Luna didn't get spines in her nose!
ReplyDeletehehehe...how cute :)
ReplyDeleteHe's really cute! Thanks for trying to catch him on film!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I think I'll do a blog about salt - but kosher salt doesn't have additives and tastes a little "sweet" - I use the coarse stuff on fresh veggies and fish, and sea salt for most everything else.
I don't think Luna knew what to do with him!
ReplyDeleteJust smelled him and nudged him a bit and before she knew what he had scurried off! :p (unlike Whiskey, a friend's dog, who has been known for a more direct approach with these critters, frequently resulting in a noseful of needles!)
LOL, I keep forgetting there are many different kinds of salt... for me salt has always just been salt! :p
Hi Cris! They are hard to photograph, especially with a curious dog around! I love night shots, I tried to get a few last night but my camera is no good for that, a new one is on my list for sure.
ReplyDeleteWell I'll definitely keep my camera handy for next time (when I probably won't see anything). But even though it's an excellent DSLR it has trouble focusing and shooting when there's not enough light for it to focus! :p
ReplyDeleteCris, I have a funny surprise for you on my blog today! Hee hee!
ReplyDeletefun indeed! I haven't seen it in ages... should probably rent it sometime! :p
ReplyDeleteHedgehogs are dying out over here too, tho they are not just a country mammal here, they are a part of city life as well. They are great climbers and travel great distances each night. Each morning I see their calling card in my garden!The babies are esp. cute.
ReplyDeleteinteresting info, I didn't know all that, I thought they were definitely country-based...
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job for working with a camera phone. Night pictures are especially hard. My boyfriend does photography as a hobby and got me an equally nifty digital camera to use. The only thing is that I got the perfect adjustment for night shots and if I use that mode during the daytime I get a completely washed out shot! (Might try it next time I go to an aquarium, though...there's one downtown that has manatees.)
ReplyDeleteI hope you find the hedgehog again for another picture! It's great that you get to see more of the wildlife even with "civilization" creeping in.
I'm not sure your nightime adjustments will work for aquaria... they do have a bit more light, but the main problem is those damn fish will never stop swimming long enough for a decent shot! :p (although now that I think about it, manatees don't really move all that much! lol!)
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity what settings do you use for the nighttime shots? I'm definitely heading out again one night this weekend while I still have the dog... make it an "official" excuse to wander around there in the dead of night!
no one's seen the construction boom like alicante... you still collect Britons by the 100s though - must remind them of home or something!
ReplyDeleteThe housing "boom" in Alicante (city, and the province in general) has been kind of scary. Add to that all the new golf courses etc... and I wonder were they're getting all the necessary water in our arid region?!
ReplyDeleteyeah... 100s of Brits would be an euphemism! :p
Unfortunately I do worry about the "quality" of Britons we get...
If we were to take the sampling we get of Brits here in the province as a model for a stereotype, then we'd come up with "brits are loud-mouthed, beer-guzzling football fanatics who need to get drunk as quickly as possible and think they're above certain laws (like immigration rules) just because they're British". That or the retired people who like to pretend they're still living in the UK except with better weather. My mom has to deal with many of these as she works in the immigration office (and helps with permits and paperwork foreigners need to stay here) and she says the Brits are always the worst (followed closely by several other EU nationalities -Dutch and German-, just because the borders are open they don't seem to understand they still have to register and have ID cards etc.). She's met people who have lived here for over 20 years and can't speak a word of Spanish!
It's a good thing I've seen other samples of the product during my travels (as well as here) and I know better than to judge the many by the few... but seriously! Why do all the crazy elements come over here?! Fortunately most of those are in the Benidorm area, but still...
sorry 'bout that, hope it wasn't too much of a rant! there are obnoxious elements in any country, nothing personal to the UK! someday I'll take on the stereotypical Americans I've come across, or perhaps the French or Italians... can also be unpleasant! I think the worst part is... it's never just one unpleasant person... they seem to move around in hordes, like sheep! :p