Flamingo Friday: Bashful

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Flamingo Friday: Fine feathers

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Creepy crawly

I spotted this bright beetle in the courtyard of my building today and made use of my new fisheye lens to take some close-ups. It was only later that I discovered that it's an oil beetle, also known as a "blister" beetle because, when threatened, it can release a chemical so irritating that it causes skin to blister.

Luckily, it didn't find my lens or me to be a threat. It must have known I was planning on taking photos from flattering angles.

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Flaming Friday: White bows

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It's Oscar Wilde's birthday!

In honor of the excellent writer and wit, I give you one of my favorite of his quotes:

"Only the shallow know themselves."

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Flamingo Friday: Anger yoga

This bird may be mad, but look how flexible it is!

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The Big Orr-Orrs

I can't claim I came up with this term myself as the descriptor for seals, sea lions, and other noisy pinnipeds--Annie gets the credit for that--but I have enthusiastically adopted it.

That's why I was especially pleased to encounter such a noisy pack of sea lions last December when I was in San Francisco. I don't think the video clip below is worth much aesthetically, but it gives a great sense of just how noisy these guys are.

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Flaming Friday: So many necks

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