Animals
Not Inclined to Share
This squirrel struck an unusual pose while snacking on a nut. He had just uncovered this nut from some hiding place in the vicinity. When I approached hi to ask for a nibble, he ran to the tree to eat in front of me.
I saw his squirrel on the grounds of College of the Ozarks at Point Lookout in southwest Missouri. We were in the Branson area and when we are we always try to make a trip to the college. We had and excellent lunch at the Keeter Center this time.
I have another image of a squirrel reclining in an odd way. Take a look at this one: https://popsdigital.com/pops-photos/planking/
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All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Home On the Range
A resident of Custer State Park in South Dakota, this prairie dog is poised at the entrance to his den – ready to jump in if I got any closer.
I was using a 300mm lens, so I wasn’t that close to begin with (maybe 30ft), but they are pretty skittish creatures. The prairie dog dens dot the landscape at the park. It’s fun to visit a prairie dog village and hear the chatter and warning signals they create.
You can get a better, larger view of this critter by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
A Begging Burro
This is one of the friendly “begging burros” of Custer State Park in the Black Hills area of South Dakota.
These burros have been peaceful residents of Custer State Park for nearly a century. They were first used as pack animals to get visitors from Sylvan Lake Lodge up the steep path to the summit of Black Elk Peak, the highest point in the U.S. east of the Rockies. When those tourist trips ended, the working burros were released to the wild and the small herd have been a favorite of Custer State Park visitors ever since.
On our trip to Custer, these were my wife’s favorite and we had to stop and feed and pet the burros. She got to know them pretty well. The one pictured here is a female and the mother of a young colt. She also seemed to be the ring leader and could be pretty pushy and rude to the others when tourists would offer apples and carrots and such.
You can get a better, more detailed view of this friendly face by clicking on the photo. When you do, a larger version will open in a new browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Buffalo Grass
American bison roam the prairie in Custer State Park. In this shot I was focused on the prairie grasses. This is one of those images that I would usually pass by but, for some reason, it struck a chord with me.
Custer State Park is in Custer County, in the Black Hills area of South Dakota. The park has a managed heard of about 1,500 bison. On any given day you will see many of them as you drive the roads of the park. In fact, sometimes they are on the road.
If you’re into grass, you can click on the photo and view a larger, more detailed version.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Kid Crusher
A young mountain goat posed for its portrait high above us. This was one of our delightful finds on our drive through Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills of South Dakota. If you look close, you can see the tiny, black nubs of its horns starting to show.
We had heard that there were mountain goats in the hills of Custer State park, but didn’t see any there. We saw a number of them in Spearfish Canyon – some up high and some grazing along the road. They seemed to be very comfortable with people and cars going by. More photos of the mountain goats will be coming in the future.
You can get a better, more detailed view of this youngster by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Safe Space
This very young raccoon kept me in its view as I walked around the tree he was sitting in. The was the last of the siblings that were hanging around our yard for a couple of weeks last summer. This was the only one I saw climbing and I was surprised by how well it was able to get up the tree for how small it was.
To add to the adorable nature of this photo, if you look closely, you will a little dirt on the tip of its nose. They would spend most of their time with their noses buried in the grass, hunting bugs and grubs and who knows what tiny raccoons eat.
You might be able to see the dirt better if you click on the photo. A larger version will open in a new browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Black Hills Buck
This was a nice find on our visit to Custer State Park in South Dakota. We were driving on one of the outer-edge roads of the park and spotted this young, white-tailed buck just off the road. We parked and I pursued him with my camera. It took awhile to catch him still for a moment. One of my favorite shots from the trip.
You can get a better view of this guy by clicking on the photo. When you do, a larger, more detailed version will open in a new browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Portrait of Plains Power
I’m sure if this American Bison knew I would be taking his portrait he would have paid more attention to his personal appearance. (Gee, fella, look in a mirror once in a while!) Even though a bit deshelled, this big bull exudes confidence and power.
This guy was photographed while resting on a hillside, along with several others of a small herd, at Custer State Park in the Black Hills area of South Dakota. He seemed pretty carefree.
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All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Cute Deery Ears
I found this gentle soul resting in the grass on a hillside at Badlands National Park in South Dakota. This is a mule deer doe.
This wasn’t my first glimpse of her. We saw her while on a hike through some rugged terrain – the Notch trail. That trail ends on a bluff, overlooking a valley. The doe and her fawn were grazing the grasses below us. (Zoomed in photo on left.)
Shortly after, we were hiking another trail and I caught a glimpse of her while climbing some wooden stairs. She was still and quiet, as you see here here, and I almost missed her. She remained quiet and watched while I took photos from a couple of angles on the trail stairs. A few steps farther up and I saw her fawn resting in the shade. (Photo on the right.) The fawn was difficult to see and take a photo of because it was in some brush.
We have ple
nty of white tail deer in the area of Wisconsin where we live. As far as I know, we don’t have any mule deer. This was a fun find. I am most intrigued by the abundance of hair in their ears.
You can get a larger, more detailed look at the doe by clicking on the photo. When you do, a larger image will open in a new browser window.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Beginning Climber
This little rascal was an early climber. This is one of several baby raccoons that showed up in the yard of our rural home. We never saw an adult around. They were so young I was worried they were going to starve to death or wander out in the road and get hit.
If they weren’t sleeping under a bush in our yard, they were wandering through the yard; noses buried in the grass looking for bugs and grubs. Within a few weeks all of them seemed to have moved on. However, I did see one recently on security camera video at around 2 am, climbing down this very same tree and wandering into the farm field.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.