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The island continent of Australia is about the same size and shape as the continental 48 states of the USA. Cairns is where Boston is, Perth is San Diego, Melbourne is New Orleans, and Sydney is Washington DC. Just about the same. Now the weather is a different story; February in most of Australia isContinue reading “The Coast north of Cairns”

There are several species of flying foxes or fruit bats in Australia. The group is quite common all along the western rim of the Pacific Ocean. In Cairns (pronounced “cans”) the spectacled fruit bat is the most common of the bats. I have always wanted to get a good image of them hanging out duringContinue reading “Fruit Bats – flying dachshunds”

The people of the far north lands will use (or did use) the skin of a Common Eider duck, with body feathers attached, as insulation inside their footwear. The dense highly aerated feathers keep the chill away in a part of the world where chill can kill. The Cape Cod Canal is a favorite winterContinue reading “Eider are cool – and warm”

Zebras are so iconically African. -Zebra occur from East Africa down through the southern African countries. There are some easily seen differences between the northern and southern populations but by and large they are the same creature. There are six subspecies (races, populations, genetic groups, clades) throughout Africa. The Grevy’s Zebra is found north ofContinue reading “Zebra – an odd little horse”

This page will hit on a few of the more interesting birds and whales we saw on Sunday past. The whale highlight was the grand old lady of Stellwagen Bank, Salt. She was the first whale ever named and has now been known to have 14 youngsters that have accompanied her, over the years, backContinue reading “Cape Cod – whales and birds (2)”

It is supposed to be crisp and clear here on Cape Cod in mid-October; the 22nd however was clear, hot, sunny, and windless. It was glorious summer day for those who like summer. I was working (certainly not very hard work) a whale boat for NECWA (Google it, support it) out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. KrillContinue reading “Cape Cod – whales and sea birds”

Most of New England is woodland. What farming there is, is done on a small-scale due to rocky soil, undulating terrain, residential growth, and that long-ago move by (profitable) agriculture to the central part on the US. The forests here have grown significantly in the past agriculture-free century and a half. There are lovely smallContinue reading “New England Agriculture – cranberries”