Monday, February 28, 2011

The Tiny, Furry Black & White Miracle: Tai Shan, Peaceful Mountain

In July of 2005, a small squeaky miracle occurred at Washington's National Zoo. It had been over 33 years since Ling-Ling and Shing-Shing had arrived from China. That pair had managed to produce several cubs, but none that survived beyond a few days. In 2001, Washington welcomed a vivacious new pair of bears, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, and immediately we all began wishing for a cub. That miracle finally arrived in the wee hours of July 9, 2005. His name was Tai Shan, which is "peaceful mountain" in his native language. [Maris] and I jumped at the chance to see him every chance we got when he made his big debut the following winter. For a number of reasons, the photos are less than perfect, but here are the first few. Above, our first glimpse of the sleeping baby in his indoor enclosure.

A bucketful of cute, including his favorite toy, a miniature soccer ball.

By January 2006, he was climbing, but not very well. Following a big fall or some other shock, he would retreat to his favorite spot next to the fence, to recuperate.

By March of 2006, his climbing skills were getting better...

... but Mei was an attentive and careful first-time mom, and she always had the upper paw. Plus, she appeared to have an overpowering NEED to lick the little guy...

... all over ...

... all the time ...

"Oh just you wait, mom. I'll be big enough to jump on your back and bite you like there's no tomorrow!"

More to come. It gets even cuter.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Signs With Soul. And Whelks. And Paw Paw and Pizza.

Signs! Kind of self-explanatory, I guess. Above - [Maris]'s 1999 shot of a bear crossing sign near Ocala, Florida. Yes - Florida has bears. Fewer every year, of course.

The summit of Mt. Washington, NH - 1998. Still home to the highest wind speed recorded in the history of the planet.

Mystic, Connecticut - 1998. No, we didn't try the pizza. We figured if Julia and Annabeth weren't working, why bother?

[Maris]'s shot of old-timey railroad crossing sign, somewhere in Rhode Island in 2000.

Neon and pandas in Islamorada, Florida - 2000.

The Road Kill Café in York Beach, Maine - 1998. I don't remember anything else that happened, that night.

How can you resist an antique table that was just built? You can't, that's how. Somewhere on US Route 11 in Virginia in 1998.

This crop is all fuzzy because it wasn't the subject of my shot; it turned up in the background and I didn't see it until the prints came back. It's under a bridge in Brunswick, Maryland - or it was, in 1991.

The National Zoo in Washington, DC in 2009. I was shooting quarter-second exposures, hand-held. We're going back next year with a tripod.

Carnivorous Whelks! Owl Head, Maine - 2004.

Paw Paw, West Virginia - 2010. Everyone should visit Paw Paw at least once.

Thanks for stopping by. Back soon...