Ohhh!!! ?
I like everyone’s photos but don’t like rodents at all. Every kind wreaks havoc with my yard and garden!! Give me me all the flowers and other wildlife. ?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Photo of the Day October 2019
- Thread starter MDF314159265
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I like everyone’s photos but don’t like rodents at all. Every kind wreaks havoc with my yard and garden!! Give me me all the flowers and other wildlife. ?
Same here ... Last week I planted around 300 bulbs . tulip , species tulips , daffs , crocuses (or is it crocii?) . Needless to say something is now rooting around trying to dig them up . Around where I live , the only possible culprits are squirrels and skunks , and I don't think skunks eat bulbs .
Yep, those little "tree rats" are indeed rodents and while it's fun to capture them with a camera from time to time, yes, they are destructive, or can be..... In my condo complex there have been problems with them infiltrating a few of the attics in some of the buildings, which is NOT COOL. That issue has been repeatedly addressed and hopefully, for the sake of the residents in the affected buildings, finally resolved. I guess they'll find out this winter!
I love living where I do because I can see and photograph various water birds such as geese, ducks, the occasional Great Blue Heron and other herons, plus the once-in-a-while surprise visitor such as Hooded Merganser Ducks (saw them last winter) or the interesting Cormorant who seems to have appeared out of nowhere this past spring and who is still seen occasionally floating around the lake every now and then, enough to make it apparent that he has set up residence, albeit perhaps temporary....
The frog population has significantly dwindled, and my suspicion is that there was something toxic put into the lake, either intentionally or unintentionally, which has killed many of them off. I miss Frogsong in the early summer.....
We also have raccoons and fox around this neighborhood -- since I'm on the lakefront rather than in a building and unit which faces the community common grounds with trees and such, I have not seen either.... If I do, you can bet I'll be grabbing which ever photographic device is nearest at hand!
Anyway, my earlier post was simply a play on words and I should have realized that not everyone would grasp that for one reason or another.....
I don’t think we live very far apart. We have fox ? here too. They are also a bit destructive but I still like them. We have way too many deer and I also dislike them. They eat the plants the rodents don’t chew.
I forgot about deer! Yes, they are destructive, too....and yes, they do appear from time to time in my general area-wide neighborhood although not always in the immediate vicinity of my condo development. We are close to a fairly-heavily-wooded area but I don't think they ever actually get right in here, probably because of a couple of major highways in the vicinity as well (Beltway and Rte 50).
I'm in the greater Falls Church area (i.e., Fairfax County as opposed to City of Falls Church) and so I have a Falls Church address. I am just inside the Beltway. It is because we have a couple of wooded areas just adjacent to the Beltway that there is the population of wildlife, too. One of these days I'll probably see a fox around here but so far that hasn't happened.
Some years ago I lived and worked in Vienna, but because of being in the county library system, job responsibilities and locations changed, and a few years after my husband died I sold the townhouse and moved to a condo, which has suited me very well ever since.
I'm guessing that you are indeed nearby, which could be McLean, Great Falls or closer-in such as Vienna, Arlington or Alexandria..... Obviously more personal information needs to be exchanged via PM rather than on this publcly-viewable thread!
I'm in the greater Falls Church area (i.e., Fairfax County as opposed to City of Falls Church) and so I have a Falls Church address. I am just inside the Beltway. It is because we have a couple of wooded areas just adjacent to the Beltway that there is the population of wildlife, too. One of these days I'll probably see a fox around here but so far that hasn't happened.
Some years ago I lived and worked in Vienna, but because of being in the county library system, job responsibilities and locations changed, and a few years after my husband died I sold the townhouse and moved to a condo, which has suited me very well ever since.
I'm guessing that you are indeed nearby, which could be McLean, Great Falls or closer-in such as Vienna, Arlington or Alexandria..... Obviously more personal information needs to be exchanged via PM rather than on this publcly-viewable thread!
A fresh edit of an IR pic from 2015. Going to be shooting more IR soon.
![_DSC0522-Edit-2.jpg]( "_DSC0522-Edit-2.jpg")
Yes we are quite close in a live/work kind of thing. ? I’ll just say I can walk to an older Whole Foods and then go borrow a book or two.
Last edited:
At any one time, I can probably count at least 5 squirrels in my yard. We don’t appear to have any foxes, but we have a coopers and a red-tail hawk that hunt the grounds. The red-tail was in my backyard just this afternoon.
I am in the minority here and do like squirrels, but at the same time, yes they are quite destructive. We play the silly game of spending money on squirrel-proof bird feeders 
. We’ve had far fewer this year though because there has also been a Red-tailed Hawk’s nest here at a house or two down and the rodents make an excellent snack for growing birds.
. We’ve had far fewer this year though because there has also been a Red-tailed Hawk’s nest here at a house or two down and the rodents make an excellent snack for growing birds.
Last edited:
Running through pix of D.C. taken a few weeks back .
![_MG_7505b1024.jpg]( "_MG_7505b1024.jpg")
SL2 , 15-85@27 , f4.5@1/2000 , ISO 200
SL2 , 15-85@27 , f4.5@1/2000 , ISO 200
Last edited:
I have to drive to Whole Foods, no matter what, but if I needed to I can walk to my local Giant (except that I don't since I don't want to have to carry heavy grocery bags home). Interestingly, I can more easily walk to my local branch of FCPL, Thomas Jefferson, which is actually one of the first branches in which I started my public library career lo these many moons ago -- very early 1970's. Things have certainly changed, though, over the years!
When I lived in Vienna, I was actually able to ride my bike on a section of the W&OD trail right from home to very close to the library (Patrick Henry) where I was working as assistant branch manager at the time. Didn't do that a lot, but it was fun when I did! These days I don't often get back to Vienna, but I always will have fond memories of when I lived there (on the outskirts of the town proper) and worked there (right in the heart of town). Much like the City of Falls Church, it has a delightful feeling of a locally-managed small town even as it is within a larger county jurisdiction. As I mentioned in another thread on another topic, I will always remember the late-October evening, dressed as a character from a famous children's book, Pippi Longstocking, that I went happily skipping, dancing and prancing right down the middle of a magically-cleared-of-traffic Maple Avenue during one of the town's annual Hallowe'en parades. The Town of Vienna will always be very special to me.
DSCF5118
"Desperation"
When scooting (yes scooting, thanks Uber!) around the Englischer Garten in central Munich, I discovered this interesting tree. It appeared to be in it's last stages of life - devoid of colourful leaves, with moss adorning every drooping branch and finally, the trunk looming ever closer to the water. Sitting in the cold, dark shade, this subject made for an excellent contrast against the most vibrant tree in the whole park that was bathed in golden morning sunlight.
With this concept coming to mind, I framed the scene with the older tree appearing to 'reach out' towards the vibrant yellow Maple in a desperate final attempt to cling onto life.
Shot settings: Fuji X-T3 with XF 18-55mm f2.8-4 OIS lens. Handheld with no tripod or filters (I didn't have them).
5 shots with shutter speed bracketed for full dynamic range at +1, +2, -1, -2 from base exposure. Blended in Photoshop.
Base exposure: 1/125s / f8 / ISO 160
![Desperation small PL.png]( "Desperation small PL.png")
When scooting (yes scooting, thanks Uber!) around the Englischer Garten in central Munich, I discovered this interesting tree. It appeared to be in it's last stages of life - devoid of colourful leaves, with moss adorning every drooping branch and finally, the trunk looming ever closer to the water. Sitting in the cold, dark shade, this subject made for an excellent contrast against the most vibrant tree in the whole park that was bathed in golden morning sunlight.
With this concept coming to mind, I framed the scene with the older tree appearing to 'reach out' towards the vibrant yellow Maple in a desperate final attempt to cling onto life.
Shot settings: Fuji X-T3 with XF 18-55mm f2.8-4 OIS lens. Handheld with no tripod or filters (I didn't have them).
5 shots with shutter speed bracketed for full dynamic range at +1, +2, -1, -2 from base exposure. Blended in Photoshop.
Base exposure: 1/125s / f8 / ISO 160
This is a fantastic image. I'd like to know what you did to achieve it, as I've not seen IR done like this too often. Stunning.
Lightbulbs are not really meant to look like this:
![Wet Lightbulb.jpeg]( "Wet Lightbulb.jpeg")
Christmas colours on a sunny autumn afternoon.
![i-WSvrc85-X3.jpg]()
Attended a college football game in 'Happy Valley' (State College, Pennsylvania) last night to watch my University of Michigan Wolverines play the Penn State University Nittany Lions. Definitely a 'belly of the beast' situation to be amongst 110,000 very fervent PSU fans cheer for their team on a White Out night (PSU fans where white). A great atmosphere despite my team losing. Oh well, there is always next year as they say.
![]()
College (Gridiron) Football @ Penn State by Lance Randall, on Flickr
iPhone 8
College (Gridiron) Football @ Penn State by Lance Randall, on FlickriPhone 8
Penn state games are total mayhem.Attended a college football game in 'Happy Valley' (State College, Pennsylvania) last night to watch my University of Michigan Wolverines play the Penn State University Nittany Lions. Definitely a 'belly of the beast' situation to be amongst 110,000 very fervent PSU fans cheer for their team on a White Out night (PSU fans where white). A great atmosphere despite my team losing. Oh well, there is always next year as they say.
College (Gridiron) Football @ Penn State by Lance Randall, on Flickr
iPhone 8