Raccoon on ice – Nikon D500, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 1000, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Well, we made it through the holidays! I can remember as a child I hated for the holidays to be over because it meant going back to school and not having days off to play in the snow or spend all day reading a good book but as an adult I get sick of the holiday hubbub right around the time the grocery store starts playing Christmas music.
I did get out to photograph on the first day of the New Year, twice in fact, once at Farmington Bay WMA and once at the local pond. Going to Farmington Bay was probably a tad crazy because it was cloudy, there was heavy fog, low light and some stuff falling from the sky that I suspect was frozen particles of the pollution in the sickening inversion smothering hanging over the valley but lets all pretend it was just plain old snow and not minute particulate droppings of “People-B-Gone” (lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury) lest we offend someone on Capitol Hill. Wouldn’t want to get their garments in a knot, because you know busine$$ and the pay a CEO gets is more important than the citizens breathing clean air and all that.
Sorry, back to something more pleasant.
I did see birds at Farmington Bay but my favorite sighting of the day wasn’t wearing feathers, it was sporting fur and a burglar’s mask. While photographing a Great Blue Heron at the first bridge I spotted a dark shape running, slipping and sliding on the snow-covered ice and could see that it was a Raccoon. I don’t see Raccoons here in northern Utah very often so I ignored the American Pipit on the post (Gasp! I know, what is wrong with me?) and focused on the Raccoon trying to run on slippery ice as the lyrics of “Slip Slidin’ Away” started going through my mind. I’m trying to hold my lens steady on the noodle on the window to get sharp shots but I had started to laugh out loud by this point watching the Raccoon’s feet slipping out from under it repeatedly through my view finder.
Before you think I am cruel because I laughed please realize that raccoons don’t have far to fall, their legs are short and the thick fur they have protects them from these slips and falls because it is a bit like a hairy bubble wrap suit.
We might all need a bubble wrap suit before the end of January, right? I’ll take mine without the fur. Allergies you know, some brought on by that crap in the air we call an inversion.
The raccoon didn’t come in close because a harrier flew by and that sent it scurrying back into the marsh.
So, I got a few sharp images of the Raccoon doing its best to stay on four feet and I laughed. Starting the New Year with laughter? Good medicine and I needed it.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Raccoon photos plus facts and information about this species.
Laughter never goes astray.
And I loved seeing a critter I will probably never see with my very own eyes in the flesh. Thank you.
I am mostly on the computer today, checking posts, withdrawing from chocolate and vanilla fudge in the post-holiday “lull’. It is good to see a photo like this, saw lots of racoons in the east but none here.
I like raccoons and their antics, it is amazing how well they adapt to city life. They were not native to Utah, they were brought in by fur trappers. I don’t like seeing them wetlands, they are notorious nest robbers.
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Love this post for several reasons. First, there’s the like minds and all, but the raccoon’s trials remind us that ever with four-paw drive, there’s just NO reasoning with ice. Same goes for 4WD in cars! Ice is just non-responsive to our attempts to deal with it effectively! 🙂
I love the occassional landscape or “animal”. This one reminds me of one we had years ago…she sure had busy, busy hands!! Amazing hiw mankind has spoiled the seasons…Fall’s leaf blowers, Winter’s inversions, Summer’s mowers, and unbearable heat, Spring’s mowers and blowers…..and lawn chemicals.
Cute. I saw a Canada goose at the local pond this morning slip, slidin’ away. I thought at first it might be hurt but once it reached land, it flapped its wings furiously & then flew away. Maybe it didn’t feel safe taking off from the ice. What a way to start of the New Year….great shots, great scenery & laughter.
Beautiful image and story, Mia.
Excellent narrative on your excursion there. The unscheduled events I find to he the most fun. Great capture of the skating rink event 😉