Wild!

Have you ever been on a safari? Well? Not me!

When thinking about a safari, images of leopards, rhinoceros elephants, and lions come to mind. In fact, my closest encounter with a safari came when the Dallas Zoo's Giants of the Savanna opened years ago.

While never on an actual safari, my field school trip to Egypt twenty-five years ago was adventurous and enlightening in so many ways. The experiences and memories will never be forgotten. For example, riding on top of a camel was awesome, however, you really aren't in the best photographic position to be taking pictures while rocking back and forth and side to side on a camel.

Invariably, when my camera wasn't handy, a great photographic opportunity unfolded of a camel kissing his owner at the camel market. Without a doubt, my experience in Egypt was a photographer's dream. However, there weren't any wild animal pictures among my hundreds of slides.

For field school, my photographic equipment consisted of a 35mm camera and slide film which was required for the anthropology course. Thinking back, it would have been great to have had a smartphone to take snaps during the Egypt field school.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Basically, when it comes to photography, a 35mm film camera would always be my preference and my choice. While in Alaska, a 70s Minolta became available, and couldn't resist the great price at the time. Then, back in the lower 48, my Minolta was given to my son who used the camera for his photography classes.

Understandably, my first camera experiences were with an analog camera; however, today digital camera photography and especially smartphone snaps have become ubiquitous.

One thing you can't do with a smartphone is creating a double exposure. With film cameras sometimes accidental but beautiful artwork would be created from a double exposure which is something a digital camera will never be able to replicate. On the other hand, smartphones are normally close by and convenient to capture those special moments.

MY OWN BACKYARD

Our backyard has been the sighting of numerous wildlife animals; such as wild rabbits, geckos, spiders, and squirrels. The most entertaining would be the squirrels who walk the top of the fence as if it were a tightrope. The animals have always been too fast for me to get a picture of the critters in action in our backyard.

Oh, the ugly shed! It was an eyesore, but it didn't stop us from purchasing the house so many years ago. In the beginning, the shed was used on occasion to deposit items that weren't needed or wanted inside our home. 

Of course, procrastination doesn't get things done! 

For years, the shed was ignored. As an unwanted structure, the shed sat silently taking up backyard space. Occasionally, we voiced our thoughts and ideas about having the shed removed or replaced. But, the shed stayed until the day.

Ultimately, the salmon color shed was deteriorating more and more with every passing day. Damage to the roof from a Texas hail storm with hail the size of golf balls was the last straw, it was finally time to say goodbye to the shed that leaked like a sieve and was on its last legs. 

After getting quotes on the demolition and removal of the shed, a decision was made. The demolition crew was scheduled to take down the unsightly shed. Being on time, the crew went right to work. Of course, the crew was concerned about snakes. Indeed, the idea of snakes around the shed had crossed my mind too. Luckily, no snakes showed up!

From our back porch and with my android smartphone ready, a few snaps were taken to document the demolition and removal of the shed. Only the cedar boards remained, the baby opossums poked their heads through the boards.

It was the crew who alerted me, "Come look!" Cautiously, my steps were slow and deliberate moving as close as possible to the hiding place of the baby opossums. With the fear of snakes or the baby opossums' mother returning, my whole body was full of anxiety. Knowingly, when baby opossums are in danger or threatened, the mother opossums have been known to attack.

Quickly, pointing the smartphone in the direction of the baby opossums' white noses and piercing eyes, my attempt to secure a better photographic position seemed fruitless. Amazingly, my android smartphone's camera was able to chronicle the wildlife in our backyard.

While the demolition crew counted eight baby opossums, my two pictures captured at least four wild baby opossums. Being late in the day, my call to the Animal Control office went unanswered as their office apparently closed minutes earlier. The following day, checking on the wild baby opossums with their piercing eyes, the babies were gone.

Epilogue: Last evening, 30th of July, the outdoor camera captured what appears to be a mommy opossum? The wild animal was in the lower right-hand corner. The clip didn't save to my file, working on uploading it to YouTube. Unfortunately!!! When viewing the clip for the opossum, the incorrect clip sadly was uploaded. Darn!