A rabbit, sitting on the grass. Cool enough, but...
The rabbit got the Hokey Pokey and stuck his left leg in and...
I really gotta get the Hokey Pokey out of my head and my photo subjects need to stop doing it.
 A large gecko (Gekko smithii) from Sarawak, Borneo. Smith's giant gecko in common terms: Close up of the cool eye and such.  A full-body shot of the gecko (Gekko smithii).  An giant forest ant (Camponotus gigas) from Gunung Mulu National Park, Borneo. These giant forest ants are pretty interesting critters. First, they are about an inch long, which is a darn large ant. Second, they have a number of ways to make a foe uncomfortable, including a strong bite, a poison gland, and can also spray acid!
And they fight to the death with any bordering colonies which often have massive losses on both sides, and the fight ritualistically within the colony at particular "arenas." They are nocturnal, which is why I was able to spot this one at night in the rainforest. There is a nice little blog post on these guys that sums up their ecology in spiffy fashion, so if you want to learn a little bit more try ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN SINGAPORE The Washington and Old Dominion trail is a former train line that is now a hiking/biking trail. Most of the parts I have been on are paved, and it sees a lot of traffic. To learn more about this trail visit: http://www.wodfriends.org/trail.html Today I had little time, but just to get out I hiked about two miles on the trail. 
Few people on the trail today, unlike weekends and sunny warm days.
Lighting was bad and little time, but got this red-winged blackbird.
This is a cool caterpillar, from Sarawak, Borneo (Malaysia), but I don't have an ID on it.. 
Caterpillar from Gunung Mulu National Park in Borneo, Malaysia.
Sarawak caterpillar on a leaf
Hilary Clinton has been in the news a lot lately, and while I am not a political person it seems reasonable for me to post two pictures of her with a group of kids while she was in Oslo back in June of 2012. She was the US Secretary of State at the time. I was one of the photographers at her stop at the US ambassador's residence. And while she was oh so professional and smart and on topic during her public comments, she was just laughing and really enjoying meeting a bunch of children ahead of all that. This was unscripted stuff and she seemed to have a really good time. 
Hilary Clinton talking, and laughing, with the kids
Secretary Clinton shakes hands with Connor Christenson
Her visit was important, and she covered a lot of key issues while in Norway, but I found her to be fun with the kids and that does make her worthy of a blog post outside of my usual stuff.
This building is on the outskirts of Oslo. 
Lots of lights going on here. Just a fun pic to post. Hoff is a suburb of Oslo, Norway.
A snail that seems cave adapted 
This snail is either an invasive species or a native species. I am unsure of which it is. Either way it is common in the cave.
The pedestrian bridge over the train tracks was not exactly on the loop around the lake. But seemed like a nice side bit if I was going to see as much of the park as possible during a loop trip. So back to the trail... 
The loop trail where it apparently follows an old rail line.
I'm going to call this the halfway point on the hike, although not quite true. Here is a photo of Accotink Creek before it enters the lake. Just under two miles from where I parked, it is the point where you start heading back on the other side of the lake.
Not my greatest pic, but an eastern Phoebe. Even with the endless cold temps around here migratory birds are trying to fly north.
Snow drops! Flowers are coming up
A hermit thrush!
Skunk cabbage, always one of the first wetland plants to come up.
Red-eared Turtle on a log.
Red-eared turtle on a log. Shell still seems covered with mud from the winter
Pileated woodpeckers have no problems with foraging on the ground. This one was whacking away at a dead branch which it felt held tasty grubs for food.
A chipmunk! Only one I've seen so far this year.
And a pic of the chipmunk looking out of it's hole.
And thus I end the photos from Accotink Park. As always, I hope you enjoyed my walk as much as I did. And to finish, I include yet another great blue heron photo, which I started this bit with, and have said I wouldn't be posting more of... 
Great blue herons at Accotink Park
My last post ended with a fish crow, and I will start this post with a fish crow. Here is a...  Male fish crow calling. It's all fluffed up trying to woo the women (doesn't seem to be working) But let's put up a couple bits where they go...  Canada geese on water  Canada geese in the air  Amtrak on the rails  And a robin in the grass  Tracks but no train This pic was taken from a walking bridge over the tracks.  Locks of love, folks put a lock on a bridge.  Quite the pedestrian bridge  Peace out! Kite stuck on top of a pole. |
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