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Meru, Samburu, Lake Nakuru, Kenya — October, 2014


Tom Kellie

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Tom Kellie

Unruffled by fine distinctions,

Contented with horns like towers,

Each oryx ignores extinctions,

Grazing on grasses and flowers.

 

 

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With Oxpeckers and Grevy's Zebras

 

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Charcoal Sketched

 

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Oryx and Warthogs

 

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Augmented Height

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Tom Kellie

Not to be outdone in plain grace,

Gazella granti remains sure,

That cryptic markings on its face,

Artfully conceal and obscure.

 

 

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Samburu Grant's Gazelle

 

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Intent on Eating

 

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I'm Not a Gerenuk!

 

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Sun-kissed

 

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Rounded Muzzle

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Tom Kellie

Kenya's ultimate offroader,

So massive it blocks out the Sun,

The sheer bulk of a frontloader,

It's a majority of one.

 

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Offroader

 

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Specks

 

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Precious Liquid

 

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Pes Planus

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Tom Kellie

As such air conditioners go,

Elephant ears are effective,

With very vigorous blood flow,

Their flapping highly selective.

 

 

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Air Conditioner

 

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Solidly Built

 

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Whatever's Available

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Tom Kellie

Lamprotornis superbus seems,

Like an artist's fanciful bird.

Its vivid colors spring from dreams,

Such that ‘superb’ is the right word.

 

 

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Being Superb

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Trekking through the bush with élan,

Trunk extended with mighty verve,

Baby elephants show they can,

Live up to the praise they deserve.

 

 

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Confident Toddler

 

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Fancy Free

 

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There's Always Mom

 

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Proximity Brings Contentment

 

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Lanugo

 

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Venturesome

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Independence for a short time,

Away from mom, aunts and others.

A baby tusker in its prime,

Not far from sisters and brothers.

 

 

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On My Own

 

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Forager

 

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The Slightest Inclination

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The tiny Sheik of Samburu,

With his trumpet raised up high.

Such well-toned brawn without frou-frou,

So fearless, no need to ask why.

 

 

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Kicking Up Dust

 

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Sheik of Samburu

 

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Fearsome Warrior

Edited by Tom Kellie
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The backdrop for all that we see,

Consists of mountains resolute,

Rising above the scenery,

With eloquent grandeur that's mute.

 

 

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Setting

Edited by Tom Kellie
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Save the Elephants on patrol,

Motor off in a dusty track,

Looking ahead while action droll,

Is taking place behind their back.

 

 

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Oblivious

 

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Fooled Them!

 

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Can't Outsmart an Elephant

 

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Here I Go

 

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Save the Elephants Vehicle

 

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Slipping By

 

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Ha Ha Ha!

 

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I'll Save Myself, Thank You

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Ole Easy Life standing alone,

A single straw droops from his lips.

Never needs to answer the phone,

Ignoring the latest stock tips.

 

 

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Unpolled with Straw

 

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Easy Life

 

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Riley

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Life's miracle is clearly shown,

By artful weaver nests in trees.

By methods which remain unknown,

Life's sweet genius is what one sees.

 

 

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Sun Gold Nests

 

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Effervescence

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Bésame mucho, lovely beast!

A Beisa Oryx is a sight,

Unlike all others, west or east,

Any photographer's delight.

 

 

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Contrast of Light and Shadow

 

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Oryx Horns

 

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Mama, That Ain't Like Any Cow I Ever Seen

 

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Full-on Oryx

 

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Bend the Knee

 

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None Other Like an Oryx

 

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Quietly Grazing Together

 

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Profile of an Oryx

 

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Slim Pickings

 

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Up, Up, Up

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d’Arnaud's Barbet, lovely small bird,

Appears beside us, in the shade.

To improve it would be absurd,

For its so wonderfully made.

 

 

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Barbet with a Rosy Rump

 

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Trachyphonus darnaudii in Shade

 

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Female d’Arnaud's Barbet on a Branch

 

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Alert with Raised Tail

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This Trachphonus darnaudii,

Showed no traces of bashfulness,

Rather was a bird most merry,

Providing us much happiness.

 

 

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Pale Yellow Ruff

 

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Barbet Bill

 

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In All Her Glory

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Pale blue stockings on robust legs,

Frilly plumage in black and white,

Hatching out of the largest eggs,

Gazing around from a great height.

 

 

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Male Struthio molybdophanes

 

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Preening Somali Ostrich

 

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All in Proportion

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Like Meru, landscape is all here,

The views themselves magnificent.

The environment is austere,

Every detail significant.

 

 

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Flat with Distant Peaks

 

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Doum Palms Along Water

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It's a land where oryx herds graze,

With acacia trees everywhere.

What's local in Samburu stays,

About far places they don't care.

 

 

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Samburu Acacia with Weaver Nests

 

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The Everlasting Hills of Samburu

 

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Oryx and Acacias

 

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How Did That Evolve?

 

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Samburu Landscape with Oryx

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Samburu's mystique does exist.

Sensing the spirit of the land,

In the red soil that's sun-kissed,

A magic place, you understand.

 

 

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Vertical Markings

 

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Laughing Oryx

 

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After a Long Day

 

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Passing a Leafless Bush

 

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Weaver Nests, Spiny Acacia, Oryx

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While not really a string quartet,

Although finely tuned and unique,

Four Grevy's Zebras are a set,

                                    With striping both straight and oblique.            (for @JohnR)  

 

 

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Zebras May Safely Graze

 

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Varying Girths

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It's been a sultry afternoon,

Animals have stood in the shade.

Their constitutions are rough-hewn,

Of very tough stuff are they made.

 

 

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Focal Target

 

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Nature Opts for the Optical

 

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Never Off-line

 

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Grevy's Very Attractive Zebra

 

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Eye-pleasing Zebras

 

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Quintessence of Variation

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These are the Furies unharnessed,

In Zebra guise yet all the same,

Their rages no longer suppressed,

Violent passions wild not tame.

 

 

Furies.thumb.JPG.bf43249287b3424087cdf557381e44a6.JPG

 

Furies

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Hooves flying off the soil in red,

Teeth showing from mouths open wide,

Scars showing from wounds which once bled,

Bold black and white stripes on their hide.

 

 

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In Motion

 

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Full Tilt

 

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Hooves Up

 

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At a Gallop

 

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Termite Mound at the Zebra Track

 

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Caught in the Crossfire

 

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Turning While Running

 

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Whee!

 

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Fancy Free

 

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No Holding Back

 

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On the Turn

 

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So We All Feel

 

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Fingerprints Zipping By

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Without long horns so distinctive,

Who'd identify this baby?

With imaginations active,

Someone might get it right...maybe.

 

 

593fbe8ce9b41_BabyOryx.thumb.JPG.1cccb79c77ced9ef64728870e20e8b69.JPG

 

Baby Oryx

 

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Hayseed

 

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What Long Legs

 

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Winsome

 

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Young Ones

 

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Scrutinizing Its Shadow

 

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It Moves When I Move!

 

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Everyone Needs a Friend

 

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A Pre-Oryx

 

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Tails Tipped in Deepest Black

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Picky eaters seldom are full,

They gourmandize seeking the best.

Yet resisting appetite's pull,

May be self-control's toughest test.

 

 

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Complete

 

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Large-bore

 

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Selective Grazer

 

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Curious Beast

 

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Juvenile Oryx Duo

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