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

[Tom Kellie]

And then, out of nowhere, Lions!

Well concealed, we almost hit them.

It's one of those things that happens,

Worth a glass of Château d’Yquem.

 

 

 

Color Blend

 

 

Ridge Line

 

 

Gentle Curves

 

 

Tawny Waves

 

 

Quietly Listening

 

[Tom Kellie]

Juvenile Lions are a hoot,

Playing games as if they were grown.

Little Lion cubs may well be cute,

Yet raw meat they prefer to bone.

 

 

 

Patterns Within Patterns

 

 

Sidelong Glance

 

 

Never Brushed

 

[Tom Kellie]

Lions enter a Golden Age,

If they survive just long enough.

Hoary elders, toothless yet sage,

Remembering when they were tough.

 

 

 

Black and White Bristles

 

 

Golden Age

 

 

Visionary

 

[amybatt]

That leopard was “hiding in plain sight” as they say!  There’s no way I’d have spotted that.  What lovely lions you came upon.  I love the older girl, with her wisdom hairs on her chin!

[Tom Kellie]

Sometimes something walks riverside,

Which attracts Lions’ attention.

In the cool shade they like to hide,

Waiting for a little action.

 

 

 

Earth Tones

 

 

Flexible Texture

 

 

Fading Spots

 

 

Spotters

 

 

Eye Contact

 

 

Au Naturel

 

 

Furrowed Brow

 

 

Successor

 

 

[Tom Kellie]

‘It's my territory’, it thinks,

It flies where it likes every day.

Sometimes it briefly stops and drinks,

Then wings off again on its way.

 

 

 

Melierax poliopterus Perch

 

 

Streaked Breast Plumage

 

 

Winged Samburu Denizen

 

[amybatt]

In the "eye contact" lion photo, it looks like I can actually make out your vehicle and the horizon behind you in that cub's eyes!  How vivid!  I love too that you can see how camouflaged the lions are in this spot; their fur color blends perfectly in with the ground they've chosen to lay on.  I have a rather obvious soft spot for lions, these photos whet my appetite for more!

[Tom Kellie]

Anthreptes orientalis,

Appearing at your own behest,

With female plumage marvelous,

The Samburu Sopa's bright guest.

 

 

 

Active in Early Afternoon

 

 

Sunbird At the Lodge

 

 

Female Anthreptes orientalis

 

 

Confiding Perspective

 

 

Sunbird Freefall

 

[Tom Kellie]

He's a swimming pool regular,

This male Trithemis kirbyi.

His color is spectacular,

And, oh my, how fast he can fly!

 

 

 

Trithemis kirbyi

 

 

[CDL111]

@Tom Kellie, the photograph of the Trithemis kirbyi is stunning. Once again the internet gave me the answer to it’s common name, and the fact that it is a dragonfly and not a damselfly.

[Tom Kellie]

‘Perky’ may well be the best word,

To describe the Pygmy Batis.

It's quite a charming little bird,

Flighty — you know how that is.

 

 

 

Posed Above a Poolside Sun Lounge

 

 

Batis Eyes

 

 

Batis perkeo at the Samburu Sopa Lodge

 

 

Well-protected by Spines

[janzin]

Great to see these new photos! You may have been absent, but obviously hard at work on your photography.  Wonderful little poems too

[Tom Kellie]

Those employed at a branch office,

Disdain suspended branch housing,

Yet for birds a branch will suffice,

For shaded, private safe living.

 

 

 

UFO?

 

 

Shade Within

 

 

Attached Egg Case

 

 

[Tom Kellie]

Tens of millions of years ago,

When large reptiles were ascendant,

Smaller lizards went to and fro,

Such as this scaly descendant.

 

 

 

Ancient Scene

 

[Tom Kellie]

With an armored exterior,

Each precious agama prepares,

To face forces superior,

Surviving such martial affairs.

 

 

 

Intricate Patterning

 

 

Full-length Agama

 

 

Ant Terrorizer

 

 

Walking Battlement

 

 

Onyx, Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise

 

[Tom Kellie]

Lime green macarons, or large beans,

Sodom apple fruit is unique.

Avoid eating them by all means,

Healthier fruit one needs to seek.

 

 

 

Sodom Apple Fruit

 

[Tom Kellie]

Multi-colored clouds overhead,

Leave room for the Moon to appear,

No longer grey, it’s blue instead,

Eternal grace in skies so clear.

 

 

 

Afternoon Moon Over Samburu

 

 

Samburu Skies

 

[Tom Kellie]

Oh, little Dudu the flier,

You hang onto the smallest tip.

When soaring higher and higher,

You must crave rest after each trip.

 

 

 

Samburu Dudu

 

[Tom Kellie]

Quietly looking may unveil,

Overlooked skink species of worth,

Whose habits and lifestyles entail,

Constant close contact with the Earth. 

 

 

 

Trachylepis quinquetaeniata

 

 

African Five-lined Skink

 

 

In a Shady Corner

 

[Tom Kellie]

Any challenge may seem to be,

Greater than one might overcome,

Yet each wee ant that one might see,

Handles life with grit and then some.

 

 

 

Ant at Work

 

[Tom Kellie]

Cardioderma cor has heart,

On the very tip of its nose,

That rare feature sets it apart,

Recognized wherever it goes.

 

 

 

Cardioderma cor

 

 

Heart-nosed Bat

 

[Tom Kellie]

Strength in numbers protects the flock,

Of Chestnut Sparrows together,

Loud chattering, my how they talk,

About family, food and weather.

 

 

 

Passer eminibey Flock

 

 

Chestnut Sparrows

 

 

Male Passer eminibey

 

[Tom Kellie]

Smooth, sleek, sophisticated style,

Vulturine guineafowl impress,

They each preen and look for awhile,

Caring for their blue and black dress.

 

 

 

Galactic Heart Patterning

 

 

Prepossessing Guineafowl

 

 

Flowing Elongation

 

[Tom Kellie]

The termites haven't been shirking,

Their red mounds towering upward,

Evidence that they've been working,

Soil engineers going onward.

 

 

 

Monument to Industry

 

 

Mixed-use Zoning

 

[CDL111]

. Very enjoyable to look at your report after a leisurely breakfast. Struggling with the internet on the Dudu.