Where in the World Are Byron and Ann?

Byron in rock window Ann in rock window
If we aren't at the computer, we are likely to be exploring some natural setting, taking photos to use in our work. As you can see, we really get into those natural settings! This rock window is near the Little Black Mountain Petroglyphs site in northern Arizona. But we haven't spent our summer looking out of this one rock window. We've both had the pleasure of exploring a variety of environments.
Bolder bites Byron

Byron and the Lemurs

Byron recently spent some time photographing and interacting with ring-tailed lemurs. These attractive primates, now found in the wild only in Madagascar, are prosimians. That means "pre-monkey", and if you look closely, you can identify several monkey-like traits. They have large eyes on the front, not the sides, of their heads. They have opposable thumbs, and opposable big toes as well.
Lemur face close-up
Two lemurs eating raisins and banana chips While they mostly eat fruits and vegetation, young lemurs in particular tend to be omnivorous. Byron confirmed this fact when Bolder, a 6-week old lemur, decided Byron's thumb would make a tasty snack. Look for a story about the lemurs in future projects, perhaps in a second series of Animal Kingdom books.

Water in the Desert

Meanwhile, Ann was getting her shoes soaked in a protected wetland area near her Utah home. It may seem surprising to find wetlands there, since much of Utah is a part of the Great Basin Desert. But one feature of the Great Basin is that there are isolated, wetter areas, both around the shores of the Great Salt and Utah lakes, and in mountain valleys like this one. Ann and cattails
Small wetlands ponds like this are an especially important resource for wildlife in this generally dry area, including the osprey whose nesting area is the reason this wetland is protected. Reeds give shelter to small fish, and the cattails are home to the Red Winged Blackbird. Just as I was about to continue further into the reeds, a beautiful leopard frog hopped right beside me. Of course, I couldn't resist taking his picture! He will star in some future story, like the book about Frogs that is one of the SoftTouch Goodies you can download.
Reeds growing in wetland pond Leopard frog

Mt. Saint Helen's 26 Years After

Byron went up Mount Saint Helens, for a completely different hiking experience. For miles around he could see the shattered stumps of trees from the heavy forest that once covered the area. Byron describes his adventure with these words:

Shattered trees
Byron hiking Mt. Saint Helen's
Ashen river bed

"I went there in early August to hike the area 26 years after the eruption and see what the terrain looks like now. Of course I was looking at the flora and fauna along the way. It truly is an amazing site and sight too. I imagine in some ways that it resembles the moon.

When the wind kicks up, dust and ash blows around as if you are in a sandstorm. It is really desolate in areas, and the mixture of hundreds of tons of ash and the precipitation that has fallen since has left some incredible textural enigmas. It looks somewhat like petrified sand dunes with evidence of water slowly eroding the landscape."

Even in this desolation, though, life persists, like this delicate wildflower sprouting up through the ash. That's fireweed, often one of the first flowers to come back in a burned area.

Byron's photos from this hike will undoubtedly make their way into a study unit in times to come.

Wildflowers growing through the ash

The Beach In March

When Ann went to Crystal Cove State Park beach in California, there were no sunbathers or surfers. In March, the stiff breeze was chilly, and I was wishing for another layer or two. But it was a perfect day to take photographs, because there was an extra low tide that morning.
Ann on California beach

Exposed kelp bed
Guitarfish Snowy Egret
Those rocks beside me are usually completely under water at high tide. The tide line was so far out that even the edges of the kelp beds were exposed. An unfortunate guitarfish was left high and dry, but this was a great opportunity for birds like the snowy egret. He had a gourmet breakfast on crustaceans and mollusks that usually are under four feet of water and well out of his reach. Ann also had a feast of photographs, which will appear in future books about the ocean, like those in The Nature Series and The Exploring Nature Collection.
Ann between exposed rocks
Lemur with open mouth
My goodness! Would you look where Ann and Byron are going next!
Well, we can't tell you that secret yet, but one thing is for certain...We're taking our cameras along!
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