Exeunt, pursuing a bear

I was sitting in on a lecture just now. The outside door was open, with the blind drawn up a couple of feet to let in the morning air and the remains of the breakfast buffet spread out nearby. Suddenly there was a cry of 'Bear!' and a shaggy brown rear end and leg were briefly visible. Everyone grabbed cameras and ran first to the windows and then outside, where indeed a sizeable brown bear was strolling through the woods and across the path.

No good pictures to show, alas; I got one hopeless blur and one shot of a nose and hindquarters on opposite sides of a tree.

'Bear with me,' the lecturer said when we finally reconvened and settled down.

Bigger better butterfly

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Originally uploaded by ellarien.

I spotted this one in the course of my lunchtime perambulations around the observatory; it was enjoying the thistle, and stayed there for quite a while as I snapped shot after shot.

Friday Flower

Cranesbill In the garden of The Lodge in Cloudcroft, NM