So last weekend I was just about to take some trash out to the bins when I noticed this little fellow sitting on our front lawn about 10 feet from the door.

He was quite comfy on our grass so while Danni was taking a few photos of him I ran up to get my camera. When I came back down he’d moved to within about 5 feet of our open door and just settled down for his photo shoot.

It was quite unusual to see a fox during the day, and also one who moved closer to you instead of running away.  I think he was quite a young fox, and when he finally did get up to wander off he was limping a bit so I’m wondering if that had something to do with it.  We just sat inside our door and enjoyed his company for a bit before he wandered off to do some important fox things.

This has sort of become a tradition of sorts around our place.  Come to visit and we’re very likely going to Richmond Park.  I think we both just really love it there but need some sort of excuse to make the trip out.  Especially now as it’s a couple of bus rides away.

We had much more success finding the deer than we did at our last family outing.  The winter weather had killed off most of the shoulder-height ferns so there wasn’t anywhere for the deer to hide.  Well, apart from being somewhere in the vastness that is Richmond Park.  Fortunately we didn’t have to wait too long to find them, we just needed to be willing to get our shoes a bit muddy.  It has definitely rained this year!

I’ve been enough times now that I can act as a bit of a mini tour-guide, provided I can keep to the general middle area of the park.  We did a wide loop around the ponds and through as many of the treed in areas as we could.  I enjoy the wide open spaces as much as the next prairie raised lad, but the bitter winds had us seeking as much shelter as possible in order to prolong our hike.

All in all a very successful deer spotting sojourn.  I think mom was quite happy with the wildlife, which is saying something for someone who grew up in Vancouver with the Rocky Mountains on her doorstep.  There are a few more images in the gallery, but they’re mostly family images.  If you’re after more deer photos, I was at the park with gusto earlier in the year to get my fill of deer shots.

After my last trip to Richmond park was only partially successful in finding any deer, I knew I had to go back and try again.  Fortunately, this time of year is the best time to go and there were several folks from the POTN forum who where planning a trip.  Better still, the plan was to go out (very) early in the morning to get a few shots with the sun rising and the deer just starting their day.

I was lucky enough to borrow a friends 300mm lens for the day, which made all the difference in the world.  The longest lens I own is 200mm, and it just wouldn’t have cut it on this day.  If you’re reading this and also wondering what to get me for Christmas, one of those lenses wouldn’t be turned away.  You’d even get a thank-you card!

It’s apparently too early in the season for the deer to start rutting, but there was a fair bit of territorial stomping and honking.  I don’t know the correct term for the noise the bucks make, but it sounds like an angry car horn so I’m going with ‘honking’.  There were a few of the bigger guys sharpening their antlers on trees, but no real action to speak of.

It was a bit of a learning experience as I’m not really all that familiar with the species of deer that are present here in the UK.  There are apparently 2 different types in Richmond Park: Red deer (the first two images) and Fallow deer (the second two).  The red deer are similar to the Mule deer we had back in Canada and Fallow deer are a bit of an odd one, looking like cute fawns that have moose-like antlers.  They were a bit less aggressive as well, letting us get closer to them and not spending their time competing with the other stags.

All in all, it was a much more productive day for deer spotting than my last attempt.  I only wish my wife and mother in law were along this time to see the amazing displays that they missed out on.  At least the deer aren’t going anywhere, we can always try back next time!  Thanks again to Lee for offering up a lift and to Ian for the lens loan.

There are a few more deer type photos in the gallery.

One of the first things I noticed when we moved out to Sutton were the massive spiders all around our new complex.  I’m not much of an insect photographer but I thought it might be nice to get the camera out again.  It’s been spending a lot of time collecting dust this year.

Anyway, I wasn’t particularly happy with my first set but I suppose that’s a good thing as it leaves all that room for improvement!

When I’d finished poking around my neighbours gardens I came back inside and set up my light tent for Danni to photograph some of her new jewelry stock.  My handy stormtrooper is always eager to stand in for a few test shots while I get the light sorted.  It made me want to do some more staged shots with the lego, I’ll have to dig it out of storage soon I think.

That’s it for the macro shots, I’ll try to get a few more keepers next time!

My old BVI flatmates and good friends Mo & Kerry have recently found themselves working in Jasper which just so happens to be close (in Canadian terms) to Edmonton.  I managed to borrow dad’s car for the day to drive the ~300km trip out to spend the evening with them and take in the sights of Alberta’s other big national park.

Mo & Kerry were my tour guides for the afternoon and we did a bit of hiking while wandering around some falls.  I don’t remember the name I’m afraid, but it was suitably impressive for someone living in London who doesn’t get to see such things on a day to day basis.

After our little hike it was off to Jasper for dinner and then to Hinton for a quick walk around the beaver boardwalks.  These are a series of very cool elevated boardwalks that meander through a marshy area directly around a beaver damed pond.  We sat and watched 3 or 4 different beavers swimming around collecting food and just doing their beavery things the way only beavers can. ( I’m trying to increase traffic to my site by collecting search results for the word beaver, you may have noticed)

There was a pretty amazing sky on the way back to Mo & Kerry’s place so I took quite a few images like this next one all through the car window.  Gotta love nature in Canada!

More images of lovely Jasper in the gallery.