Nothing inspires and delights me more than spending time in nature. Birds are the beings who make my heartstrings vibrate most fervently, but I also enjoy encounters with other animals. Fortunately, it’s still possible to meet scaled, furred, or feathered creatures, but I don’t take these joyful moments for granted and feel privileged whenever they occur.
In order to share some of them, I dove into my archives and selected a few images for each month of this waning year, starting with the Great Horned Owl which granted me a glimpse into its sleepy eyes on January 1, and ending with yet another locking of eyes with a nocturnal animal taking a daytime nap in a tree in December.
To enlarge a photo, click on it.
January 2021:
American Dipper; Wilson’s Snipe
February 2021:
Pair of squirrels dancing a two-step; newborn sheep (I watched it drop to the ground)
March 2021:
Mountain Bluebird; Porcupine
April 2021:
13-lined Ground Squirrel (the lines are on its back); migrating Snowy Egrets and Greater Yellowlegs
May 2021:
Cuddly Canada Goslings, often the first spring bird babies; Painted Turtle; Bullfrog
June 2021:
Red Fox; Racoon
Some of you will remember my review of one of the most memorable books I have ever had the good fortune to come across. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “Braiding Sweetgrass” advocates approaches for living in the world that appear novel, even though they have long been practiced by various Indigenous cultures. In the chapter “Learning the Grammar of Animacy,” which summarizes her efforts to learn her tribal language, the author explains:
To whom does our language extend the grammar of animacy? Naturally, plants and animals are animate, but as I learn, I am discovering that the Potowatomi understanding of what it means to be animate diverges from the list of attributes of living beings we all learned in Biology 101. In Potowatomi 101, rocks are animate, as are mountains and water and fire and places. Beings that are imbued with spirit, our sacred medicines, our songs, drums, and even stories, are animate.
Furthermore, she ponders:
Learning the grammar of animacy could well be a restraint on our mindless exploitation of land. But there is more to it. I have heard our elders give advice like “You should go among the standing people” or “Go spend some time with those Beaver people.” They remind us of the capacity of others as our teachers, as holders of knowledge, as guides. Imagine walking through a richly inhabited world of Birch people, Bear people, Rock people, beings we think of and therefore speak of as persons worthy of our respect, of inclusion in a peopled world. We Americans are reluctant to learn a foreign language of our own species, let alone another species. But imagine the possibilities. Imagine the access we would have to different perspectives, the things me might see through other eyes, the wisdom that surrounds us. We don’t have to figure out everything by ourselves: there are intelligences other than our own, teachers all around us. Imagine how much less lonely the world would be.
July 2021:
Bullock’s Oriole, embodying the vibrancy of summer; curious alpaca
August 2021:
Not one but two Northern Pygmy-Owls; Mississippi Kite; Burro in a meadow
September 2021:
German Roe Deer doe with fawn in a vineyard; German cows resting in a lush meadow
October 2021:
Galloway cow with a calf in Germany; German domestic goose taking an open-eyed nap
November 2021:
Draft horses at Rock Ledge Ranch enjoying (?) late-autumn sunshine; alert Mule Deer watching me
December 2021:
Northern Pygmy-Owl at Red Rock Canyon; irresistible Porcupine (I want to cuddle it so badly)
In this spirit, I hope you have had your own special experiences with Brother Bear, Sister Swan, Cousin Cougar, or Aunt Anteater, and I wish all of us memorable and meaningful moments with our animal relatives in the year to come.
Happy New Year with many other wonderful captures!
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Thank you. I wish you the same!
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I’ve long been puzzled by the fact that a mammal dropping to the ground while being born doesn’t get hurt. Or maybe it does but quickly recovers.
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I have wondered the same, Steve. Just think of the distance a giraffe baby drops while being delivered! I suspect they are so pliable that they suffer no harm. Or at least I hope so
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I too would happily cuddle that porcupine, and also most of the other critters you’ve featured! And my late mother would have gone crazy for your horned owl. Great set of images, reminders of all that’s wonderful about nature.
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Thank you, Mrs. P., your statement about wonderful nature brings it all to the point. Why porcupines look particularly cuddly I don’t know, but my instinct to hug them is not deterred by my knowledge of their pointed quills. Fortunately for me, they always keep their safe distance.
Happy animal encounters to all of us in 2022.
Warmly,
Tanja
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What a lovely selection of memories. It often pays to look through the old files just to jog the old grey matter that there were good times!
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Thank you, Brian. I know that, as a photographer yourself, you speak from experience. I like to take the time at the end of the year to look through all my photos as a reminder. It’s amazing how often I am a reminded of a particular moment I had already forgotten.
Wishing both of us good times for the coming year.
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Happy New Year with many other gorgeous pics! 🌹❣️🌹
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Thank you, Luisa.
I also wish you a happy and healthy new year and look forward to many more interesting and instructive blog posts form you.
Best,
Tanja
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Thanks dear Tanja. Thanks for all the love and support you’ve shown me. 💗❣️💗
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My pleasure. 😊🙏
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My faves are the painted turtle and the oriole. Hi, Tanja. A very Happy New Year to you and yours.
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Thank you, Neil. You picked the most colorful animals. Maybe orange and red are your favorite colors!?
Best wishes for the new year to you and your loved ones as well.
Tanja
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Hi. I like most colors. Blue is my favorite.
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What a wonderful roundup of images from the past year!
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Thank you, V.J. I’m very happy about all these special moments.
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What a great collection of pictures from your year. I love the mountain blue bird. Maggie
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Thank you. So far, the Mountain Bluebird has had 3 comments, which is not surprising, as it’s an extremely charismatic bird. I’m wishing all of us many bluebird encounters in the year to come.
Best,
Tanja
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Was für eine wunderbare Zusammenstellung. Toll.
Den Mountain Bluebird im Yellowstone getroffen zu haben, war eines meiner schönsten Naturerlebnisse.
Rutsch gut ins Neue Jahr
Bis denne denn
Maren
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Dankeschön, liebe Maren.
Mountain Bluebirds sind für mich immer wie eine Erscheinung aus einer besseren Welt, und ich kann gut nachvollziehen, daß Du Dich an Deine Begegnung mit ihnen in Yellowstone erinnern kannst.
Auch Dir die besten Wünsche für das kommende Jahr.
Tanja
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Ich liebe es, dass du die Natur so liebst, Tanja.
Ein gutes Neues Jahr wünsche ich dir und bleib gesund!
Liebe Grüße Brigitte
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Dankeschön, liebe Brigitte. Die Liebe zur Natur haben wir ja gemein.
Möge sie uns lange erhalten bleiben.
Alles Liebe,
Tanja
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Liebe Tanja,
der Mountain Bluebird ist und bleibt mein absoluter Favorit bei Deinen diesjährigen fotografischen Fängen.
Dieses Blau erscheint mir märchenhaft, fast unwirklich und das ist für mich besonders ansprechend – ein bißchen vielleicht wie die berühmte Blaue Blume der Romantik.
Ich teile Deine Einstellung zu Natur und Mitwelt. Auch ich finde Gleichgewicht und Regeneration beim Aufenthalt in der – möglichst wilden – Natur. Und wenn es dann sogar noch zu einer besonderen Tier- oder Pflanzenbegegnung kommt, ist das eine willkommene Zugabe, die mich mit freudigem Dank erfüllt.
Herzensgruß von mir zu Dir ❤
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Liebe Ulrike,
ich danke Dir für Deine Reflektionen und erinnere mich, daß es Dir die Mountain Bluebirds bereits in vorherigen Beiträgen angetan hatten. Das kann ich gut verstehen, denn mir ergeht es ebenso, wann immer ich sie sehe.
Wie ich in einem vorherigen Kommentar bereits sagte, erscheinen diese Vögel wie Boten einer besseren Welt, und mein Herz macht immer einen kleinen Freudensprung, wenn sie durch die Lüfte segeln.
Für das neue Jahr wünsche ich uns beiden besondere Tier- und Pflanzenbegegnungen.
In herzlicher Verbundenheit,
Tanja
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Happy New Year Tanja! Stay well and take care. Looking forward to catching up with you again in 2022 🙂
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Thank you so much, Liz.
I hope you and Nigel will end 2021 well and start 2022 the same way.
Warm greetings,
Tanja
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Wonderful memories, all of them. As always it has been a real pleasure to read your writing and view your images this year. Sincerely looking forward to sharing more “bird” (and other) stories next year and beyond. Wishing you and all your dear ones a safe and healthy happy new year.
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Dear Takami,
Thank you for your kind comments throughout the years. Your continued support is much appreciated. 😊
I also wish you and your family and friends good health and many meaningful moments in nature in 2022.
Kind regards,
Tanja
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Such beautiful memories, Tanja; thanks for sharing! I wish you a most memorable 2022 filled with the best that mother nature can offer! 🙂
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Thank you very much, Narendra, I wish you the same and look forward to reading about your experiences.
Happy 2022.
Tanja
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Wow, you saw porcupines, how cool! Happy new year!
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There is a place in the country where I like to bird which harbors many porcupines, and I usually get to see at least one when I’m there. 😊
Happy New Year to you as well.
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I love this! Wonderful photos
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Thank you, Chelsea.
Happy New Year!
Tanja
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A wonderful collection of special meetings! Hope you have many more to come in 2022 – Happy New Year! 🙂
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Thank you, Ann. I also wish you many special moments in nature, be it in your garden or elsewhere.
All the best for 2022.
Tanja
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Happy and healthy new year with a lot of wonderful moments in nature! All the best for you and your family. Anna
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Thank you, dear Anna. I wish you and your loved ones all the best for the new year as well.
Tanja
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All of your critters are irresistible! I would really like to cuddle the porcupine too. 😊
Frohes neues Jahr, mein Freund!
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Thank you, Kerry, they make me so happy. Too bad we won’t be able to get our wish and cuddle that porcupine, but that doesn’t have to prevent us from imaging it. 😊
Wishing you a safe and happy ending to 2021 and a good start into 2022.
Auch Dir wünsche ich ein frohes neues Jahr!
Alles Gute,
Tanja
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May we both see as many wild animals that make us happy!!
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I agree wholeheartedly. 😊🐦🦉🐝🐸🐰🐴🦅
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What gorgeous captures! Love them all. Happy & Healthy New Year!

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Thank you, Cindy. I wish you all the best for 2022 as well.
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A beautiful variety and collection of your past year, Tanja! Best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year!
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Thank you, Donna. I also hope 2022 will be a good and healthy year for you and your loved ones.
Warmly,
Tanja
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Thank you kindly, Tanja!
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Your post brought to mind something I’ve been meaning to tell you. Do you remember my posts about the wonderful pink prairie grass called Gulf Muhly? Its genus is Muhlenbergia, and in the process of researching the genus, I discovered that the ‘sweetgrass’ used for braiding is a relative commonly known as gulfhairawn muhly.You can read more about it here. I would have missed the connection, except a friend who lives in South Carolina, and who sent me a grass basket for Christmas one year, remarked on seein ga grass similar to ‘my’ pink grass stacked and drying in the shop of the woman who wove the basket.
This was a particularly interesting bit in the article:
“weetgrass leaves or “threads” are the main component used for African-coiled basketry made by the Gullah/Geechee community around Mount Pleasant and Charleston, SC. The common name “sweetgrass” comes from the fresh, corn-silk fragrance of the threads. Sea Islands Germplasm is being used by the Corps ofEngineers in coastal restoration plantings in South Carolina toreduce soil erosion and to reestablish populations that have been displaced by development and damaged by hurricanes and tropical storms. These reintroductions are being made in areas that are accessible for harvesting by area basketmakers.”
John Muir was right; there are connections everywhere. Now, after all that, I have to tell you how much I enjoyed the photos in this post, just as I’ve enjoyed all of your posts through the year. I doubt if I’ll come across a porcupine this year, but I might finally see a bullfrog!
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Thank you for the compliment and for the link, Linda. I think the sweetgrass in “Braiding Sweetgrass” is another plant, Hierochloe odorata” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierochloe_odorata).
The problem with common names is that they are often applied to several sweet-smelling plants. Also, many grasses are braided or fashioned into baskets. Unless one is a botanist, it gets very confusing. 🙂
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One of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors! Her previous book: “Gathering Moss” is such a hauntingly beautiful labor of love. As are these photos you’ve captured this past year! Wishing you all the best.
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Thank you so much. Your comment is very timely as I order a copy of “Gathering Moss” just before Christmas. I look forward to reading it soon!
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What a beautiful selection of images as well as food for thought. Paired with some of my drawings in the show is the question, “What would the owls say to us if we could understand their language?”
Last week when I squatted to speak to the orphaned Howler Monkey, I replicated the sounds the monkeys taught me years ago in Costa Rica. One sound they made when they were very content, basking in the big trees over where I sat below. The other was a high-pitched squeaky sound the young ones would ‘say’ to me – to get me to stop working and pay attention to them. I would repeat their sound, then say “Hola and Hello”.. and they’d squeak again.
I thought the sounds would comfort the monkey, but no one expected it to ‘bolt’ to me lightning fast, and onto my back/shoulders and head, where it began making strange sounds. I didn’t know if it was scared or mad or comforted, but we later decided it was the closest sound to its own it had heard in a long time… It was hard to leave it — but they said it was going to a rescue shelter.
Those who don’t enjoy nature are missing a lot, aren’t they?!
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I appreciate your comment, Lisa.
And thank you for sharing your experience with the howler monkey. That’s definitely much closer than any of the encounters I have enjoyed and I imagine that it left an indelible impression on you.
I hope the howler monkey will fare well, and I hope the same for so many other creatures.
Warmly,
Tanja
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This is a fabulous post, Tanja! The thing that strikes me is the truly wide variety of creatures you have been able to see and photograph. What is more uplifting than nature!
On to more sightings in 2022!
Julie
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Thank you, Julie. I was very grateful for this variety and look forward to my 2022 encounters. I hope yours will be uplifting and varied as well.
Warmly,
Tanja
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Hi Tanja – I really enjoyed your selection of lovely photos showcasing such a variety of interesting creatures and celebrating the nature that is there if we are lucky enough and also choose to see it. I remember reading about the book ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ in your post last year and being quite struck by it. I like these two quotations and the notion that nature has the vast capacity and wisdom to both teach and comfort us. It is good to go forward into the year ahead imagining and trying to be aware of new possibilities.
Sending best wishes to you for the year ahead with many special encounters in nature to look forward to.
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The baby sheep and the goslings look so cute! Happy 2022 to you, Tanja! 🙂
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Animal babies always melt our hearts, don’t they?
Thank you for the good wishes, Nirmala. I hope 2022 will be a good year for you as well.
Warmly,
Tanja
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Ich bin begeistert von der Zusammenstellung deiner wunderbaren Fotos, liebe Tanja. Jedes einzelne zeigt zauberhafte Lebewesen, auf die wir aufpassen, die wir respektieren und die wir schützen sollten. Ich kann mich gar nicht entscheiden, wlches für mich das schönste Foto ist – vielleicht die beiden kleinen Käuze auf dem Ast, die gelassen umherschauen oder die niedlichen, putzigen Gänschen, die sich aneinander kuscheln?
Hach…wie schön doch unsere Erde ist!
Ich liebe diesen Planeten…
Tanja, ich wünsche dir und deinen Lieben ein wunderbares Jahr voller kleiner Freuden, hellen Glücksmomenten und vor allen Dingen natürlich Gesundheit. 💕😊
Alles Liebe und Gute…..von Rosie
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Herzlichen Dank für Deinen begeisterten Kommentar, liebe Rosi. Deine Liebe zu diesem wunderbaren Planeten mit seinen ebenso wunderbaren Bewohnern teile ich von ganzem Herzen. Mögen wir ihnen das Leben ermöglichen und erleichtern, anstatt ihnen (und damit auch uns ) die Lebensgrundlage zu entziehen.
Auch Deine guten Wünsche erwidere ich gerne und wünsche Dir nur das Beste.
Herzliche Grüße,
Tanja
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🌹🌞
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