Ominent sky
This photo could be straight out of a sci-fi or disaster movie. Actually it's not that far from the truth since it's most likely the ashes from the erupted Icelandic volcano 'Eyjafjallajokull' (translation: island-mountains glacier) that causes the unique colouration.
Tulip
We have had some extraordinary nice days. With tempatures close to 20 degrees Celsius it has been a very nice weekend. All this sun makes the world a lot more colourful then it has been for the last couple of months.
It's a great time for taking photos and I hope you all enjoy it.
Moulting
This vipers blue eyes indicates it's about to moult.
Wikipedia:
Moulting serves a number of functions. Firstly, the old and worn skin is replaced; secondly, it helps get rid of parasites such as mites and ticks. Renewal of the skin by moulting is supposed to allow growth in some animals such as insects; however, this has been disputed in the case of snakes.
Moulting occurs periodically throughout a snake's life. Before a moult, the snake stops eating and often hides or moves to a safe place. Just before shedding, the skin becomes dull and dry looking and the eyes become cloudy or blue-colored. The inner surface of the old skin liquefies. This causes the old skin to separate from the new skin beneath it. After a few days, the eyes clear and the snake "crawls" out of its old skin. The old skin breaks near the mouth and the snake wriggles out, aided by rubbing against rough surfaces. In many cases the cast skin peels backward over the body from head to tail in one piece, like pulling a sock off inside-out. A new, larger, brighter layer of skin has formed underneath.
An older snake may shed its skin only once or twice a year. But a younger snake, still growing, may shed up to four times a year. The discarded skin gives a perfect imprint of the scale pattern, and it's usually possible to identify the snake if the discarded skin is reasonably intact. This periodic renewal has led to the snake being a symbol of healing and medicine, as pictured in the Rod of Asclepius.
Hello
This weekend I had the opportunity to take photos of vipers in the wild.
Please bare in mind that these animals are easily disturbed and I used a telelens to take these pictures. I always kept a distance of at least a couple of meters.
The rule to follow when taking photos of vipers is: if they start moving away you are too close.
Currently these vipers need all the warmth they can absorb to start feeding and get ready for mating season. By disturbing them you actually lower their chance of reproduction.
Unfortunately there too many photographers out there that in their own hunt for the ultimate picture don't think about the consequences of their behaviour and come too close and disturb these vipers. Sometimes they follow these animals off the trail or even try to catch them.
In the area where I took this photo this type of behaviour is currently the number one cause of the population decrease for these animals.
Vipers are magnificent animals but please keep your distance and avoid disturbing them. Stay on the trail and enjoy :)
Another Daffodil
This photo was also taken yesterday. Today turned out to be a real nice spring day. Unfortunately I had to work so I couldn't fully enjoy it but it's great the days are getting longer and longer so I could enjoy it a bit after work.
Daffodil
I finally had the opportunity to take some pictures again. With the weather slowly getting warmer and warmer the first Daffodils have emerged from the ground. Spring is in the air :)
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