Kickass and Butterfly Wasp Photo

By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, often called upon to console the keeper over his shortcomings, steps up now to moderate his—the keeper’s excesses in claiming a camera coup in the area of nature photography. Having long been intimidated by photo friends who consistently produce sensational shots of scenes and sunsets and wild critters …
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Devolution

Artwork by Michael DiMilo             This past weekend, my brother and took a trip to the family cabin in order to take in the pier, an autumn ritual. It’s a long ride to get up there, just under a four-hour trek, but the fall colors were just reaching their peak, so it was very scenic, although …
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The Blurry Line

Artwork by Michael DiMilo             This last week, my family and I took a mini-vacation to the family cabin in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. The cottage has been in our family for a little over fifty years and sits on a beautiful spring-fed lake. After my father passed away, my mom—as she’s fond of telling—used to …
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Brooding Parasite

Artwork by Michael DiMilo The brown-headed cowbird has a notorious reputation as a brood parasite, a bird that relies on other species to raise its own young. A cowbird will find a host nest, destroy or evict one of the original resident’s eggs, and replace it with one of her own. The host bird will …
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