Tuesday, January 26, 2010

National Parks

Pronghorn Antelope (Atilocapra americana)

Yesterday I watched three remarkable episodes of a BBC production, "Yellowstone". I was in awe all the way through. The camera work was fantastic capturing the wildlife and their habits and the scenery; breathtaking! I'd never heard of the Pronghorn Antelope, or Prong Buck, nor the Pika, a cousin of the rabbit. The Pronghorn is said to be the fastest land mammal in the world, second only to the cheetah. I loved learning about the bison and the grizzly bears and the way the mothers cared for their young but my favourite was the otter.

American Pika (Ochotona princeps)

Another program that started this week is The National Parks: America's Best Idea. I've watched one episode and look forward to the rest.
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13 comments:

  1. Rosaria WilliamsJanuary 26, 2010 at 4:48 PM

    These are stupendous opportunities for city folks to see wildlife.

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  2. alaine@éclectiqueJanuary 26, 2010 at 5:12 PM

    Lakeviewer, I know! I'll be buying the DVD, as I only have it on video.

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  3. UnknownJanuary 26, 2010 at 10:10 PM

    Hi Alaine,

    I love the colours of the vegetation behind the Pronghorn and that you have used a cerise/pink colour for your captions and the lilac headings.

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  4. Wanda.....January 26, 2010 at 11:47 PM

    The photo of the Pika was precious, reminded me of a child with a gift of picked flowers! I think I might like to own the same DVD.
    Thank you for your kind comment at my blog, Alaine!

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  5. Tess KincaidJanuary 27, 2010 at 12:56 AM

    We watched the National Parks series not long ago and it was excellent!

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  6. alaine@éclectiqueJanuary 27, 2010 at 6:38 AM

    Hello Wanda, all of the animals were so clever; of course they had to be to stay alive!!

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  7. alaine@éclectiqueJanuary 27, 2010 at 6:39 AM

    Derrick, thanks. I've gone mad on purple lately!

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  8. alaine@éclectiqueJanuary 27, 2010 at 6:42 AM

    Willow, I loved the diary readings of Margaret Gurkey; her annual trips into the parks with her husband. They were so brave; the roads were dirt tracks and no 4WDs back then!

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  9. LynJanuary 28, 2010 at 8:39 AM

    The National Parks show is definitely worth watching. My brother is going on trip to Yellowstone next week, still all snowed in, specifically to see the grizzly bears. Lucky guy!

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  10. alaine@éclectiqueJanuary 28, 2010 at 11:46 AM

    Hi Lyn, the second episode is on tonight. The grizzlies would be just about ready to come out of hibernation. I wouldn't want to be too close. I've seen some great docos about them.

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  11. SusanFebruary 2, 2010 at 6:14 AM

    Alaine, I do hope that you are able to visit Yellowstone someday. TV pictures just can't begin to do it justice. I have the national parks series on my DVR and we just started watching them a few days ago. Ken Burns does such a lovely job on documentaries. I would love to see that BBC prod. of Yellowstone.

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  12. SusanFebruary 2, 2010 at 6:15 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. alaine@éclectiqueFebruary 2, 2010 at 7:23 AM

    Susan... I'm just finding out about Ken Burns's documentaries; so glad that our ABC is showing them. The Yellowstone episodes are so beautiful; I could watch it again and again. I doubt if I'll ever get to see the real thing, though!

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