My Dad’s name was John and he was a first generation Scottish Canadian. He had beautiful blue eyes, a great sense of humour and could cut a mean jitterbug! He passed away in September of 2018 after a struggle with Alzheimer’s. A couple of days after he died, I woke up with vivid thoughts of my Dad. I got up, made my coffee and looked out on the back deck. There was a gorgeous blue jay sitting looking back at me.

In 14 years blue jays have NEVER come near my deck. In fact, in all my years photographing birds, as soon as I would spot a jay on any of my hikes, they would disappear before I could raise my lens. But this guy was sitting right out on the deck, just feet from the back door. I grabbed some nuts from the pantry and opened the door, expecting him to fly off, but he stayed right where he was. I took a few steps towards him and left the nuts on the rail beside him. Before I could step back inside, he hopped over next to me and picked up a couple of snacks. It was utterly bizarre and beautiful!

My Dad had stopped eating towards the end of his life. The blue jay must have eaten and cached over 30 nuts that morning and all I could think of was that my Dad was ok. He was letting me know he was eating again.

My Companion in Sorrow

In the weeks that followed, Dad-jay continued to visit me every day or other day, while I mourned my Dad. I was in the middle of a kitchen renovation and the workmen could not believe it. Dad-jay look in the window for me, the workmen would call me and I would go out with some nuts. They would all stop and watch and take pictures! He was also fine with Pluto visiting, and she was quite curious about this special visitor getting snacks!

One day I was out on the front porch and he came to the wires above, called incessantly to get my attention. Once I looked up, he flew back and sat in the dining room window at the other end of the house. He sat there watching me as I came down the hall to get his nuts. He started bringing his lady-jay friend and although she was a little more timid, she enjoyed the nuts as well

Dad-jay’s Final Good-bye

A few weeks later, on the day we would lay my Dad to rest, he came to see me in the morning. I was making Rice Krispy squares–my Dad ate RK’s every morning of his adult life. We had a nice visit and I sat next to him and shared some peanuts. The following day at the reception, I dropped everyone at the door and went to park the car. When I got out of the car, a blue jay called from the trees. At the time, I thought it was his final goodbye, but I would be wrong.

Several months later, I had to undergo surgery. When I woke that morning, he was back! I loaded the rail with peanuts and he took them one by one, caching them around the hood. When a second death struck the family a couple of months later, Dad-jay arrived and stayed a couple of days, offering some mysterious reassurance that all was well in the afterlife.

A year passed and on the anniversary of my Dad’s death, this remarkable bird was in the kitchen window waiting for me, helping me get through that particularly tough day. His girlfriend, now a little less nervous, and a smaller juvenile joined him.

Another Anniversary and Dad-jay Returns

For two years Dad-jay has stopped by at just the right moments in time. I am often asked how I know it is the same blue jay? I just do. He comes to the same window, perches in the same spot and spends time next to me. For me, there is no doubt.

Last week, as the anniversary of my Dad’s death approached, he showed once again–in full moult! This time there was another pair with him and I feel strongly they are his family. They are timid, swooping in to pick up a nut and then quickly flying off. But not him. He still sits in the window or will hop over and stand right next to me as he chooses his peanut. He actually picks them up and shakes them, choosing to fly off with what I believe is the heaviest one!

I am delighted and reassured he continues to visit. Knocking on the window or calling until I show up, he stays patient by the backdoor. I continue to thank him for his company. I no longer question the wonder of it all.

Miss you Dad.

Thanks for supporting my work!

If you enjoy my content, please visit my ko-fi pages and consider becoming a member of the Armchair Wanderers or the Wild Bunch! Ko-fi members have access to exclusive images, videos and stories not posted anywhere else–including behind-the-scenes safari antics while I am on location shooting in Kenya! Membership has its privileges!

The post Dad-jay: Remembering my Father appeared first on NJ Wight.

The Texture of Elephants

Wrinkled and rough, creased and crusted, the texture of elephants create living landscapes in nature. These thundering giants with gentle eyes captivate and hold tight in our imagination. Even if you have never seen one, it is likely that your mind can quite easily conjure up an image of this unique and curious creature. And yet, if you have been lucky enough to encounter one up close, you might be hard-pressed to find the words to describe it the magic of being in its presence.

Wild Elephant Encounters

Whether sitting quietly surrounded by a large herd in the Sabi Sands, listening to the cracking of branches and swooshing of trunks as they forage and feed in the woodland, or watching a family play and relax on the banks of Kenya’s Ewaso Ngíro River, each experience has been different from the last. And each encounter leaves me longing for the next.

Love at First Sight

My very first trip to the continent was visiting Tanzania in 2007 and I was rightfully humbled by the mock-charge of a large bull in musth! It was in Tanzania that I first stood barefoot in elephant footprints and watched in the moonlight as a small family crossed a dry riverbed 100 feet from our truck. There years later, in Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve, I photographed a 3-day old calf — and the next day, that same calf taking baby steps, another day older.

Once, at first-light in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, a young bull paid me a visit at my tent, his eyelashes poking through the mesh window as I was lacing my boots. Every experience has been memorable. You do not easily forget an elephant encounter. Now, after 10 years of travelling to Africa, my elephant memories will last me a lifetime!

Walking With Elephants

Morula was born around 1977 and was an orphan of a Zimbabwean culling program. She was 31 when I met her and had the opportunity to walk with her through the wilds of the Okavango Delta. She was one of three elephants that I was privileged to spend time with, accompanied by Doug Groves of the Living with Elephants Foundation. Rubbing her trunk, legs, and belly, my fingers roamed her textures, delighting in the feel of her hard, rough skin and her prickly, thick ridges covered with short bristles of hair. We joined her family, trailing behind and walking through the bush, in her way, in her time. When she lay her trunk over my shoulder it felt like a wire brush and I was astonished by its weight. My heart danced in my chest…

Elephant Ears are a Soft Touch

There is absolutely nothing delicate about the texture of elephants. That is until you rub behind their ears. The most heightened sensory experience I have ever had with an animal has been running my hands behind the ears of an elephant. Their skin transforms. Warm and soft with smooth contours, those enormous flaps protecting hidden hollows. It is magical. They are living landscapes my palms have roamed in wonder.

Our Connection to Elephants

Elephants seem to hold enormous appeal. I am not quite sure what it is about this marvelous animal that captivates us so. Whether it is the unimaginable size or that wondrous and unusual body? Or perhaps we are drawn to the herd and the close sense of family they share with humans? Or maybe their deeply emotional personalities? Whatever it is, of one thing I am quite certain; our connection to the elephant runs very, very deep.

I know I have been charmed by the elephants I have met and I am fortunate to carry them with me.

For more information about elephants and how you can help, please visit the following organizations:

http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/

http://worldwildlife.org/species/african-elephant

https://biglife.org/

http://www.bornfree.org.uk/campaigns/elephants/

The post The Texture of Elephants: Living Landscapes in Nature appeared first on NJ Wight.

“If all you can do is crawl, start crawling.” —Rumi

What better way to bring in a new year than to celebrate some of the little lives I have been privileged to photograph in Africa. It is always special to watch young animals making their way in the world with exuberance and curioisty and I love the creative challenge of capturing their energy and innocence. They are endlessly amusing and I am aware of striking a balance between following their antics through the viewfinder and sitting back and enjoying the show. Either way, it is difficult not to feel joyful in their presence. They are so deserving of our respect and protection. We must not fail them.

Wishing you a peaceful year. Thanks so much for your continued encouragement and support of my work.

The post New Beginnings appeared first on NJ Wight.