An apparently thoughtful young vervet monkey photographed while quietly savouring a small fruit on the back deck of our house.
This is the last in my series of photos on vervet monkeys in our garden. I have enjoyed finding these photos and sharing them, and I am delighted with comments indicating that others appreciate the monkeys too.
I have decided to take a break from the “weekly photo find” series and from next week I will be publishing only one post a week. For one thing, I know I find it difficult to keep up with blogs that post more than once or twice a week! However, depending on how things go I may revive the “photo find”, perhaps making it monthly or fortnightly instead of finding a photo each week. I wonder if you have any thoughts on blogging frequency and how to keep up with reading as much as one would like too?
Posted by Carol
letting nature back in 
March 7, 2019 at 3:22 pm
What a great capture! It really does seem to be deep in thought. Very nice, indeed. 😊
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March 7, 2019 at 6:56 pm
Thanks Irene. I was pleased to be able to catch something about the more pensive side to its character.
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March 6, 2019 at 11:38 am
Carol, I am not a blogger but find your blogs most interesting. Being so busy with what I do, it is comforting that when I miss one, or don’t have time to read all the texts, I can always, and do, go back to them any time at a later stage. And let me be honest, being a South African and know what a “pest” Velvet Monkeys (and baboons, for that matter) can be at some of our parks and camp sites (due to humans feeding them) your photos were outstanding. This last one immediately made me think of Rodin’s Thinker! So human….
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March 7, 2019 at 6:54 pm
Thanks very much Suzette. Yes, it is nice that blog posts remain with no pressure to have to read them in a hurry. Regarding the vervets, because they are so often encountered by people in rather combative situations at camp sites where they have learnt food is easily available, I hoped to show them when the are relaxed and peaceful and so convey a side to them that many people don’t see. In fact in more harmonious circumstances when left to their own devices vervets often appear to be pensive with a quiet dignity.
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March 5, 2019 at 1:09 am
I have simply adored your vervet series as well as other colorful flora and fauna in your area. They have brightened up my New England Winter. I don’t know how anyone manages to churn out blogs very often. I’ve decided that my photography was the important bit, so the text is short and I am hoping they speak in a wordless way….I would love to continue seeing pics of the velvet even with short text. One look at a picture like that, and I can’t imagine how anyone could think that animals don’t have souls! Thanks for your posts.
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March 5, 2019 at 6:38 pm
Thanks very much, and I do enjoy your photos, and its interesting to see your winter during our summer, which is rapidly turning into autumn all to soon from my perspective! I am so pleased that you are taken by the vervets – I was hoping to convey their more soulful side. I will definitely be featuring more on the vervets in the future.
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March 4, 2019 at 6:47 am
I too have loved the monkey series. What a great set of photos. It’s easy to picture this one as a human face, which shows how close we humans are to them. As far as blogging frequency goes, I think everyone should do what works for them. One of the nice things about blogging is there are no fixed requirements. None of us know the schedules of other bloggers or the other demands on their time. I do find myself pressed for time to check out and respond to other blogs. In particular, I post responses to a couple of photo challenges and would like to check out other responses, but I don’t always have the time. I post something daily because I take a lot of photos, but many or most of them aren’t accompanied by a lot of text. Maybe one or two a week are longer and require more time to put together. (Don’t feel like you have to look at all my posts!) I like your posts because they’re so comprehensive in covering the topic and I find them very informative, and the photos are invariably great. Anyway, I hope you keep posting whatever you are able and I will continue to look forward to reading them.
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March 4, 2019 at 8:03 pm
Thanks Graham – I have a friend who has a sticker on her car saying “proud to be primate”, and I think we do tend to forget how close/similar we are, as you say.
You are right about how we should simply do what works for us re blogging, and I think I need to be less anxious about “keeping up” – we can each only do so much, but I do feel I miss a lot of what I’d really like to keep up with! I do enjoy your photos and learning a bit about Hawaii. In many respects islands are microcosms. Thanks so much for the feedback. I will keep on blogging weekly. I have this feeling that if I don’t have a weekly schedule I will either dither and not decide on a topic, or just keep on polishing a post and then lose heart and not post it!
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March 8, 2019 at 6:37 am
I find a schedule helpful in keeping my impetus up. I have a loose template for my posts and I generally have an idea what I’ll post for the week ahead. I think the trick is to maintain the schedule as an asset and not a dark cloud hanging over one. I wrote a weekly newspaper column for many years and one thing I got used to was that none of them were going to be Pulitzer winners. I wrote them, submitted them, and moved on to the next one. I did the best I could on any given week, but I learned not to be too critical of myself if I didn’t ‘nail it’ every week.
We do have to fit blogs into everything else going on in our lives and what that is varies from person to person. As I mentioned before, I think both your writing and photos are top notch so, from a selfish point of view, I hope you do keep blogging on whatever schedule works for you.
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March 8, 2019 at 8:13 pm
I agree that a deadline/schedule can be a healthy impetus. I know that without one I would feel the need to keep on polishing the piece and probably never post it, so I understand what you mean when you describe writing your newspaper column, submitting it on deadline and then letting it go. I should think that another benefit of writing a regular column is learning to write concisely and with a certain pithiness (which I think you successfully do in your blog).
Thanks very much for your encouragement and I am glad you like my writing and photos as I consider both to be important! I do intend to keep on blogging – I learn such a lot doing each post and its great to connect with others – and I’ll stick with the weekly slot.
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March 4, 2019 at 6:41 am
I’ve loved this series. Take a break if you need to of course, but I appreciate your weekly photos as much as your extended pieces. Always interesting, as well as being fine photos in their own right.
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March 4, 2019 at 7:48 pm
Thanks so much Margaret. I appreciate the encouragement, especially when I am feeling at a slightly low ebb. I should I will be restarting the photo series before too long.
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March 2, 2019 at 11:18 pm
Wonderful photo! I’ve enjoyed your series very much. I understand your desire to simplify, though I always love seeing your photos. I don’t think you post too much, as I find them informative and interesting. Too much is multiple posts in one day!
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March 3, 2019 at 7:08 am
Thanks very much and for the feedback, Eliza. I’ll see how I go and maybe revive a photo series in some shape or form when it feels right. I did enjoy showcasing the Vervets.
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March 1, 2019 at 5:32 am
I have also loved this vervet series. It’s been wonderful to see the many moods and expressions of these darling creatures.
As for blogging frequency- I have a very hard time keeping up. It’s a challenge to find the time to read all the posts I might like to. It seems I often fall behind. I’ve never been able to post on a specific schedule. I’ve drifted into posting when I have something I wish to share, or whenever I’ve managed to sort and put together a recent trip or event. I think you summed it up well in the above reply to Leya: “Balancing blogging time with everything else is an ongoing dynamic!” I must say that following yours has been a great pleasure.
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March 2, 2019 at 7:35 pm
Thanks Gunta, and as I have said before, I am very happy that the vervets delight others too.
I think it is good to only post when one has something to share and not have to scratch for ideas just to meet a schedule. However, I need the discipline of a regular slot and find I am never short of something to share 🙂 Thank you for following my blog and I am flattered that you enjoy it. Likewise, I enjoy your blog, the interesting quotations, and your stunning photos are inspiring.
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March 1, 2019 at 2:26 am
I do my blogging – writing and reading – in the quiet of the very early morning hours.
And every Friday morning I so look forward to seeing what you’ve shared the previous evening, Carol!
I enjoy going through my old photos from time to time, reliving great memories of beautiful places and exciting sightings, and I imagine that your “weekly photo find” posts were born from exactly that pleasure too? So I understand totally that, if it is not pleasurable anymore, it needs to take a back seat!
I know I’ve complimented you on it before, but I really appreciate your weekly feature posts so much; the hard work and dedication that goes into them, researching and illustrating them so beautifully so that we can enjoy your interests and love for nature with you shines so clearly as a labour of love, and your readers, like me I’m sure, enjoy being treated to something more than “popcorn and bubblegum”.
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March 2, 2019 at 7:19 pm
Thanks so much Dries, I really do value your kind and thoughtful comment. I do enjoy finding things out as prepare my posts, and also I continue to learn how to be more observant and aware of different forms of life, which makes a simple walk around the garden potentially incredibly diverting 🙂
And yes, I have enjoyed going through old photos for the ‘weekly photo find’, but I think the time is right to take a break from that, at least for the time being.
Its great that you can use the early morning hours to be so reflective and productive – I wish I were more of a morning person, as it is such a lovely time of the day. Thanks partly to coffee I am getting a bit better at it!
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February 28, 2019 at 9:27 pm
Such a sweet photo. I’ve so enjoyed this series!
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March 2, 2019 at 6:50 pm
Thanks so much Belinda. I have enjoyed showcasing some of our visiting monkeys.
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February 28, 2019 at 7:58 pm
Jip, I agree. I can’t always keep up with blogs when articles are posted every day or a few times a week. Many of my friends even comment that. ‘You have been busy, we can’t keep up.’
In the end of the day, you have to enjoy what you are doing. I write for those who follow me, but then also for those who stumble apon an article and move off again. So I have decided to post more often, but it is hard work to compile nice posts.
On the monkey… Beautiful pic. We see them on the rod sometimes, but here on farm close the house it is mainly the baboons that pitch up.
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February 28, 2019 at 8:09 pm
I do enjoy sharing via my blog what I appreciate in nature and what I am learning and it’s lovely to get feedback from people who feel similarly.
I have enjoyed the posts I have read on your blog. Btw, many years back on a trip through part of Mozambique we bought Portuguese-style bread rolls at a small and shabby bakery in Inhasorro and they were probably among the nicest bread we have ever eaten, and the nicest produce market we ever bought from was in Inhambane 🙂
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March 4, 2019 at 9:05 pm
They are the best!!!
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February 28, 2019 at 6:23 pm
I have loved this vervet series, Carol, and this little one is particularly charming. I understand completely about the issues with blogging regularly and with trying to keep up with the blogs of others. My posts have always been irregular and there have been long interuldes with no activity at all albeit for good reason. More than anything, blogging is surely intended to be a pleasure and an outlet for the writer as much as a pleasure for the reader. Taking a break or bringing an aspect to a close seems perfectly valid and is sometimes necessary. I don’t want to think of blogging as a chore or an obligation. Trying to keep up with the reading is another matter. I have found myself following more blogs than I can realistically manage at times. Now I am more careful – and I have also realised that it’s not necessary to read every post – or comment every time. I’m glad you are planning to continue posting in some form though – at whatever frequency suits your life at this time.
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February 28, 2019 at 7:40 pm
Thanks for you thoughtful reply Sandra. I agree that blogging should not feel like an obligation (but sometimes I do feel obliged!) I stick with posting once a week because I think it is too easy just to not do it, and I do find it worthwhile, so now with this weekly schedule I only have to think about what to post about, and not when to post as that is already decided 🙂
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February 28, 2019 at 5:56 pm
Thanks for showing these amazing pictures!
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February 28, 2019 at 7:33 pm
Thanks Simone. I am happy you like them.
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February 28, 2019 at 4:30 pm
Love your Vervets! As I don’t work as much as I used to anymore, it is easier to find time for blogging – although not as much time as I would like to. I try to keep up with the reader, but I also believe it is not absolutely necessary to read everything every day. All of us want to, but most of us cannot find the time. I think we all know, and have to accept that we try our best!
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February 28, 2019 at 7:31 pm
It has been nice to share the vervet pics. Balancing blogging time with everything else is an ongoing dynamic!
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February 28, 2019 at 7:32 pm
It is!
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