Odd couples

On April 7, 2026 By CarynIn Wildlife, Cats

I’ve had a few interesting interactions caught on the trail cam of unexpected pairs.

Photo description: night vision trail cam photo of a raccoon on a bench and a tabby cat walking on the nearby porch. The cat spotted the raccoon and slipped on by.

Photo description: night vision trail cam photo of two opossums, which is unusual because they are solitary. As soon as the one on the ground noticed the one on the bench, the moment was over and it left.

Photo description: night vision trail cam photo of an opossum on the coop porch and a raccoon on hind legs looking at it. The opossum actually held its ground, but the raccoon didn’t care. The raccoon got onto the porch, checked for snacks, then left, all while the opossum huddled against the door.

Photo description: night vision trail cam photo of an opossum on the ground, and a short haired black cat stepping down off the porch. The cat carefully navigated around the opossum.

I have my trail cam set to take photos every three seconds when there is movement, so the shots on either side of the ones I selected above told me the story. I chose the most representative photo to share.

From this set of data, it seems the raccoons are top, then opossums, and then the cats come in last, giving the others wide berth.

Nothing nefarious

On April 6, 2026 By CarynIn Cats

Photo description: long haired calico, short haired black cat, and brown and black tabby taking a walk through the woods in a line, trail cam capture

Cat family dynamics are interesting in my neighbor’s colony. In the picture above, the calico in the lead is the momma cat, and the two behind her are her adult kittens. This is a typical scene, with her leading and her brood not far behind. They have all been fixed, and maybe that has something to do with the easy going attitudes.

Chase scene

On April 5, 2026 By CarynIn Cats

Here is an amusing trail cam capture. I’m sure the fight wasn’t funny, but the frozen chase is an unusual find.

Photo description: chase scene with a long haired calico running from a short haired black cat, both captured with back paws up

There were no photos on either side of this one with these two cats, so I assume the chase was all that was within the camera’s field. It is set up to take photos every three seconds, so those cats were indeed high-tailing it.

I’m surprised that I don’t see more chases and fights on the trail cam, honestly.

Black hole

On April 1, 2026 By CarynIn photography

Photo description: trail cam photo with a black sun

Yes, it is April 1st, but this is a real photo from my digital trail camera. No, it is not the end of the world, the sun isn’t collapsing into a black hole, but there are quite a few things going on in this shot.

The sun looks black because it is so bright that it overloaded the sensors in the digital camera, which, when overwhelmed, sets the value to black instead of white. The white halo around the black dot is not bright enough to overload the sensor, but does washout the surrounding tree branches.

The rainbow rays shooting from the sun are a form of lens flare, and are an artificial artifact in photography, sometimes used deliberately for effect.

The amorphous white blob in the middle of the photo is most likely a sensor flare, where the bright sunlight reflects off the sensor then the lens, and then back to the sensor.

I don’t usually use my trail cam for avant-garde photography, so the fix for this was to make sure the camera wasn’t facing directly east or west so it wasn’t framing the rising or setting sun.