By Vladimir Brezina
This week’s Photo Challenge is Unexpected.
On our kayak trips through New England, we expect to see birds, seals, even whales…
But one day last May, as I was paddling through the desolate Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts, I rounded a rocky point and came face to face with this huge, shaggy, horned beast, lounging on the beach and looking at me with uncomfortable interest.
Unexpected, to say the least.
The story of that trip and more photos are here.
... kayaked the waters around New York for more than 15 years in his red Feathercraft folding kayak. He was originally from (the former) Czechoslovakia and lived in the U.K. and California before settling down in New York. He was a neuroscientist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He died in 2016.
... is a kayaker and technology researcher at Nemertes Research. She's an erstwhile engineer, particle physicist, and science fiction writer. She was born in California and has lived in Italy, Norway, Hawaii, and a few other places. She currently resides in New York City.
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| Johna Till Johnson on The First Leg! |
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| Johna Till Johnson on Looks Like They Made It! |
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| Johna Till Johnson on More Scenes From the Nort… |
| CurlsnSkirls on Halfway There! |
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| Johna Till Johnson on R2AK: Scenes From the Northern… |
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| Johna Till Johnson on Halfway There! |
| CurlsnSkirls on Halfway There! |
| Johna Till Johnson on And They’re Off! |
Wind Against Current 
Beautiful. I love the photo and love the beast!!
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The beast is definitely lovable…from a distance! :-)
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I love these guys. They remind me of longhorns, which I also love.
janet
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And they are not expected on an Atlantic beach either :-)
Thanks, Janet!
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Just chillin’
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In both senses of the word! :-)
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It looks like you made it over to the Scottish isles. Big surprise.
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That’s it exactly! I was not expecting to reach the other side of the Atlantic so quickly…
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That’s hilarious! He must be a heckuva good swimmer.
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I think it’s more of an island prison for them…
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Unexpected and yet what a pleasure to see. He is a shaggy beast.
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Sure is! :-)
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Great photo and great post describing your journey. We saw some Scottish Highland cattle while cycling in Slovenia but they weren’t as shaggy as this big fella. Although I was surprised at the time not as surprised as you I bet in the kayak!
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I was very surprised, but recovered quickly, since I was familiar with Highland cattle from Scotland, and also remembered that I had heard about their presence on these islands…
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Whoa! Now that’s really unexpected!
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:-)
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Funny… I hope you were far away from it…
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Actually pretty close. He (she?) was on the beach, and I was floating just a few feet off the beach. I got closer to him by kayak than I think I would have dared to on land :-)
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Bet you were sure glad he couldn’t swim. Good picture for the challenge.
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I wasn’t really sure he couldn’t swim ;-)
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Really surprising! Looks prehistoric, great picture! ~SueBee
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Thanks, SueBee! :-)
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Are there humans there? Is he wild or domesticated? Love it!
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Most of the islands have never been developed, so, although there is a building here and there on some of them, most of them are pretty deserted, if not uninhabited. And the cattle are both wild and domesticated—they were introduced there and I think somebody does look after them, but they roam over the entire island and eat whatever is there. All much like back home in Scotland, and the islands do in fact have a kind of Scottish look…
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I’ve got places out here, where I trail run, where the roaming cattle seem like wildlife. I think it’s great they can have their open space.
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love it!
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Thanks!!
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I liked it more the second time. Love those yellows !!!
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You mean on the Christmas tree? Not many yellows on these islands… :-)
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I went back to your post from August and the glow was wonderful!
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Oh, ok! Thanks!! :-)
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You are welcome! I wanted to ask you both some suggestions about visiting NYC during the holidays if I may?
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Of course, ask away! Here or through our Contact page, whichever you prefer…
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Thanks Vlad, I looked briefly and will look again !
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Just proves everybody likes a day at the beach now and then! ;-)
Awesome capture!
~Lindy
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I did in fact hear that they like to spend time on the beach! :-)
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Oh wow! I would be totally surprised as well. It’s just chilling on the beach straight out of fairy tale. Great shot!
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Thanks, Angelia! :-)
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You had paddled so hard that you had surely come ashore in Scotland…..where this is a very normal scene :-)
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Yes, for a moment I thought I was back in Scotland :-)
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How random…and very cool!
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It was! :-)
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I love seeing these guys at the Highland Games every year.
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Yes, it takes me back to my time in Scotland :-)
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He really looks pre-historic …but cute too :)
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I totally agree! :-)
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Very cool – so unusual to see in New England. Great find!
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Thanks, Mary!!
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Unexpected for sure; he/she is a huge beast!
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Although how much of that is the hair? ;-)
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Not sure, but still a huge animal. LOL
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I love highland cows, and it isn’t too unexpected to find them tramping on the beach and paddling in the sea on the West Coast of Scotland and the many islands. However, I’d be completely taken by surprise to find them on the other side of the Atlantic. Despite the big horns, they’re lovely docile animals, and love having their hair brushed!
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Thanks for that information—if I’d known that, I would have landed and brushed his hair! :-)
I believe they have over the years been exported from Scotland to a number of places in the world. On these islands, they were imported to replace sheep, which were being killed by coyotes that swam over from adjacent islands, and which also were less ready to eat the rather rough vegetation…
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I’ll say!
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:-)
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So…this beautiful creature is native to the area…kind of? Or not so much? If not…any idea how it got there? I think I would’ve been freaked out. But then again, I’m not a kayaker or sports woman by any stretch of the imagination. I’m totally a landlubber. I’m content with admiring what wanderers like you offer up to us…couch surfers. Although I never really sit. I mostly stand at my kitchen counter, typing and surfing the blogosphere.
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Unexpected because totally non-native! These are (there is a whole herd) Scottish Highland cattle, introduced onto Nashawena, one of the Elizabeth Islands, mainly to manage the growth of the vegetation, I believe. They replaced an earlier population of sheep, which were being killed by coyotes that swam over from adjacent islands, and which also were more finicky about what they ate. Highland cattle eat everything, and also they don’t mind the rather grim winters on the islands! :-)
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Wow, talk about unexpected! At least he looked like he enjoyed getting his picture taken.
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I don’t know if he enjoyed it all that much. I was actually planning to use this picture the next time some theme such as “Forbidding” comes up… :-)
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Yup; you’ve nailed unexpected all right! Great shots.
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Thanks!!
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Oh my, he is so cute!!!
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He is! :-)
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Good picture. That is unexpected.
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Thanks, Connie! :-)
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Good Evening: I know exactly what that little critter is thinking: “Dang it! I wish I could swim!” Vonn Scott Bair
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That way I could finally get off this island, too… ;-)
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Wow, that IS unexpected!
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It was for me! For him, I don’t know. Maybe he’s seen plenty of kayakers paddle by… :-)
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Beastly!
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:-) That sounds like another challenge!
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Awwwwww, I just wanna give it a cuddle and plait it’s shaggy fur!
Then run away really quickly.
Mrs AWTD.
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That’s probably the right reaction… :-)
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Wow…VERY unexpected!
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:-) Thanks!
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I always look forward to seeing your challenge photographs. You never fail to deliver. Brilliant shot.
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I usually think of something :-) Thanks, Jo!!
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Good choice to stay in the water! I wouldn’t want an encounter with those horns! What a character he is.
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Well, after mature consideration, that is what I did—I stayed on the water ;-)
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Wow! Wow! Wow! Unexpected but wonderful to see!
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Yes, he was! :-)
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Pingback: Weekly Challenge: Unexpected (2) | Through the Eye of Bastet
Very unexpected. In my opinion red hairy creatures with horns are unexpected even in a cow field–as I have experienced hiking in England.
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Ah, but you should go to Scotland :-)
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Oh but I have. My grandmother was from Annan, in the south. Terrible place full of sheep, although the Solway Firth has magic.
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Well, sheep are a constant hazard… :-)
But the Lowlands are lovely, and underestimated—everyone heads to the Highlands. (I am more familiar with Lowland Scotland on the East coast, though.)
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Cool shot!
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Thanks! And thank you very much for following our blog!! :-)
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