Browns?!?

I was unfortunately stuck at work Thursday night and once again missed one of the most pathetic victories ever. It looks like we actually managed to establish some kinda running game in the cold and wind and the defense played admirably.

A win is a win, especially during this pathetic season. A win against the Steelers though, the first one many years, that is something special.

Very pleased....

Winter is here

First real snow of the year was falling when I went to bed around midnight. Already a couple inches had accumulated. It could be a rough morning, luckily I don't need to get up for a while.

In Ohio, Carl and I have gone on a few "snowmandering" trips. Some of the stream species such as twolines, duskies, springs and pseudotritons can be turned up with effort. Sometimes it means busting through the ice to dipnet a pool, or prying that frozen rock out of the stream bank. The spoils are small, but at least you get to dust off the boots.

Winter also makes for a great time to scout. Although laying tin would be pretty cold on the hands, you can see through the (lack of) foliage better and catch good looks at rock faces and seepages from afar.

I just can't seem to dig up the energy to do much of either here in Michigan. We don't really have any of the stream salamander species, and there aren't really rock faces to scout. I guess I could get minnow traps out for mudpuppies, but the thought of "ice fishing" doesn't quite get me as excited.

So cheers to southern Ohio with the phenomenal salamander diversity and more temperate climate...

I unfortunately can't find any pictures of the animals found under snow, but to prove we did actually get out once or twice...

Long Live The King

In Flight Internet

Despite the hefty price tag ($12 per flight) I am loving in flight internet as we fly from San Diego to Chicago. I am able to catch up on hulu, purchase xmas gifts and check email, all better than the wifi at the resort we just spent a week at. Not a bad way to spend the 3 hour flight.

Unfortunately, the week was dry. SOCAL was in bad need of rain and herps were impossible to come by. This morning we woke up with a strong storm just as we were leaving. I would have killed to stay another day or two...

It's Always Sunny In San Diego

I am finally on something of a real vacation. We leave for San Diego Saturday, and hopefully I will have some wildlife to share. Molly and I visited there last March and had a great time. The time of the year isn't optimal from a herping standpoint, and the weather in Michigan is chilling around a balmy 50F, actually pretty pleasant.

How about some animals from the last visit?











I can't really expect to do that well, but I really hope to knock off a few animals I missed last time.

The League

Never thought I would throw in the towel on the Browns, but man is this year bad. Luckily, I work every Sunday and even missed the abysmal Monday night game. I was excited to hear the game vs Detroit this weekend was going to be blacked out in my area, prohibiting me from watching it. Unfortunately, we will be in San Diego for the week, so I might actually be able to watch us loose to another terrible team.

The good news is FX has a new show called the league. If you like football, and you never really "grew up" this show is for you. Check it out.

Childhood

I imagine my interest in herps started in a manner similar to this...



My childhood also involved devouring as much of the escapades of Calvin and trusty Hobbes as I could.