Can Anybody Hum The Theme To Wild Kingdom?

The other day when we got home from work we were greeted by this visitor on our front porch:



Based on my research (and who knew there was a website solely devoted to turtles native to Texas?), I believe this is a beautiful specimen of a Red Eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans). I'm not sure I've ever seen a turtle this pristine with such amazing shell patterns.

Since he, or more likely she based on her (somewhat large) size, wasn't going anywhere since she'd walked herself right into a corner. Like the great humanitarian TLS is, he picked the turtle up and transfered it across the street to a large field. Of course, that sentence made it seem much easier than it really was. Normally when you pick up a turtle, the head and all four legs get tucked into the shell. You might get a hissing noise if old turtley is in a particularly foul mood (or if you're particularly unlucky, you might get peed on), but our porch visitor stuck out her neck and started "swimming" as soon as TLS picked her up, causing him to put her quickly back down since he was getting raked by those sharp little claws. Luckily, the work gloves were close at hand and she was on her way.

Safe travels, little reptile!

Snakes Are Our Friends

I promised a picture of the escaped (or more likely dumped) python that I saw a few years ago. And after looking at every. single. photo. in our collection, I finally found it -- hooray!


Here's the story in case anyone is interested. We only live a few miles from the Trinity River and often use "the back roads" to get out to the highway. One of the roads runs about parallel to the river about 100 yards from it. There are soybean fields on one side of the road and the woods next to the Trinity on the other and one lone farmhouse. One balmy May day, I was driving home from work and drove up on something lying on the edge of the road. After saying, "What the hell is THAT?" I realized that it was a very large snake. I just happened to have the 35 mm camera in the car, so I stopped, reversed and rolled down my window to take a photo. All this time, Mr. (or Ms.) Snake hadn't moved so I got out, walked carefully to about ten feet from it and took the shot attached above. Then I decided to go around in front of him since he still hadn't moved. (I was careful, Mom, I swear.) About the time I walked in front of him (still about ten feet away), he slowly raised his head, gave me a baleful stare as if to say "you had to go and ruin the good thing I had going here, didn't you" and slithered off back into the trees and presumably down to the river.

I told that story many times after the fact and the most common question I was asked was, "Did you run it over?" To which I would always say, "No, I wouldn't have dreamed of doing that." It was a beautiful snake and I figured he had as much right to be alive as I did. Everyone repeat after me: Snakes are our friends. They eat vermin. I shall not kill them unless they are poisonous and about to bite me.

Wild Kingdom, Part Two

TLS reminded me of several insects/animals that I forgot in my Wild Kingdom post. Such as:

• coyotes
• swarm of honeybees (moving from one hive to another - see picture below)
  

In more luna moth news (since I know everyone hasn't been able to sleep just waiting to hear the latest), #3 has emerged. We discovered this one at a much earlier stage than the other two. After doing some internet research the other day, we found out that when they come out of the pupa the wings are brown and very tiny. The moth then starts pushing fluid into the wings and they get larger and turn green. The picture below is a few minutes into the process.

The video, which is probably only slightly more interesting to people who aren't us than watching paint dry, is about two minutes long and shows the wings slowly engorging. You can also hear me and TLS making inane comments, as a bonus. Enjoy!

This Post Brought to You by Mutual of Omaha

I have referenced the fact that it can seem like Wild Kingdom around the old homestead. Here is a list of animals that we have seen around or near our community over the last several years:

• roadrunners
• possums
• skunks
• armadillos
• red-tailed hawks (The one I saw on Saturday had just swooped down and carried off a snake for his morning snack. Too. cool.)
• wild pigs
• an escaped (or released) six-foot python (I have the pictures to prove it somewhere.)
• a bobcat
• yellow garden spiders (That we usually name Charlotte and that TLS feeds grasshoppers.)

In a related note, Luna moth #2 made her appearance yesterday. Based on the width of the antennas, the first was a male, which fits with the reading I've done that the males normally leave the pupa first. Now let the egg-laying begin!

**Nerd Alert -- Lepidopterist Edition**

Confirming that it is like Wild Kingdom here at Casa Inertia, I give you pictures of a luna moth that came out of its pupa today. (TLS found several pupas around the yard last summer and kept them in the garage over the winter. Apparently, today was the appointed day for luna moth #1 to make its appearance.) Photos for your enjoyment and edification:

Luna Moth #1 on TLS's glove

#1 (as moth), #2 as pupa outside of the husk and #3 still inside the papery husk