House of Herps

Archive for the ‘HoH-Hosted’ Category

Reverse Constellation in Honor of HoH #8 Contributors

Welcome to House of Herps #8, July, 2010!

Our host for this edition had a last minute change to her schedule, so the challenge of presenting this month’s contributions in a new and interesting manner has come my way.  Having very recently spent a week playing with my 9yr-old niece (who visits every summer), my thoughts gradually turned to our visit to the planetarium.

During the planetarium show, I was reminded of how many constellations have been named for animals, and herps – real and imagined – are well represented among them. To wit:

• Chamaeleon, The Chameleon
• Cetus, The Sea Monster
• Draco, The Dragon
• Hydra, The Water Serpent
• Hydrus, The Water Snake
• Lacerta, The Lizard
• Ophiucus, The Serpent Holder
• Serpens, The Serpent

The Dragon stuck in my mind, as I considered how many constellations must have taken a great deal of imagination to be envisioned in the first place. So many of them, when only viewing the connect-the-dots version in the nighttime sky, only really come to life when their full-fleshed images are overlaid. This is the best part of the show at the planetarium, as evidenced by the hushed whispers after each overlaid drawing made sense out of the simulated starry sky.

It didn’t take me long to envision a reverse constellation, viewed from the heavens rather than the Earth, where each “star” represents a herpetological experience from each of our contributors.

And thus, Nogard, the reverse herpetological constellation was born.

Each of our 7 contributors is a star in this far-out edition of House of Herps. I hope you’ll enjoy the show!

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1.  Elizabeth of Yips and Howls was enjoying the cuteness of birds and their young, when she looked up to see a robust Bull Snake wrapped around a tree limb. Join Elizabeth as she relates her initial reaction to the snake and the ecological realities that she soon realized.

2. Ted MacRae of Beetles in the Bush has taken to catching venomous snakes with his bug net. You think I’m kidding? I know you’ll enjoy reading about Ted’s successful tiger beetle field trip, that also “netted” him a young Timber rattler.

3. Bernard of Philly Herping spends a day in the Delaware River, where he swims with the dolphins turtles. Lots of turtles, and a variety of species. If this isn’t enticing enough, add in the fact that Bernard has a new, underwater camera and uses the word, “oodles,” in a sentence!

4. Joan of Anybody Seen My Focus? had the great good fortune to encounter a confused Southern Leopard Frog, who, instead of hopping away from her, hopped right toward her, landing at her feet. The super-cool thing about the frog is that it still had quite a long tail, evidence of its transformation from a tadpole.

5. Amber of Birder’s Lounge (that’s me) encountered a Rough Green Snake, up close and personal, in her own backyard.

6. Joy of The Little House in the Not-So-Big Woods writes about a Green Anole who changes color as she snaps a Million pictures.

7. As a birder living in Panama, Jan Axel (Jan Axel’s Blog) enjoys watching the abundant avian species – but not to the exclusion of all others. On a recent birding trip, Jan and his wife encountered many fantastic and colorful herps. You’ll want to see his collection of photos, including the brilliantly colored Poison Dart Frog!

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The next edition of House of Herps will be hosted by Andrea Jaszlics of  Worm Salad, in August 2010. Please send your submissions for HoH #9 to:

submissions [at] houseofherps [dot] com

by August 15th.

Credits:

Dragon illustration from The Dragon Archives.

Earth image from Google Earth

That Sam-I-Am!
That Sam-I-Am!
I do like that Sam-I-Am.

Find herps galore, that’s what he can.
That’s why I like that Sam-I-Am.

Do you like amphibians?

I do.
I do.
I really like amphibians.
But where are they, Sam-I-Am?
Where are the amphibians?

Over here, said Sam-I-Am.
And over here.
And over there.
You can find them everywhere.
You can find them if you care.

Say! I like all those amphibians.
I do! I like them, Sam-I-Am.
I would like them in the rain.
I would like them on a train.
I would like them here and there.
I would like them anywhere.

But what of snakes, Sam-I-Am?
Are they just like amphibians?
Easy to find and easy to see?
From on the ground or in a tree?

Snakes are here.
Snakes are there.
Silly man for asking where!
To find some snakes, just stop and stare!

You could find snakes in a boat.
You could find snakes with a goat.

And in the dark. And in a tree.
They’re easy to find, don’t you see?

Lizards, too, Sam-I-Am?
Just like the amphibians?
Just like all those snakes you found?
Lizards, too, on tree or ground?

Of course, my friend, lizards, too.
Now watch your step. Watch your shoe.
Easy to see on a tree.
On a fence.
On the ground.
You’ll scare them away if you make a sound.

But easy to find and fun to see.
Lizards are great, don’t we agree?

Oh, I agree, Sam-I-Am.
You really are the herping man.
Now one last quest I ask of you.
Can you find a gator too?

Neither hide nor hair did I see.
When looking for one for you and me.
Walked in the water.
Walked through the trees.
But finding a gator depends on who sees.

Too bad about that, Sam-I-Am.
But I really liked the amphibians.
And I liked the snakes.
And lizards, too.
Herping is better when I’m with you.

— — — — — — — — — —

The next edition of House of Herps will be hosted by Arati at Trees, Plants and More.  Send your submissions to submissions [at] houseofherps [dot] com no later than July 15 if you want to participate.

Welcome to the first edition of House of Herps, the new monthly blog carnival dedicated to celebrating amphibian and reptilian wildlife and conservation.

We are truly humbled and honored to have received such a great response from our fellow nature bloggers. If I have learned anything from reading the posts submitted from HoH #1′s 21 contributors, I have learned that this bunch will most likely appreciate a little irreverent humor to start us off. (if you don’t like irreverent humor, just skip the video!)

The response to the announcement of House of Herps has been tremendous, and we are delighted to bring you a fabulous collection of contributions from herp enthusiasts all around the web. In fact, we like to think of each contribution as a gift. In this season of merriment and good cheer, we decided to gift-wrap each present from our contributors. To open each present, simply click on the image, or follow the links in each summary. Enjoy, and Happy Herping!

First up for this very first edition of HoH is Mike Bergin of 10,000 Birds, writing about the Jamaican Croaking Lizard he found in his juice glass! Mike’s visit to Jamaica and his stay at Mocking Bird Hill offered many exotic sights and sounds. You won’t want to miss out on this chance to experience a little piece of the Caribbean. Read the rest of this entry »