I was misting the tank a few minutes ago and spotted this guy hopping around the leaf litter. He has to be from the clutch that the male transported back in February – it’s very nice to see the whole thing happening without my involvement. I take it as a sign that I’ve done a decent job with the habitat – yay for world-building!
Straight outta Pembroke (Maine).
Red anemone.
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Larval Old OneSea Cucumber and Chiton.
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Large Hermit Crab.
From last spring’s Derby – came in the mail today. Good girl!
Social insects.
Tepuis.
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The Ottoman Empire (and the world to its west).
Peepers, Red-winged Blackbirds, Canadas, ducks (Mallards, I think – I lost them in the setting sun), Dinah’s bell and, if you listen closely towards the end, Great Blue Herons.
[audio:peepers.mp3]
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Hint for those with dogs – turn the volume down. Dinah is pissed that there are birds and a dog wearing her bell here in the office. Now, if she can just figure out where they are (and why she can’t smell them) there’ll be hell to pay.
Some pictures of the five A. bassleri froglets that successfully morphed. All were from the 2nd clutch – it’s generally accepted in the dart frog community that practice makes perfect – quality of offspring often improves as the parents mature. It looks like the Cyclop-eeze I fed them as tadpoles (to supply xanthins and help them color up) did it’s job!
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Yes, I know I’m posting a lot of frog pictures. You should expect the behavior to continue…
The woodcock are coming north; Dinah and I have been out in the evening looking for them. Last night wasn’t too productive – I bumped one, she bumped (stopped to flush, though) a double, and we finished the night with a hard point and steady to wing on a single. Wednesday night was a lot better – we moved over a dozen birds. Regardless, it’s a great time to be in the fields, swamps and pondsides. A short list of things that caught my attention:
a raft of ring-necked ducks with a male hooded merganser tucked in the center
a trio of mallards deep in some flooded puckerbrush
pterodactyls nesting
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the wintergreen smell of birch sap
the cinderblock splash of a beaver sounding the alarm
the smell of sweet fern and the sound of gravel underfoot
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the clink-tinkle of Dinah’s bell
spring peepers starting the evening chorus
no bugs yet!
Fingers are well and truly crossed.
froglet 1
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froglet 2
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(almost)froglet 3
Most times, when I’m on the marsh I’m concentrating – paying attention to a falcon and some ducks. The tide was all wrong this morning and there’s a storm rolling in now that the water is more cooperative (mid-afternoon), so I thought I’d just go for a stroll, scout things a bit and take in the marsh in a slightly more relaxed frame of mind.
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I have bad news and good news.
The bad news – so far 100% of the morphed tadpoles (7 to date) have had Spindly Leg Syndrome (SLS). I wasn’t surprised to get some SLS – the bassleri guru tells me that the species is very prone to it – but I am a little disappointed that no normal tads have morphed yet.
The good news – my male disappeared for almost two weeks. I was starting to worry, but yesterday, while pruning the clump of Spathiphyllum, I found him. He’s been guarding another clutch – laid way back in a hidden area. The clutch was almost ready yesterday; today he has tadpoles on his back – he’s transporting! I’m going to let this clutch grow out in the water feature of the big viv – fingers are crossed.
The male with tads on back (look for the bump directly to the right of the stalk). Clicking on the picture will bring up a ginormous version, the better to see the tad with.
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And a picture of the (presumed) female – they really are pretty little things.
A long simmering project finally boils over. Lehmanhaus is the umbrella identity applied to my various activities w/ predatory critters – dog training and breeding mainly. Thanks largely to the efforts of A Certain Design Student and a friend who teaches Latin, I am pleased to unveil the official Lehmanhaus t shirt! [fireworks and gunfire stage right, ululation and baying hounds stage left]
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If any of you out there are crazy enough to actually want one (please – seek help) I have some extras. I’m going to do this the low tech way (except for preferring payment via PayPal) email me (dr.hypercube-at-gmail.com) what you want and I’ll figure out shipping, tell you what the total damage is, etc. They’re $12.50 a pop – I’m trying to cover expenses – plus shipping.
On the name – Lehman is my mom’s maiden name. A good Swiss/German moniker (Mennonite) that matches well with my German dogs.
Down to Cambridge yesterday, to take in Rosamond Purcell’s Egg and Nest (pdf link) show at the HMNH, kick around a bit and attend Janet Browne’s lecture on ‘Darwin at 200’. Egg and Nest is stunning – incredible photographs beautifully hung. If you’re in the area – GO!
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After you’ve taken in the Purcell show, there’s all the rest of the HMNH to wander around in – the Sea Creatures in Glass will be on display until March 1 – time’s getting short.
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I took along some party favors for the post-lecture get together – a big thank you to Leighton Jones at Floating Point Digital Images for getting said favors to me as quickly as he did.