Friday, October 10, 2008

Beardillosnake

In the picture below, the tail end of the dillo is right in front of Bear's nose. The pebbly grey surface is dillo butt.

Early yesterday morning, predawn, Bear and I stepped out for his morning constitutional and he immediately picked up on an armadillo in the bush. He nosed all around while I stood there in my shorts, and then, zoom he headed under the porch steps.


As soon as he arrived there, I could hear the grunty sounds of a ticked off armadillo coming through the treads.

In the few seconds it took for me to grab a flashlight and my camera. The dillo was already disappearing under the concrete slab beneath the step stringers. Bear would nose in cautiously and then retreat each time the dillo tossed dirt in his face.
I tried for a video, but the combination of a black dog, minimal flashlight, and predawn darkness was too much.
It wasn't long before the dillo was totally under the slab and Bear got distracted by his breakfast.
Just another unexpected, wildlife encounter here at PFHQ.

Here's another ...

This grey ratsnake pup was rescued at school by our maintenance guy. He brought it to me of course.
They bring me anything weird ... 'cause I'm the science guy.
This time, it wasn't weird just cute in a big-eyed herpy sort of way.
I brought him home for a few pics before releasing him into a small oak tree here at PFHQ.

Above is a video (about a minute's worth) of the baby snake exploring my hand. It gets a little fuzzy here and there when he moves in for a closeup, but it's still fun to watch him crawl around.

Yes, Bear makes a brief cameo appearance in the video.


Here at PFHQ this little guy can grow big and never have to worry about the hoe, shovel, or axe.

He may have to put up with being recaptured for photos some day, but that's a small price to pay.

I think this is probably the size Stewie the Cornsnake was when he became the pet of the folks who gave him to me. They said he was pencil sized when they found him in their garage. Stewie is doing fine in school and has become a bit of a celebrity.

Other news:

Another football game tonight. We are home for this one. Junior and his team will face a school from Daytona that is rumored to be pretty good.

The Escape got it's second opinion and the transmission is definitely kaput. So, if you wanna buy a pretty red Escape that runs great except for that one thing, I will make you a deal.

All this car nonsense means others are driving my JEEP and I am driving the Albatross (white and unlucky) car, a 97 Sebring we bought for Emma from an el cheapo lot.

It rides a bit like those magic finger beds the motels used to have when we were kids. I was supposed to have sold it by now, but as it turns out, it is actually serving a purpose while we are down a car.

As for blogging, I've downloaded Picasa 3 from Google and it is pretty sweet. I just discovered it has a basic watermarking feature too, so I deleted the truly junky program called Iwatermark that I had been trying to use. What garbage. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THAT PRODUCT.

And now ... to work!

Have a great Friday!

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I get to be the first to blog instead of the last. Working the vampire shift has it’s privileges. I bring snakes home but to find my nabors are horrified .even after explaining there advantage. Much to my dismay .good luck with your new resident. S T E B

Dani said...

He is ADORABLE, and I love the video!

Anonymous said...

FC-
You kinda creep me out sometimes, just how BIG do these things get there? Ya'll didn't tell me all these things BEFORE we bought property! Guess I'll just learn as I go, huh?
Lightnin

Anonymous said...

Picasa Rocks! What a powerful editing program for something that is free! I love it for it's ease and simplicity and options galore. I didn't know they had an upgrade, however. Time to check, thank you very mucho for the Tip.


As for Miss Mia in the post below. I want that dog, too. Isn't she a beauty! 7 stones, yowza. I hope the vet didn't charge per stone.

Snake pic... Rick would like this post. He is always bringing snakes home to show us, for crying out loud!

Deb said...

I gotta admit, the little snake is kinda cute!

Too bad about the Escape. The Hermit has a Mazda Tribute, which is basically the same thing.

Just the Right Size said...

Heh, you said herpy!!!

Cute snake! BTW, how big do they get?

Unknown said...

The video is wonderful. that little guy was so curious and didn't seem at all nervous or camera shy. I hope we'll get to see more of him as he grows.

Bear, as always, is a star.

Sayre said...

Your little snake buddy is so cute - do you have herpy tongue marks on your camera lens now?

P.S. Love, love, love my Forester. The Escape would have been a close second.

h said...

Cute. My dogs would never give up on an armadillo breakfast though.

threecollie said...

That is probably the prettiest snake I have ever seen. G
reat job with the video. I know that is a lot harder than it looks. Really I am kinda green with herp envy. I don't believe rat snakes show up here in upstate NY or if they do I have never seen one.
Sorry about your car. That is the Pits (note capital p).

Miz S said...

What a cute little guy! He looks a lot like the snake I saw last weekend. Are all baby snakes called pups?

Anonymous said...

Cute snake as long as he is in your hands and not mine. See my latest post for the report on one in my office. I wish we had a guy like you around to save us from the six inch ring necks! LOL

Alan said...

I'm most excited to have our new iMac so that I can finally enjoy the famous PF video segments that would not play on our old, dying PC. Nice to be able to get in on all the fun!

Sorry to hear about the Escape. We love ours so far, but have only had it for 6 months so far. Used to want a Sebring convertible but have heard too many bad things about them. Oh well. Guess I'll have to keep holding out for my candy apple red and white 1961 Corvette convertible instead. :)

R.Powers said...

STEB,
Your neighbors need to be sent to snake reeducation camp.

Dani,
I thought you would enjoy this little guy.

Lightnin,
About 6 feet, but they'll help you keep the rats away.

Laura,
I love Picasa too, the price is pretty sweet. Mia's Mom told me it was about 850 dollars for the surgery ... that's over 100 $ per stone.

Deb,
Glad you could see the cuteness!

Just Right,
herpy, herpy, joy, joy!
About 6 feet for a ratsnake.

Bee,
I love these ratsnakes, they are so mellow. Bear is a star wannabee!

Sayre,
Oh, I think I need to go wipe my lens.
The Forester is a neat looking SUV.

Troll,
Bear is still alittle unsure of himself with other critters.

3C,
Thanks! I love the markings on these snakes and their eyes seem so big when they are small.

Miz S,
I thought you would see the resemblence. I don't think pup is official parceltongue, but I call em pups.

Cathy S,
I just finished reading your snake tale. Those ringnecks are ferocious!

Alan,
Thanks, and congrats on a new puter. My problem with video is not my old computer as much as my dial up out here in the boonies.

Ericka said...

oooh, beautiful snake! i'm glad he's (um. she?) got you to look out for her/him.

eek. sorry about the vehicle. my jeep is almost at 120000 miles and i'm not even remotely willing to think about what's next.

Miz S said...

Okay, I just looked it up. Baby snakes are officially called hatchlings or neonates. I like "pups" better.

R.Powers said...

Ericka,
JEEPS must never die!
This snake doesn't know how lucky he/she is to be here!

Miz S,
I love it when you get all researchy.
I shall call him, Nate... the pup.
I agree with you, pup is better.
As for terminology ... I just kind'a make things up as I go along.

Anonymous said...

Why do peccadillos always dig under the slab? What's up with that?
P.
http://sicluceatlux.wordpress.com

R.Powers said...

P,
I hear ya! They dig under my AC slab, my porch slabs, ...
Rascals!