Everybody wants a rock...

Gradually catching up...

Mr. Underhill's new enclosure
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

This has been a hella busy few weeks. Plus dealing with the sadness from Katrina - it is at least partly a geological story, and overlaps with my specialty. It is a tragedy that likely could have been averted for the short term (decades) - what happened this month could almost certainly have been prevented with better levees. However, the combination of geologic and engineering circumstances made things a bad proposition in the long run. The ground is compacting (the fine grains are settling closer together, and the water is squeezed out), and sediment from natural flooding is no longer allowed to replentish the top of the column. New Orleans sank 1 meter (about 3 feet) over the past century, and is continuing to descend at a similar rate. One answer is "don't rebuild" - but there are a lot of cities built on deltas, including most of the nation of Bangladesh, so I think we need to come up with a better answer.

On the short list of non-work happenings, Mr. Underhill finally got his new cage setup. Though I am beginning to suspect more and more it is actually Mrs. Underhill. The new cage has less ventilation, so I am still working out the temperature gradients and basking spot temperatures. S/he has some beautiful colors coming in - oranges and yellows.

I will be catching up with correspondence and other assorted responsibilities this next week. This includes thanking my wonderful Knitty SP4 upstream SP, jpknits - I am blown away by the range of gorgeous greens you sent (incl socks!), and I hope my photography skills are up to documenting just how luscious they are. And my new SP5 - wow! a weatherpixie mug - I didn't know such things existed...

Introducing Cleopatra

Introducing Cleopatra
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

Yet another herp! Last one, promise (for the time being, at least!).

Cleo is a normal motley corn snake, bred at and acquired from Leaping Lizards. She was hatched in late April, and I saw her in early May before heading out to the field. She was the most curious, crawling out of the deli cup she and her hatchmates were in while their enclosure was being cleaned after their first meal. I just fell in love, and put a hold on her until I returned from fieldwork. This is three days after I got her; she has shed once since then and is now much larger. I don't get to handle her as much as I would like; she is a very good eater and is eagerly taking a pinkie every five days.

Mmmm.... Beer.......

Out of the box
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

Look what I got in the mail today from my wonderful SP!

To unwrap, click below!

A tale (tail?) of two dragon skins

Week six shed
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

Mr. Underhill over the weekend. His current cricket size is looking a bit small, so I bought 10 of the next cricket size up to try (about 3/8 to 1/2 inch). About a half hour later, he started running back and forth on his perch, opened his mouth really wide like he was yawning (or trying to throw up), rubbing his face on the branch... fortunately the cause was not imminent death through impaction -- facial shed! Here he is sulking and not showing off for the camera like usual. He now has a faint orange underneath his ears, which is presumably adult coloration and not mold.

Also, I present the second, very different dragon skin:

Two and a bit reps knitted, and it will probably need 10 in all. The stitch pattern is found in the Barbara Walker Second Treasury (p. 136), though I am using the pattern as reproduced in Knitter's Stash. I first saw the pattern on NoNoKitty. This trial run for the wall hanging has brought some issues to light: incorporate the wave at the edge, or try to block it out? Half a pattern on the sides (a bit small) or a full pattern (very large, 26 stitches)? Or an entirely new idea: just do the dragon stitch on the sides, (for a horizontal scroll look) instead of a full frame. Going with the scroll look:
dragon stitch / Fafnir knotwork dragon / baby's name / Fafnir knotwork dragon / dragon stitch.
But then what finishing for the "bare" edges?

Closeup of the dragon stitch follows...

More Herps: Mr. Underhill at five weeks

Mr. Underhill
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

I'm knitting a little something for my SP, and I can't show you that, so I feel justified in posting another herp picture. Cat will not get equal time today, she is too busy being wild and knocking things off the table, so she would just come out as a blur.

Presenting Dante, the Fire Skink

Dante licking his chops
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

I posted photos of the cat, so in all fairness it is the herps' turn. This is Dante, Mr. Underhill's older brother. He is very into skulking about under the surface, so he is difficult to photograph. He is being bribed to come out by dangling superworms in front of his nose.

If snakes squick you out, don't click through...

Kitty Pi with cat filling

Kitty Pi with cat filling
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

Yup, I think it belongs to Savannah now.

Adventures of a felting virgin, part deux (Or: Honey, I shrunk the bed!)

Fels Naptha
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

So, after the trama of non-felting in part one, I went in to Borealis for triage. And I learned the secret ingredient for felting was...

Stuffed beardie

Stuffed beardie
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

He ate about 30 crickets before the silkworms were delivered, then was fed about eight silkworms... look at the size of that tummy. He actually split his skin! (Well, he shed a bunch of it).

Kermit pose

Kermit pose
Originally uploaded by thomasina.

The silworms are more stationary, so I tried to get a shot of Mr. Underhill eating. Instead, I caught the after-chomp "num num num" phase.