Date: July 13th, 2010 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, Kansas, Landscape, Seasonal, Summer, Travel, Travel USA, Trees, USA, Water.

Cows cool off in the creeks along the highway, Kansas

 

Date: January 7th, 2010 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, Architecture, California, Design, Elements, Landscape, Seasonal, Travel, Travel USA, Trees, Urban and State Parks, USA, winter.

Klamath River Bridge, Redwood National Park, CAKlamath River Bridge, Redwood National Park, CA

 

Date: January 6th, 2010 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, beach, California, City Streets, conservation, Smile, Travel, Travel USA, Unusual Interest, USA, winter.

Sea Lions, Crescent City, CA

 

Date: December 12th, 2009 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, Landscape, Seasonal, Travel, Travel USA, USA, winter, Wyoming.

Pronghorn Antelope herd, Cheyenne WY Pronghorn Antelope herd, Cheyenne, Wyoming

 

Date: November 9th, 2009 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, Anoles, Autumn, Garden, Reptiles, Seasonal, Smile, Texas, USA.

Green Anole, Lewisville TX

 

Date: October 14th, 2009 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, Autumn, Dallas, Garden, Reptiles, Seasonal, Texas, turtles.

Painted Turtle, Lewisville, TexasAll the  recent rain in Lewisville (Texas) has washed out a few reptiles into our neighborhood from the nearby canal…a Painted Turtle showed up by a neighbor’s garage and was the center of attention for a few hours until it was brought back to the canal area. The same neighbor found a snake in their garage earlier last week. Judging from their description it may have been a non-venomous Rough Green Snake.

 

Date: August 12th, 2009 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, City Streets, Garden, red, Seasonal, Summer, Texas, USA.

Light catching the eye of a Dallas Bunny. During evening and early morning there are lots of rabbits in the neighborhood. They're very tame but  if I get too close they freeze completely still, one of their ploys to deter predators.

 

Date: August 8th, 2009 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, conservation, Dallas, Dallas World Aquarium, Reptiles, Texas, Trees.

Iguana, Dallas World Aquarium

 

Date: August 1st, 2009 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, Dallas, Dallas World Aquarium, Smile, Trees.

3-toed Sloth  at the  Dallas World Aquarium3-toed Sloth  at the  Dallas World Aquarium3-toed Sloth at the Dallas World Aquarium

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3-toed Sloth  at the  Dallas World Aquarium

 

Date: June 14th, 2009 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, Aquatic creatures, conservation, Dallas, Dallas World Aquarium, Texas, USA, Water.

Giant River Otter at the  Dallas World AquariumThe Giant River Otters at the Dallas World Aquarium are rarely out, and when they are, there’s such a crowd gathered around it’s difficult to move forward or even try to get past them to go onto the next exhibit. I was lucky to take this photo from the third floor.

 

Date: May 22nd, 2009 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, Anoles, Garden, Reptiles, Summer, Texas, USA.

Anole on the side of our house, Lewisville, TX

 

Date: April 19th, 2009 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, Anoles, Garden, Green, Reptiles, Seasonal, Series, Texas.

Green Anole in our back yardGreen Anole in our back yardGreen Anole in our back yard

Green Anole in our back yardGreen Anole in our back yardGreen Anole in our back yard

 

Date: March 15th, 2009 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, conservation, Cultures, Historic significance, issues, Reptiles, Seasonal, Series, Spring, Texas, Travel, Travel USA, Unusual Interest, USA.

Thousands of rattlesnakes are caught for the Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater, Texas each year. Here,1 of 4 pits. Thousands of rattlesnakes are caught for the Rattlesnake Roundup each year. The arena is divided into sections for wrangling demos, milking, skinning, crafts etc.

Rattlesnake wrangling You can get your picture taken beside a live snake bearing fangs Children watch the snake wranglers

Individuality - each snake has its own unique skin color and pattern Barrel of snakes that have just had heads cut off, ready for skinning Bloody Snake-skinning hand-prints, proudly signed

Individuality Deep-fried rattlesnake - all bones and grease! Miss Roundup and the rattlesnake eating contest

Taxidermy for sale Fang-bearing snake heads in jars for $11 each Crafty key-rings

Rattlesnake Roundup, Sweetwater, Texas March 13 – 15, 2009

From a cultural standpoint, I was quite curious about the Texan Rattlesnake Roundup. Attending, the view was to try to be unbiased and open-minded without any preset opinions. Still, as an animal rights ally I was interested to know whether the four event-filled days were about rattlesnake-appreciation or rattlesnake-loathing. I remain mystified, because it seems to be a mishmash of both.
Driving the three and half hours it takes to get back to Dallas, I marveled how what is acceptable for some, is taboo and unconscionable for others. Since many customs the world over, and across time, are basically borne of societal needs to collectively overcome threats and various natural causes, did this event begin in a similar way?…only here the rituals include a number of large people walking around eating disgusting, deep-fried rattlesnake that was more bone and grease than meat, and corn on the cob? Were the original celebrations of rounding up rattlesnakes actually efforts toward creating a communal mindset of safety, and have they evolved to dominate, even abuse, a predator that was perhaps more of a concern to the earliest settlers than it is now?
For Sweetwater locals, the occasion is an important part of their heritage and present lifestyle that brings the community together, draws in tourists and boosts their economy annually. Scheduled each year are: a parade, carnival grounds, a Miss Rattlesnake Roundup pageant, a Gun, Knife and Coin Show (because coins are obviously in the same category as knives and guns!), a snake-hunting competition, rattlesnake meat-eating contest, and vendors who earn a living selling various rattlesnake parts, products, and bizarre crafts. Unfortunately for raccoons and turtles it was an opportunity to sell their parts as well.
The demise of the rattlesnakes is undeniably sad and seemingly senseless, but the truth of every matter has many dimensions. It is easy to get caught up in the intrigue, and fall under the spell of groups in a festive state, to the point where I did try the deep-fried snake…but after one nip, threw it in the garbage, on top of others’ waste who had done the exact same thing.
I absolutely love reptiles, but admit to have considered buying one of the open-mouthed, fang-baring, stuffed intact, coiled-up snake souvenirs (not the ones sporting tiny cowboy hats and raccoon tails though). Although, upon guilty reflection, is one by-product any less vulgar than the other? I actually thought the coiled up rattlers ready to strike were really pretty, and only wanted one because I’m not likely to see a living one so up close and personal, hopefully.
Whether we agree or disagree, people earn a living doing things we can’t imagine. Practices and beliefs are incorporated over periods of time and passed down through generations. What was once relevant may have lost all sense currently, or in the future. Our consciousness evolves regardless though, and I wonder if in a distorted sort of way, most people leave the fairgrounds of cotton candy and snake pits every year with a deeper appreciation for the uniqueness of all creatures? I certainly did.
Only a human could come up with something so preposterous as little cowboy hats glued to rattler heads. Only a human would buy them! Generally what every pro/anti-whatever-activist-religious-righteous group is seeking is respect. It’s really about respecting all creatures, including humans, who do strange and unpredictable things.

 

Date: January 25th, 2009 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, Landscape, Texas, Unusual Interest, USA.

Camels, Childress, TXCamels near Childress, TX

 

Date: January 14th, 2009 | Comments : none | Categories: Animals, conservation, Elements, Environmental issues, Landscape, Summer, Texas, Travel USA.

Wildorado Wind Ranch near Adrian, TexasWildorado Wind Ranch near Adrian, TexasWildorado Wind Ranch near Adrian, Texas
Wildorado Wind Ranch
Creating fields of renewable energy themselves, a herd of cattle leisurely does what cows do best on a warm summer day, twenty five miles west of Amarillo, just outside Adrian, Texas at the Wildorado Wind Ranch where there are 70 wind turbine generators spanning the horizon. Each turbine measures 450 ft. from ground to the tip of one of three blades. Wind will generate power to parts of eight southern States: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

 


 

 
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