The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Yes - I know that is the title of a Clint Eastwood movie and I did mean to steal it.  The 1966 movie is about 3 men and their quest to find Confederate gold.  Great movie.  This blog is about the impact humans have on our planet and the devastation this has on our wildlife. The photo below represents the good, the bad, and the ugly of a recent snake venture. 

The Good - The good in this photo is my youngest son observing a bullsnake crossing a road.  This is a connection with nature, an understanding that wildlife (snakes) share our planet, and a respect for the bullsnake to allow it to cross the road without harassment.

The Bad - Roads, a railroad, and oil and gas development dominate this photo and all impact our native wildlife in ways that we can't even begin to comprehend.  The one thing they share in common is that they all kill wildlife and allow access for humans into areas that were at one time "wild".

The Ugly - The pink grass in this photo is cheat grass and it is nasty!  It can out-compete native grasses and perennials ultimately dominating the landscape and it has little wildlife use.  For a comprehensive understanding of cheatgrass, I recommend you read this 1996 publication:  Chaeatgrass: The Invader That Won the West.  I find it ugly.

So there you have it - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly all captured in one photo.  My hope is that as you read this short blog, you open your eyes and see things for what they are and how humans have changed our planet.  Now think of the wildlife and the struggles that they have to just survive in a GREATLY altered world.

The Evolution of a Derby Pig

The Evolution of a Derby Pig - From outdoor oven, to the table, to bones picked clean - this is how it is done.

Now Will You Believe Me?

A new video came out from  the Advocates for Snake Preservation about rattlesnake round-ups that I want to share with you.  It features the rampant human ignorance about these amazing creatures.  Our media has always portrayed rattlesnakes as deadly, dangerous, and malicious beasts lying in wait to kill you, your family, your horse, and your dog.  This is so far from the truth. 

 

I know you all aren't fans of snakes like I am but I want you to think about one question as you watch the video:  If rattlesnakes are truly dangerous, would these men stand in a pit filled with that many snakes.  No - they are profiting on human fear, ignorance, and evil.  Why would anyone celebrate the killing of an animal with the bloody handprints of children? 

Here is the video and I suggest you watch it more than once.  It takes that to understand the ignorance of the humans hosting and attending events like these.

 

 

It is my wish to take everyone that reads this blog into the field with me so that you may experience rattlesnakes as I do in the wild.  They are incredibly beautiful animals that deserve our respect and appreciation.  I need to write another blog dedicated to their conservation but that will have to happen on a day that isn't so charged with emotion. 

 

I do need to end with a Rattlesnake Selfie that I took with my youngest last summer.  It shows that rattlesnakes are not attacking, deadly, dangerous, or malicious.  They are a integral and CRITICAL part of our healthy ecosystems.  Let's spread the word and keep them here.

 

Rattlesnake Selfie

Exhausted

I woke up tired today.  Just plain exhausted as if I hadn’t slept at all when in fact, I slept so hard that I don’t remember falling asleep.  I think that this week is just catching up with me or maybe I need to stop binge watching “The Walking Dead until 1:00am each night?  Probably the latter.  My morning routine has reflected this too with me getting to work around 8:00am.  I used to get to work by 6:30am or 7:00am at the latest.  I still wake up at the same time but rather than get out of bed, I just let myself pretend to sleep until the chickens start begging for food.  Then I hop out of bed and sleepwalk my way into the garage to throw chicken scratch out the back door to shut them up.  It is time to adjust this routine - if only to beat the chickens out of bed so they don’t make any noise that may annoy the neighbors.  I am not interested in getting to work any earlier these days.  If the girls don’t get their chicken scratch at first light, they cuss loud enough to be heard several houses away.

 

A chicken selfie from last summer with one of the "loud" girls

My writing has gone to shit lately so please excuse these lame blog posts.  My days usually contain at least one fun or exciting experience that deserves to be put to pen and paper but I just haven’t been writing them down.  One could argue that I am too busy with work and the boys lately now that soccer has started but that is just a lame excuse.  I could also argue that I just haven’t figured out how to write about these daily adventures but that isn’t true.  The adventures would write themselves if I just sat down to write them. The truth is that I am a chronic procrastinator and this is behavior is not conducive to achieving my goals with writing.  Back to my “fuck it” attitude I alluded to in my last blog post, I am not going to worry about it and let writing come naturally again.  HA!  As I am writing this, the song “Summertime” by Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince started playing in my ear - “And if it ain’t broke, then don’t try to fix it”  PERFECT TIMING!

So I am stuck today self-medicating my exhaustion with Diet Mountain Dew. 

 

 

Nine Gratitudes

Today is tough at the office. I have adopted my new “fuck it” attitude fairly well lately but that doesn’t help with the constant distraction of people around me that I don’t know. Yes – I have been in this office for almost 3 months now and the people I work with still don’t say hi or even make eye contact. I find this rude. Just this morning, I was in the kitchen when one of the “partners” came in to get coffee. I watched him walk across the room with his head down the entire way as if I didn’t exist – no eye contact or anything. To test him further, I said “good morning” and he did reply but still no eye contact. Maybe he was just hungover from his money grubbing (that has got to be exhausting) as he was one of the “partners” behind eliminating the receptionist’s position here for the sake of “progress and profit”. Yes, that is a direct quote from the “partners” during the all staff meeting immediately after they let her go. This office has grown to 75 people and they decide to let the one person go that kept the place running smoothly. Go figure but I guess I don’t understand the “progress and profit” business model. It must only work when employees are disgruntled and scared to have a conversation that is not work related (billable). Wait – they just fired the one person that can do unbillable tasks for the rest of us so we can stay billable and make more money. Seriously – I must not understand this business model.

 

Regardless – my new “fuck it” attitude is being tested today so I thought I should write about something not work related (or work related bitching might work too).  Here are 9 things I am grateful for today in no particular order:

 

1) In an attempt to drown out the noise and distractions at work, I got a wireless noise canceling headset and it is working miracles – I can’t hear my work headset ring anymore meaning no more phone calls at work.

 

Double headset at work

2) I was able to upload a short video of the family singing Happy Birthday last night to Jackson

 

3) I tweeted a photo of the gyro I ate for lunch and someone “liked’ it

 

Photo I tweeted

4) I successfully “squatted” at a desk reserved by someone else. They had a better workstation than I did and since they didn’t show up today, I just took theirs.  I am going to try again tomorrow. 

 

5) The snow that fell last night is already gone and warmer temps with SUN are forecast for the next week.

 

6) The Tennessee Natural Heritage Program boss contacted me about wanting to visit one of my project sites to look for Streamside Salamanders (Ambystoma barbouri). It just so happened that I had just booked my flight for meetings in Nashville next week and so I might actually get some field time to do what I am best at – looking and finding reptiles and amphibians. Gotta love perfect timing!

 

7) I am beginning to schedule snake talks again and was just recently interviewed by a local magazine writing a responsible article about rattlesnakes.

 

8) Outdoor soccer season has started again for the boys and I get to spend lots of time outdoors watching, playing, and coaching soccer.

 

9) Plans for me to reboot the Center for Snake Conservation are becoming concrete. The CSC has been on hold other than commenting on and watching what is going on in the herp world but it has needed a facelift. I am excited to say that in the next weeks, the facelift is going to be taking off and I can’t wait to share it all with you again.

 

I haven’t ever really been good at writing gratitude lists but I think that is because I overthink the lists. This list is just what came to mind that put a smile on my face. Some are humorous. Some are plans (can you be grateful for plans – YES!). Some are about as random as can be but that is who I am. Plus – random is fun. I might just have to start making more lists.

Snake Season

I woke up this morning happy.  This hasn’t happened in a long time and I am quite excited about it.  This morning’s happiness has led me to rethink my current situation.  I have been allowing the negative and nasty work environment I visit every day dominate my thoughts lately and if any of you believe in the power of attraction like I do, you know that this is a major problem for finding happiness.  I have been subconsciously attracting the negative and other shit into my life and this has got to stop.  This morning was quite eye opening and I am resolved to keep this happiness going to attract more happiness in the coming weeks.  Spring is almost here and that means SNAKE SEASON!  I need to be happy for Snake Season.

What is Snake Season?  Well – it depends on where you live but it really depends on what snakes you have in your area and if they are active or not.  For example, I was recently in Louisiana and despite cold and rainy weather; I knew I could find a watersnake out basking.  I just had to look hard enough.  In some places such as in southern Florida, southern California, or south Texas, you can find a snake on any day of the year so Snake Season never really ends.  In northern states, it can be short.  Here in Colorado, Snake Season runs from about the second week of March until mid-October.

Broad-banded Watersnake found February 2, 2016 near Gulfport, Louisiana

Regardless of when Snake Season starts, I need to be happy for it so I am super pumped I woke up smiling this morning.  It might be the gorgeous weather we are having this week.  It might be that soccer has started for my boys.  It might be that I am no longer caring about work and looking for options to get out of here as soon as possible.  There are so many reasons to be happy if you just look for one.  It is all about the power of attraction and making sure your energy is tuned towards the positive so that happiness just finds you – even in the middle of the night.

Here is a short video of my first snake in 2016 just because it makes me happy!

 

Surprise Me With Snakes

I haven't talked about it much but I lost over 50 snakes in January and February 2014.  I still don't know what killed them but I am assuming a virus or bacteria got into my snake room and wiped them all out.  Only 1 snake survived and this snake is very special to me.  He is a rosy boa given to me by a friend over ten years ago.  I am not here to cry about my snakes dying - that will be another post.  I just wanted to say that the loss of these snakes devastated me and I am finally recovering.

Rosy boa that survived the snake room devastation

For the last year, I have been cautiously, and slowly rebuilding my live snake teaching collection and very carefully watching for dying snakes.  So far so good other than an entire batch of sick snakes I received from a dealer last year - they all died and some of them were quite expensive.  I am happy to say that my other new snakes are thriving!!!

 

This brings me to this post, "Surprise Me With Snakes".  I want you to send me snakes in the mail.  Well, not through the USPS but FedEx.  Snakes are expensive and I am cashless right now.  Ringed pythons are on the top of my wish list right now as well as Savu pythons and African house snakes.  Here is how to order and have these snakes shipped to the Center for Snake Conservation:

1. Go to Big Apple Pet Supplies (www.bigappleherp.com)
2. Click "Live Animal Super Specials"
3. Click "Ringed Python"
4. Add one snake to cart (two if you really like me)
5. Check out
6. Ship to Cameron Young, Center for Snake Conservation, 1581 Ridgeview Drive, Louisville, CO 80027 (Phone: 720-245-1922 and email cayoung@snakeconservation.org)

That is it!  THANKS!

 

P.S.  Please note that this post is a complete joke - I don't and have never expected anyone to buy snakes for me.  However, why not post a wish list and see what happens?  You never know...

 

P.S.S. I also want/need this video camera (AX-100) to get back into the snake video making.  I have some really fun and educational ideas floating in my head.  I just need a new camera to make them happen.  :)