White (ish) Squirrel

Thursday Thirteen: Virginia Aquarium

We visited the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center while we were in Virginia Beach last week.

It's very hands-on facility, and while I am never a fan of seeing anything behind glass or in cages (the critters always look sad to me), it was an interesting afternoon. We saw birds, komodo dragons, snakes, sharks, sting rays, lots of different fishes, read about the geology of the area and the meteorite that supposedly landed in the Chesapeake area a very long time ago, and felt pieces of said rock (it was soft and slippery).

Here are some photos of our afternoon. I don't know the real names of the things we looked at.

Bright blue fish.

Yellow fish

Snouty fish.

Sad-looking blue and yellow fish.

A growing coral reef.

A sea turtle.

A striped old man fish.

A bird.

A yellow bird.

A komodo dragon.

Up close with the komodo dragon.

Pink fish.

________

 

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 523rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Feeling a Little Nutty

My Katydid

When I was young, we used to listen for the sounds of the katydid at night. The insect made a noise that sounded exactly like it's name, as well as noise that sounded like "katy didn't."

The insect below is fork-tailed bush katydid (according to my National Audubon book, anyway). I am not an entomologist, but that's my best guess based on the book photos.

These are my photos of my katydid, another creature living in my flower garden.

Katydid



Katy didn't

Those are long antennae, aren't they? Almost four times as long as the bug's body. They'd give me a headache!

My Garden Lizard

 

This is the lizard that I keep seeing in my rose garden. He runs very fast, almost mostly on his hind legs. But he was sunning the other day on my seashell and I was able to grab a photo. Apparently he is an Eastern fence lizard.

After I scared him, he slipped under the heat pump and I was surprised to see the bright blue on the underbelly. Apparently that is indicative of its sex (male), based on my quick research.

I don't mind him too much, although he has startled me a time or two. Lizards aren't poisonous so he can't hurt me, but reptiles tend to creep me out regardless.

A Racoon in a Tree

This picture was taken circa 1986 with black and white film and probably my Nikon film camera.

The Baby Giraffe

Saturday brought a delivery of sorts in the form of a baby giraffe.

April the giraffe had her little one, a boy, on April 15, 2017. The baby weighed in at 129 pounds, 5'9" a day after his birth, according to reports I saw.

I just happened to tune in to the youtube live stream just in time to see little hooves stick out of mama April. I squealed.

Yes, I admit it. I squealed. That was around 7:40 a.m.

I watched for most of the entire time, along with 1.25 million other people. I did a few other things - answered email, ate my breakfast at my keyboard - but mostly I kept an eye on the progress of this birth.

How often does one have the opportunity to watch a giraffe begin born, after all? Even if it is via a satellite stream.

The labor took a few hours, with feet and legs dangling for an hour. Had this been a cow, we might have gone ahead and pulled it, to be sure of a live birth, but the vet kept sticking his thumb in front of the camera in a thumb's up sign, assuring us breathless viewers that all was well.

I sat in front of my computer shouting, "Come on April! Push! You can do it!" It was rather like the way my husband yells at sports teams.

The baby's head came out of April, and then the little giraffe's birth occurred rather quickly. Just before 10 a.m., he slid what seemed a very long way to the floor, landing in a motionless heap. I held my breath, watching, and then I saw it move. Whew.

Momma giraffe immediately commenced her ministrations, licking at the little body to clean it, warm it, and nurture it.

At about 10:35 a.m., little baby giraffe stood up. He wobbled unsteadily on those very long skinny legs. I gave another cheer.

Here are a few stills from the live stream that I have taken creative license with:



April helping the little one to its feet for the first time. Oliver, the baby's dad, is in the other cage.

Mom and baby after a couple of hours.



A little maternal kiss.

The feed is still up if you want to watch the little one grow. You can access it here. (If he has wandered into the corner where the cameras are, you won't see him. Back up the feed and you can see him if that happens.)

April Means Giraffe

I confess.

April the giraffe has caught my attention. I tune in once a day (sometimes more) to see her wander around her cage.

April lives at Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, NY. She is 15 years old and this will be her 4th calf. She has never lost a baby.

She has been pregnant for 15 months! Yikes.

Even though she was supposed to give birth about six weeks ago, she is still carrying around her baby. This baby supposedly will be six feet tall and weigh about 150 pounds when born.

Having seen many dogs and cows give birth, and even a deer once, I have not seen signs that indicate this giraffe is going to drop her calf anytime soon. But I am not her veterinarian, who continues to assure the 150,000 people who are always watching that birth is imminent.

You can see April live at this link.

Meanwhile, I did a few still captures of her as she was trying to eat the camera (or something close to it) and then messed with them creatively (mostly because it is my understanding that once I turn them into something else I'm not violating any copyright).  I also grabbed one of her standing far away because, well, long neck and legs and all.

Giraffes are kind of cute. She has really long eyelashes, but you can't tell that in these touched up pieces.

Wascally Wabbit

Thursday Thirteen

What Happens at the Trash Can

A squirrel.

Raccoon.

Three raccoons!

Raccoon.

A Bear! A Bear!

Bear make big mess.

A groundhog.

Big fat groundhog.

A bear! Too bad the camera apparently slipped.

Bear Butt.

Now we know why there is a mess in the morning.

Having a feast.

Winding it up and going away.

 

Now to figure out how to keep the animals out of the trash!

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 449th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. 

Chipmunk

Chipmunks are very hard to photograph. For one thing, they are hard to see, and for another, they are speedy little things. We've had one gathering nuts not far from the house for a while. I photographed it through the window.

 

The Beast That Ate My Garden

Here he is, all fat for the winter. El Groundhog.

Caught in the Act

We have a had an awful time with squirrels eating on our house and deck this year. First a squirrel about gnawed its way into the house via the back door. This one has eaten the deck.

As we are planning to replace the deck soon, I don't particularly care about that, but the door was another issue. We ended up having to put siding over the wood to keep the squirrels from gnawing on it more.

Masked Face Fox Squirrel

This odd little critter, which apparently is a masked face fox squirrel, showed up at the house again this weekend.

I noticed it Sunday morning when it tried to take a bite out of the house at the back door. This is the second time I've seen it (or its sibling).

Apparently these aren't seen often around here. I can find little mention of this type of squirrel in Virginia online, although it is native to the Carolinas. How this one found its way to my back yard is indeed a mystery.

Note as you scroll through the photos that in one you can see that the squirrel's tail is about twice as long as its body.

Look at the length of that tail!