Daily Photo - Ladybug

I find it sad I went to Moose Hill and only saw ladybugs and bees. Those are aphids under the leaf.

Daily Photo - Fall is Coming

No color alteration.

Daily Photo - More Clouds

More near sunrise clouds.

Daily Photo - Clouds

Around sunrise last week some time.

Daily Photo - Sink Spider

These guys seem to keep appearing in my sink. I figured out they're camping out in the cans I'm bringing back from walks.

Daily Photo - Rain, Rain, Go Away

Boomer would like the rain to leave so he can go on walks. Personally I like not having to keep wondering how much longer everything can last without water.

Making the White's Tree Frog Happier Too

This is Chubby, who is entering his 7th year with me. I must be doing something right. Step one was probably his huge cage. However like the leopard gecko I find it ugly and boring. I also really wanted a black background. So I put him in a critter box overnight and painted the three back panels of his cage. I stole the leftover branches from Spike, the leopard gecko, and doubled his amount of bedding so I could bury his water and food dishes. The black paint will also block the heat lamp light from the ball python, who might be next for a cage upgrade. he seems happy. I'll be adding pothos and philodendren cuttings as soon as I upgrade the lighting so he can have his jungle back. I'll be mixing some worm compost into his coco fiber bedding for the plants. It's been a few months since he had plants.

Daily Photo - Pickerel Frog

Moose Hill, by way of Moose Hill Farm due to a closed parking lot... I startled a bunch of these guys, but only this one stuck around.

Today's Project - Make Leopard Gecko Happier

I've had my leopard gecko for more than 5 years now, and he's put up with a lot. He didn't die on crushed walnut, even though it's supposed to be bad for them (didn't know better yet.) He has been on various types of sand, dirt and paper towels. I've decided that even though the paper towels are "safest" for him he definitely doesn't like them. He spends some time digging them up under his hides, I guess to make them softer? I also detest what his cage looks like with paper towels and plastic hides.

Cage this morning.

I covered the back with three layers of black paint and replaced his plastic hides with aquarium rocks. The sand is a mix of the 6 kinds I had in the basement for aquariums. I'm going to try mixing a bunch of different sand grades to get something that compacts well. I still have to figure out a humid hide. I might have to make one out of foam and paint it to be rock like. If I make one for him though I'll also have to suck it up and make a nice one for the ball python. That kitten litter pan with a hole in it looks atrocious.

Cage now. I almost upped his cage size to a 40 breeder, but I sold my extra this afternoon, and felt it was just a little too big. I really want to build a rack of front open cages all with 36 x 18 floors or even 48x18 floors. I really want to upgrade the ball python, but don't have anything the right shape. (And people say they can live in a 20 long, I find his 30 breeder cramped. It has barely enough room for a hide and a big enough water bowl. )

Daily Photo - Chinese Alligator

From Roger Williams Park Zoo.

Daily Photo - Books

I've got 8 boxes worth of books packed and ready to go to the library book sale. I still have plenty left at home.

Daily Photo - Yet More Bryce Canyon

I promise to start cleaning out the photos of Arches tomorrow...

Daily Photo - More Bryce Canyon

I spent a chunk of today watching training videos... really overacted training videos. Pic of Bryce showing off the nice striping.

Daily Photo - Bryce Canyon

I've gone through half the Bryce pics (went to New York over the weekend which cut into my editing time) labeling and deleting. I love doing this after a few weeks because it lets me rediscover the pics I took and I find others I like in addition to my original favorites.

Still don't know what's broken...

I managed to back everything up that was vital, though it seems my old backup hard drive has now died. I fixed my anti-virus so no more complaining messages from Windows saying I need to have an anti-virus running. It seems to be working now, but restarting is a chore and sometimes it hangs for no apparent reason. I've also got a part-time retail job lined up, so I can spend less time obsessing over work.

Seeming Lazy

My desktop computer has been making me nervous for a few weeks now. I keep not taking photos and not wanting to post as whenever I access files it starts acting like it might not be able to find them. I'm spending today backing up to a secondary hard drive, (since my standard one has also been giving me issues since June) and then running some diagnostics to see if I can figure out what it's problem is, hopefully not the hard driv3e itself. The monitor has been acting up too, it's 6-7 years old, but since it's doing it at the same time as the computer I'm not happy. This computer is only a few years old. It took me a while to figure out the root of my unease with photographing. If I can take photos, but can't be completely sure they aren't going to disappear it just makes me nervous and unhappy. Of course I use Carbonite too, but it's still recovering from my June trip to Utah, auto upload backups just can't keep up with me I suppose. It still has 10 gb to go... I've been polurethaning the scratched up patches of my hardwood floors. Talkabout a pain. It is ending up looking a little odd, but I hope the poly will yellow the bare patches to the amber of the rest of the floor. If nothing else the bare spots can't absorb water anymore, though it does look a bit like parts of the floor melted in some places.

Daily Photo - Wavy Clouds

From a few weeks ago.

Daily Photo - What Lurks in the Grass

These guys mostly. I wandered Moose Hill Farm a few days ago. It was not as tick infested as my first trip, but I did notice this one lying in wait. I saw barely any dragonflies, and only a few grasshoppers. Since I was there for bugs it was a bit of a bust. I did see a fellow hiker walking with his parrot. While odd, it wasn't that odd. However no one will be seeing me hiking with the cockatiel on a leash.

The had a bunch of new trails, but signage other than maps was lacking. They loop into Moose Hill's trails now, but not in an easy way. At least one of the new trails appears to not exit at all.

Daily Photo - Damselflies Laying Eggs

Two pairs of breeding damselflies. The male on the left is in focus and the female on the right. Also from Moose Hill.

Daily Photo - Damselfly

Another one from Moose Hill on Sunday. There were half a dozen of these guys breeding at the edge of the boardwalk of the Billings Loop. They were quite accommodating. Thankfully, no one happened along while I was lying on the boardwalk taking pics of them.

Daily Photo - Deer

From Moose Hill on Sunday. If I had been watching the trail I could have gotten an even closer photo. As it is I did get the deer are big impression as it trotted past me.