I took a brief jaunt up to Seattle to visit my padres a couple of weeks ago. We met up with my godmother Laurie and her kids M and Q right before they took off for a spring break trip to the southwest. M and Q are part of an acrobatic troupe that performs amazing stunts with jump ropes, juggling paraphernalia, and diablos. It was really fun to watch them perform.
Over the weekend we went to the Japanese Garden at the arboretum. My mama and I used to go here frequently when I was very little and it had probably been ten years since I'd last visited.
The turtles were always my favorite. It looks like they have a couple of varieties, including this red-eared slider (below). I've had two turtles in my life, Tortuga and Tortellini. We hauled one of them out of lake washington, thinking it was a non-native that someone had let loose. He lived on our front porch in a plastic swimming pool and ate raw hamburger until we finally got a hold of a biologist at the woodland park zoo who told us that they were, in fact, native. I'm trying to recall where we got the (incorrect) information about them being non-natives. Perhaps from a local field guide? Keep in mind, this was before the internet. Anyway, Tortuga was released back into Lake Washington. Tortellini we got from a pet store and he lived in my bedroom for a couple years until I decided to take him on a field trip to the pond in our yard. I kept a close eye on him until I had to go inside to answer a phone call. When I got back, zip, he was gone. Yes folks, I had a turtle that ran away. He reappeared several months later in our neighbor's pond and we didn't have the heart to take him back to his little aquarium. He's probably still living there, for all I know.
I'm guessing this is a bull frog but I couldn't tell you for sure. He was HUGE.
I took a brief jaunt up to Seattle to visit my padres a couple of weeks ago. We met up with my godmother Laurie and her kids M and Q right before they took off for a spring break trip to the southwest. M and Q are part of an acrobatic troupe that performs amazing stunts with jump ropes, juggling paraphernalia, and diablos. It was really fun to watch them perform.
Over the weekend we went to the Japanese Garden at the arboretum. My mama and I used to go here frequently when I was very little and it had probably been ten years since I'd last visited.
The turtles were always my favorite. It looks like they have a couple of varieties, including this red-eared slider (below). I've had two turtles in my life, Tortuga and Tortellini. We hauled one of them out of lake washington, thinking it was a non-native that someone had let loose. He lived on our front porch in a plastic swimming pool and ate raw hamburger until we finally got a hold of a biologist at the woodland park zoo who told us that they were, in fact, native. I'm trying to recall where we got the (incorrect) information about them being non-natives. Perhaps from a local field guide? Keep in mind, this was before the internet. Anyway, Tortuga was released back into Lake Washington. Tortellini we got from a pet store and he lived in my bedroom for a couple years until I decided to take him on a field trip to the pond in our yard. I kept a close eye on him until I had to go inside to answer a phone call. When I got back, zip, he was gone. Yes folks, I had a turtle that ran away. He reappeared several months later in our neighbor's pond and we didn't have the heart to take him back to his little aquarium. He's probably still living there, for all I know.
I'm guessing this is a bull frog but I couldn't tell you for sure. He was HUGE.
