Well, not “done” exactly– there are those hundred illustrations and permissions (kill, kill!)– but I have just finished the first (pretty solid) draft of the eagle book well ahead of deadline, and can HAVE A LIFE (and a blog) again. Don’t expect too much today, but expect regular comment, links, and a lot of photo …
Author: Steve Bodio
Reid’s Eight
Tagged by Patrick! Thanks for the honor, I think. Rebecca got tagged, too, and calls this Crazy 8s, which seems about right. I appreciate Matt staking out the position that we only are obligated for 2.6 items each, but I’ll go the full monty. I’ll take Steve’s course of making two of them about my …
McLoughlin!
My old friend John McLoughlin, zoologist, evolutionist, novelist, and artist, came down to visit from his hideout in the northern mountains to visit Magdalena (always referred to as “Down Among the Wild Men”) for the first time in 23 years. He brought his three daughters and his grandson, and a fine time was had by …
Oviraptors, Aplomados and Avantis
Around the web. Darren reports on a new giant Oviraptor— basically your near- Tyrranosaur- sized bird. And yes, it was probably feathered. Carel gives us some welcome news about the return of the Aplomado falcon, with a gorgeous painting of a falcon “working” a fire as well. The Armendariz Ranch is in the southern part …
Bully Whippets
Mary, Patrick, Matt, and Reid all tipped me to this fascinating NYT science piece on so- called “bully whippets”. Thses stout over- muscled dogs are what happens when you inbreed too much seeking a single character, in this case speed. When the whippets are heterozygous for a certain gene they are fast, but when they …
Greener Guns and Books
The first William Greener started an English gunmaking dynasty that still lives on. (English guns at least have not yet declined and fallen, though affording a new one can be difficult). I own one of Greener’s products, a 10- bore Damascus duck gun from the 1880’s, still in service. (I got it from the vaults …
Thinking Blogger Meme
Chas, at his Hardscrabble Creek Blog, has tagged me with the “Thinking Blogger” meme. Ouch! I read many (too many) blogs and have many friends among them. I don’t know that all make me THINK in the sense of change my perception– some just delight me– but some do. More than five though… Chas himself …
Lesbian Clone Lizards..
.. is what Libby and I call Cnemidiphorus neomexicanus and her relatives. We are not being rude, but literal. Neomexicanus is described on page 319 of the newest edition of the Peterson Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians as being “ALL FEMALE”. Patrick explains: “For example, believe it or not, there are no male Whiptail …
And For The Buffalo…
A .600 Nitro revolver. Not a hoax. It is hand- made and costs approximately $16,000. I have two shotguns that weigh less. HT Keith Ealy who says “This is nothing short of insane…” But rather cool. There will be an outcry to ban it of course.
Immigration
Exactly what Steve Browne says.