Snakes on a lake

We took some time on the way back from Cleveland to tour the Lake Erie shore. We visited Marblehead Light, the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, and the we took the ferry to the town of Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. It was totally sweet. Then, as if visiting Perry's Victory/International Peace National Memorial wasn't sweet enough, we got a herpetological treat at the ferry terminal back on the mainland: an encounter with a number of Lake Erie water snakes Nerodia sipedon insularum that were basking on the riprap. Any snake encounter is likely to be awesome, but I was especially jazzed because these snakes (and the slightly crazy snake biologists who love them) were recently featured on the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs.



Sorry, Sam Jackson, but I've far from had it with these snakes. Check off another enounter with a critter on The Awesome List.

The Ohio DNR's guide to reptiles of Ohio points out that the Lake Erie water snake is a subspecies of the northern water snake found only among the Lake Erie islands. It lacks some of the banded coloration associated with other subspecies.

Update December 2007: the Respect the Snake web site has everything you need to know about the Lake Erie water snake.

It wasn't a rock...

...it was a chalk lobster.

Loons

Another video from August 2006: a compilation of loon encounters in northeast Wisconsin.



Yeah, North Woods!

Wolf River rapids

I finally got around to editing and posting my Wolf River rapids movie from August 2006. The first-person view was recorded with the Rocklobstercam Mk II. Props to Paul Jung for the third-person camera angle.

Rocklobstercam Mark III

I have constructed a mighty Rocklobstercam. Again.

This time, I used a digital still camera to take underwater photos instead of video. The Rocklobstercam Mark III has proven a worthy complement to the storied Rocklobstercam of last summer. The results are posted under Hawaii 2007 Snorkeling photos.

Also, check out last summer's underwater videos made with the Rocklobstercam Mk I and II. Jacques Cousteau it ain't, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

I used the guide at marinelifephotography.com to identify the fishes.

The Awesome Project

After much discussion with many wise individuals, it has become clear that many things in the world are awesome. I've set out to make a comprehensive list of everything that's amazingly sweet; I'm starting with critters because they're already well-classified, and taxonomy and phylogeny appeal to my obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

The Awesome Project contains the first draft of The Awesome List, and the much-more-useful Awesome Wiki.

Let me know if you have suggestions for awesome critters. Right now I'm only dealing with Gnathostomata, that is, beasties with jaws including bony fish and tetrapods. Sharks are rays are pretty awesome, but I'll have to leave them for later.

Echidna love trains

Mammals! After thinking for a while that I was turning into a reptile (due to problems with thermoregulation), I'm excited again about being a mammal, because mammals are totally weird.

Example: echidna love trains