Yawn!

Ah, February is a strange month. It is a somewhat boring month, because it's still too cold for herps to be out in force. But it is also an exciting month, because March is on the horizon! Ah, how I love almighty March, when the oak trees are covered in sleepy lizards and the rock outcrops are full of amorous rattlesnakes.

February hasn't been all bad, especially for amphibians. This is why my yawn was followed by an exclamation point! We've had a lot of rain lately followed by a few days of warm weather. So there have been some signs of ectothermic life. Check out what Marty has found, mainly under logs, in our yard in the past few days:

California newt

California kingsnake

Ensatina

Slender salamander

Western fence lizard basking

Here are a few photos from a recent trip to Tucson to visit da Rev.

Hiking in Pima Canyon

A cardinal (which is a reptile. Ask me why.)

After the Gem and Mineral show:

In other news: revenge of the ticks! I came home recently to find Marty sporting a mild case of Conjoined Twin Myselexia.

Normally the twin is big, grey, and stinky (our old doggie Darwin, who never willingly lets Marty out of his sight), but that day it was one of my good old Ixodes buddies. I tried to talk Marty into letting the tick feed to repletion so I could get its offspring, but he was having none of that!