Brian has tagged me, so here goes!
An interesting animal I had
He is still very much alive, but the only animal I have ever had has been the family corgi, Teddy, aka the Tedmeister.
We got him as a four-month-old puppy from the breeder - she couldn't breed from him as his knackers were, well, knackered. We thought he'd cry the first night for his brothers and sisters, but he settled right in. He lies on his back with his legs in the air. He has his own teddy bear (who is missing his nose after Teddy decided he preferred the noseless variety). He steals empty plastic drinks bottles from the recycling bin and prefers it if you leave the caps on as he can unscrew them with his teeth. He eats everything except marshmallow (which doesn't feel edible) and Kendal mint cake (which tastes too strong for him). He's used to greeting us on the front doorstep, but one day Mum walked him down to the station to meet us, and he was so absolutely thrilled to discover that we existed outside too!
An interesting animal I ate
I'm not very adventurous. I tend to stick to vertebrates. But in 1999 I did have frogs' legs (they taste like chicken). Elk was a new one last summer - not as rich as venison but more purple than bison. Old Orleans used to do "swamp and turf", but they always managed to run out of "swamp" (crocodile) when I tried to order it. I bet I can find somewhere in Austin to serve me alligator though.
An interesting animal in a museum
Has to be the Natural History Museum Diplodocus. Nothing else quite focusses the attention on the specimen like the surroundings of the main hall. The whole raising of the skeleton's tail (when it was determined that they must surely have carried their tails off the ground) fascinated me, and I love to spend a little time with it, imagining flesh on the bones, and how a herd of them must have looked.
An interesting thing I did with or to an animal
I've dissected a sharp-tailed grouse. It was while I was working at the Mammoth Site. Couldn't bear to dissect the coyote (which is STILL in the freezer!) because it looked too much like Teddy, on its back. I might find some photos of it for your viewing pleasure.
An interesting animal in its natural habitat
Glow-worms are amazing. I have only ever seen them in the garden at the AYH in New York. Some friends and I sat out and watched them. Bioluminescence rocks.
Okay. Tag time. Chris works on arachnids, so I'm pretty sure he can come up with really cool answers. Amanda - consider this your palaeo-blog baptism of fire. LH, I'd like to know your thoughts too! Will can have this too, and finally (because it's not like he has lecturing or talk-preparing to do or anything...) Matt.
An interesting animal I had
He is still very much alive, but the only animal I have ever had has been the family corgi, Teddy, aka the Tedmeister.
We got him as a four-month-old puppy from the breeder - she couldn't breed from him as his knackers were, well, knackered. We thought he'd cry the first night for his brothers and sisters, but he settled right in. He lies on his back with his legs in the air. He has his own teddy bear (who is missing his nose after Teddy decided he preferred the noseless variety). He steals empty plastic drinks bottles from the recycling bin and prefers it if you leave the caps on as he can unscrew them with his teeth. He eats everything except marshmallow (which doesn't feel edible) and Kendal mint cake (which tastes too strong for him). He's used to greeting us on the front doorstep, but one day Mum walked him down to the station to meet us, and he was so absolutely thrilled to discover that we existed outside too!
An interesting animal I ate
I'm not very adventurous. I tend to stick to vertebrates. But in 1999 I did have frogs' legs (they taste like chicken). Elk was a new one last summer - not as rich as venison but more purple than bison. Old Orleans used to do "swamp and turf", but they always managed to run out of "swamp" (crocodile) when I tried to order it. I bet I can find somewhere in Austin to serve me alligator though.
An interesting animal in a museum
Has to be the Natural History Museum Diplodocus. Nothing else quite focusses the attention on the specimen like the surroundings of the main hall. The whole raising of the skeleton's tail (when it was determined that they must surely have carried their tails off the ground) fascinated me, and I love to spend a little time with it, imagining flesh on the bones, and how a herd of them must have looked.
An interesting thing I did with or to an animal
I've dissected a sharp-tailed grouse. It was while I was working at the Mammoth Site. Couldn't bear to dissect the coyote (which is STILL in the freezer!) because it looked too much like Teddy, on its back. I might find some photos of it for your viewing pleasure.
An interesting animal in its natural habitat
Glow-worms are amazing. I have only ever seen them in the garden at the AYH in New York. Some friends and I sat out and watched them. Bioluminescence rocks.
Okay. Tag time. Chris works on arachnids, so I'm pretty sure he can come up with really cool answers. Amanda - consider this your palaeo-blog baptism of fire. LH, I'd like to know your thoughts too! Will can have this too, and finally (because it's not like he has lecturing or talk-preparing to do or anything...) Matt.
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