Why Animals?

Sorocaba Zoo, Sorocaba, Brazil ~ April 18, 2007

Capybara

Whether it's a real animal or the idea of one, it is sometimes less lonely having them in your world than trying to relate to people. This seems to be a very old story for me.

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Eocene Exhibit and Education

American Museum of Natural History, New York, Eocene Exhibit ~ 

May 5, 2009

When I have time, I'm still adding images from my photo archives to the pages of the store web site. In this case, the Eocene category page.

Sometimes I feel as though this work is just for my own fun, plus window dressing plus search engine optimization. I also know it can be educational, but sometimes I forget how much the educational aspect may be needed. This is a true story: 

The other day Lee was at Starbucks talking with a barista. She said she was attending community college and wanted to be a veterinary assistant. He asked about her interest in animals, and she said she loved all animals, large and small. He asked if she liked mammals, but she didn't know what the word meant. He mentioned primates and vertebrates, and got equally blank responses. Having gone through school in the 1950s and 1960s, I can't even imagine this lack of understanding about basic biology, but there's a lot I don't know about the way the world is today. I'm grateful that I had good teachers and the climate of the times valued learning. One thing I know for sure is that if visitors can learn something from my website, I'll feel that the "extra mile" I've enjoyed adding to the site  has been worth while.

My Web Page: Tapirback.com

Henodus is Back

Henodus, Triassic Turtle

Nothosaurus (False Lizard or False Reptile),

Triassic Semi-oceanic Creature

This morning Amy found the plastic Henodus I'd lost on the floor last night. It was the same color as the rug. I had been feeling inordinately out of sorts for losing it, because I was finally making progress with the giant pile of stuff that needed cataloguing and photographing before putting on the site. The Halloween items were all organized in a folder with their info and Lee was working on them. Next I'd taken on organizing and photographing the extinct sea creatures when Henodius went missing. And, I was really tired.

There is not much in the Triassic category right now, so it will be good to get these guys (and their friends) online finally.

My Web Page: Tapirback.com

No Rocks

August 20, 2014 ~ Astoria, Oregon

Taken with my phone camera, toward the end of the day, this pic is a bit fuzzy. I normally carry the Canon, but Kent had borrowed it for a project. I'm trying to get out more now that it's doing less damage to walk a few yards or drive to someplace where I can take photos. What was amazing about today is that even after working on the web site all day I still wanted to walk to the bench, and when I did, my feet felt almost normal, not like I was walking in shoes filled with gravel. Even after I got home, the flatness in my feet stayed with me. 

This may be a first in a long time. The "rocks in the feet" sensation (and blood under my skin at the ends of my toes) still has not been explained, except as veins becoming tender and swelling up. Why is hard to say, but I've had this going on for over four years now, since June 2010, with a brief exception after my first parathyroid surgery in April 2012. Maybe the the change in thyroid medication is helping.

My Web Page: Tapirback.com