critters

Driving home with the Free-Ride offspring yesterday, we heard a story on the radio that caught out attention. (The radio story discusses newly published research that's featured on the cover of Nature this week.) When we got home, we had a chat about it. Dr. Free-Ride: What did you guys learn from that story on the radio about the yellow-bellied marmot? Elder offspring: That, in the short term, climate change is good for some species. Dr. Free-Ride: Tell me more about that. Elder offspring: Well, it made the marmots increase in size and numbers. Elder offspring: I was going to say that! .…
Last week, I noted that the Free-Ride offspring are off kicking it with The Grandparents Who Lurk But Seldom Comment, and that, to ensure that you would not have to endure a Friday without a Sprog Blog, I gave each of the sprogs a book to read during their visit with their grandparents and asked them to report back on their books via email. At the conclusion of the elder Free-Ride offspring's book report, emailed to me last Thursday night, I wrote: Major props to the elder offspring for doing blog-homework without any prodding. This sets the bar pretty high for the younger offspring next…
Dr. Free-Ride: What was it we were going to talk about today? Elder offspring: The axolotl. Dr. Free-Ride: Can you please spell that? Elder offspring: A-X-O-L-O- ... wait. A-X-O-T-O-L. Wait! A-X-O-L-O-T-O-L. I think. Dr. Free-Ride: Hmm. I shall do some checking on the spelling. And what is it? Elder offspring: It's a salamander that has achieved eternal youth! Dr. Free-Ride: Eternal youth? Elder offspring: At least, youth for the rest of its life. Dr. Free-Ride: Um, I guess that's eternal enough for that individual. So what does it mean for a salamander to achieve eternal youth? Does…
When last we checked in with Snowflake Free-Ride, our intrepid white rabbit had not yet found the courage to venture all the way to the end of the drawbridge from her hutch. Well, on Tuesday, Snowflake got the bunny equivalent of a screened porch. This seems to have been enough to convince her to come on out. Indeed, Snowflake was so enthusiastic about having free access to grass and dandelions (along with sun and breezes), that the very same day she also decided she was brave enough to hop out the open door of the bunny run into the wide expanses of the yard. At first she would just hop…
We continue to get to know Snowflake Free-Ride, and she us. *Given her fondness for tossing her blue bowl around and spilling her alfalfa pellets, we got her what was advertised as an unspillable food dispenser. Snowflake seems pretty unconvinced that it's actually unspillable, although she hasn't managed to spill it yet. Indeed, she has me wondering whether it's really unspillable. *Speaking of food, her current favorites from the yard are dandelions and nasturtiums. (She looks very pretty eating the bright yellow and orange nasturtium flowers.) *Carrot or stick? She actually likes…
This week, the Free-Ride family welcomed a new member. Snowflake Free-Ride (who also goes by Notorious B.U.N.) is a 9-month old New Zealand White rabbit who we adopted on Tuesday. She is cute, fluffy, and big (nearly 5 kg). And, she seems to be adjusting to life at Casa Free-Ride. Indeed, Snowflake has her own casita in the back yard. (I was pleased that I managed to assemble it without smashing my finger more than once.) It's hard to know how Snowflake feels about the scent of jasmine wafting into her hutch, but she has shown a fondness for both lemon balm and lemon thyme. As well,…
Despite the crush of the closing weeks of the semester, I found a little time to follow the conversation about whether Earthicans ought to welcome a meeting with whatever extraterrestrial life might be out there to meet us, or whether we'd be better off hiding under the bed. Although the Free-Ride offspring have not followed the point and counterpoint on the best alien life action plan, they're generally more enthusiastic futurists than I am. So, I asked them to dig deep into their imaginations and give us their visions of first contact. It should surprise no one that the elder and younger…
Dr. Free-Ride: So, you know how sometimes you have nightmares? Younger Offspring: Yeah. Dr. Free-Ride: I had a nightmare the other night.* Younger Offspring: What was it? Dr. Free-Ride: Well, I was supposed to be picking up snakes with two sticks and moving them from one place to another. Younger Offspring: Why? Dr. Free-Ride: I don't know why. It was one of those dreams where, in the middle of it, you really don't know why it is like it is, but you just go with it. But anyway, it was fine until I realized that one of the snakes that I had to pick up was a cobra. Younger Offspring: Yikes!…
Dr. Free-Ride: So, you went on a field trip today to a lagoon. Younger offspring: Yeah, I went to [Name redacted] Creek and [Name redacted] Lagoon. Dr. Free-Ride: You know, I'm going to redact the names to protect your privacy. Tell me what you saw on your field trip that was interesting. Younger offspring: I saw a lot of things on the field trip. Some I didn't know what they were called. I saw caterpillars, dandelions, cattails, and I have in my pocket some cattail leaves and some tules. Dr. Free-Ride: So you do. Younger offspring: (consulting notes made during the field trip in a…
It's been awhile since the Free-Ride offspring have shared their artwork. Today, we offer some of their drawings of animals. From the younger Free-Ride offspring: Tigers. They may look cute, but you don't want to get near them when they're hungry. Cheetahs. Same deal: cute, but deadly. A horse. She didn't dress herself in that blanket and headband. From the elder Free-Ride offspring: Jungle Landscape. There's a lot going on here, and I'm feeling like there might be some traces of Bruegel and Escher. A cat in a sushi bar. You will notice, however, that the selection includes non-…
The elder Free-Ride offspring, always a fan of mustelids, has lately taken a particular interest in ferrets. Given that Casa Free-Ride is located in the great state of California, this interest in ferrets has also spurred an interest in state law. In California, it's illegal to keep ferrets as pets. According to the elder Free-Ride offspring, there is much to appreciate about ferrets: Elder Free-Ride offspring: They're slinky! Dr. Free-Ride: OK. Elder Free-Ride offspring: They're cute! Dr. Free-Ride: Sure. Elder Free-Ride offspring:They're stinky. Dr. Free-Ride: Yes, that I can vouch…
Longtime readers of this blog may recall that the elder Free-Ride offspring has a fondness (occasionally verging on obsession) for Pokemon cards. This means I had no choice but to involve my offspring in Dave Ng's Phylomon project: [W]hat can we do to get kids engaged with the wonderful creatures that are all around them? They obviously have the ability and the passion to care about such things, but it appears misplaced - they'll spend a ton of resources and time tracking down fictional things, when they could easily do the same with the very wildlife around them. As a bonus, if they do…
Dr. Free-Ride: What have you been learning in science? Younger offspring: I've been learning how to make fossils, and imprints. Dr. Free-Ride: Tell me how. Younger offspring: Well, we got some salt dough -- Dr. Free-Ride: What's in salt dough? Younger offspring: Flour, water, and salt. Dr. Free-Ride: OK Younger offspring: And we made it into thick circles. Dr. Free-Ride: And? Younger offspring: And then we got either a shell, a leaf, a stick, or this seed cone, or conifer needles, and we pressed it down in the salt dough. Dr. Free-Ride: And then what happened? Younger offspring: And then it…
Whereas the commenters on this blog have on numerous occasions proven themselves to be whip-smart and very funny, and whereas this humble blog comes up near the top of Google searches for "three toed sloth sex jokes", I propose that we write some worthy three-toed sloth sex jokes. Indeed, I'd like to write some jokes that turn on factual information about the three-toed sloth while not relying on sexist (or ableist, etc.) tropes for their "humor". Bonus points if we can generate genuinely funny three-toed sloth sex jokes that would turn up as results of a safe search. Here's some potentially…
(Not the post title I'd have chosen, but the sprog in question is sitting right next to me.) The younger Free-Ride offspring likes to draw, and seems to have a fondness for marine mammals. Today, we offer two drawings of otters. Here's an otter with a sea urchin. I'm told the otter plans to eat that sea urchin. This is an entirely different otter (which the younger Free-Ride offspring tells me is the baby of the otter in the first picture), and a dolphin: I don't know how much of a problem dolphin poo is for otters in general. Arguably, dolphin poo is a problem for *this* otter.
The younger Free-Ride offspring's third grade class is involved in some independent research about animals. Each student chose an animal (with no duplicates, as far as I can tell) and set off to find a nonfiction book about that animal to gather information for a written report and an oral report. The students also need to make a "stuffed animal" version of their chosen animal. Here's the younger Free-Ride offspring's: The younger Free-Ride offspring, being a very independent-minded child, executed this stuffed swordfish with no help whatsoever. Which, you know, would be great ... except…
The Free-Ride offspring try to explain what it means for an organism to be adapted to its environment, and why it matters: Dr. Free-Ride: OK, so you've been learning in school about? Younger offspring: Different adaptations. Dr. Free-Ride: Can you explain what an adaptation is? Younger offspring: Well, I forgot. Dr. Free-Ride: You don't need to use the exact words from your science book. Younger offspring: I know, but I still forgot the meaning. Elder offspring: An adaptation is a change made to ensure success and survival in animals. Younger offspring: I want to say it somewhat like my…
At dinner last night, the younger Free-Ride offspring told us about a science lesson from earlier this week: Dr. Free-Ride: You were going to tell me about a science activity you did, we think, on Tuesday in school? Younger offspring: Mmm-hmm. Dr. Free-Ride: Tell us what it's called. Younger offspring: "Best Bird Beak". Dr. Free-Ride: "Best Bird Beak". And what was the activity? Younger offspring: Well, you use different items to pick up different things, like softened shredded wheat nuggets. Dr. Free-Ride: Uh huh. Younger offspring: Grapes, water, and ... there was one more thing, I think…
A few weeks ago, the elder Free-Ride offspring was anxiously awaiting the feeding of Ziggy, the classroom ball python. Sadly, that feeding was delayed on account of the elder Free-Ride offspring's teacher having jury duty. Feeding the classroom snake, apparently, is not a task you leave to a substitute teacher. In any event, since then, Ziggy has enjoyed a couple of feedings. Here, the elder Free-Ride offspring tells me about yesterday's feeding. Dr. Free-Ride: When did Ziggy get fed? Elder offspring: During last recess, which is after lunch, because now we only have an afternoon recess. Dr…
GrrlScientist is in a contest to become Quark Expedition's official blogger from Antarctica. (So is DN Lee from Urban Science Adventures.) Grrl has been doing pretty well getting votes in this contest, despite the fact that her competition includes a radio personality from Portugal and a member of the Osmond family. Of the top vote-getters, it is clear to me that Grrl would do the best job with the specified task (blogging from, and about, Antarctica). She has a personal and professional interest in nature, science, the environment, and conservation. She has a history of writing pieces…