OK, so it’s been a while since I’ve updated. That happens. This update, however, has a great thematic whole to it since I can link everything I want to update about to one theme: critters. I even have pictures of some of these critters, so you get to see some of the stuff I’ve been doing with our new camera. I’m using thumbnails for all the pictures, so if you want a larger version, click on the thumbnail or right click and save the target to your computer to look at later. So get ready for a long, rambly post about critters!

Chronologically speaking, this critter is one that I meant to post a long time ago but didn’t get around to for various reasons until I was rearranging my pictures directory and came across some long-forgotten photos. So here is the Thanksgiving turkey I made for me, Ian, and Damien way back in November (you know, when Thanksgiving is). The turkey, an eaten critter!

Not too long ago, the husband and I went up to the Haute to visit our friends up there and to play some DnD. The husband mutilated a Tootsie Roll with a bunch of staples in order to come up with the following critter, a scary miniature which he used as his character. It has little Tyrannosaurus Rex arms made out of staples, but they’re hard to see since this picture was taken with my phone.

For the past two weekends, the husband and I have had this very tall critter in our living room. As you will be able to see in the picture below, it fashioned itself a nest out of computer parts and cables. In its nest, it ate a lot of peanut butter and crackers, consuming vast quantities of Mountain Dew and Mello Yello as well. I believe this critter to be migratory and expect it will return within a month or so.

Not this past weekend but the weekend before this one, I got a new snail and two new fish. The snail is a golden apple snail (gold is the color, apple is the type, also known as mystery snail) and the fish are yellow GloFish. The snail’s name is Buì, and the two fish’s names are Gelb and Jaune. Bonus points to anyone who can tell me what all languages I pulled their names from (Simon and Ian, you don’t count because you already know). Buì is potentially female because I think she may be carrying eggs (apple snails have one or the other gender and aren’t hermaphroditic like garden snails), and I’m pretty sure Gelb is female because she’s got that pregnant-belly underside that is indicative of a female fish. And Jaune just likes to be the boss of the tank. The fish are hella cool with a black light because they seem to glow. At any rate, here are some pictures of the little guys:

           

This past week on the way to LGT, I saw a deer on the side of the road on my way out of town. I wasn’t even quite out of town where I saw it either. It was a doe just standing placidly on the opposite side of the road. I slowed down just in case it bolted in front of me, but instead it walked off the side of the road away from me. No pictures of that, but it’s a critter story I felt like telling.

The husband and I have occasionally been taking the cat out for walks now that the weather is nicer, so of course, all she wants to do is go out. She’s kind of pest about it, but most of the time she’s pretty well-behaved when we take her out. This past time, we did have to get on her case about getting on the road and getting in the neighbor’s backyard (which is fenced in so we can’t keep an eye on her). Here’s a picture of our sweet little girl sniffing some grass before eating it.

I recently made a camoflage (sp?) lapghan which I’ve been wearing around ever since because it’s not too hot and it’s just the right size to cover my legs without being a nuisance. The reason why I think the lapghan makes sense here in a post about critters is because it looks like a camoflage net thanks to the pattern I chose. It’s not the easiest thing to see because I couldn’t decide on a backdrop for it, but you get the idea of the pattern and colors in this picture at least.

Because the lapghan is a net, I thought I would try and use it to catch an ever-elusive prey: the giraffe. Giraffes have been eluding the Ringwalds for well over a decade now, and I very nearly caught one here in Jasper this weekend using my camoflage net lapghan. I guess that the lapghan wasn’t strong enough, however, because the giraffe escaped and has been reported in the area of Bramble, Indiana. If you see this giraffe, be aware that it is both crafty and cunning! I did manage to take pictures of the giraffe (which I’ve been calling Jarvis) before it managed to escape.

I found a tick on me this morning before work. Stupid little things. No picture of that, but rest assured that it was set on fire then sent down the drain. I’ll just have to remember to check for ticks again after taking the cat out because I guess that’s where I got it from. Not terribly exciting, but it fits in with the theme.

My last bit of critter news has to do with critters that don’t technically exist. I was reading one of my usual web comics which today was talking about Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, a game I’ve never played. One of the guys at the comic was all excited that you could take a personality test to see which Pokémon you’re most like. I was more interested in seeing what the game was about than the personality test, so I did a search on it and inadvertenly found the personality test. I took it anyway, and guess which Pokémon I was most like? No, Lushbaugh, not Shoe. I was most like Pikachu! Too cute. I thought I’d include a link here for those who wanted to see what Pokémon they’re most like. It’s just for fun, and it ends my critter post on a silly note as well (better than the tick paragraph). So if you want to post what Pokémon you’re most like, feel free. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and the insanity. It’s time to go eat some dead cow critters for dinner. Yum!