#there was also a juvenile climbing in the trees and it was amazing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theskyexists · 4 years

Link

that knits up the raveled sleave of care Fandom: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Oneshot Rating: T Characters: Catra, Adora, Melog Relationship: Adora/Catra

Tags: Roughhousing, accidental she-ra transformations, just a BIT of angst - oh shit that was the whole bottle, but even more fluff, melog is there and projects catra’s feelings, and the feelings are ‘i love adora’, lots of banter, a little bit of kissing

Preview:

Her pulse wouldn't stop racing, and she couldn't quite catch her breath. She'd never felt like this when they'd played as kids - not quite. It made her think of late nights, whispering after lights out, shadows finally banished by the dark.

She smelled really good.

"Are you sniffing me?" Adora teased. The impulse to deny it came screaming from the depths of her brain. Then she grinned.

She lifted herself up to look into Adora's eyes.

"So?" she purred, their noses inches apart.

_____________________________________________________________

Adora had stamina - even as a kid, she could run any of the assigned drills three times over if she wanted to. She could chase Catra for longer. And that's why Catra was fast, and agile, and smart (Adora called it cheating). It was why she was always cataloguing weaknesses, or opportunities for a trap - every potential opening to go for the jugular. Incapacitate before she could be overtaken. They were taught to think like that, to constantly evaluate their chances - it was beaten into them.

(Adora took corporal punishment like it really was a way to cleanse her of her failures. Catra scratched her disciplinarians' eyes out. That is, until it got Shadow Weaver's attention.)

Adora knew to assess and plan for a fight - but she didn't have to - not like Catra.

Catra knew that a single strike could count for everything, so all she focused on was how to do the most damage.

And how to hide.

Her attempts had been juvenile at first, hiding behind supply crates and under blankets. Even Adora had managed to find her. Though Catra supposed that, back then, she had wanted to be found. She quickly learned that few could see as well in the dark as she could - or lodge their nails into sheer steel. Dark hallways were safe, and by the time she was 14 she had memorised every bot patrol in the Fright Zone. Better yet, she could scramble up walls to nooks and crannies that no one even knew existed. Being high up gave her a good advantage - neither bots nor people were programmed to look up.

Now.

The world was no longer made of steel - it was made mostly of green, billions of plants having sprung explosively from suddenly ripe earth - hundreds of years overdue. Magic tingled on her tongue every time she took a breath. It filled her with energy, made her muscles work better, made her leap farther, surer. As she ran and jumped, the woods whispered faster, faster, as if in pure joy at Catra's presence. Fireflies lit her way, and it was easy to find purchase in the trees, to hide between the leaves.

Not that she needed to, wrapped up in Melog.

It hadn't questioned her when she left Bright Moon, had simply felt her desire for secrecy and enveloped her in its magic.

It was soothing, and familiar, like a second layer of fur. She'd never thought that magic could feel like that.

The sky had brightened in the east when Catra reached the top of the overhang, climbing up from the outside along new growth and old handholds. Thousands of stars paled just slightly against the growing light. Newly awoken magical bird creatures had started to sing.

The Fright Zone had changed. As the sun crept over the once-desert, still-jagged mountains, the place became a riot of brightest colour. The reds and oranges and pinks of the sky reflected off whatever steel surfaces still poked from between leaves and flowers. Scorpia had decided to give most of the buildings up to the embrace of time and the inexorable crush of plant roots, but others she had refurbished, with help from Perfuma's insanely powerful magic - to house ex-Horde soldiers of both clone and Etherian variety. The living floral arrangements that marked these towers made them look like crystallised rainbow puke, in Catra's opinion. But she guessed it was Scorpia's kingdom now to do with what she wanted. The fire of industry burned softly in only a few places, less like factories pumping out an endless supply of war machines and more like hearths nestled in the depths of a forest. Entrapta must have started on the last parts for Carla - Darla's new 'sister'.

Melog lay down beside a shrub, letting out a soft mraow. Let's nap, it said.

Catra sat back against its side, one hand on its head for scritching. She breathed, as Perfuma had taught her to, trying to let thoughts and memories pass her by like clouds. It was stupid, but it also worked, sometimes.

Catra had only just joined Melog in that state between waking and dreaming, her fur warmed by the sunlight, her eyes half closed, when a grappling hook finally clanged over the balustrade.

It was like a second, glorious sunrise, Adora climbing up and over the railing. The sight of her against the riotous sky made her breath stall for just a second. She allowed herself the feeling - the skipped heartbeat, the pleasant burn in her chest that followed.

Worry sat in the depths of Adora's pale-blue eyes and Catra felt a stab of guilt. It messed up the delivery of her line.

"Hey, Catra," Adora said quietly into the silence, shifting with uncertainty and withheld emotion.

"Finally!" Catra managed at last, "I bet a snail could have got here faster!"

Adora bristled, affronted, and Catra felt relief.

"It's not like you made it easy! I had no idea what happened to you - and you didn't even leave a note!"

Catra blinked slowly at her, smirk on her face.

"Oh poor Adora," she singsonged, "can't follow a simple trail. How does it feel to have the worst nose in the world?"

Adora let out a sound of annoyance and rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth had quirked up.

"I got here, didn't I?"

She stepped closer, stopping right in front of Catra - still sprawled against Melog's side.

Catra tilted her head.

"Wasn't that hard, was it?" she said, a small waver slipping into her voice. A lick of anger flared at the blatant sign of weakness - but she let it die down. She was safe.

Adora crouched in front of her. Her face melted into that stupid expression that made Catra feel fluttery and agitated and good. Her tail lashed.

"No," Adora agreed.

(She had always known to find Catra here.)

Suddenly Catra wanted. And it was allowed. She was allowed. She grabbed Adora by the lapel of her jacket and pulled.

"Wah-" Adora fell forward onto Catra, catching herself against Melog, who gave a sleepy little mraow-grumble.

Catra's stomach flipped when she put her lips on Adora's. Adora's.

Sometimes it felt like this was the answer to everything, everything that had happened, every feeling she had ever felt for her. Adora. Strong and soft and awful and amazing and ridiculous and wonderful and smug and noble and dumb and annoying and kinda...really hot.

Her stomach flipped again when Adora carefully put a hand to the back of her head and firmly moved her lips against hers.

And Adora wanted her.

Just when Adora relaxed, let her warm weight settle, Melog stuck its nose in and started licking her face.

"UGHH Melog!" Catra complained as she tried to push it and its slimy blue tongue away.

"Awww," Adora laughed, petting its head. Annoyance flashed through Catra and she shoved so hard that Adora lost her balance the other way, landing on her back with a muffled 'oomph'. She jumped her, pinning her shoulders.

Pay attention to me, idiot.

She'd miscalculated. The moment she perched on her hips, Adora flashed a smirk and put an elbow into her face, grabbed her arm and used her freakishly brute strength to flip them into a roll. Catra let out an outraged squeak when Adora pinned her. She giggled, but Catra wasn't going to let her win just because she was cute - or because having her on top of her felt kinda nice. She lifted her hips to loosen Adora's stupidly firm grip on her wrists, then slipped from between her thighs, tipping them over again. She realised she was laughing herself - high and excited. Like they were having fun, like they were just playing.

And they were.

Catra couldn't really tell what the feeling was that burst in her chest - kind of painful, kind of not.

After a lot of growling, straining, hands in faces, trying not to fall off the platform, and reversing positions - they came to a stop, Catra on top, panting into each other's necks.

Catra subtly rubbed her cheek into Adora's shoulder, though Adora's soft snort suggested that maybe it wasn't so subtle. Whatever.

She smelled really good.

"Are you sniffing me?" Adora teased. The impulse to deny it came screaming from the depths of her brain. Then she grinned.

She lifted herself up to look into Adora's eyes.

"So?" she purred, their noses inches apart.

Something went slack in Adora's face, while the muscles in her abdomen tensed almost imperceptibly. Heh.

Adora slipped an arm past her shoulder to thread her fingers through Catra's scruff, palm warm against her scalp, the simple weight of her hand inviting her down. Catra closed her eyes and let their lips meet. Soft. So recently, that would have infuriated her, it would have made her spit with disdain, with pain, the overwhelming desire to hurt.

Now, she languished in the feeling of Adora underneath her, lean and solid - squishy and perfectly knead-able in all the right places. Healthy - alive. Catra shifted, and Adora's hips bucked.

Then Adora slipped her tongue into her mouth and she couldn't muffle a groan. She realised that she was purring - had been purring for a while. She couldn't help it.

A warmth started from all the places where they touched, pleasantly suffusing her muscles and bones, tingling up her spine - and a blaze of magic painted her eyelids golden white.

Pulling back, she was greeted with a flustered She-Ra. Oh - this was too good.

"Did you just -?" Catra sniggered.

"Shut up!" Adora said, blushing. It suited the electric blue of her eyes perfectly. Catra gently flicked her claws out into her giant super-powered biceps. They were both still bleeding kaleidoscopic light into the steel floor - making grass grow where it shouldn't be able to. Leftover magic returning to Etheria, like She-Ra was a magic sponge that hadn't been fully wrung dry yet.

"I just felt..." Adora mumbled, not looking at her, but incapable of keeping from smiling, "really happy..."

Something squeezed deep inside Catra's chest and she swallowed. She carefully grabbed the gold wing-mask-thing and tossed it to the side, bracketing Adora's face with her own hands, fingers buried in her magically shiny hair. She pressed quick, hard kisses to Adora's cheekbone, her temple, her forehead, her cheeks, her jaw, her throat - feeling kinda achy. Adora made a choked little noise. Hmm. She nibbled a little.

"I really don't mind it," she breathed into her ear, putting as much suggestion into her voice as she could.

Adora went red. Catra grinned. She would never get tired of that - being the cause of that - it felt like winning, but good.

She meant it too. She'd hated She-Ra once. Not anymore. Even Catra could admit that she was beautiful. She was a part of Adora.

The new form helped. She looked like Adora, like a massive, fantastically powerful version of her. Not the ridiculous golden hero princess who'd stolen her away.

Adora's arms came up to loop loosely around her, powerful hands tracing feather light patterns on her exposed shoulder blades. She couldn't help the shiver that worked its way down her spine - couldn't help melting into She-Ra's warm body and nuzzling her face in under her chin as Adora moved her fingers up to the base of her ears. Her arms were a comforting weight on her. Weird, to feel so safe in a grip that could crush her, that once might have done just that, a grip she had countless times clawed herself out of before it could.

It made her feel small, but....not bad.

She purred, suddenly sleepy.

"When did you get here? Did you sleep at all?" Adora murmured.

Catra stiffened, and Adora stopped moving. Catra felt the apology humming on Adora's lips - and she exhaled slowly. For asking a simple question. She tried to make herself relax.

"I couldn't," she said, a hand travelling halfway up to the back of her neck before she could stop it. "I couldn't breathe," she said quietly.

The arms around her tightened just a bit.

The feeling of drowning - it just - wasn't a feeling that was easy to forget. When trying to sleep - with her defences lowered - the worst things managed to creep in like shadows and strike, again and again and again. Adora could only do so much, could only soothingly murmur into her ear for so long, could only stroke her back for so long, could only stay awake for so long. Sometimes she was sick of trying, sick of the bombardment - all the ways she'd been hurt and all the ways she had hurt others. Sometimes, if Adora was sleeping peacefully, she gave up and left the bed to roam the halls, map out the best places to hide, try to climb the spires without wrecking the stonework, memorise the night guards' patrols, count the unnecessary waterfalls, check again where the food was stored, guess at what absurd princess functions different rooms served.

This night, she had wandered into the council room.

Well, that's what it was called now that the war was over. She'd played with the map projection on the table a bit in the dim. Horde and Rebellion positions had been wiped - all that was left were trade routes and markers for rebuilding efforts. Then she'd messed something up and the room lit up. Hissing under her breath she'd ducked under the table - and spotted the wall, aglow. Then she'd stood there for what felt like hours.

"The mural," Catra spat out.

She instantly regretted it.

Adora hummed, waiting for her to go on. Catra gritted her teeth. Was she stupid? She knew what was on that stupid wall.

"The Queen - Glimmer's mom," she ground out - throat tight.

Adora inhaled sharply.

Spite lanced her heart. You asked for it!

Adora kept silent and perfectly still.

The familiar flames of fury rose and seared her, protective - destructive. They burned and burned and then burned out.

Adora did not speak or move.

Unbearable doubt and self-loathing rose up in place of her anger - she had to - she had to get away -

Adora grabbed her tightly as she tried, as she struggled in acute panic.

"Stay," Adora said, pressing their cheeks together. Catra whined in pain, quietly.

But she stayed.

Focusing on her breathing, on Adora's breathing, on the fact that they were alive.

"Sometimes I wake up and everything is so perfect," Adora said slowly. Catra blinked at the non sequitor, chin lodged in the hollow of Adora's shoulder.

"I - I mean! I mean that, the war is over, and you're right there, in bed, next to me. And...and we're not trying to - we're not fighting anymore. We're all friends. I - " Adora's voice cracked a little, "for the longest time, I wouldn't even let myself hope for a future like that."

Catra hadn't ever let herself consider it - decimating any thought that strayed close. Not until she'd already found herself in that future. Until it had saved her. Until it had saved Adora.

"And so...sometimes I think..." Adora stopped.

Catra waited, her claws burying into the steel beneath them, grass soft against her palms.

"What if it's not real?" Adora whispered, like it was a confession.

Catra frowned in surprise.

"What if everything starts slipping, disappearing - collapsing...?"

Understanding spread in her veins like poison. She wanted nothing more than to rip herself free now - but her muscles wouldn't listen, her limbs lead. She was a pathetic, paralysed sack of shame and guilt in Adora's arms. Adora's grip only tightened further. Her voice trembled.

"What if everybody disappears, one by one, and nobody even remembers them but me? Glimmer, and Bow, and...and you. And I can't fix it. I can't fix any of it even though I should have, it was my job, and - "

Catra was crying. She was sobbing, actually. Adora jostled them sitting up.

"Catra, Catra, Catra, I'm sorry," she said, which was the stupidest thing she'd ever said.

Catra tried to tell her that but she couldn't, all the air she managed to gulp into her spasming lungs came instantly rushing out in pathetic, ragged yowls. She hadn't cried like this since she was a kid, a baby, before she'd learned that blatant, loud weakness yielded punishment. It was absurd, it was humiliating. She couldn't stop.

Adora was trying to peel her face out of her shoulder but she wouldn't let her. There was just - no way -

So instead Adora crushed them closer together, a hand on the back of her head, a litany of sorry's landing in her hair - a clear note of panic in her voice and Catra wanted her to stop - stop saying that. It was like there was a giant ball of pain in her chest that just wouldn't quit throbbing.

It kept her crying for ages. Crying until she was simply too exhausted to, weak hiccups stuttering in her chest - until her throat was raw and snot and tears had soiled near half of Adora's jacket. She hadn't even noticed the de-transformation, hadn't noticed how they'd crumpled back to the floor. She realised with a shock that Adora was crying too, more calmly, deep trembling sobs, petering off into frayed breaths. That almost started her up again, but she was too tired.

They simply lay together for a while, a long while, breathing growing more and more in sync.

"What the fuck was that?" she croaked, eventually.

Adora's chest jolted with a single soundless laugh.

The corners of Catra's mouth quirked up in automatic response.

She switched to Adora's dry shoulder, burying her disgusting face into the last patch of clean jacket. Another inadvertent purr started and stopped and started in her chest. The ball of pain had become a deeply rooted ache.

Adora sighed very very deeply.

"But it's real," she whispered. Then she hugged Catra really tightly.

"Duh," Catra mumbled, "dummy."

She was falling asleep. She wiggled until Adora let go and rolled off and onto her side, pulling at Adora until she rolled with her, turning her back into her chest and grabbing her arm, wrapping it around herself and clutching it tight. The grass made the steel feel about as comfortable as a Horde bunk. Melog appeared and circled them, shrinking and lying down so Adora could use it as a pillow. Adora moved around a bit before satisfied with how they slotted together. She pressed a long kiss above Catra's ear. It was Catra's turn to sigh very very deeply.

"I love you," Adora said.

That never ever failed to summon a sense of wonder - a thrill of near-disbelief and obvious incontestability that filled Catra up to the brim with a warmth that burned.

"I love you too," she said.

She closed her eyes.

And fell instantly into a deep sleep.

#catradora #catra #adora #spop #she ra #shera #she-ra #my stuff #my fanfic #my writing #she-ra and the princesses of power #this is mostly fluff

58 notes · View notes

cerezsis · 4 years

Text

Pastels and Mobiles

Polydiamond Family AU

Chapter One

Summary: The diamonds wish to expand their family.

The happy shrieks of human children rang in the ears of everyone in attendance of what Steven had called a “backyard birthday party.” The small gaggle of adolescence chased each other through the grass, past the two large trees with the colorful balloons tied to the trunk, and the large banner that hung between them that read “Happy Birthday Lisa!”

White watched everything unfold from the comfort of the otherwise empty party table. Yellow had shrunken them down so they could attend the party, but she felt so out of place that she might as well have stayed her natural size. Blue and Yellow had gotten swept into a conversation with a pair of humans she didn’t recognize, and Spinel was having the time of her life with the children, leaving White to feel even more isolated in the sea of humans and Crystal Gems.

A small but sudden tug on her skirt brough White out of her thoughts. She looked down just in time to see the light green toddler climb onto her lap. Before she could ask what she was up to, Mint grabbed a handful of the nuts that were set out on the table, shoved them into her mouth, and ran off without ever uttering a word.

White chuckled as she watched her daughter run back over to the human children. Seeing her next to Steven’s two children, it amazed her how quickly humans aged compared to gems. Lisa and Dominic were only eleven and nine, but despite Mint’s older age of twenty-five, she was physically and developmentally at the stage they were at the age of three.

While she watched Mint play, White saw out of the corner of her eye that someone had sat down at the table with her. She turned, expecting to see Yellow or Blue, but was surprised and delighted to see the half-diamond man who invited her to this party.

“Oh, Steven!” White grinned.

Steven smiled, politely, back at her.

“You know you don’t have to sit here all day. You could join the party.”

Of course she knew that. Of course she knew she knew she could, but the thought of leaving her little corner filled her with a sense of dread.

“Oh, I’m perfectly fine right here,” White said, masking her anxiety with a smile, “I enjoy watching the children have their fun.”

She looked back over at the group of kids, noticing that Mint and Dominic were no longer with the group. While the older kids playfully hit each other with balloon swords, Dominic had taken Mint aside to sit in the shade and blow bubbles.

“Your Dominic is such a kind child,” White grinned, “He reminds me so much of you when you were younger.”

Steven smiled. “I think he’s still shy around Lisa’s friends. She’s a bit caught up in her birthday right now, but she usually tries to help him feel better.”

White nodded and grinned. She loved hearing him talk about his children, and she especially loved the bond the two of them shared. Ever since Dominic was born, Lisa had been very protective of him. Steven had loved to tell the story of how when he’d brought Lisa to see Connie and baby Dominic in the hospital, she had the most starry-eyed look upon seeing her baby brother for the first time. The way he told it was so precious, and White hoped to see something like that for herself one day.

The day went on, and the party began to wind down. The diamonds gathered Mint and Spinel, said their goodbyes to Steven, Connie, and the children, and boarded their ship, where Yellow restored them to their natural size. From the monitor, they could see the humans that were still at the party staring up as the ship began to take off. Blue and Yellow put their hands together to make their ships form a heart shape, and then they quickly took off, much to the amazement of the small crowd.

White breathed a sign of relief as they began to leave the stratosphere. As much as she loved seeing Steven and his children, she was elated to finally be heading home.

“Mommyyyyyy,” a tiny voice came from behind.

White turned around to see Mint staring up at her.

“When can we go back to Earth?” Mint asked.

“As soon as Steven invites us next.”

“When will that be?”

“Mint, come here for a moment,” Blue gently urged, knowing that Mint would just keep spouting off the same questions she always did if she wasn’t distracted.

Mint turned and ran over to Blue. Blue picked her up and took her to sit by the controls. White watched as Blue explained what all the controls did, and every now and then having to stop the toddler from pressing buttons.

A few hours later, they were finally back on Homeworld. White looked at the view of the world from the screen as the ship landed. The sun had almost completely set, but many gems were still walking the streets. A certain gem caught her eye; a howlite that she recognized as once belonging to her court, happily pushing a pram down the street. White couldn’t help but smile to herself. Just a couple decades ago, seeing a juvenile gem was considered to be a once in a lifetime experience. Now, you could hardly turn a corner without seeing a gem with an infant in her arms or holding hands with a toddler. Seeing the old-fashioned method of gem production becoming popular again was wonderful, both because it meant their population growth wouldn’t fall too much now that they weren’t using kindergartens anymore, and because it meant Mint wouldn’t be short on playmates.

As the diamonds and Spinel exited the ship and entered the palace through White’s bubble, Mint let out an audible yawn. Looking down at her, her mothers took note of her droopy eyes and sluggish movements.

“It looks like someone’s ready for bed,” Blue said, gently patting Mint’s head.

The little diamond’s eyes snapped fully open as she looked to her mothers with the most hurt and betrayed look on her face.

“Nooo!” Mint whined, “I’m not tired!”

“It’s already past your bedtime, Mint,” Yellow pointed out, “And you look very tired to me.”

“Noooo! I’m not tired!”

“How about this, Minty,” White offered, crouching down to her level, “If you just get dressed for bed, you can stay up a little longer while I tell you a story.”

Mint nodded, excitedly agreeing to the deal. Blue and Yellow glanced at each other as White scooped her up in her arms.

“We’ll meet you in the common room after she falls asleep,” Yellow told her. White nodded before carrying Mint up to her room.

Mint’s bedroom looked like it was plucked out of a fairytale forest. Artificial leaves and flowers clung to the walls, and a shallow pond reflected the light given off from the starry ceiling. Wooden shelves in the shape of freshly chopped logs lined the walls with dolls, books, and toys, many of which were also scattered across the shiny, wood floor. Against one of the flowery walls sat a set of drawers in the shape of a large tree, which, once opened, revealed all the clothes that Mint was not yet able to project onto her form. Once White helped Mint pick out nightgown, she carried her over to the little nook of trees that cozily surrounded her leafy-green bed. Sitting down on top of the luxuriously soft bedding, White stroked the little diamond’s hair as she began her story.

“Once upon a time, the Gem Homeworld was ruled by diamonds,” White began, “White, Yellow, Blue, and the littlest diamond–”

“Pink!” Mint tiredly but proudly finished.

White smiled and ruffled her hair a bit. For the next hour, she wove a wonderous story about the time Pink had managed to sneak an organic creature off one of Yellow’s newest colonies, and tried to keep it hidden in her room. She told of how Pink didn’t even make it a week before entering her room, only to find White Diamond waiting for her, asking what the alien creature was doing there. Of course, Pink looked down at her feet and claimed she didn’t know. In telling the tale, she left out all the begging and pleading, and a few tears Pink shed before White reluctantly agreed to let her keep the creature, reasoning that Mint didn’t need to know that part of the story right now.

Finally, Mint had fallen asleep. As carefully as she could, White placed her under the covers and gave her a gentle kiss goodnight. Quietly making her way across the room, she spared one last glance at her little girl before dimming the lights and leaving the room.

As promised, she met Blue and Yellow in the common room. The two of them sat across from each other in their cushioned chairs, in the midst of idle conversation, which stopped once the third diamond entered the room.

“I take it she’s finally asleep?” Yellow asked her.

“Yes, it turns out she was tired after all,” White said, taking her usual seat across from them.

“We’ve talked about this, White. You need to stop coddling her.”

“She’s old enough to put herself to sleep,” Blue agreed, “If we want to nip this attitude she’s developed–”

“I know, I know,” White admitted, not meeting either of them in the eye, “I just… I like making her happy.”

“We know you’re trying, White,” Blue assured her.

“But if we’re going to have another baby, we need to get Mint used to having limits,” Yellow added.

White nodded. She could almost laugh at the irony of Blue and Yellow telling her to stop spoiling their child. Finding a balance between not repeating the past and not having Mint end up a spoiled brat wasn’t an easy task for any of them, but the added difficulty of the lingering guilt White felt for the rocky start she had with Mint made finding that balance all the more harder.

Not wanting to linger on that thought too much, she decided it was time for a subject change.

“Only a few more cycles until we can start trying,” White perked up, meeting their eyes once again.

“And you’re still certain you want to be the one to carry the baby?” Yellow asked.

“We understand if you’ve changed your mind. You had such a… less than ideal experience last time.”

“I can assure you both that I have not changed my mind. If it means getting a baby sooner, then I want to carry it.”

“Two years isn’t that long of a wait until I have my cycle,” Yellow pointed out.

“I appreciate your concern, both of you, but I assure you this is what I want. I want another baby. I’m in a better place than I was when I was pregnant with Mint. I’m confident in my abilities as a mother now. It’ll be a better experience this time.”

Blue and Yellow looked at each other, before turning back to her and grinning.

“Alright, but if you change your mind before your cycle starts–” Blue began.

“I won’t, I promise you.”

36 notes · View notes

thetarantulacollective · 5 years

Text

youtube

Scientific Name: Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens

Common Name: Green Bottle Blue, GBB

Type: Terrestrial / Semi- Arboreal

Category: New World

Endemic Location: Northern Venezuela, Paraguana region

Body Length: 2.75” (7cm)

Diagonal Leg Span (DLS): 6.25” (16cm)

Urticating Hairs: Yes Type III and IV

Growth Rate: medium

Life Expectancy: Females 14 years / Males 4 years

Recommended Experience Level: Beginner

The Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens. Also known as the Green Bottle Blue Tarantula or the GBB. This is a New World, semi-arboreal tarantula that comes from Northern Venezuela, Paraguana region. They are considered to have a medium growth rate and reach a leg span from 4.5-6 in when full grown. Males of this species only live 3 or 4 years but the females can live up to as long as 14 years. These T’s have mild venom and urticating hairs that they wont hesitate to kick if they feel threatened or disturbed. This is a wonderful tarantula, as mine stays out on display most of the time, are gorgeous, and enjoyable to watch. Even though they usually appear docile, they can be very skittish and bolt very quickly. Mine are prone to kick hairs and then quickly dive into their burrows anytime I am spot cleaning their enclosures or adding some water to their dish. This is not a tarantula I would suggest trying to handle. They have an amazing feeding response and quickly pounce and take down prey as soon as it is offered. Like most tarantulas, they will refuse food when in pre-molt. So if your GBB is refusing to eat for weeks or months and is spending a lot of time hiding in its burrow, don’t worry. It is probably in pre-molt and will come back out with a voracious appetite after it molts.

This species is also a very heavy webber and will make a series of intricate tunnels and web up most of its enclosure over time. As mentioned before, these are semi- arboreal T’’s meaning they are both ground and tree dwelling. I set up my GBB enclosures by filling the enclosure about halfway up with substrate (as I have noticed mine sometimes will burrow a little, especially as slings and juveniles) provide a cork bark hide like I would for a terrestrial, and then I add long pieces of cork bark, or branches, and some hanging plants to give the T some anchor points for its webbing and some things it can easily climb vertically. The Green Bottle Blue prefers an arid environment which makes their husbandry very easy. Keep the substrate dry and the water dish full and this T will thrive. Like most tarantulas, this T is fine being kept at room temperature, if you are comfortable, they are comfortable.

youtube

Check out the entire care sheet here:

#gbb #green bottle blue #greenbottleblue #chromatopelma cyaneopubescens #tarantulatuesday #tarantulas #tarantula #husbandry #care sheet #spiders #spiderling #spider #arachnology #arachnids #arachnophilia #arachnophobia #arachnid #thetarantulacollective #the tarantula collective

18 notes · View notes

artificialqueens · 5 years

Text

Uprooted, chapter 3: A Sappy Ending (branjie) - writworm42

A/N: Last chapter: Vanessa found out that Brooke is her manager, and also decided that breaking HR policy is definitely worth it. This chapter: Vanessa and Brooke get together again at Brooke’s apartment. Fun ensues.

Thank you, Holtzmanns, for helping me cultivate my skills as a writer and beta-ing for me <3 Without you keeping me grounded, this fic could never have become as solid as it is… I know my puns drive you barking mad, but the fact that you could stay so sunny is amazing. Thank you!

“Sorry I’m late,” Vanessa explained sheepishly as Brooke led her inside, “I had to feed my frog.”

“You have a frog?” Brooke turned around to look at Vanessa, smiling with an expression that Vanessa couldn’t quite decipher. She blushed, nodding.

“Her name is Bertha, and I–”

“That’s a good frog name.” Brooke’s smile widened, “I love it.”

Vanessa exhaled deeply, relief calming the tension in her chest. Brooke loved it. She still thought Vanessa was cool.

“Can I get you anything, by the way?” Brooke walked over to her fridge, swinging open the door and peering inside, “I have juice, water, some Diet Coke, wine…” her tone changed when listing that last option, and she looked back at Vanessa with a coy smile and raised eyebrow. Vanessa rolled her eyes.

“Alright Mary,” Vanessa laughed, “Let’s see what kinda wine you got, red or white?”

–

They talked while they drank, slowly getting to know each other over sips of the chilled white wine that Brooke had pulled out of her fridge. At first, the conversation was awkward–work, the weather, whether or not Vanessa had had difficulty finding the place. But then Vanessa asked Brooke what had gotten her interested in arboriculture, and Brooke had perked up, and Vanessa knew she’d hit the money.

It was a pretty cliche story, actually. Brooke had grown up on a produce farm in Ontario, where her family had grown everything from apples to cucumbers to even daisies and sunflowers. But what Brooke had always loved the most was the peaches, or, more specifically, the trees that they grew on.

“It was always so quiet in the orchard, and the ground is always so much softer around trees. It was perfect for laying down and just thinking.” Brooke mused, taking a sip of her wine, “And it always smelled so good. Not just the fruit—the trees.”

“I know what you mean!” Vanessa cut in, bouncing on her chair, “Dry bark and all that shit, put that with the fruit smell and the leaf smell and it’s better than an orgasm or some shit.”

The minute she realized what she’d said, she reddened, her hands flying up to her mouth as if to remind her to shut it for once in her damn life.

If Brooke’s bemused expression was any indication, though, she didn’t seem to mind.

“Better than an orgasm, huh?” She cocked an eyebrow, her voice dropping low and taking on a seductive drawl as she teased, “You sure about that?”

“Dunno,” Vanessa breathed, the sudden awareness of who Brooke was and what they were hitting her in more than just her chest. “Should we test it out?”

Then Brooke’s lips were on hers, pressing down in a slow, inviting kiss that Vanessa found herself craning to keep going.

“What do you think, baby girl, should mommy take you to the bedroom?” Brooke muttered when they finally separated, bringing a hand up to Vanessa’s cheek to cradle it gently. Vanessa whimpered, then nodded.

“Yes, mommy, please.”

Without another word, Brooke scooped Vanessa up and carried her to bed, kissing her all the while. The minute Vanessa hit the mattress, her hands were up, clambering for any part of Brooke that she could reach, only to be pinned back down again.

“No, baby. If you want to touch me, you’re gonna have to prove you deserve it.” Brooke murmured against Vanessa’s lips, her grip tightening as she moved along Vanessa’s jawline, biting and sucking down to her neck. “Think you can do that for me?”

Yes, anything you want, I’ll do anything.

But when Vanessa tried to get the words out, they caught in her throat, coming out in only a breathless, strangled moan. Brooke laughed.

“Good girl. Now, what do you say we get rid of these pesky clothes?”

“Yes please.” Vanessa gasped as Brooke straightened up, letting go of Vanessa’s wrists in favour of the collar of her shirt, toying with her buttons in an almost mocking tease.

“Yes please, what?” Brooke hummed, bringing her fingers to a stop while she waited for Vanessa’s answer, grinned as Vanessa squirmed with impatience underneath her.

“Yes please, mommy.” Vanessa breathed out a sigh of relief as Brooke resumed her work, finally stripping Vanessa down to her bra and beginning to undo the buttons of her jeans. She stopped suddenly, though, once she had pulled down the zipper, a peek of Vanessa’s panties revealing themselves underneath.

“Frogs.” Brooke looked down and blinked, stunned. Vanessa followed her gaze, only to turn crimson red at what she saw.

In her rush to get ready that evening, after her shower, she’d grabbed the first pair of panties she could see in her drawer, without realizing that it was a pair covered in cartoon frogs.

“Oh my God.” Vanessa brought a hand up to hide her face, her chest practically caving in with embarrassment. “I’m so sorry.”

Perfect, just fucking perfect–Brooke would probably think she was some frog-obsessed weirdo, would probably laugh at her for still wearing stuff that was so juvenile.

But when Brooke did laugh, it wasn’t mocking at all–rather, it was light and affectionate. “What for?” she mused, leaning down to give Vanessa a quick, fond peck on the lips. “It’s adorable.”

Thank God. Vanessa felt herself relax, all her tension leaving her as she exhaled deeply. Brooke, meanwhile, settled back down, a gleam of lust returning to her eyes as she brought Vanessa’s jeans down a little further, fully exposing Vanessa’s panties and giving her room to cup Vanessa’s cunt through the fabric.

“That being said,” she purred, kneading the area and grinding her palm into Vanessa’s clit, “As cute as they are, I do think they’re in the way, aren’t they?”

“Yes, mommy, so in the way.” Vanessa agreed with a shaky sigh, unable to keep her eyelids from becoming heavy under Brooke’s touch.

In no time at all, Vanessa’s panties had been discarded on the floor, leaving her cunt exposed for Brooke to begin playing with.

“I forgot how pretty your little pussy is,” Brooke mused, beginning to ghost her fingertips along Vanessa’s inner thighs, “And it’s all mine to play with tonight, lucky me.” she stopped just short of Vanessa’s vulva before trailing her fingers back down slowly, practically buzzing with a cruel sort of glee as she felt Vanessa shiver in the wake of her touch.

“Poor baby, you’re just aching for me, aren’t you, angel?” Brooke clicked her tongue, finally bringing a single finger to Vanessa’s slit and tracing her way up to just below the smaller girl’s clit, toying lightly with the area and smirking at how it made Vanessa go rigid.

“Please, mommy, please…”

“Please what?” Brooke batted her eyes with feigned innocence, adding another finger and finally easing them up to Vanessa’s clit before resting them there, pressed down but not moving. “Use your words, princess.”

“Please, oh fuck, please, mommy, please play with my pussy, please–”

“Good girl.” Brooke began to move her fingers in slow circles, and Vanessa felt herself melt into the touch, a wave of relief and pleasure washing over her and making her whole body feel light. Satisfied with the effect she had on the younger girl, Brooke leaned back down to take one of Vanessa’s nipples in her mouth, speeding up the pace of her circles and matching the pace of her fingers with her tongue.

Vanessa hardly remembered what happened next–a stream of words she didn’t hear herself say, a response from Brooke that she barely processed, a tenseness in her eyes as they squeezed shut against her orgasm, a feeling so intense that she could barely stand it. But stand it she did, for a second and third time before Brooke’s fingers finally let up, Vanessa’s eyes opening just in time to see Brooke licking Vanessa’s juices off her fingers with a satisfied smirk.

“Do you need a break?” Brooke checked in, climbing off of Vanessa long enough to plant a quick kiss on her cheek and scoop her into her arms. Vanessa shook her head.

“Alright then,” Brooke smiled with approval, straightening up and spreading her legs as if to invite Vanessa to settle between them. “Get to work.”

Vanessa wasted no time in moving where Brooke wanted her, kissing and sucking her way down Brooke’s body until she reached the taller woman’s clit, her heart soaring with excitement as Brooke sighed with contentment when her tongue finally came in contact with it. Vanessa began with slow, broad strokes, a tease that brought karma right back onto Brooke until her hand was knotted in Vanessa’s hair.

“Stop teasing, baby.” Brooke growled impatiently, pushing Vanessa’s face even closer to her cunt.

Well. If that was what Brooke wanted, who was Vanessa not to oblige? Laughing just a little against Brooke’s folds, she moved her tongue faster, honing in on the older woman’s clit and alternating between light, precise strokes with the tip of her tongue and deep, sucking kisses that left Brooke’s legs shaking on either side of Vanessa’s head.

Adorable.

“You like that, mommy?” Vanessa mused, drinking in her power with absolute pleasure as Brooke moaned loudly, unable to restrain herself from letting out a gasp when Vanessa sucked on her clit again, “You like when I suck you like that?”

“Yes, baby, yes I do…” Brooke gasped, her grip on Vanessa’s hair tightening still, pushing her even closer, begging for her to go even harder. Vanessa persisted, humming as she sped up her movements to a merciless pace.

Brooke came hard, her entire body seeming to lurch as Vanessa licked her through her orgasm, ceasing only when she felt Brooke’s hand drop heavily from its hold on her. When she moved up to Brooke’s level and settled into the crook of her arm, Brooke looked utterly sated, her cheeks flushed and covered in a thin sheet of sweat, her eyelids still hooded with residual pleasure.

“So, just curious,” Vanessa planted a slow, lingering kiss on Brooke’s cheek, her chest blooming with affection when Brooke sighed happily at the sensation, “We countin’ this as a date or what?”

“I mean, I was going to ask you out to dinner,” Brooke smiled sheepishly, turning to Vanessa and pulling her closer before returning her kiss, “But this works, too.”

Not for the last time that night, Vanessa thanked God that they both had the day off tomorrow.

#rpdr fanfiction #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #branjie #lesbian au #smut #fluff #uprooted #writworm42 #tw mommy kink #tw light dom/sub dynamics #tw praise kink

36 notes · View notes

southwestfloridaeaglecam · 6 years

Text

Weekly Nest Notes: First Flights of Freedom

E12 and E13 have taken their first flights away from the nest tree and discovery and adventure have been on their agenda every day since. E12 executed an impressive fledge flying courageously with a perfect landing on the pasture snag. After soaking in all the new views and feeling the freedom, E12 flew back to the nest tree trunk with another perfect landing. E13’s behavior of pushing and flapping at E12’s return to the nest was not very welcoming. Moments later they were both perched closely together on the attic branch. They waver between wanting to belong and defending their space. After an event-filled day, E13 roosted on an outer branch of the nest tree while E12 returned to the nest for a peaceful sleep. Enter the pesky Owl who did what Owls do in the darkness of night and buzzed E13 from the tree branch. E13 recovered and landed on a lower branch under the nest. At first light E13 confidently climbed and flap hopped back up the branch to nest level making the easy jump to the security of the nest.

E12 and E13 spent the next day discovering new branches in the nest tree, performing daring high hovers and filling up on all the food Dad delivered. E12 overshot the veranda branch and was holding on while hanging there. Mom came to see what the commotion was about causing E12 to let go and land on a branch under the nest. E12 then flap hopped back up to the nest as E13 had done earlier.

E13 greeted the new day with excitement and energy and took the first leap to freedom flying to a front pine and eventually to the pasture snag. E13 relished in all the sights from new perspectives. E13 aced the landing on the return flight to the nest. E12 embarked on their second full flight around the pasture and explored the front pine tree branch. With their curiosity and sense of adventure ignited, both Fledgelings flew with amazing skill, sought out new perches and soared the skies around the pasture and beyond. E12 was on the fast track gliding to the ground, finding the pond and even taking a bath, all within a few days of fledging. E13 also discovered the ground as the two frolicked at the pond bank, perched on the fence and walked along the driveway as their siblings before them. E12 and E13 continually break through new milestones as they proceed on their journey to independence and freedom. Harriet and M15 observe E12 and E13 and may have a sense of their success rearing their two exceptional Juveniles. Nest Notes by dadsjazz.

E12’s Fledge Videos

Lady Hawk (from SWFEC cameras) SWFL Eagles ~ E12 Fledges & Triumphantly Returns To The Nest! ~ 79 Days Old 3.12.19 https://bit.ly/2EYFg6o

E13’s Fledge Videos

Wskrsnwings: E13 Fledges~E12 Takes 2nd Flight~Both Fledglings Take 2 More Flights 03-14-19 http://bit.ly/2Y0jVSv

Lady Hawk (from SWFEC cameras) SWFL Eagles ~ E13 Fledges Today 7:41 AM Day 79 3.14.19 https://bit.ly/2HyxYcd

Anja Edelman (from SWFEC cameras) 3/14/2019..E13 fledges at 79 days old. https://bit.ly/2FgvJZF

Weekly Video Highlights

Ground Video by wskrsnwings

E13 Returns Strong To The Nest After The Owl Attack 03-13-19 http://bit.ly/2CtowUv

"Eaglet See-Eaglet Do"~New Branches & High Hovers 03-13-19 http://bit.ly/2Fb0WMP

Fledglings E12 & E13 Take 10 Flights & Visit 10+ Trees In 2 Hours 03-15-19 http://bit.ly/2Hoj3Cm

Fly Abouts~Follow The Leader~Hissy Fit~Pestering Birds~Breakfast 03-18-19 http://bit.ly/2TZ2tPa

Video by Anja Edelman (from SWFEC cameras)

03/15/2019..E12 taking first sips & dips at pasture pond https://bit.ly/2u9wBcc

03/17/2019 Sunday 7:06am..E12 wakes up and active with mom and E13 as her audience. https://bit.ly/2UOQIIc

Video by Lady Hawk (from SWFEC cameras)

SWFL Eagles ~ Look At Me ~ E12 Goes Up Tree Trunk By Cam Housing 3.11.19 https://bit.ly/2VQKWGd

SWFL Eagles ~ E13 Attacked By Owl ~ Knocked Off Attic Branch 3.12.19 https://bit.ly/2u62pP2

SWFL Eagles ~ E13 Is Back! ~ Beautiful Sunrise Return To Attic After Owl Attack 3.13.19 http://bit.ly/2Jf0Pos

SWFL Eagles ~ E12's Misstep ~ Hanging Upside Down On Veranda 3.13.19 http://bit.ly/2VZflCn

SWFL Eagles ~ E12 Discovers The Pond & Takes First Bath 3.15.19 https://bit.ly/2OeS6Sl

SWFL Eagles ~ Catch Me If You Can ~ E12 & E13 Playing On Ground, Palm Tree & Fence 3.16.19 https://bit.ly/2u9wBcc

#SWFLeagleCAM #eaglecam #birding #baldeagle #eagle #nature

2 notes · View notes

nacsygen · 5 years

Text

bunnyhauntingthedollshouse

“Oh to be a gremlin child again. Covered in grass stains and grazes, hair unbrushed with daisies in the knots, no concept of my own physicality, half way up a tree and eating an apple around my missing tooth. To be unabashedly ugly, to be unashamedly hungry, to be healthy and hearty and lean and covered in bruises and full of love and sun warmed strawberries. To feel time stretch forever, only flying when I fall into books. To love summer once more, and her insects and sweat.”

you know...you can still do that, right? you can stay a wild child. you can dive into the wilderness and disregard human beauty standards. you can fall in love with and never fall out of love with summer. you can disappear into books. you’re never too old to be a gremlin child. you can spend hours of your nights enchanted with wildlife. you can be an adult and climb trees. you can spend your whole life in love with summer.

i wanted to write an essay about how “be brave, stay wild” is actually an amazing succinct perfect world view and advice. but to focus on “stay wild”, considering their audience is mostly children, it’s actually perfect.

we all remember being feral children, right. for me, it was growing up with more wild (but beloved and friendly to me) cats than i did with humans, and playing orcs and elves with axes and handmade bows in the woods with my brother, and making fairy houses out of mud and sticks and leaves. i remember being young and wild.

and i grew out of all the worst parts of being young, the depression, the stagnation, the sense of loss and being lost, the not-knowing, the ptsd. but i refused always to let go of the sheer raw joy of being young in nature.

now that i’m approaching 29, i refuse to let go of the adoration of summer and the love of my local creatures. just the other night, i spent two hours patiently stalking a yearling possum juvenile through the bushes outside my apartment, just so i could get glimpses of her comfortably rooting through a bush in the peak of night, grown gradually accustomed to me nearby. i also keenly long for youth. the trick is, not letting it stop you as you get older. you just keep going, and you won’t even miss your youth, at all. you just keep going. i wouldn’t trade being 25 or younger for the world.

#it would be unremarked for a male adventurer but i don't wear makeup or shave my armpits or legs #i have two roommates who are a couple in their early 20s #and i just spent all night counselling them through it #a bad violent argument bringi ng up past traumas #both parties traumatized and not knowing how to healthily deal with things #i would not go back to my early 20s for pretty much anything #t

1 note · View note

wigmund · 8 years

Photo

From National Wildlife Federation Photo of the Week; March 6, 2017:

Delaware Wildlife

National Wildlife's 46th annual Photo Contest is now open! Check out some of our favorite photos from past National Wildlife photo contests. Each week we'll celebrate nature and wildlife from a different state. This week we're featuring Delaware nature and wildlife!

Photo Above: Wildlife photographer Charlie Long got this shot of a mosquito resting on an idle Northern Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans melanota) in a shallow pool in Delaware's Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge using a Canon 1D Mark III with a 17-135mm lens. Read National Wildlife's Ten Tips to Give Frogs a Landing Pad.

Photographer John Griggs writes, "I was amazed to find this sweat bee gathering the lovely but very short lived blue pollen on the Scottish Thistle. To me, this image has an almost 'otherworldly' feel as we get down to its world." The Pennsylvania resident made this image in Claymont, Delaware using a Nikon D200 with a 50mm f/2.8 macro lens. Read National Wildlife's Being There for Bees.

Robert Miller writes, "The light was beautiful and setting when I caught this juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) coming in for a landing" in Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. The Maryland resident used a Nikon D300 camera. Read National Wildlife's Bird of Myth and Elegance.

Nature photographer Sean Crane caught this young American Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes fulvus) mid-yawn in Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. The New York resident used a Nikon D300 with a 200-400mm lens. Read Ranger Rick's Red Foxes.

Photographer Drew Smith made this image of a Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea) feeding on grass seed along the wildlife drive in Delaware's Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. The Virginia resident used a Canon EOS 7D with a 500mm f/4 lens and 1.4x teleconverter. Read National Wildlife's Bird Tales with a Bite.

Photographer David Mellon "woke up early to get this shot of the marsh as the sun came up" in Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. The Delaware resident used a Canon T1i camera. Read National Wildlife's The Great Marsh: Nature's Flood Insurance.

Nature photographer Jay Fleming photographed these "Laughing Gulls (Leucophaeus atricilla) in a frenzy feeding on horseshoe crab eggs in the surf zone along Rehoboth Bay on Delaware's Dewey Beach," using a Nikon D200 with a 300mm lens.

Photographer David Mellon made this image of a Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) at Lums Pond State Park, Delaware using a Canon T2i camera on macro-mode. Read National Wildlife's Dragonflies are Dangerous Beauties.

Authors and photographers Hal and Kirsten Snyder caught this mid-air moment between Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) in Delaware's Cedar Swamp Wildlife Area using a Canon EOS 1D Mark II with a 600mm lens and 1.4x teleconverter. The Delaware residents write, "Tree swallows are not only stunningly beautiful birds with their iridescent blue mantles, they are also amazing aerialists."

Landscape photographer Steve Greer made this image of Atlantic Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus polyphemus) in Delaware Bay using a Canon EOS 5D with a 17mm lens. He writes, "Thousands of horseshoe crabs climb out of the water to spawn in the predawn light. This ancient ritual predates dinosaurs. The timing, moon cycles, tides, sunrise, and weather, were all important elements in making this photo possible." Read National Wildlife's Shorebirds' Fate Hinges on Horseshoe Crabs.

Nature photographer Kari Post writes, "This male Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) was singing among a stand of phragmites, and I managed to capture this shot as he climbed his way up to the top of the plant. Most common yellowthroats I’ve observed stay pretty low in the brush while calling, but this individual kept moving up and down the reeds and even sang from tree branches, allowing me to get some nice clean photographs of this behavior." The New Jersey resident got this shot in Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge using a Canon 1D Mark II with a 300mm f/2.8 lens. Read National Wildlife's True Colors: How Birds See the World.

Photographer Drew Smith made this image of a full moon setting behind beach grass at dawn on Delaware's Pickering Beach using a Canon EOS 7D with a 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens on a tripod. NWF Family Fun: Keep a Moon Journal.

Wildlife photographer Daniel D'Auria captured the moment "an Eastern Wood Pewee (Contopus virens) returning to roost from a fresh catch" in Delaware's Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge using a Canon 1DX with a 600mm f/4 lens. Read National Wildlife's Urban Biodiversity.

Nature photographer Rob Melone caught an approaching storm in Delaware's Cape Henlopen State Park using a Nikon D90 with an 18-200mm lens.

Wildlife and nature photographer Larry Hitchens was photographing a fishing Green Heron (Butorides virescens) in Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge when he was "pleasantly surprised by an Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) that climbed aboard the log and joined the bird." The Maryland resident used a Canon EOS 1DS Mark II with a 600mm f/4 lens.

Photographer David Nibouar spotted a juvenile Atlantic Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) with a meal in its mouth while strolling along the beach in Delaware's Cape Henlopen State Park. The Pennsylvania resident used a Nikon D80 with a 28-300mm lens. Read about the effects of climate change and the blue crab.

Landscape and wildlife photographer Michael Pyle made this image of a Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) mid-meal in Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge using an Olympus E3 with a 300mm lens. Read National Wildlife's Bird of Grace and Trauma.

Photographer Sandy Dimke was on "an outing with my family (and camera), and spotted a Pickerel Weed (Pontederia sp.) plant growing at the edge of a pond in Delaware's Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge." The South Carolina resident used a Canon EOS 40D with a 100mm macro lens.

Photographer Michael Galeone captured the moment a Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) left its perch in Delaware Seashore State Park using a Nikon D4 with a 400mm f/2.8 lens. Read National Wildlife's Snowy Owl Snowstorm.

Landscape and wildlife photographer Benjamin DeHaven made this photo of a curious Eastern Raccoon (Procyon lotor lotor) in Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge using a Nikon D90 with a 70-300mm lens. Read National Wildlife's Raccoons: A League of Their Own.

Nature photographers Hal and Kirsten Snyder write, "While hiking in Brandywine Creek State Park's deep woods, we stumbled upon an eye-level Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) nest that was visible from the trail. The birds didn't seem concerned with our presence." The Delaware residents were able to capture this image when sunlight bathed the nest for about 8 minutes, using a Canon EOS 1DS Mark II with a 600mm lens and 1.4x teleconverter on a tripod. Read National Wildlife's A Shakespeare Among Birds.

More from the National Wildlife Federation:

NWF Affiliate Delaware Nature Society

NWF Blogs about Delaware

National Wildlife Federation's Mid-Atlantic Regional Center

What We Do: Protecting the Delaware River Watershed

Delaware Eco-Schools

Nature's Witnesses: Powerful images of wilderness can inspire conservation.

Nature and Wildlife Photography Tips Center

#national wildlife federation #nature #landscape #wildlife #Delaware #long post

1 note · View note

afritrekholidaysuganda · 4 years

Text

8 DAYS SAFARI ITINERARY TO BWINDI, QUEEN ELIZABETH AND KIBALE NP

Day 1: Arrival On arrival at Entebbe International Airport you will be met by a representative from Juvenile safaris. You will the drive to your lodge/hotel. If your flight arrives in the morning, you will embark on the city tour and visit prominent places and some of Kampala's historical sites with the help of your guide. This city tour will feature sites like Wamala tombs, Namugongo Martyrs Shrine, Museums and craft shops. Or Visit Uganda Wildlife Education Centre. Dinner and overnight at Cassia Lodge/the Lodge. (BB)

Day 2: Kampala – Bwindi NP

Depart from Kampala by road and head south-West to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. You will have a short stop at the Equator for an informative talk as well as a photographic opportunity. We will continue to Mbarara where were we will stop for lunch. Your drive will take you through Uganda rolling green hills through the highlands, also known as the ‘Switzerland of Uganda’. Your road will then head even higher to where you can see the triangular peaks of the Virunga volcanoes of Rwanda and the Congo. We then drop down into a valley, to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, home of the mountain gorilla. Tonight you will sleep to the sounds of the mountain rainforest. Overnight at Luxury Gorilla Forest camp/Midrange Gorilla safari lodge/Budget Buhoma Community Bandas (Full Board)

Day 3: Gorilla trekking

Up relatively early for a hearty breakfast to give you the energy needed for gorilla tracking. Before 8:00 am report to the ranger station for registration and a talk by one of the rangers; the guides will then take you through the bush pushing your way through the undergrowth, parting thick creepers, to track the gorillas. (This trek can take from half an hour to 5 hours – a reasonable degree of fitness is required as well as a sturdy pair of walking shoes) Sit in the forest among the gorillas, listening to them grumble to each other, and marvel at the sheer size of the dominant male; the silverback. It is an extraordinary feeling sitting in the dense rainforest knowing you are with a few of the last remaining mountain gorillas. It’s amazing to think there are only about 650 of these beautiful creatures left! OR If you have the afternoon free, how about a guided village walk – see how the Ugandans live! Overnight at Luxury Gorilla Forest camp/Midrange Gorilla safari lodge/Budget Buhoma Community Bandas (Full Board)

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth NP

We will depart early with our packed lunch for Queen Elizabeth National Park. We will drive through the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth known as Ishasha, famed for its tree-climbing lions. Ishasha is a remote and beautiful extension of Queen Elizabeth National Park. We will see buffalo, topi and hippo among other species. It is a fabulous sight to see the lions draped from the trees and nowhere in Africa do you stand a better chance of seeing this than in the large low-limbed fig tree of Ishasha. After checking in and having some time to relax, we will head for a late afternoon game drive. We often spot Elephants, waterbucks, warthogs, hippos and others. Overnight at Luxurious Mweya Safari Lodge/Midrange Hippo Hill/Budget Institute of Ecology (FB) Day 5: Game drive/Launch cruise

After breakfast, you will go for a morning game drive on to the rolling plains where you can view Lions, Giraffe, Hartebeest, Buffalo and Elephant as well as many of the other mammals of the park. For the birders amongst you these areas support the Secretary Bird, Black Chested Snake Eagle, Tawny and Marshal Eagles Carmine and Swallow Tailed Bee-Eaters, to pick just a few. This is a beautiful drive across Borassus Palm Forest and grassland savannah down to Lake Albert where the Albert Nile heads north to the Sudan.

In the afternoon a boat trip along the Kazinga Channel gives you the opportunity to view wildlife up close: hippo’s huff and spray mere feet away from the boat, buffalo linger in the shallows. The shores of the channel are also home to an array of birds including pink backed pelicans, pied and malachite kingfishers, saddle billed stork and many others. After this wonderful afternoon, a slow drive back to Lodge. Overnight at Luxurious Mweya Safari Lodge/Midrange Hippo Hill/Budget Institute of Ecology (FB) Day 6: Queen Elizabeth – Kibale NP

Following breakfast and a morning game drive, we will depart to Kibale Forest National Park. We will leave the park via the Northern Crater Area, with beautiful lake and rich grasslands which are set deep in the crater valley; this is truly the most breathtaking scenery in the park. We will then continue to Fort portal town arriving in the late afternoon. Overnight at Luxury Ndali Lodge/ Midrange Primates lodge Kibale/Budget CVK lodge (FB)

Day 7: Chimpanzee trekking

A relatively early morning start, to report to the ranger station in Kibale National Park at 08.00am to track habituated chimps – these delightful apes, more closely related to humans than to any other living creature, are tremendous fun to watch as they squabble and play in fruiting trees. The incredibly diverse forest is home to over 13 species of primates including red Colobus monkey, the rare L’Hoest, blue monkey, grey mangabey, pottos, black faced vervet monkeys, baboons and also bushbabies. A network of shady forest trails provides much to delight botanists and butterfly lovers, while birders are in for a treat with 335 species recorded including the endemic Prirogrine’s ground thrush. The elusive forest elephant, smaller and hairier that its savannah counterpart, moves seasonally into the developed part of the park, while other terrestrial mammals include buffalo, giant forest hog and a half dozen antelope species.

If you have energy in the afternoon, you will go for a guided walk in Bigodi Swamp to look for different bird species like the Shining Blue Kingfisher, Blue Throated Roller and other rare species and also find the fruiting trees, which attract Narina Trogon, Pied Hornbill, Yellow Spotted, Hairy Breasted and Yellow-Billed Barbets. Overnight at Luxury Ndali Lodge/ Midrange Primates lodge Kibale/Budget CVK lodge (FB) Day 8: Departure

After breakfast we will depart to Kampala arriving in the afternoon. END OF SAFARI.

Quoted price includes;

The cost of all ground transportation and Fuel

Full time safari guide and his associated expenses

Park entrance fees

Accommodation and meals as per itinerary

Boat trip

Gorilla permit @$700 each per person

Chimpanzee tracking

All game drives

But it excludes; Flights, Visa fees, Airport taxes, Items of personal nature like Laundry, Bar bills, Beverages, tipping and any extra expenses not included above.

0 notes

rachelisnotatwork · 6 years

Text

Week 9: in which we bid goodbye to Australia

New Zealand has many good features. Decent public transport to the airport isn’t one of them. To get to the airport you need to get a bus for an annoyingly long period of time.

Luckily for us the bus stop was right outside a brunch restaurant so had a huge breakfast and sat about sipping hot drinks until the last moment when we dashed out to the bus.

Our flight back was uneventful (how I like my flights) and we swung by Hertz to pick up our new rental car. Now we spend a lot of time renting from Hertz and it has now mostly reached the stage of customer loyalty where we rent a smartcar and arrive to find ourselves upgraded to a brand-new minivan. So imagine our disappointment when we got exactly the car we’d rented. Entitlement crushed.

We drove back into town, picked up Esther and packed the back of the car with the obscene amount of food Esther had purchased and/or prepared (delightful characteristic of all members of the Bischoff family- they pack about a week’s worth of food for every 24 hours you are away) and headed off to the Blue Mountains.

We had rented a very nice airbnb with a big fireplace, so I set myself up to do what I do best, which is tend the fire and then eat delicious meals prepared for me.

The next morning we headed out for a hike. Marcel had spent the previous evening flipping through a book of walks and found one that started at a place called Pulpit’s Rock. This turned out to be one of those nightmarishly vertiginous places, so I stayed on another (fairly horrendously vertiginous) rock and photographed the Bischoff siblings.

We then followed a very empty path along the cliffs overhanging the valley. Pros, good views. Cons- there was a lot of bloody ups and downs. And despite it ranking as an easy walk, a lot of those ups and downs were via thigh high rocks. So imagine 4km of constant up and down scrabbling over big rocks with a huge drop on one side. It was pretty sweaty.

We decided we didn’t want to go the whole way back, so called a taxi as recommended by the guidebook to take us back to where we’d parked our car. Our taxi driver rather alarmingly (given it is a fairly small touristy area) never heard of it but he did eventually find it in his giant laminated book of maps.

We collected the car and headed into town so Marcel could print and email a signed police statement (oh the joys of being a doctor) and then we headed out to admire the view at Echo Point and eat ice creams.

In the evening we went out to the Korean we’d eaten at the last time we were in town with Ruth and Ian and I had nut tea and little pancakes shaped like fish, filled with red bean paste, and felt very overly full.

The last time we’d been there we’d done a huge walk down into the valley by Three Sisters. Since the weather was pretty bad for the rest of the time we had forecast in the blue mountains, no one wanted to set out on a 4 hour walk. So instead we decided to get tickets for something called “Scenic World Blue Mountains”. This got you access to a cable car that went across a waterfall, a funnicular down into the valley, a dinosaur walk and then a cable car back up.

We started off with the cable car across the top of the waterfall. We could have queued to travel back, but since the queue to get on it had taken about 20 minutes and the walk back around the top of the falls was only about 15 minutes, we decided to go with the walk. Easier said than done though as it was amazingly badly signed. Big on my list of things to do is “not get lost in the Australian bush” and that ambition nearly got thwarted.

Next we headed down on the world’s steepest funicular. It was, steep. Not much more to say about that. I’ve ridden quite a lot of funiculars, most of which seemed pretty steep and this didn’t seem that out of the ordinary, although it was the only one that ended up in a “dinosaur walk”. Although again that walk was pretty hard to find. When we did find it, it featured a lot of animatronic dinosaurs that I have to say, as a dinosaur pedant, were not native to Australia. It was fairly surreal though.

We then attempted to go along one of the nearby hiking paths, but the path irritatingly had a lot of fallen trees on and instead of clearing them, they’d just cut some steps into them to help you climb over them, which is a slow and irritating way to hike especially when you find the path ends in a landslide.

So back we headed and up in the cable car. To recover from our exhausting dinosaur viewing and attempted hiking, we headed to a chocolate shop in town and ate obscene amounts of cake before toddling off home for more lazing in front of the fire.

The next day promised torrential rain from dawn. So we were fairly surprised to get out of bed and find blue skies and sun blazing down. We decided to plan some short walks to lookouts instead so that if the weather changed we wouldn’t be too far from home.

Our first stop off was a place called Anvil Rock. This had an amazing view over the mountains and was completely empty, just us.

As we walked back to the car with me leading the way, Esther talked about her fear of snakes and I said they just weren’t something that worried me that much because they are pretty shy and we make such a lot of noise walking they’d just move away. At that moment Marcel piped up from the back to point out I’d just stepped over a frozen in fear snake. Oops. Attempts at identification suggest it was a juvenile brown snake (aka super poisonous) but I maintain it’s mouth was pretty small and it would most likely have just bitten my trainer.

Near Anvil Rock is a pretty cool-looking place called Windswept Caves, so we stopped and admired those before driving on to another nearby lookout, which was nice, but not as good as Anvil Rock.

After that we drove on to a place called Lincoln’s Rock. This is one of those unfenced lookouts that reduces me from normal human being to sweaty blob of fear that has to be prised from the nearest solid object that is miles from the edge. So Marcel and Esther enjoyed the view and I photographed idiot tourists risking their lives for selfies.

After that we went to take a quick walk to a viewing point overlooking Wentworth Falls. We just about made it there before the terrible weather, but we definitely didn’t make it back before the rain. We drove our soggy selves back and spent our last evening admiring astoundingly thick fog through the windows.

The next morning we drove back to Sydney and dropped the car off at the airport (because we just love driving to the airport there). Then we headed out to see Ruth and meet the newest member of their family, who hadn’t been there the last time we’d visited, Elliott. It was lovely to catch up with them all and go for a walk along the seafront and have dinner and do the crossword (just like being back at uni. Except for the gorgeous seaside views).

Saturday morning we checked in online for our flights the next morning and headed out for the day. About an hour after we checked in for our flight we got one of those casual emails that say “there’s been a slight change to your departure time”. We logged in expecting to see a 5-10 minute change. Instead it had been moved to 10 hours later. Marcel then spent an enragingly long time on the phone getting shunted between departments trying to find out what the hell was going on. Presumably because we called and complained early, we got bumped to a delta flight that was leaving roughly when our scheduled flight was supposed to leave. We had middle seats on opposite sides of the plane but the Delta spokesperson promised I’d get my vegetarian meal and that if we went to the airport early we could get our seats swapped to sit together.

So we headed out to enjoy our last day in Sydney. We took a ferry out to Manly and then took a walk around the headland there, which features an old plague graveyard and great views over the harbour. We also happened across an echidna wandering about doing it’s thing, which was a nice little last wildlife spot.

After dinner we said a “probably” goodbye to Esther and headed to our airbnb.

The next morning we arrived at the airport painfully early to find our flight had been hugely overbooked and there was no chance of sitting together and no vegetarian meal booked for me. Given it was a 14 hour flight, I was less than thrilled. A 14 hour flight that was also an hour and a half delayed in setting off (and we’d got to the airport 3 hours early so that was 4.5 hours of hanging around before 14 hours on the plane).

I was even less thrilled when I took my seat. This was between two elderly women from the Southern US. They were friends, but refused to swap to sit next to each other so instead I ended up wedged in the middle. They then got out wipes and cleaned everything in site, which was funny because the only germy thing in sight was the one who was sitting in the window seat who coughed and sneezed constantly. The one in the aisle let her handbag fall open and it was full of more benzodiazapines than a well-stocked pharmacy. They then spent the next hour constantly talking over me, before the one in the aisle seat had some wine. This in combination with the contents of her handbag caused her to pass out for the next 8 hours, entirely blocking any exit to the toilet.

The one sitting in the window seat (coughing constantly) didn’t sleep but maintained a strange policy (for someone who elected to sit next to a stranger) of refusing to speak to me. So for example she couldn’t work out how to turn on her reading light and instead would read by mine and then sigh loudly if I turned mine off to watch a movie. I was feeling petty at this stage so didn’t volunteer to help.

14 hours can stretch to a very long time when you are dying for a wee and are trapped in the middle on an incredibly uncomfortable seat. When I finally towards the end of the flight decided to try and sleep (when the aisle lady had woken up and I could finally go to the loo), the lady in the window seat decided to loudly tell her friend, over me, that she wanted to use the bathroom. I decided if she wanted me to move she could just ask (previously when she’d wanted to use the loo she just stared at me until I asked her if she wanted to go to the loo and then she just nodded) and so feigned sleep. She then decided to have a really loud conversation to see if she could “accidentally” wake me (and then presumably stare at me until I offered to move) but by now I was feeling really annoyed so I just pretended to be asleep for an hour out of spite. Which is also a very boring way to spend time. By the time we arrived at LAX I was pretty much done with ever travelling again…. But instead Sunday had begun again (oh the magic of the international date line!)

Luckily this Sunday was much better. We picked up a car, had brunch and then drove to our friend’s Kat and Karl’s lovely new house, took a nap, ate lots of cheese and crackers and then went out for an amazing Mexican meal with them and Saman and Ashley. So round 2 of Sunday was WAY better than Round 1 and ended the week on a good note.

Ways I thought I might die in Australia this week: heat stroke, being bitten by a snake with a good sense of irony, fallen off a ridge edge, dropped dead of the vertigo induced by the possibility of falling off the edge, ruptured bladder from being stuck between drugged up old ladies.

0 notes

xtyrantinax · 6 years

Text

Half of a Whole | Underfell x His Dark Materials | Chapter 3.

Universe: Underfell

Characters: Papyrus, Sans.

Warnings: None Applicable.

Overview: Chapter 3.

A/N: None.

First | Previous | Next

Read on AO3: HERE

The following morning Papyrus was awake bright and early. He was out of bed and dressing as the first rays of sunlight broke the horizon, and the birds housed in the nearby trees began their song.

There was something simply captivating about the sun rise. The way the dark skies were seemingly all of a sudden awash with all kinds of colour - the light chasing away the black abyss of the evening sky and replacing it with vivid blues, yellows, and purples. More than once Papyrus had caught himself watching the sun make its daily climb into the sky, loosing himself in the beauty he was still so unaccustomed to.

It took a gentle nudge of his hand to draw the monster from his musings, and he turned to look down upon his daemon. Amarisa gave a gentle smile, as she always did when they were alone, her tail giving a few swishes.

Papyrus ruffled the fur of her head, earning a livelier wagging of her tail. Taking note of the time, the two swiftly left their room, heading towards the kitchen.

It was a common occurrence for the skeleton and daemon to be the only people up at the early hour. They both knew perfectly well that their lazy siblings would be sleeping for many hours yet. Luckily for them, Papyrus and Amarisa were kind enough to allow it.

Once they had reached their destination, Papyrus quickly set about making some breakfast for himself. Fortunately, due to the fact Papyrus woke so early, he had plenty of time to make his usual Friday meal; pancakes. After moving to the surface, Papyrus’ cooking skills had improved tenfold – there was no longer a need to have the fire extinguisher on standby throughout. Some of the pancakes were closer to black then brown, but at least there was no way they would be undercooked.

Pleased with his efforts, he slid some of the misshapen food onto another plate and placed it into the fridge, or as it was more commonly known, the ‘Food Museum’ so that Sans wouldn’t miss out on his masterpiece.

Papyrus quickly scoffed the food he had kept for himself, pausing only to give Amarisa a small slither of pancake to taste. After a hefty glass of water to wash it all down, the monster and daemon quickly began their way towards the front door. They had no time to loiter about the apartment if they had hope of being punctual.

Slipping on his coat and draping his scarf over himself, Papyrus paused. He shifted to the nearby window and took in the looming grey clouds above before moving back to the cupboard in which their shoes were stored. The skeleton eagerly reached in, pulling out his red boots – an old favourite from back in the Underground – and slipped them on. Amarisa gave a soft huff of approval upon seeing them.

Papyrus snatched his keys from the table situated next to the door before heading out of the apartment and into the hallway outside. He made sure to lock the door once more, then continued his way down the stairs.

The bottom floor of the building was always eerily deserted in the early morning and the late evening with only one or two monsters present at all times to ensure security. On that particular morning, there was one monster manning the front desk, and another busily sweeping the seemingly already pristine white floors. The guardsman and daemon managed to swiftly cross the reception area and exit via the front door. There was of course a backdoor that led out into the alleys behind the building, but it was scarce used.

Papyrus was greeted by the crisp air outside, weighed down only by the slight humidity that hung heavily in the air. He was quite content with the cool, it was the dampness that he found uncomfortable.

Once out into the street he could see several puddles of water remaining from the downpour of the previous day, filling the lower sections of road. There was also a thick fog that encased the city that had not been obvious from Papyrus’ window. Truly an unpleasant start to the day – but Papyrus had worked with worse.

The skeleton did not consider himself a cowardly monster; yet with the inability to see further than a few metres in all directions, it certainly left him with a slight sensation of nervousness. Amarisa seemed to pick up on his mildly anxious state and shifted closer to her counterpart for comfort.

The street lights that hung overhead did little to fend off the fog and were only just visible through it. Even the headlights of the few cars that were driving about were hard pressed to light the way.

Papyrus turned a corner down a new road, and if on cue heard several sets of feet running in his direction. Fortunately, he knew who exactly these people were.

“Boo!” shouted one of the voices from behind him, accompanied by several choruses of laughter.

The monster gave his own barely audible chuckle at the odd antics, “You’ll have to try harder than that to scare me, children.” There were several disappointed groans from the aforementioned youths that followed. Finally, Papyrus turned to look down at the humans that had attempted to startle him – two small human girls named Jenny and Elaine, and their unsettled daemons called Raxus and Kailu respectively.

The two children were sisters – identical twins to be exact – and both seemed determined to win the monster’s friendship by any means necessary. In fact, the two apparently wanted to befriend all monsters. However, excluding Papyrus and Amarisa, most others had been less than patient with their happy-go-lucky childish attitude.

The first time Papyrus had met the two was when they had spotted him sat in the garden outside the monster residence. Despite their parents warning them against going near the monsters the curious children had decided to do so, scaling the stone walls that bordered the building so they could observe the guardsman and his daemon.

Papyrus had of course noticed them straight away, but had opted to ignore them. It was only when they began trying to converse with him that the monster was forced to interact with them. They were sweet, and he’d decided to humour their intentions of friendship by telling them that if they managed to successfully sneak up on him he would agree to being their friend.

Several months on and they were still trying to earn his companionship, and Papyrus truly admired their perseverance.

“How do you always know it’s us?” Asked Jenny as she did almost every day after they failed yet another attempt. The two humans moved to walk on either side of Papyrus, Elaine on the left with her daemon as a small sparrow and Jenny on the right with hers a tabby cat that padded alongside Amarisa.

“You both always attack me at the exact same place every morning, and I could hear you coming a mile away,” he stated simply, “You need to do something new, try and catch me off guard.”

“Don’t worry mister Papyrus, we’ll get you one day!” Elaine grinned excitedly, her daemon twittering happily in concurrence.

“Besides, we told everyone at school that we’d do it,” Jenny added, “They’re all too scared of monsters to try and make friends, but we said that we could do it, and if we can do it then everyone can be friends and they won’t have to fear you.” She continued, skipping along happily as she spoke.

It always amazed Papyrus that they could have such and innocent, naïve mindset – children of the Underground had never had such kind notions of the world. Yet, in a way they reminded him of Frisk, determined to be a pacifist, to show all monsters that killing was not always the answer, and that kindness was not always a weakness.

Perhaps they in fact needed more people with that mindset – kindness to balance out all the cruelties of the world. Unfortunately, that was not the kind of thinking monsters had been fostering. All monster children were aware of the fact that the world was ‘kill or be killed’ with no exceptions for anyone.

The small party lapsed into silence as they continued down the street. It had become almost routine – the children would try to sneak up on Papyrus, fail, and then casually chat with him while he walked down the street.

The sun had climbed further into the sky in the few minutes Papyrus had been outside and had begun to chase the fog away, banishing it from the city with its warmth and light. Dark grey clouds still tainted the horizon, looming threateningly in the distance with their silent promise of another drenching.

“What’re you doing today?” Elaine asked, breaking their quiet and looking up at him with all interest.

“I bet it’s more boring adult stuff,” Jenny added, earning an amused giggle from her twin sister and their daemons.

Papyrus rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh at their juvenile behaviour, “Of course I am doing ‘boring adult stuff’, as you so kindly put it,” His words earning another fit of giggles, “Why, what thrilling adventures will you be participating in today?”

The question gathered a completely different response, the two girls groaning in annoyance, “school” they replied together. “It’s so boring!” Jenny added, grumbling and kicking a small stone from the walkway for extra emphasis.

“You two seem to think everything short of running around the streets causing havoc is completely tiresome and pointless,” he began frowning slightly, “You can’t spend all day enjoying yourself, then nothing would ever get done.”

By then they had reached the end of the street and it was time for the three to part ways. “Alright then, you four had best run along, it is dangerous to be out so early by yourselves.” Not all monsters were as accommodating of children as Papyrus was, and so it was not safe for them to be wandering the streets on their lonesome.

Jenny and Elaine shared a look before both replying with a quick, “See ya mister Papyrus,” in their usual sing-song voice. With nothing more they turned and began sprinting down the path whence they came to the sound of elated giggles.

Papyrus gave a sigh; partly glad he was by himself again. While having company was enjoyable at times, he often preferred to be alone, and there were only so many childish questions he could tolerate in one day. Besides, he would be spending most of the next few waking hours answering the time-wasting questions of human ‘officials’ – he couldn’t afford to have his patience already in tatters.

Perhaps it would be more worth his time going to school in the girls’ place, at least then he might actually learn something of importance. With a chuckle at his own thoughts, Papyrus continued on his way through the city.

#A Dragon Writes #Undertale #Underfell #Underfell Papyrus #Underfell Sans #Fanfiction #Fanfic #His Dark Materials #The Golden Compass #Daemons #Crossover

0 notes

paulcleonard · 7 years

Link

Is there room in your life for a seven-foot lizard?

If the answer is “No”, then don’t get an iguana.

.share-container { position: relative; line-height: 1em; padding-bottom: 10px; } .share-container .label { color: #777; display: block; float: left; font-size: 14px; padding: 10px 0 0; text-transform: uppercase; width: 130px; } .share-container .rrssb-buttons { float: left; width: calc(100% - 131px); }

share this page:

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

What many potential iguana keepers don’t realize is their handful of a baby iguana is destined to grow into something approaching a 20lb dinosaur lookalike. The only reason an iguana wouldn’t reach this size is if they aren’t properly cared for and die young. Since neglecting an iguana is a not an option, this means that pint-sized hatchling soon needs their own room – literally!

Iguana Basic Biology

An adult Iguana measures 5 – 7 ft. (the females are shorter) from nose to tail tip, and weigh in at around 20 lbs. They can also live up to 20 years and are therefore a considered commitment for any pet parent.

Your scaly-friend needs plenty of space, such as an enclosure measuring 12 by 6 by 6 feet. Plus they are cold-blooded and require the area to be heated (which can work out expensive in winter) and UV lighting for strong bones.

As for food, iguanas are vegetarian and require a diet of fresh fruit and veg. This should be sprinkled with calcium powder to reduce the risk of metabolic bone disease.

OK, you have a spare room and embrace the prospect of a large scaly friend. Are iguanas easy to care for? Yes and no.

Iguana Temperament and Handling

Apart from those amazing prehistoric looks, iguanas are known for their engaging personalities. When handled from a youngster, they grow to know their carer and seek out their company. Iguanas even have a reputation for following their pet parent around like a dog.

However, friendly iguanas don’t happen by chance, and you do need to start handling them from a young age. A lot like socializing a puppy, regular one-to-one time with people helps the baby iguana get used to people and enjoy their company. The end result is a friendly reptile that doesn’t bite (which is important as an iguana bite can do real damage.)

A final factor to consider when handling an iguana is the risk of salmonellosis. Like many reptiles, iguanas may carry the salmonella bug. The reptile isn’t unwell but excretes the bacteria which then pose a risk to people. Good hygiene is essential, which includes washing your hands after contact with the iguana. If those living with you have weak immune systems (such as children, the elderly, or that on chemotherapy) then an iguana is best avoided as a pet.

Home Sweet Home

Iguanas grow big but start out small, and a small reptile in a large enclosure is liable not to find their food. Therefore, be prepared to provide a smaller space for junior and expand the enclosure as they grow.

Starting out a 20 gallon aquarium is fine for a young iguana up to 18-inches in length. But know that same iguana as an adult needs a space that’s at least twice their length (nose to tail tip) and as wide as the lizard is long. And this is the minimum requirement.

Remember, iguana are arboreal (tree dwelling) and also need vertical space, hence the advice for an enclosure 12 x 6 x 6 foot. In reality, this is the size of a large cupboard or small bedroom, so make sure you have enough space.

The choice of floor covering is controversial. Small iguana has a habit of eating things they shouldn’t so be careful their ‘carpet’ if swallowed won’t cause a bowel blockage. Popular options include newspaper, butchers’ paper, or paper towels. Alternatively invest in some reptile carpet, which is thickly woven and difficult to tear apart. Have at least two pieces, so one is in use whilst the other is in the wash. Some people come up with other solutions such as AstroTurf, linoleum, or carpet tiles.

And last but not least, make sure the enclosure provides for the iguanas need to climb. Criss cross the cage it with sturdy branches, so your scaly friend can get watch from on high.

Crucial Climate Control

A cold iguana is soon a sick iguana. To stay well an iguana needs constant heat, a basking spot, and UV lights. Work on providing a background temperature of 80 – 88 F during the day and 75 – 80 F at night (warmer for youngsters). In addition they need a basking spot, which is a hotspot they can sit under to warm up, of around 120 F.

UVB lighting is important for calcium metabolism and strong bones. Given the size of an iguana you may need two UVB tubes to cover the length of their body. These lights need replacing every six months, as the amount of UV they push out drops off dramatically after this time.

Oh, and know they like to have a distinct day and night photoperiod. This means the indoor iguana needs their lights turning out when it goes dark outside, and a curtain dropped over the front of the enclosure so they can get their beauty sleep.

All Important Humidity and Water

The popular green iguana comes from the rainforests of South America, which are warm and humid. To mimic this, the iguana’s enclosure need to reach a sticky 80% humidity. This can be tricky, and most keepers opt for a combo of a large water bowl to provide the surface area for evaporation, and misting the lizard several times a day.

Provide two water sources. A bowl with a large surface area (for increased water evaporation and higher humidity) and a smaller bowl for drinking from. This said, don’t worry if you don’t see the iguana drink, they get most of their moisture from food, but need the option to drink regardless.

Also, be aware that iguana are fond of bathing and defecating in water, so expect to freshen both water bowls regularly.

Feeding an Iguana

These gentle giants are vegetarian. Some keepers make the mistake of thinking their large size means they’ll benefit from a supplement of cat food. But this is disastrous, because meat-based foods are too high in protein and strain the iguana’s kidney, leading to renal failure.

For the ideal iguana diet think raw vegetables, with fruit as a once a week treat. Those best suited to iguanas include collard greens, dandelions, turnip greens, green beans, and yellow squash.

In addition there are commercial foods available from reputable reptile companies such as Zoo Med and Rep-Cal. Just be sure to read the ingredients and if they include animal protein put the box back on the shelf. Adult iguanas cope better than juveniles with dry diets; even then it is wise to dampen the food. This is because iguanas get most of the water from their food, and too much dry food may lead to dehydration.

Calcium is important for a healthy iguana. However, some veggies contain phytates and oxalates which interfere with the digestion of calcium. Carefully research any new food you give the iguana, and only give limited amounts of veg such as spinach, carrot tops, and rhubarb which rob the body of calcium. A good safety measure is to sprinkle calcium powder on the iguana’s daily salad as a precaution.

Also, be aware of a quirk of juvenile iguanas is that they can’t chew their food, so be sure to cut it up. If they swallow a piece that is too big it could cause a serious blockage, which is easily avoided by offering diced veg.

Iguana Health Problems

Poor care is the biggest cause of premature death in iguanas. Sadly, the most common health problems are also man-made.

Burns:

Iguana mainly sense heat through the parietal eye in their head. When a heat source, such as a hot rock, is provided the iguana’s belly doesn’t register the heat. Many an iguana has suffered serious burns from sleeping on a heat mat that was too hot.

Kidney Problems:

Foods containing animal protein, such as insects or pet foods, put a huge strain on the iguana kidney. They simply aren’t designed to process and detox all these rich protein sources, which leads to kidney damage and renal failure.

Metabolic Bone Disease:

Be sure to hit that sweet spot of feeding healthy veggies loaded with calcium, and strong UVB lighting. If either of these factors is out of kilter, the result is poor calcium metabolism, weak bones, and fractures.

And finally,

The iguana is truly a magnificent animal but to care properly for such a creature takes commitment, attention to detail, and space. Much as you desire to keep one of these beautiful reptiles, put their best interests first. If you can’t meet all their requirements stretching 20 years into the future, then it’s best to admire them from afar.

The post Iguana Care appeared first on Love That Pet.

0 notes

carlsonknives · 7 years

Text

Discovering the Stunning Biodiversity of the Maldives

There’s so much more to the Maldives than swanky resorts and all-inclusive indulgence. Whilst luxurious surroundings, continual sunshine, incredible food (so much fresh fish!) and cocktails on demand are predictably agreeable, that’s far from all the Maldives has to offer.

youtube

Widely known as one of the best diving locations in the world, the Maldives consists of 26 atolls made up of around 1,200 coral islands. Of these, approximately 200 are inhabited, with a further 100 or so islands developed as tourist resorts.

The highest point of the Maldives is just 2.4 metres above sea level, making it the flattest country in the world. The unique beauty of the Maldives belies its fragility. The effects of climate change are all too evident here, with coral bleaching events and even entire islands disappearing into the ocean.

We stayed at Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu, a small island in the Baa Atoll surrounded by a bright turquoise lagoon that shelters the house reef. Our beach villa was just a few steps from the sea and the nearest section of reef was only 3 metres away, providing us with effortless access to the captivating marine life of the lagoon.

Environmental information at Dhuni Kolhu

With our own private section of beach, plunge pool and stunning outdoor bathroom, we spent 7 days in the most idyllic setting we could have possibly hoped for, but quite aside from the excellent food, service and accommodation, it was the wildlife and marine life that made this such a special trip.

Our deserted stretch of pristine beach

Captive on a small island with no distractions (rooms in the Maldives rarely feature a TV) I’d planned to read, so I took 4 books with me, anticipating endless hours with nothing more to do than dip in and out of the sea and swan around drinking cocktails.

As it turns out, I read just 1 book whilst I was there and most of that was read on the journey. The reason being that every time I dropped my eyes and focused on the page in front of me, my sense of FOMO kicked in, and for good reason.

Why it’s impossible to read in the Maldives

I very quickly found that on the rare occasions when I wasn’t in the sea, remaining close and keeping my eyes on it was a highly rewarding pastime.

Book cast aside, eyes firmly on the sea

Picture the scene. We amble to the bar and take up a seat, after ordering drinks I gaze out at the sea watching it gently lap the shore. Within minutes I spot three dark shapes swimming languidly by, I focus on the shapes and make out two stingrays and spot one that looks suspiciously like an Eagle Ray to me.

3 Rays glide past a few metres from the shore

I decide that paying more attention to printed words on a page than to the myriad marine life all around me is not a wise use of my short time on the island.

They glide slowly by, circling back again and again giving me plenty of time to grab my camera and take a few shots. A few minutes later and much further out, we spot the telltale dorsal fins of dolphins and count four go by. We drink and we chat, watching an endless parade of hermit crabs trundle across the beach. My gaze wanders back out to the shore line, just as a juvenile Whitetip Reef Shark swims by in the shallows. I decide then that paying more attention to printed words on a page than to the myriad marine life all around me is not a wise use of my short time on the island.

Fruitbats roosting in the trees

Later that evening (and after several more cocktails) we watch the silhouettes of bats grow ever bigger as they fly straight towards us, intent on finding a roost for the night. They land in the trees immediately above us, and we are captivated as we watch them climb and move around above us, hanging still long enough to pose for photographs.

Sunset in the Maldives

As the sun goes down crabs start digging holes on the beach, scuttling into their burrows and flinging out sand, leaving an ever increasing pile beside the entrance. Tiny, almost translucent crabs dart and zigzag with tremendous speed and small flightless birds scratch around and call out to each other.

A tiny little hermit crab gently handled

As lovers of the natural world we were simply blown away by the rich biodiversity of the Maldives, and despite having visited a different island some years ago, I saw far more wildlife whilst on Dhuni Kolhu island.

The island is also home to the Olive Ridley MarineTurtle Rehabilitation centre, a charity set up to rescue injured turtles from ghost nets. Many of the marine Turtles we observe are missing one or more flippers and are suffering from Buoyancy Syndrome which affects their ability to dive, leaving them vulnerable to boat strikes. Learning more about the blight of ghost nets, chatting to the resident vet and observing the turtles in their tanks left me feeling sad yet thankful that initiatives like this are helping.

In search of the elusive Manta Ray

Whilst planning for the trip I eventually chose Dunki Kolhu because it has a Manta Ray cleaning station, commonly attracting Manatas. I simply adore Manta Rays and observing or swimming with one in their natural environment has long been high up on my bucket list.

As well as snorkeling for hours every day, I also love diving so I booked myself a dive and asked the dive school about the likelihood of spotting Mantas. I have to admit to being disappointed when I was told they’d not been spotted around the island for almost a month.

Due to Cyclone Frances kicking up a fuss some 200 miles north of Australia, conditions on dive day turn out to be less than perfect, with fairly strong currents and sand swirling up from the lagoon floor inhibiting visibility. Despite this my dive was still wonderful and I enjoyed every second of it, spotting a Lionfish, Titan Triggerfish, an enormous sea cucumber, adorable Pufferfish and inside a little coral cave a graceful and friendly Grey Moray Eel.

Daily snorkelling became my obsession, to the point that I couldn’t bear to be out of the sea for more than a couple of hours for fear of what I was missing (there’s that FOMO again). My last minute purchase of an O’Neill Reactor wetsuit and Two Bare Feet Snorkel set proved to be great buys, with the former helping to protect a rather sore back from the blistering sun.

Hermit crabs doing crabby stuff on the beach

Evenings saw us feasting night after night on fresh fish, salad, sushi and several helpings of inexplicably tiny desserts, we’d head back to our little stretch of beach for a spot of stargazing under the Cheshire cat smile of the moon.

Back inside the villa, welcoming the chill of the air conditioning, we flop onto the enormous 4 poster bed and go through the days GoPro footage, marine life identification books to close hand.

Outdoor bathroom with sunken bath Deluxe Beach Villa Dhuni Kolhu, Maldives

Going back outside at night to use the impressive outdoor bathroom, turns out to be a delight. As the outdoor light flickers on, there’s just enough time to spot half a dozen Geckos scurrying from the walls to hide. Though the humidity is immediately cloying, the echo of night-time wildlife is a wondrously exotic soundtrack to my ablutions.

Days pass in a happy dreamlike blur until we find ourselves out at sea on a Dhoni, sipping wine as the sun disappears below the horizon. With our island still in sight, we suddenly hear a cry of “Manta, Manta, Manta!” the engine is cut and I hold my breath in rapt anticipation.

On the Dhuni shortly before we see Manta Rays

A few metres away from where I stand on the deck, a stunning Manta Ray swoops into clear view, seemingly heading straight for me, and I’m mesmerised.

In general Manta Rays are rarely seen and classed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. With wing spans that can reach upwards of 5 metres, watching a Manta ‘fly’ felt like a true privilege and was incredibly moving for me – one of the most magical experiences of my life, and the perfect end to an amazing week.

Our trip to the Maldives

We flew to the Maldives at the end of April from Manchester via Abu Dhabi with Ethiad Airways and stayed at Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu in the Baa Atoll. Our week long trip was booked through Kenwood Travel at a cost of £1725pp, all-inclusive with sea plane transfer, staying in a Deluxe beach villa.

Save

The post Discovering the Stunning Biodiversity of the Maldives appeared first on Camping with Style Camping Blog | Activities • Glamping • Travel • Adventure.

Original Source http://www.campingwithstyle.co.uk/discovering-stunning-biodiversity-of-maldives/ For the best knives to use whilst camping check out Carlson Knives http://www.carlsonknives.com/

1 note · View note

huonperrenials · 7 years

Text

Kata Tjuta – Valley of the Winds

Hi There,

The next day dawned bright and not a cloud in sight, a bit different from yesterdays weather at Uluru(see part 11). Todays adventure was being held at Kata Tjuta aka the Olga’s. Another amazing landform not far from Uluru with rich cultural attachments for the local people.

Kata Tjuta is Pitjantjatjara meaning ‘many heads’, clearly evident in the above photo how they got to that name! More formally you would describe it as an imposing series of mounds and domes that rise out of the surrounding landscape to an astonishing height of 546 metres above the plane(or 1066 metres above sea level). That’s a staggering 200 metres(roughly) taller than Uluru(Ayres Rock), yet I don’t think it is as well-known as Uluru. I suppose the difference is you can’t climb Kata Tjuta whereas you can Uluru occasionally! What is it with us white fella’s wanting to climb and stomp over everything anyway… I digress, there will be no more political leanings or thoughts from now on! As is the case with Uluru, these rock formations are just the tip of a huge slab of conglomerate that may extend up to 6 kilometres underground. What is conglomerate? I will get to that later!

These two photos were taken from the dune viewing area where there were some interesting plants to check out as well, always a good thing.

This is the Broad leaf Parakeelya, Calandrinia balonensis, an annual or perennial growing to 30cm either way with a basal rosette of fleshy linear to lanceolate leaves up to 10 cm long and 1 cm wide. A good indicator plant of recent good rain, if there’s a good number and they are of a good size-this indicates recent good rain as they grow rapidly during wet seasons and store water for the dry times. It has a small purple poppy like flower on tallish stems that dance around in the breeze, if there is one!

Also from the dune viewing platform, you can swivel 90 degrees to the right and this is what you see below.

The only other imposing rock that’s around here! The tree’s you see in the distance are Desert Oak, Allocasuarina decaisneana , also look at the first two photos of this post, the majority are all Desert Oak, quite common across the spinifex grasslands. Juvenile Desert Oak are quite different in appearance compared to mature examples. More will be revealed about these trees in a future post! Now lets head off and have a look at this place.

Kata Tjuta is a Anangu mens site and sacred under traditional law, which means for us tourists there is no wandering off the pathways. There are plenty of different walks here and lots to see, so as we meander along, please stay with me! No wandering off! Note in the above photo the puddle of water which is a byproduct of rain we had here the day before. If you have read part 11 of this series you would realise this, but now we were enjoying the crisp sunshine, it is winter by the way! A balmy 17 degrees Celsius! You can see a bunch of people above, and to their left a green patch. I will concentrate on that now, the patch that is.

Here’s that green patch. Wanderrie grass , Eriachne scleranthoides , a very rare type of grass, see quote from Grasses of Australia, “Known from two localities in SW central Australia. Conglomerate monoliths (Mt Olga and Mt Currie) growing on crests, scree slopes, in chasms and crevices, in shallow sand, gravelly slopes or shallow stony red soil, sometimes in seepage from massive boulders. Flowers May (late-autumn) and Aug.-Oct. (late-winter to mid-spring)”. Above we have a seepage area on a scree slope, which is where it likes to grow.

Quite a sharp prickly grass, looks more shrub like though doesn’t it! Even closer below.

This is a problem I find, I get distracted by things off to the side of the pathway and lo and behold the next time I look up the family is gone!! I’m sure I’ll catch them somewhere.

The remarkable thing about Kata Tjuta is that it’s composed of a different type of rock than what Uluru(made of sandstone) is which is only 50 kilometres away(by road, 32 as the crow flies). Katu Tjuta is a conglomerate, a gravel consisting of pebbles, boulders and cobbles cemented by sand and mud. Conglomerate is also a sedimentary type rock. From a distance Kata Tjuta looks like the other big rock just around the corner, but up close its quite rough, see below photo.

Don’t know why, but I found this quite fascinating. Here in the middle of no where, the only two objects that rise above the plain separated by a mere 50 kilometres are made of completely different rock. I’m sure this happens everywhere, but I just found it fascinating.. Click HERE for more geology information on this rock formation. If this was originally a huge slab of rock, how did it become domes and valleys? This is likely to be mechanical erosion of sand from the rock and other chemical erosion caused by moisture. The major Valley may have been fractured from the time of the Alice Springs Orogeny. Chemical weathering due to ground water widened the fissures and rainwater run off gradually formed the domes and canyons we now see.

Now for some more wildflowers. Look at that patch of Pussytails, Ptilotis.

Closer view here. This is actually Hairy Mulla Mulla, Ptilotus helipteroides . The stems and leaves have a persistent covering of medium to dense hairs, giving it its common name.

It is an annual herb growing to about 50cm and usually occurs on rocky or gravelly ranges, hills or rises and on acidic rock and also found in Mulga dominated red plains and other locations.

Flowering from June until November, now for a real close-up!

We were heading to the Valley of the Winds and eventually the Karingana lookout, a return trip of 2.5 hours on a grade 4 – difficult track according to the visitor guide. I think it was more in line with moderate track! Here we are well into the Valley of the Winds and yes it was slightly breezy here!

It’s at this point in the above photo that if the temperature is over 36 deg Celsius at 11am, the track is closed. This is the Karu Lookout, impressive to say the last. Those mounds in the distance look like a flight of stairs, sort of!

As you can see it is quite rocky here.

Nothing amazing with the above photo, just showing more rock and more conglomerate, you can also see water seeping out from under that large slab. Below is a swathe of Hairy Mulla Mulla, quite impressive to see it like this in its natural environment.

Again not a great photo but it just shows a lovely natural garden bed with no human influence! I read something recently which I hadn’t really thought of before and that was someone’s thought on grouping colours in the garden as we do, pastels here, bright hot colours over there and so on. The thought was (not exactly in these words)”Nature doesn’t separate plants into colour groupings, so I’m not going too. There is just a riot of colour throughout my garden”. I really liked that and it may just become my new mantra. Not sure what the old mantra was!!

Lovely clear stream!

These plants I have no idea at the moment what they are, they are a work in progress.

Pretty, never the less!

In the above photo we are nearing the Karingana Lookout. You can see it in the distance, the high part in between the two walls. The walls of the domes just seemed to rise and rise into the bright noon day sun.Well! We made it, what an amazing panorama greeted us!

Time to sit down for a quick bite to eat. The 3 oldest boys decided they would keep going on the circuit walk and us oldies along with our youngest lad turned back here. Here they are heading off at breakneck speed as per normal!

Below is another beautiful spot to recharge your batteries!

Heading back to Karu Lookout. Below we have another Pussytail, Ptilotus exaltus , also known as Tall Mulla Mulla.

Grows to about 1.5 metres tall forming large showy drifts in open scrub and mulga country. The flowers start off cone shape then eventually lengthen to be elongated and cylindrical 3-20cm in length and 4.5cm in diameter. Compare the above two photos. The leaves are quite thick and rubbery looking, flowering from early spring until summer. Widespread across all mainland states. Here’s a small drift of them below.

Simply gorgeous!

Below is another plant that has featured in quite a few of these Northern Territory posts. Solanum quadriloculatum

Another plant we saw was , Hakea subarea . This small tree also made an appearance at Ormiston Gorge. Click HERE if you can’t remember!

Here’s a beautiful Eremophila as well. Quite possibly Eremophila latrobei .

Some walls for perspective! Note the little pocket of green three-quarters of the way up. Plants Hey! Amazing.

More tall walls, this one below includes small people, well not small people, just normal ones!

This is a small person one though!

He’s also carrying a firearm( a gun I was told!).

Here are some more flowering meadows(for want of a better word) which were good to see.

Oops! forgot about this little fellow. sorry!

This plant below is Cattle bush or Camel bush. Yet again you see the need for scientific names!! Two common names for the same plant, not confusing at all! It is actually Trichodesma zeylanicum . A perennial plant growing to 1 metre occurring on rocky hills and sand dunes, stony alluvial soils or areas subjected to seasonal flooding, flowering in winter and spring.

It was originally eaten by camels in the outback, hence one of its common names. One presumes then that cattle also ate or still eat it! Summer forage option! Here’s a few more random plant photos!

More stunning scenery!

Here’s one last plant I noticed when we had nearly finished the Valley of the Winds Circuit walk. I walked right past this on the way in! Go figure.

Obviously a Brachyscome of some description, beautiful anyway.

A nice sculpture below. The dead tree that is.

Now we are nearly back to the start of this circuit walk. We did another small walk after this one but I will cover that next time round, i.e. part 12b! To finish off, I have added the below photos sans words as a parting gesture to the Valley of the Winds at Kata Tjuta. They speak for themselves!

Cheers!

A trip to the Northern Territory. Part 12a. Kata Tjuta - Valley of the Winds Hi There, The next day dawned bright and not a cloud in sight, a bit different from yesterdays weather at Uluru(see part 11).

0 notes