My Secret for Photography?

HAPPY LEAP YEAR DAY!!!

I have been doing this a while, and people always ask me how I get such good pictures. Well... It's really a matter of my trying things until it worked.

I shoot with my Panasonic DMC-FZ7, which is already a million years old by now in electronic years...

I shoot with the Simple Mode (the heart) and the flash.

But what really sets me apart?

My whiteboard.

Yeah, that's it right there. Big enough to take most of the largest critters without seeing the border.

It never gets to be the centerpiece of the photo, but it sure does a good job.

And as you can see, I have fluorescent lights in the room.  So I have figured out a way (most of the time) to avoid getting the light reflection in the photo.

The other big secret?

Using the flash.

Here we have a Mojave Pied that I took a photo of with the flash.

And here we have the same animal with out the flash.

I have been trying to figure out a good midway point between both colors, but I have yet to figure it out.

Especially with the white animals, flash is a burden. It takes the color and brightens the whites, but also overexposes the other colors on the animal. It's rather annoying and I am still trying to figure it out. 

Again we have no flash...

And flash..

I don't like the way the shadows work, but I don't have any better way to figure it out yet.

I do not do anything to the photos either.

It's just snap, crop if I need to, and post it up. That's how I roll.

So there you go.

I hope that helps, and eventually when I have a bit more free time, I will get back on the "try to get better pictures" bandwagon.

But right now, I've fallen off.

And that's alright with me.

Have a great day, my friends.

Being Sick

So my voice is back, a sexy scratchy mucous filled voice, but a voice none the less.

I have to say, this has been the second time this season that I have gotten ill, and it is NO FUN AT ALL.

I wish I could say that I took a day off to rest, and was able to clean all of the snakes and took a billion photos.

But I did not.

I just hacked my way thru my workday, coughed my way thru the evening and writing papers, and now, I am just spent.

Last night I did not even walk into the snake room.

I am ashamed of myself.

I have had time, however, to contemplate some photos and possible topics for the next few days, including the one about my photography.

I have touched on this before, and yesterday I did mention my use of the fantastic white board... I shall elaborate on this very soon.

But until then, you will have to read how much being sick sucks, which I really do believe you already know.

Thank goodness Human Colds cannot be transmitted to Snakes, although I would love to use that as the excuse as to why I didn't go into the snake room if it were true.

For the health of the animals, I'd say...

Anyway, I'm rambling.

Suggestions for topics would be appreciated, just because I am working on a few things and my energy levels are minimal for topic picking brain power. 

Have a great day, my friends.

Living with a Voice Lost

It has been a reasonable amount of time since I lost my voice...

However, this occurred very recently and is still the case. I believe it disappeared on Friday night?

Anyway, I woke up on Saturday morning with no problems. Feeling a bit sick, had a cold, no big deal.

Showered, brushed my teeth, got dressed, went out the door, and started on my phone calls for the day while on my way to do some chores.

As soon as I tried to talk (which at this point before I hadn't), it was gone.

Which is doubly terrible because I was trying to talk to a customer. It was rather embarrassing whispering into the phone...

So after I got back and did a few other things, I armed myself with the best tool I could think of to use.

My handy dandy whiteboard and pen. It actually looks similar to this one, really. Nice and small, black trim with a pen holder.

I have plenty of them, and that is what I use most of the time for photo backgrounds for photography sessions for the snakes.

I bought a small one for the babies, but never used it really... until this weekend!

So I went out, did more chores, and communicated with my whiteboard and pen.

A lot of people were thinking that I was a bit odd, which isn't that far from the truth, really, but what did they know???

It was an interesting adventure, and one that many people find odd.

Things I learned:

• Most people need hearing aids, including Joel. 
• Whispering is not the best form of communication in a Mall. 
• People who do not know you are sick and do not have a voice tend to look at you funny for whispering.
• The only time whispering is easily heard is when you are in a car with no music on, and even then, there are no guarantees that they really hear what you say.
• Whispering is easily misconstrued, wherein the whiteboard comes in handy.
• Text messages work too, but make sure your phone doesn't die.

As of right now, I still don't have a voice.

I am a bit concerned about how I am going to conduct business at work today, but... we shall see.

The mighty whiteboard and I will be there.

I just hope my business meetings don't require me to talk.

Have a great day, my friends!

Albinos, Lavender and Regular

I think I have mentioned this before. Lavender Albinos are tough to photograph. 

Yes. Very tough.

Above, we have a photo with no flash. You can see the contrasting colors rather well in this light. 

Below, we have some crappy flash. The Lavender Albino looks dirty...

It is very difficult to get the true colors to show up on a white background with an amateur photographer. 

Maybe if I break open the big ass camera and try again, eh?

Maybe later.. 

 So I decided, "Screw this!" and I took out a regular Albino for comparison.

Voila! 

You can see much better (yet not as good as I would like) the comparison between the Albino (the larger one) and the Lavender Albino (the not so larger one).

You can see the tones are different. The yellows are deeper in the Lavender, and the purple pops out a smidge more. 

And can I say, I keep spelling Lavender "Lavendar"? 

It's a failing of mine. I'm not sure why. 

Thank god for spell check. 

(If you look back, only the quoted word is spelled wrong... HAH!)

So why is this photo expose important?

Well, I know some people out there are not sold on the difference between the Albino and the Lav Albino. 

But as you can see, there are clear differences, and they do amazing and different things to other morphs. 

I can't wait to show you a Dreamsicle versus an Albino Pied. 

Give me like... 5 more years on that one, 'kay?

Hope this helps, and have a great weekend, my friends!

MWAHAHAHAHA (Pastel Pied)

So guess what? I actually took some photos, got an inspiration for blogging, and am pretty damned pleased with myself. 

I did not sit in front of the computer for several hours trying to figure out what to write about.

I decided to move some males around last night, and took out the Pastel Pied male that I produced last year. 

Here are a few shots of him over the years. 

The photo below is a picture of him from the collection page. He was around 8 months old?

The photo below this one is a photo of a Pastel Pied from this year.

As you can see, there is at least a years age difference between the two. The Male is much brighter, and the baby not so much. She should grow into her colors more as time goes on.

It is pretty damned hard to see the difference between a Pastel Pied and a regular pied just by photos. I plan to do something about that tomorrow maybe.

And there are plenty of Pieds out there that are very orange, but end up being brown as they age, versus a Pastel Pied, which will lighten up into yellows.

Here's to cool aging morphs that change as they grow.

MWAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Have a great day, my friends.

Writers Block

More often than not these days, I have been having writers block.

Mainly due to the fact that my life right now is a whirlwind, and that I have been going non-stop for a while...

What does this mean? It means that above and beyond snakes, I have my full time job, my classes, my wedding to prepare for, and various and sundry other little things in life that tend to take up my time.

There are days when I feel horrible for not getting back to an e-mail within 12 hours, but when I don't get home until after 14 hours... I kinda let it slide.

President's Day weekend was a nice one, a nice break from the constant run run run.

You wanna know what I did?

I slept.

I slept for more than 12 hours one day.

I felt like a complete slug when I got up, and of course didn't get to do half of the things I had planned for that day, but apparently that is what my body needed.

And now, back to the grind this week, I reflect on the things that I have not been doing as well as I would like on.

One thing being this blog.

I have been debating on whether or not to make it less frequent, change the tone, do something to make it more palatable for the reader, who I'm sure is not really that interested in my sleeping patterns over the last few days.

I've been slacking on breeding pictures like CRAZY this year.

Half the time I get home, and they have already unlocked, or are not doing anything interesting.

It's a shame, really. I know that is always a good thing to talk about, but right now, there is not much. Things are gearing up, Ovs are starting, and breeding is still going.

I feel the need to get in there and photograph, but half the time I do, there is nothing really worth it that I haven't already felt like I shared 193 times this month. Case in point, the Super Pastel Mojave above.

That is an awesome animal, but I'm pretty sure if we go back to the past month, there is at least one other blog with that same animal in a different pose.

A big deal? No, not really, but I like to spice things up.. I like to share new things, as bland can be boring.

It has also been interesting to see on the inter-webs how many new breeders there are out there, with all the excitement and willingness to share everything and all of their knowledge. Who am I to stifle that?

I have actually taken a backseat to a lot of the forums recently, partially due to time, and the other half being that there are a ton of people out there answering the same question. Does my addition need to be there?

It's a hard pill to swallow sometimes when your advice isn't taken over someone else.

Pride? Sure!

I admit to being proud. I admit to being human and making mistakes too.

We all do it, and in a time and place where we are inundated with information and images and new things, it's hard to separate the bad apples from the good eggs. (Yes, weird garbled food saying, I know).

So what does this all mean?

Well, I'm not quite sure.

I know I'm going to continue to do what I'm doing, I'm going to get up off my ass and get some photos done, I'm going to get more done and more rest as well.

Impossible?

Nah.

Some people out there gave me the nickname "Wonder Woman".

Can I live up to it?

I damned sure hope so.


Have a great day, my friends.

Plans... Oh, how they change

So having a bit of time to peruse the collection, I stopped to look at things and how they are progressing.

Some animals are not eating as well as I would like.

Some 2011s are already overtaking some of the 2010s.

And with that, the heart sinks and the plans change.

It's kind of a mixed blessing, I suppose.

Some plans for some animals are no longer on cue, which gives other smaller animals who may do better things in the future more time to catch up.

Case in point: I have a Super Pastel het Hypo female that is from 2010 not even breaking 500 grams. Why, do you ask? Well, for the longest time, she would not eat for me. She was a mouser, and she and I were in a battle of wills to get one another to acquiesce. I would not back down, and neither would she for the longest time. But she finally did, and is now chowing down happily on rats.

The problem with this scenario?

I lost several months of good growth with her if I had just given in.

Should I have?

I could have... I just don't like feeding mice unless I absolutely have to.


Is it a personality glitch that I need to have everything my way?

Nah, I don't think so. I just need things to be easier in the long run, and I am willing to wait a bit.

Sometimes though, I kick myself for fighting the good fight. Now I have to wait with these gals and pump them up more now than ever before to catch them up to a good weight for the next season. Or wait some more.

Either way, that is why Ball Pythons have the reputation they have. They can be tricky, they can be a pain, but in the end, they are totally worth it.

I just have to remind myself of that when I see tiny two year old critters in my rack.

...sigh...


Have a great day, my friends.

Break

Sorry folks, but I will be in the hospital today tending to some family things.

Yes, everything is fine. Everyone should be fine. No worries!

But I will not be snake-ing today.

Tomorrow, however, shall be a new day!

Have a great Presidents Day, my friends!

Reality TV Shows

Yes, this is not a snake related topic at all really, but something that came up in my life recently has made me want to talk about this.

Back in the early days of Joel and I planning our wedding, we attended a Bridal Show in Los Angeles. Most of you know, Los Angeles is right next to Hollywood. With this being said, there were a TON of casting places that were looking for people to be on their shows.

We got approached for several shows.

One of these was Bridezillas.

I will be honest, I've watched the show a few times. When I saw them at the show, I walked by... But my friend egged me on, so I signed up, they took my picture, and we went on our way. This was July, 2010.

I didn't expect anything of it, and after a few months, I forgot all about it.

Until Yesterday...

I get a call that I missed, so I go to check my voice-mail a bit later..

"Hi, my name is XXX and I wanted to get in touch with you about the show Bridezillas. You signed up with us back in 2010, and now we are finally casting for our May brides, and we would love to talk to you! Please call me back at 123-456-7891"

REALLY???????????????????????

First off, I am conflicted about the entire thing to begin with. It is a show that makes you look like a horrid bitch no matter what you do. And to put my family on the spot like that... I don't think I want to do it.

BUT... they pay pretty damn well.

But at the cost of my sanity and public image? I'm not sure any price is worth that.

And of course, this is only one of many reality TV shows...

Let's go to the Reptile Related ones...

Most of them are the Fear Factor types, the ones that have people afraid of snakes, or those people who go out into the wilderness to find snakes.

The educational ones I can appreciate (which are few and far between).
It's the ones where people are screaming or running away that I can't stand.

These shows are based on the baser natures of people; Fear, anger, envy, lust, etc..

I don't know if its worth it to be a part of it unless its for the greater good.

Is being a Bridezilla for the greater good?

I think not.

We shall see. I will speak to her today and see what she has to say. It's at least worth a discussion, I suppose.

Spiders and their powers

I have a friend that contacted me recently asking me what I thought about the Spider market. He was considering selling out everything, and moving on with different projects.

Why? Because they do not sell quickly/well.

I sat there for a minute, trying to think about that statement.

Yes, there are a lot of spiders out there.

Heck, I feel like I have a ton myself.

But the reason why there are a ton out there is because they are awesome!

I remember about four years ago where selling Spiders was as easy as listing them. 

And now we are seeing that those spiders are now grown up, and other people are producing them.

I could see my friend's point. I have a Spider male currently that no one has inquired about at all. 

But then I thought about the amazing stuff that Spiders make.

Some of my goal snakes have Spider in it....

Axanthic Killerbee, Crystal Spinnerblast, and a few others...

And I'm sure I'm not the only one!

So in the end, maybe the base morph may not be as easy to move, but the combinations are still worth their weight in gold. 

What do you guys think? 

Let me know, chime in. Let's start a dialogue on this. I'm intrigued to know what other people think.

Have a great day, my friends!

Too Cool!

As you may know, I ship exclusively with FedEx. I am shipping several boxes this week, and was wondering about the temps over on the East Coast.

So I googled "FedEx Hub" and I found this awesome little video of a day in the life of a standard FedEx flight.

I thought it was so super cool, I wanted to share it with you! The main hub is in Tennessee, and if you watch, you can see why.

Anyway, back to the grind.

My friend Anonymous asked me last week about smaller females and how small I breed them.

"how young do u breed your females? i have a bunch that are 1,200-1,300 grams and just recently went off feed, should i toss a male in? or wait til next season what are your thoughts"

I breed my females no earlier than 2 years ONLY if they are large enough. I do not breed females at 18 months, and I do not breed females smaller than 1200 grams. I like to try for three years old on females, and sometimes that is just the way it pans out.

I understand that some people out there are impatient, and I have been one of those people too. The call of getting eggs can and will be just too much to bear sometimes, and I have to admit that I really like the idea of getting eggs from females that I just hatched out the year before.

Tossing a male in with a female can spur up feeding responses in some animals, but can stifle others. It can trigger breeding, and sometimes it doesn't.

BUT... it can be costly. Some females will slug out, some females will not take, some females will stop eating in response to being bred. An already small female stopping growth due to early breeding? Not really worth it in my humble opinion.

But you CAN do it.

You just have to weigh the pros with the cons. Figure out in the long run if it is worth it to you.

Handle it, my friend Anon. I believe in you.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!! 

Houdini... Freaking me out

So once upon a time, there was a Queenbee female that I had acquired over this past season that I had put in the smallest tubs.

She was good there for a long time, without any ill effects and without any issues. After coming to me, she ate, she drank, she had no problems with anything.

Over the course of the month or two that I had her, I kept checking in to make sure she was good, to make sure she was still thriving like the others.

No problem.

And then, one day (aka Friday), the tub she was in was open.

Now, its been a crazy week (as you could see from the lack of blogging over the last few days), and I could not figure out if it was me being absent minded and left the tub open, which is VERY unlikely, because I have dealt with MANY tub things over the years, and my habits of leaving things closed and double checked is ingrained into my brain...

OR...

The dreaded thought..

She managed to get out.

.....

NO WAY... This snake didn't try and get out before, and I had had her in that tub for a while...

So after a slight surprise and a tiny bit of dismay for having to crawl all over the room looking for her, I did.

Fifteen minutes later, I found her across the second level of a set of vision racks, near the heat cord.

Okay, little miss Houdini, let's put you back in the tub.

I triple checked that I put that snake back in the right tub, with the tub closed.

Crisis averted!!!


Saturday rolled on by, and Sunday is the super cleaning day of the week!

So I go in, sleeves rolled up, ready to roll.

I turn to look at the baby rack and WHAT???????????????

This is what I see:

I am annoyed, a bit freaked out, and more than anything fed up.

HOW THE HECK DID THIS SNAKE DO THIS??

I know now that it was NOT me last time, that this freaking snake has found a way to get out of the smallish tub by doing some type of contortion act to push it open. She was larger than necessary for the tub, but I tend to give the newer animals smaller tubs to make sure they eat well first.

This girl is getting a bigger tub as soon as I find her scrawny ass.

So here I go again..

I take tubs out, I use a flashlight, I crawl on the floor, I stand on my step-stool.
I move racks around, I move things around.
I check the closet, I check the tops of racks, I check the bottom of racks.

Around thirty minutes later, I find her.

She is wedged between the wall and the tub of the TOP tub of one of my Boaphile racks, clear across the other side of the room, and on the top.

Did I mention the TOP? This rack has ten 32 qt tubs in it, and somehow she manages to get from the floor to the TOP tub. We are talking like 6 feet off of the floor.

How the heck these critters do this is absolutely beyond me.

All I know is in my several experiences looking for lost snakes, they tend to end up in the weirdest places.

So learn from me, my friends. When in doubt, look in the weirdest places ever! You will probably find them there.

Her name is officially Houdini now. And she is in the Vision baby tub rack with plenty of space, and no way to get out!

Have a great day, my friends!

Frustrations AGAIN

It comes back to this...

Now, it seems like every state and their mother want to introduce legislation on reptiles.

Now, don't get me wrong. I understand where the fear comes from, and I know that there are irresponsible pet owners out there (of all kinds of pets) that ruin it for all of us.

It just seems to me that they are coming out in DROVES now.

It's very frustrating.

Illinois and Virgina have both initiated new Acts:

Illinois:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/97/SB/09700SB3264.htm

New Act

720 ILCS 585/Act rep.

Creates the Dangerous Animals Act of 2012. Identifies a class of animals that qualify as dangerous animals. Provides that a person must hold a Dangerous Animal Permit or a Limited Entry Permit to possess a dangerous animal in the State. Sets forth requirements that must be met before the Department of Natural Resources may issue a Dangerous Animal Permit or a Limited Entry Permit. Provides for the suspension of permit privileges and the revocation of permits. Requires certain records to be kept by the possessors of a dangerous animal. Sets forth additional prohibitions related to the keeping and transport of dangerous animals. Sets forth penalties for violations of this Act. Sets forth provisions related to civil liability and immunity. Provides for the seizure and forfeiture of dangerous animals and equipment under certain circumstances. Creates the Dangerous Animal Advisory Committee to review periodically the list of dangerous animals. Exempts certain individuals and institutions from the requirements of the Act. Repeals the Illinois Dangerous Animal Act.

Virginia:


http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+ful+HB1242


Conditions on the Ownership of Dangerous Wild Animals.  § 29.1-578. Possession, sale, transfer, and breeding of certain animals.
It is unlawful for any person to possess, sell, transfer, or breed any of the following animals:
1. Order Carnivora:
a. Family Canidae: all species and hybrids of the genera Canis (wolves and related species), Cuon (dholes), Lycaon (African wild dogs), and Chrysocyon (maned wolves); excluding Canis lupus familiaris (domestic dogs) and Canis lupus familiaris hybrids.
b. Family Felidae: all species and hybrids of the family Felidae (all felids); excluding Felis catus (domestic cats) and Felis catus hybrids.
c. Family Ursidae: all species and hybrids of bears.
d. Family Hyaenidae: all species of hyena and aardwolf.
2. Order Crocodilia: all species of alligators, crocodiles, caimans, and gharials.
3. Order Primates: all species and hybrids of apes, galagos, lemurs, lorises, and monkeys, excluding humans.
4. Order Proboscidea: all species of elephants.
5. Order Squamata:
a. Family Atractaspididae: all species and hybrids, such as mole vipers.
b. Family Boidae, to include all species that may be described as family Pythonidae: all species and hybrids of the genera Apodora (pythons), Eunectes (anacondas), Liasis (pythons), Morelia (pythons), and Python (pythons); excluding Morelia viridis (green tree pythons), Python anchietae (Angolan pythons), and Python regius (ball or royal pythons).
c. Family Colubridae: all species and hybrids of the genera Dispholidus (boomslangs), Rhabdophis (keelbacks), and Thelotornis (twig snakes).
d. Family Elapidae, to include all species that may be described as family Hydrophiidae: all species and hybrids, such as cobras, mambas, coral snakes, and sea snakes.
e. Family Viperidae: all species and hybrids, such as rattlesnakes, pit vipers, and puff adders.


Yes, I know, I don't live in these states, and you may not either, but there is so much happening, who knows when it will come to your state?


Please take the time to write your congressman, support USARK and other Agencies to protect your rights as knowledgeable informed pet owners.

If you can, go to the NARBC Tinley show and be a part of the "Reptile Owners Rights Summit". Do what you can to keep your critters.

You can do your part. If you don't, who will?

Have a great day, my friends.

Axanthic versus Not

My friend Alan on Facebook asked me to take some photos of Spiders that were Axanthic and not for a comparison shot.

So I did!

The real problem with this is although I took these photos, I still don't feel like I captured the true Grey of the Axanthic.

I used a flash just because my room only harbors flash photography or dark shadow photography, so I got this.

I feel like the Axanthic Spider was completely washed out in these photos.

I have yet to perfect my Axanthic and Leucistic Ball Python photo taking skills.

I am rather peeved with myself... I want to get better at it, and I need a better avenue than what I am doing right now.

But I took the pictures, and you can obviously see the difference.

It's tough with the whites and blacks because of the color balance. I am working on trying out new things to make it work better. Maybe a black background? I'm not sure yet.

Anyway, enjoy the photos, I'm off to try again later.

Have a great day, my friends!

Super Bowl Laziness

So yeah, it is the day after the Super Bowl, and I did too much other stuff and not enough snake stuff.

So what do I talk about?

How about them Giants?

I admit, I am not a Giants fan, I am a 49er fan, and since the Giants took the 49ers out of the Playoffs a few weeks ago, I was kind of bitter.

But, knowing that the Giants took it all in the end makes it rather bittersweet and palatable for me.

The 49ers lost to the team that took the Super Bowl.

I can handle that.

It doesn't make it too much easier, but it does make it a little less... painful.

The 49ers have always been my team.

I was born and grew up in San Francisco.

Here is me, a long time ago, at a game.

I am a die-hard 49er fan, but most people don't hear about it.

I don't tend to talk about Religion, Politics, or Sports, since everyone has an opinion about it, and it can tend to get a bit heated.

But of course, this is my blog, and hell, I love my team.

I am somewhat glad the Giants won, again. I have family in New York, and sure, I can root with them. They are an easier team to like than the Patriots, but that is coming from a bitter place as well. I can't tell you why I don't like the Patriots, I just don't.

And let me let you in on a little secret.

Joel is a Cowboys Fan.

Eeeewwww.

So every year, during Football Season, we are not friends.

I lie. We are. We are best friends, but not when the games are on..

I laugh at his teams misfortunes, and he refuses to touch my various 49er paraphernalia, including my big water cup. He won't touch it.

So with the weird dichotomy in our household during the Football season, I am kind of glad it's over.

Plus, next year should be a rocking year for the Niners.

WOOT!

Have a great day, my friends.

Fun with Hypos

Well, I think I have mentioned that I got into the Hypo project a bit late. I do not have a lot of Hypo things that are breedable as of yet, but I am working on it.

I have, however, gotten a hold of a few Het Hypo things that I am working into the projects, and that is better than nothing.

Take the photo above. That, my friends, is my Butter Enchi het Hypo male with my Hypo female. This excites me very much, since again, I need to bulk up my Hypo projects. These babies should be amazing, and I can't wait to see them (if they come to fruition) out of the egg.

What other Hypo stuff do I have hiding up my sleeve?

Well, I am growing up some Hypo combo females that I can't wait to use.

I have a Pastel het Hypo female I'm not sure what I am going to do with this season. Maybe put her in with this Butter Enchi? That more than likely will be where I will go with it, but I also have the Black Pewter het Hypo male I produced in 2010 making the rounds as well.

Now what would be really cool is some AMAZING male that is also Hypo, so that I can plug him into a bunch of stuff and make even more amazing things.

...Sigh...

Isn't that always the dream?

To have some amazing male that will blow everything out of the water??

One of these days... One of these days.

Have a great Super Bowl weekend, my friends!

Getting there

Gargoyle

It has been an interesting week already.  In the midst of doing all the normal things I do every day, work, class, home stuff, snake stuff, I have gotten into trying to do things early and often.

One of those things is the blog, and the other is photography and social media. Now, don't misunderstand me when I say getting to do Social Media early and often. I actually have been trying to stear clear of Facebook more often, as it tends to get under ones skin, but Pinterest, for the sake of my plannings and sharing with others, I have been trying to get more involved.

Queenbee in Shed

Pinterest, being that of both photography and social media, is an interesting place to be. You post up photos you like, and people comment and like them.  Since I have been trying to take more photos, I have been sharing things on Pinterest more so than before. (NOTE: I have not posted up the snakes anywhere but this blog)

Thus comes this quote I found on Facebook that I found amusing.

I pinned it up, and went on my merry way.

Within an hour, it went VIRAL on Pinterest.

I got so many likes, pins and comments my head started to hurt. I think the count right now is around 14,000, which for any of my other photos on my board, is HUGE.

Why am I bringing this up?

Well, I got some HATEFUL comments about this.


"This is idiotic and otherwise known as an "Excuse To Be A Heinous Bitch"

"attitude is a selfless choice that you make to serve others whether they deserve your wrath or not, When you act with grace despite them your attitude becomes your character which in turn reflects your personality and who you are. Its sad that so many people like this quote...."

"This is such a bunch of crap. If you are allowing your attitude to be affected by others then your personality is pathetic. You can change your personality and should be in control of your own attitude!!!"

WOW! I was floored. Seriously.

While I understand where they are coming from, I interpreted it in a way more open minded way, and found it to be a positive spin on something that could be often misconstrued. How often is it that there is that one person that just drives you nuts, and you knowingly are just more trite with that person? THAT is the type of understanding I got when reading this... 

But apparently it was blown out of the water in terms of establishing an opinion on it.

I am still shocked at how passionate some people are about this saying.

So I present it to you, my blog friends.

How do you interpret it?

I want to hear from people that I know more so than those random faces on Pinterest. I want to know what you think.

And of course, with a sprinkling of pretty snakes to boot.

I will still post to Pinterest, and so far have done so with other quote photos right after the photo quote above, and they were received with much less viral tenacity.

It's interesting how that works...

So with that, I bid you a good day, my friends.

Think on it, comment on it.

It's interesting to think about.

Have a great day!

Mojave Spider

Wierd Weather and breedings

Pastel Super Mojave x Lemonblast

So of course, the weird weather here in Southern California has led to some very concerning breeding conditions, but I have been watching accordingly, and have captured a few breedings in the last few days.

Also, the problem with the weather is that the humidity has been very low, and lots of dry sheds have resulted. This paired with the fact that I don't like to harass my animals while during the breeding season as much as I would normally has basically shown itself in the stuck shed on the pictures for today.

Please forgive me.

Above, we have a new breeding and a new female to the loop. The Lemonblast female is a recent acquisition that just came out of quarantine. She has now been paired up with the Pastel Super Mojave, hopefully to make some stellar Super Pastel Mojave Pinstripes. Fingers crossed for this pairing...

Vanilla het Hypo x Pastel

And here we have the Vanilla het Hypo male with a Pastel. Nothing super fancy, but I'd love to have a few Vanilla Pastels to work with in the future. Here's to a bunch of combos in this clutch! He is a stud of a breeder, so hopefully there will be some good Vanilla stuff in this upcoming season for sure.

Spider het TSK Axanthic x Pastel het TSK Axanthic

Last but not least, we have my favorite pairing of the blog. I have been shooting for Axanthic Killerbees ever since I saw them from NERD back in 2006. This is my big chance to make some Axanthic Bumblebees, which I could then pair up with the Pastel Axanthic that I produced last season. Fingers crossed for something AMAZING out of this pairing, since this is my only shot this season at it.

So there you go, my friends. I hope that this gives you a glimpse into the possibilities here at Heather's Herps in 2012. I am getting excited, and although I expect this to be a late season for us due to the weather, it should still be an awesome one!

Have a great day, my friends!