Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Pastel Pied Eyes


Well, over the break of nothingness on the blog, I got an e-mail from Laura, a blog-friend and reader. She contacted me about Pastel Pied eyes...

And I have to admit, I didn't know the answer at first.

She asked me if Pastel Pied eyes are green.

I was no where near the collection at the time when I opened the e-mail and I have to say I was ashamed to think that I had know idea.

I have never looked that deeply into my Pastel Pieds eyes before to see the shades that are represented.

And as what I like to think of myself as an insightful and observant person when it comes to my creatures, so I was a bit offended with myself that I didn't know the answer.

So after the day of Butterflies, I came home and looked.

Lucky for me I have several examples to look at and compare and share with all of you!

And this blog is for you, Laura.


I took out all of my Pastel Pieds and looked at them.

And yes, they are green. They are not SUPER green like Spiders, but they do have brighter eyes than the standard Pieds.


You can obviously see the color when you actually look... -sigh-


I even took out Poppa Pastel Pied, and yes, he had green eyes too.


And of course the problem that most people have with Pastel Pieds is that the color is not always that obvious compared to a regular Pastel.

Pastel Pieds are NOT super bright yellow animals. They tend to get a tinge more yellow, but still stay a deeper orange than bright yellow.

All of the animals in these pictures are Pastel Pieds.


And of course the pattern doesn't hurt either.. Depending on if the shades are darker in general tends towards orange rather than yellow, which does throw some people off.


Green eyes, but slightly... Mostly on the top portion of the eye.


This guy right here is the ONLY regular Pied in this entire blog post, and of course, once you put him against a Pastel Pied, you can immediately tell the difference.


But again, the Pastel Pied, the larger animal he is up against, is not BRIGHT yellow as you would expect.. But again, look at the regular Pied. He is ORANGE and mottled... There is only so much Pastel can do to that.

Now other brighteners will clean it up better, but Pastel Pieds do not "Wow" as much as they are probably expected to. 


In this case, I still like the regular Pied better. There is more contrast and colors to appreciate. And no confusion.

And his eyes are dark. No question about it.

But again, Pastel Pieds are a stepping stone breeder that can create some awesome combinations. I appreciate them very much for what they can do, and they are awesome in their own right.

But a straight up Pied? Can't be beat.

Hope that helps, and have a great day, my friends. 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Random Not Snake Time!! (Monarchs)


So Joel and I had a day together where we went to the Coronado Butterfly Preserve to enjoy the weather and the sunshine. It was a beautiful day, and apparently at this location, Monarch Butterflies spend the winter here roosting.  We had attempted several years ago to come and see them, but were at the tail end of the season and didn't see but a few butterflies. So this was a chance to try again in a better month, and try we did! 
For the first mile, it wasn't clear that there was anything other than beautiful scenery. And of course, it being winter, it was a blustery 65F and damp due to earlier rains.


But we came across the area that Butterflies were supposed to be at, and we found them!



At first we only saw a few, and the closer we got to the copse of Eucalyptus Trees, the more we saw.


Fluttering around the trees, they were everywhere, and very over-exposed, here is a video of how many butterflies there were.

Hopefully you can get the picture.

And here are some legitimate pictures. 

My camera is better as a camera than as a video taker. 



Those are butterflies, not leaves


And of course, the eucalyptus grove is right next to a beautiful beach and the ocean. So we walked the area and enjoyed the weather and the day.


Isn't it gorgeous?

Just the type of day I needed. 
 

So here we are, back at the work week, back to the grind. 

Relaxed, refreshed, bring it on, World!

Have a great, fluttery day, my friends. 

We have a lot of snake stuff to cover!