New week, new thoughts

This weekend was very productive for getting things ready to move.

But, what it also did was make me realize how much stuff I have, and how long I've been doing this!

My equipment has been with me for years and years, and some rack makers that I own product from no longer are even in the business!

I also had no idea that Herpstat now makes a 6 probe thermostat.
WHAAAAAA? That's fantastic! I wish I had that five years ago..

I feel like I need to get my things in order, and then get updated with more modern and sleek equipment and collection.

I'm old school, apparently, even without trying to be.

It will be even more interesting when I get back to doing shows.

I have lost track of a lot of people over the years, including old customers. I'm sure many of them are doing fantastic, and if you are reading this and have been a prior customer of mine, do post a comment letting me know how you are doing! I'd love to know how far you have come over the years.

What I have found is that some of my old school reptile friends are no longer with us, including several of my close friends from back in the day.

This leads me to muse and share this thought with you:

Life is so short. Enjoy who you can when you can. Don't take anything for granted. 

I never expected to have to say goodbye to these people, and it breaks my heart to know I couldn't be there for them being put to rest.

But, it also reminds me how close you can be to people you have created connections with, and how deep those friendships run.

I have been blessed with great friends in this industry, and I look forward to seeing many of them again very soon.

Until next time, my friends.

Weekend!

The weekend is coming, and I am not sure what is happening other than more packing.

It is soon to be Valentines Day, and of course that means the obligatory date night/dinner/chocolate/roses kind of thing.

I have to say, I don't tend to partake in it, nor do I really condone it.

Why must it be only one day? Why not other random days, when it is not expected? Surprise your loved one with random kindnesses throughout the year.

I digress, however, as I know this will again come up on Tuesday when it is actually the day of reckoning.

I am moving a bunch of old racks and incubators, tubs and supplies as much as I can so as not to move it again across the country.

It is shocking how much stuff you accumulate over the years. I honestly have no idea how I managed to keep all of this stuff and subsequently forget about it until its time to move.

It's a fascinating thing, that.

So of course, in the journey to clear out, I have found many more items that I am glad to have recovered.

YAY!

Such as Marty Cohen.

You all remember Marty Cohen?

If not, please visit here:

http://heathersherpsblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/adventures-of-marty-cohen.html

And here:

http://heathersherpsblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/another-adventure-in-life-of-marty.html

Yes, I still have him, and yes, he still lives in the snake room.

Ah, memories.

Until next time, my friends!

MOVING... again..

So I am about two weeks out from moving back to California, again moving the collection (which has been whittled down over the last few years) across the country, but this time in the Winter.

This is not a fun thing to do, no matter what time of year, but this is even less fun with the possibility of a cold-blooded creature freezing to death during transport.

Being responsible for that many lives and counting on others (aka Shipping Companies) to maintain the perfect environment for my boxes is not something that I enjoy, as I know there are so many things that could go wrong.

BUT! It has to happen. And it happens all the time, and most of the time, there is no problem. So I'm crossing my fingers, packing up appropriately, and sending things on their way when the time comes. 

Not only is there the animals, but the racks, the incubators, and all of the extra things, including the thermostats, water bowls, tubs, etc.

It is not easy. It is not something I encourage, as it puts a strain on many resources, including your sanity.

But, all anyone can do is prepare as best as they can and make it happen.

And that, my friends, is what I am doing.

This rant, of course, is only part of the responsibilities that I have to move back to California. There is also all my regular life stuff..

Apparently I have enough clothes and shoes for a small army, as well as a lot of random things that have accumulated over the years that I forgot I even had!

Moving is a great way to purge, cause you really can't bring all of your stuff. This is what I am being reminded of as I pack up the multitudes of boxes, and post things online to sell.

So if this is motivation to you to go and clean out your closet, or to clear out your unused stuff out of your garage, I say unto you, DO IT. Do it so you won't have a ton of stuff later on to deal with while the clock is ticking.

And also, be generous. Donate it to needy causes, share with friends, give appropriately. You don't need it anymore. Someone out there does.

There you have it. I'm off to purge more.

Until tomorrow, my friends. 

Life Goal Complete

So I'm sure that I am going to have to entice readers back to the blog after all this time.

It has been around two years (maybe more!!) since I had to go silent on the internet about my Ball Python exploits.

Why, do you ask?

Because I moved to North Carolina, went back to school, and got my Masters degree.

Now, I'm done. I've finished! Life goal, complete!

It's time now for me to get back on track with everything else I had to put on hold to be able to complete my education.

So, I am slowly going to be blogging again, getting my website back up to speed, as well as getting back into breeding and snake-ing again.

I realize that two years being gone has put me much more behind the curve than I once was. This has been epically true as I look at the forums, websites, and classifieds. I have a LOT to catch up on.

On top of everything, we are moving back to California. So that will be another super fun adventure that I get to deal with soon.

So, I hope that you out there in internet-land are ready to get reacquainted with me and Heather's Herps in general.

We are back, baby!

It's been a while...

Hi world.

I've been under a rock for a while, and I still will be for a time.

I realize that people may be coming back for updates, but the update is that I am not doing snakes for a while.

I am semi-retired for a bit.

Please keep this in mind, as I am focusing on a different path right now in life.

I will be back, so please bear with me.

Here's to being able to get back to this in 2017.

Settling in

So we have been in North Carolina for a month and a half now, and have finally settled in to a point where I feel comfortable. 

And apparently, even with all the changes, so is the rest of the family.

We never had stairs before like this, so we had a few days of trepidation with the pups.

Someone really really likes to be king of the stairs.

Also, moving in everything was a complete pain, and took a ridiculous amount of time.

Moving snakes across the country is NOT EASY. It is a blessing to have great friends that helped me out when I needed it, and I am now completely set up (with the exception of a few nick-knacks and decorations).

And of course, finding new places to find rodents, the room setup and wiring all took time to do. But I really actually feel comfortable now, which is really relieving!

After moving and settling in, of course, things started getting back to normal, and I really didn't expect to have another clutch at all.

BUT... of course I did.

I wasn't paying attention at all to this gal, and saw her on eggs while I was watering.

This female was a breeding project that I intended to do last year (and did, but got no eggs), and put her in with the Mojave Pied to see if he was a Het Albino. I put him in a few months before we moved, and stopped pretty early on. So this clutch has been a surprise....

I don't even have the incubator up and running because of the temperatures in the room that I haven't mapped out well, so right now, she is still on these eggs. These eggs are also uncounted... but it looks like a good bunch!

I intend to get things running again, and the blog as well.

I will be starting school in a few weeks, and until then, I'm freeeeeeee!

Here's to getting things back in order.

Have a great day, my friends!

New adventure begins

So I've been very very quiet over the last month or so.

This is because I am on the verge of moving across the country. And as some of you may know, it is a difficult journey generally. Add to that difficulty the idea of moving almost 300 snakes with you, and it gets to be a massive undertaking.

I have been blessed with a fantastic group of friends that have helped me in moving these animals across the country before I myself end up over there.

This helps in two ways: my sanity is relatively maintained while I travel, and I am able to focus more on getting the rest of my life over there.

We are still taking some animals with us while we are on our four day road trip, but not the quantities that would have needed to happen without help.

We are also taking our two dogs, some stuff, and each will be driving a car. It's going to be FUN. It will be an adventure that we have not done together before, and Joel had never lived anywhere but Southern California.

Our personal stuff is already ahead of us as well, being taken in boxes across the country. This means that Joel and I are living out of our suitcases. No fridge, no laundry, no bed. What does that mean? Eating out all the time (and gaining so much weight), minimal clothes and sleeping on the floor.

Tomorrow we are on our way driving. We will take four days, and end up in Charlotte before the July 4th holiday.

So I may be quiet again for a little, but photos will be coming!

Here we go!