I tried to bring Maya home today and that didn't go over so well.

I tried to bring Maya home today and that didn't go over so well.  None of my dogs (or even Casper) seemed to like her.  (For what it's worth, she was really good, even when my dogs were being asshats.)  So, she's back at Shaun's, in the fence, with only a dog house, food and water.  I feel pretty shitty about that.  It's going to get really cold soon.  She's got a nice, thick coat, but I just don't think that's a good life.  He doesn't have time for a dog, and I'm doing good to take care of mine - there's no way I can split time between my house and his to spend time with her.

I've been keeping my eyes peeled for someone missing her, but I really think she was just dumped out.  All of my friends, please keep your eyes and ears out for a good home for her.  The vet tech I took her to see said that she looked like an Anatolian Shepherd mix, about 9 months old.  From her energy level, I would think she would do best with some space.  Linked below is what the AKC has to say about the breed:

https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/anatolian-shepherd-dog/

We spent hours today shopping.

We spent hours today shopping.  It was totally by accident.  We went in K-Mart, and they were having a BOGO FREE sale on the shoes.  I desperately needed some shoes.  I know I said that I got some on my birthday, but what I didn't tell you is that I got pissed off and returned them... bringing me back to only Vibrams and shit-kickers.  LOL  I needed some middle-ground, wear-everyday kind of shoes.

So I picked out two pairs and I'm pretty sure I'll end up keeping them.  😛  Well, then Shaun picked out a pair of shoes and was like, "Well, now we get another free."  So Shadow picked out a pair of shoes.  Then Shaun liked the ones Shadow had so he got a pair of those, too (except bigger), and then we needed ANOTHER one for free.  So I got a pair like the boys got, except with pink trim.  BOO on the pink, but they didn't have a man size to fit my midget feet so I got the sexist, female equivalent.  Whatever.  Three pairs of shoes in one day for me, two for Shaun, and one for Shadow.

I have to admit that I'm pretty excited.  Although, my legs and feet hurt like a mofo from trying these things on.  I think I've been spoiled to the Vibrams and boots.  My boots are so huge they are like I'm not really wearing anything anyway.  I'm going to have to adjust to wearing normal shoes, I guess.  That'll be fun.  😐

P. S.  Before anyone calls me lame for not giving the 3rd free pair of shoes to my kid - he wasn't interested.  And he still has a decent pair of shoes, plus this new pair.    If he actually needed them I would have made him get something.  Duh.

Pomona just tried to eat me.

Pomona just tried to eat me.  Her sticky little lizard tongue felt weird.

For the record, she didn't bite - only tagged me with her tongue.  So it didn't hurt.  She is not vicious.  Just a hungry, hungry hippo.  I have to learn to keep my hands out of her way!  LOL

I am so disenchanted with everything.

I am so disenchanted with everything.  I hate all the pants.  I hate all the shoes.  This must be what getting old feels like.

I am seriously about to start rocking sweat pants everywhere I go.

I really. REALLY. want some cupcakes.

I really. REALLY. want some cupcakes.

I have poked these guys in the butt before with grass...

I have poked these guys in the butt before with grass. Mostly being clumsy trying to get them back into their holes. They do flip around all crazy! I had no idea that was why, though. COOL!

From the Evolution Facebook page:

Tiger Beetles: Part 2 

Previously we covered how tiger beetle larvae live in burrows, waiting for prey to come by. But what if they need to quickly escape? Being in a hole in the ground is suddenly not such a good move - so they turn to wind and wheels. 

The larvae of the Southeastern Beach Tiger Beetle (Cicindela dorsalis media), like all Tiger Beetle grubs, are not built for speed. If a threat approaches their head, they duck down or move their jaws, but when their back half is stimulated they call upon a different strategy - they leap into the air, coil themselves up and spin away to safety. Slow-motion videos showed that the larvae actually co-ordinate their jumps with a gust of wind so they can roll - the first example of wind-powered wheel locomotion. 

This wind-powered movement is very effective. In some cases grubs could roll more than 60 metres, at speeds of 3 metres per second - the fastest recorded movement for an insect on the ground. In strong winds, they could roll faster than the research team could run. Wind-powered wheel locomotion avoids the pitfalls standard wheel-locomotion has - other animals that turn themselves into wheels (such as the wheel spider) rely on gravity. Using wind power gives a tiger beetle larva the ability to roll uphill. 

It's thought this escape tactic developed to escape parasitic wasps like Methoca, which can slip out of the grub's jaws and dive into the burrow. Rolling is confounded by rough beaches, rocks and ridges, and foot traffic appears to have an disastrous effect on Tiger Beetle populations. 

To read the paper on this unique behaviour: http://bit.ly/ev3YeN 

Photo credit: Harvey & Zukoff, 2011. 

https://phys.org/news/2011-03-scientists-wind-powered-wheel-locomotion-tiger.html

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/03/25/beetle-turns-itself-into-a-wheel

My MaMaw called them "Chicken Chokers"

These look like the little guys my grandmother taught me how to pull out of the ground with a piece of grass.  🙂  We used to do that for fun.  But then we'd put them back so they would be ok.  ❤

From the Evolution Facebook page:

Tiger Beetles: Part 1

Picture this: you're a caterpillar, looking for new vegetation to eat. You spy some leaves just past a hole in the ground and make your way over to them. Next thing you know you're being eaten by something so fast you didn't even see it strike. 

Tiger beetle larvae have an intimidating appearance, particularly due to their powerful sickle-shape mandibles. After eggs are buried by the female Tiger beetle, the newly-hatched larva begins to extend and improve its burrow. It digs towards the surface, using its mandibles to loosen the soil and its flat head to push soil out of the burrow when it reaches the surface. Each larval stage the larva goes through (3 in total) is accompanied by increasing the burrow. Their flat armoured head helps them blend in with the soil (though they sometimes hide deep out of sight) and hooks on a dorsal hump keep them anchored in the soil. Powerful mandibular muscles give their bite its strength and their eyesight, unlike many grubs, is sharp and accurate. 

When something does come near the burrow, the larva launches itself towards it at incredible speed - interestingly, usually throwing its head backwards at its victim. The sickle-shaped mandibles sink in and its prey (sometimes as big as it) is dragged down into the burrow. Larvae have a similar digestive method to spiders, secreting enzymes to break down food before actually eating it. When the liquidized prey has been consumed, any indigestible remains are ejected from the burrow. 

Photo credits: Ted C. MacRae (left), Ingo Arndt/naturepl.com (right). 

To see larvae attacking caterpillars, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMkEaIZSNDg 

http://drshigley.com/lgh/netigers/tiger_biology.htm 

http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/bimg129.html 

http://beetlesinthebush.wordpress.com/.../anatomy-of-a.../ 

http://www.buglife.org.uk/.../bugofthe.../Green+tiger+beetle 

David Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth, Episode 4: Intimate Relations.