Photo Quiz Phriday Answer, Genius Steepers & NEW Photo Quiz...

Photo Quiz Phriday Answer

So many great guesses re: WHAT the heck I was doing here:

I was NOT weighing a stool-for-tiny-people (it's actually a pitfall trap lid/shade).

I was weighing a lizard, which was in a little plastic bag,

which SPINS AROUND in the breeze when held by a Pesola spring scale

'cause lizards weigh ALMOST NOTHING.

SO, I was holding the lid to block the wind so I could weigh that pup accurately.

POWER NERDERY!! =)

This was all part of the reptile & amphibian inventory,
as designed & implemented by the fabulous Dr. Robert Fisher & all his peeps, at USGS.
Such a great group, the USGS Western Ecological Research Center's San Diego Field Station.
The TINY Cabrillo NM was super lucky to be able to team up w/them.

Behind me is 1 arm of a 3-armed Fisher trapping array.


Genius Steepers

I know this may sound lame, but ALL THE GUESSES WIN!!
They were SO fun & funny &/or accurate.

STEEPERS IN THEIR OWN GENIUS
(w/hyperlinks to their blogs, if they have one)

John Beetham for:
"It looks like you're weighing a stool."

(bb: I 100% look like I'm weighing a stool + bonus points for unintentional wildlife doo-doo pun)

Imperfect and Tense for:
"Are you wondering who has stolen the majority of your vehicle,
as you've been left holding just the steering wheel and column shift?"

(bb: Great imagination & more likely than you might imagine
+ bonus points for British English vocab lesson)

Cindy for:
"You are weighing a land mine (craftily disguised as stool by Navy wonks) to see if it is still active
before you start stomping through the coastal scrub looking for orange-throated whiptail.

(bb: She clearly is READING MY SOUL as this is SO close to what my life was like back then--
working in a Navy bunker & crawling through the CSS* looking for Cnemis**)

sclancy for:

"Calibrating your portable sundial"

(bb: SUPER imaginative + I-wish-I'd-thought-of-that-then)

Diana Studer for:

"hmm, can't be weighing 'cos you're holding it with your other hand.

Reading something off a gauge? Temperature?"

(bb: She's SO close, I AM weighing it, AND the scale is a gauge.)

Thanks everyone!! You cannot know how much your answers amuse & impress me. =)

NEW PHRIDAY PHOTO QUIZ

This one is SUPER HARD, if you're going for accurate,

but could be fun if you're going for creative.

This pup was sticking out of an old stump by the garden.

It's about 2 cm tall.

I had to ask around 'cause I had NO idea.

But, now I know, and I'm psyched about it.

The reward for inspired/accurate guesses is

MARINATING in the MAGNIFICENCE of your own MIND.

xoxoxobb

*CSS = coastal sage scrub

**Cnemis = verbal shorthand for Cnemidophorus hyperythrus, a.k.a. orange-throated whiptail lizard, NOW called Aspidoscelis hyperythra, so says the EVER FABULOUS & useful CaliforniaHerps.com.

I'm a stick; don't see me... (quiz 4 u)

 I will hold my legs next to my side, and not move.

Rock as pillow, 'cause I'm tough.

 I believe this is a San Diego alligator lizard, Elgaria multicarinata webbii,

based on the distribution map here, and eye color.

If you check out that map, it's cool, 'cause I learned these guys

IN San Diego, then moved up north, RIGHT where they extend north.

=) An old friend.

Though this guy was LONG, but not big,

so I think "old" is inaccurate.

Because of my time spent inventorying herps,

I have a habit of looking at the tail of any lizard to see

if their tail is the original, or if it's regenerated.

If you see the nice pattern going all the way down the tail, it's original.

If the pattern basically stops at the tail and becomes just plain, it's regenerated.

QUIZ: So, what do you think? Original work, or re-tread?

This guy was right in the trail.

I 100% did NOT see it, but Bear did, and pointed it out.

Total stick impression.

I had been looking for mushrooms (in vain) to the side of the trail,

'cause that's where I've seen them, frequently.

Not now. Too dry.

But, it's never too dry for an alligator lizard.

Tough puppies.

And this creature NEVER MOVED during the photo shoot.

Good one, lizard! You won.

You're a stick, and we are leaving you alone.

xobb