spontaneously generating feathers

My mini peroxide station in my room.

Thu, 23 May 2013 01:31:34 -0400

My mini peroxide station in my room.

relevant to my life

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:26:48 -0400

relevant to my life

Okay I’m really falling in love with Jesca Hoop’s music.

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:20:58 -0400

Okay I’m really falling in love with Jesca Hoop’s music.

Speaking of that buck, I did eventually get him to fit in the...

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:01:58 -0400

Speaking of that buck, I did eventually get him to fit in the bucket (after disassembling his ribcage). His skull is still dirty on my dresser for now. Not sure how to handle cleaning him with that rack of his.

I’m wondering how common it is to find deer with ossified...

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:58:37 -0400

I’m wondering how common it is to find deer with ossified costal cartilage. These are pictures of the ossified costal cartilage from the buck skeleton I found a few weeks ago. He’s an 8 point buck but his teeth didn’t seem to indicate that he was very old (especially compared to the teeth of some of the old does I’ve found).

In the middle picture you can see the ossified cartilage (right) that fell out of the outer membrane that was still attached to the rib (left).

I also have a fragmented old doe skeleton from whom I found pieces of ossified costal cartilage. Her teeth were so incredibly worn down that they were almost flat with her jaw and she also had many molars abscess, leaving the jaw very spongy where the teeth once were. The scarring on her leg bones from her ligament attachments were also very noticeable. Unfortunately, I didn’t check for these scars on the buck skeleton before I put him in a bucket. However, I’ll check him once he’s clean and take pictures of the old doe’s skeleton once she’s done cleaning as well.

Cicada skins

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:44:01 -0400

Cicada skins

Oh yeah and really big ferns. They came up to my hip.

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:42:24 -0400

Oh yeah and really big ferns. They came up to my hip.

We found this cicada whose abdomen had been eaten off but was...

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:35:42 -0400

We found this cicada whose abdomen had been eaten off but was still alive. Strange.

assholeofday: Asshole of the Day for May 20, 2013: Mark...

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:13:07 -0400

assholeofday:

Asshole of the Day for May 20, 2013: Mark Obenshain

The Virginia GOP is lining up an all-asshole lineup for this year’s elections. At the top of the ticket, for governor they’ve got Ken Cuccinelli, who still wants to jail people for sodomy even though the Supreme Court says he can’t.

Then in the lt. lovernor spot they’ve got E.W. Jackson, who compares Planned Parenthood to the KKK.

But it’s their candidate for attorney general, Virginia state Sen. Mark Obenshain, that stands out today. He has proposed a law requiring women to report miscarriages to the police within 24 hours. There’s no law against miscarriages, so he just wants police to make sure women feel bad enough about it.

So much for GOP outreach!

Fuck you. Fuck you. FUCK you. Not in my fucking state you’re not.

The cicadas are singing this morning.

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:19:48 -0400

The cicadas are singing this morning.

In case you’re wondering, cicadas love beech trees and...

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:28:02 -0400

In case you’re wondering, cicadas love beech trees and maple trees.

It’s happeninggg

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:06:09 -0400

It’s happeninggg

Nothing like spending an afternoon cleaning bones together.

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:56:34 -0400

Nothing like spending an afternoon cleaning bones together.

Mental note-

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:28:29 -0400

Currently macerating:
Micoa and Melahuac
One doe
Two bucks

Currently in peroxide:
One buck
Anonymous bones

Waiting for maceration/peroxide:
Three battlefield does
Deer carcasses from my neighbor
8 point buck skull (skeleton currently macerating, how fit skull? halp plx)
Cat (still needs prepping)
Other anonymous bones

Yep.

I’m kinda digging this bucket. Lets me have two separate...

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:32:15 -0400

I’m kinda digging this bucket. Lets me have two separate specimens going at the same time.

Now you know giant anteater's front legs look like pandas.

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:29:58 -0400

macaronrainbow:

tatermo:

I keep looking at it, and it keeps confusing me

Cannot unsee

Just some things we found tonight. Tons of cicadas coming up...

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:52:46 -0400

Just some things we found tonight. Tons of cicadas coming up again tonight. Also, a female wolf spider with her egg sack and a ring necked snake who was trying to get inside my garage.

My boyfriend found us a fox skull today!

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:48:18 -0400

My boyfriend found us a fox skull today!

It’s dusk and the cicadas are making their way up trees.

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:26:39 -0400

It’s dusk and the cicadas are making their way up trees.

starborn-vagabond: thebrainscoop: 2013 World Taxidermy...

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:18:33 -0400

starborn-vagabond:

thebrainscoop:

2013 World Taxidermy Championships

If you are in Springfield, Illinois right now, count me incredibly jealous: the 2013 World Taxidermy and Fish Carving Championships started yesterday and run through the weekend. The WTC is the olympic equivalent of competitive animal preparation, and the event offers the sculptors and artists the opportunity to showcase their work, view advancements in taxidermy technology, and appreciate one another’s efforts over the last year. There are competitions for every division from Youth and Novice, to achievements in Freeze-Drying, and - of course - the Master Division, where the winner is awarded a $4,000 prize, some amazing live-mount eyes by Karl Lange and Tohickon (like the Rolls-Royce of glass-blown, hand-crafted eyes), and the honor of knowing you created the most beautiful taxidermy mount in the world.

There’s also the honorable Carl Akeley award granted to the sculptor who can best exhibit that, indeed, wildlife taxidermy is a valid form of art, and the practice is still alive and well today.

About the images:

Lowell Shapley keel-billed toucan won the Carl E. Akeley Award in 2011.

Ken Walker’s panda was awarded Best in Show in the Recreations category - the ‘panda’ is actually comprised of the dyed skins of multiple American black bear specimens, seeing as how giant pandas are protected.

Dennis Harris - “Air Zebra” Lion and zebra won Best in World at the 2009 WTC. The lioness is only supported in one area, where her tail touches the arm of the zebra. If that isn’t an incredible feat in animal engineering, I don’t know what is.

Karl Lange glass eyes

holy shit some of these are amazing

Damn, son.