GreenFest 2013 Coverage.

And now for what you all really wanted to see: The stuff all set up!



Pop tab fashion. Now I'm really glad I save every pop tab I get. I got a bracelet from these people, simply because the idea is awesome.

This is a blanket for the homeless made out of plastic bags. That is what I call creative. 

Bumper stickers! So many bumper stickers! This isn't my favorite; the other two I got involved humans being hunted/food. Otherwise, it was pretty usual, PETA-esque merchandise.

Cobra Corn? Not sold at the Fest except as samples by one person. In short, it's popcorn coated in Indian spices. Not my thing, but if that sounds appetizing to you, Asian grocers might carry it. I had to take a picture of it regardless.

Clif Bar people almost always make it to GreenFest. For those of you who have not heard of Clif, they're amazing little health bars that are lifesavers for hikers and supercommuters alike. I personally like them quite a lot. Unfortunately, all the "Kit's Organic" stuff had almonds in it. Bummer.

Kefir! It's like drinkable yogurt, and is now available as frozen yogurt. Definitely good stuff. If you're into Greek yogurt, you will probably like frozen kefir, too.

The ad campaign against GMO's with the mouse was adorable. Plus, there really is nasty stuff in most things at your local supermarket. It works.

Ford had a HUGE presence. They're major sponsors, it seems, and have some of the most...reusable cars on the planet? Wow, this seems like a cheap attempt to compete with hybrids. OUR CARS USE CORN!

There was more where that came from, but the pictures either sucked or I didn't really take snaps. There were a lot of home improvement things that I did not bother with.  It might, however, be worth covering what makes something LEED-certified in a future entry.

Member's Night Event Coverage.

Whooosh! Long night, that was. Members' Nights at the Field Museum are always epic affairs, though. The main attraction is the behind-the-scenes stuff that you don't get to see during normal museum hours. 

Ever wonder how scientists store their samples?  In little tiny tubes, very carefully. Question answered!

Snakes in jars. Lots of snakes in lots of jars.



The department of entomology was pretty neat this time around, too.  Plenty of cool spiders, with some amazing blog fodder coming up. I did not know that all male spiders had bigger, "boxing glove" pedipalps when fully mature! The above photo is of a researcher's pet tarantula's molt...and an equally-cool necklace.

So many cool invertebrates to touch! There were a ton of shells on display, including these angel wings - which are like geoducks in that they have extremely long bodies. Have fun imagining an adorable white, pearly mollusk open up into something out of Japanese porn.

I got to feel an octopus at this display. Alas, it reeked of formaldehyde. Still cool.



They really outdid themselves with the icthyology department this time, in part because "Creatures of Light" covers abyssal fish. How many people do you know who have touched a viperfish? Probably none unless you work there.

They even did face painting. This guy had an amazing anglerfish on his face- wonder how long it took?

A Quetzalcoatl puppet! Not every day you see one of those. He was one of the many puppets roaming the main level this time around. Fun.

There was also someone dressed up in a T-Rex costume.  Funny, and definitely obligatory for a museum.

On a non-photographable note, one of the employees was playing Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for the 3DS. I apologize if my character sucks right now, Leo. It'll be a lot better next year.

Animal Kingdom Photos: Part 2!

Shot of a browsing giraffe.

Random fish. No code card or anything.

This is a crocodile skull.

This is a hippo skull. Hippos are f***ing terrifying.

Kenyan sand boa in shed.

Everybody loves meerkats. Simples!

Giraffe and okapi skulls, side by side. The giraffe is larger.

A Uromastyx of some sort. SCOURGETAIL!

African green pigeon enjoying...mango, I think?

Hope the bald eagle. Inspiring story about DDT, too.

This cockatoo had some funny tricks. :)

Crowned Crane with the wings stretched. His name was Frasier.

Fruit bat fingers!

Only a panel of plexiglass between me and this tiger.

Nice Indian ruins, too.

Then my camera ran out of batteries. There were also a ton of things I did not get to see. Still, Animal Kingdom is a really nice zoo; if you can scrape up the money, it's certainly worth a visit.

Animal KIngdom Photos!

Sorry for the long wait on this one. I had sleeping issues on Thursday going into Friday, and then my camera software became a bitch for no apparent reason. I was going to do this on Friday; apologies.

All of the images below were taken at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom. The place is a massive zoo. Tickets cost somewhere around 90-100 USD.  You get some really up close and personal shots of all sorts of amazing animals. Being a blogger of this sort of thing and chancing to be in Orlando, this was a must.

(All of these photos belong to me, but please use them if you like. :))

The back end of a giraffe, taken on the Safari ride.

Crowned crane. These deserve an entry if I haven't already done one.

African elephants.

More elephants.

Lions are actually lazy creatures. Lazy, brutal, beautiful creatures.

Flamingos. In Florida. Shocker.

Saddlebill stork

A rather showy and loud pair of scarlet macaws.

Sleepy gorilla.

Gnu/wildebeest/catoblepas. Don't look them in the eyes...

 ...then my camera ran out of memory. There were a lot more pics, but these are the best of the lot on that memory card. SEQUEL POST COMING UP!

Wild Fest 2013 Coverage!

Today was the 2013 Wild Fest! I had no idea how to get there or how big it would be. It turned out to be relatively easy to find and a small exhibit that fit into a Sunday afternoon nicely. A lot of wildlife centers in IL were present. So, without further ado...pictures!

SOAR (Save Our American Raptors) had a booth at the show. FYI, "raptors" here means "Birds of prey" - let's not go Jurassic Park here. They had a lot of owls, a peregrine falcon (the fastest animal in the world) and a bald eagle. While we were not allowed to touch the raptors, they were still awesome to see. How often do you get up-close and personal with a bald eagle, after all?

Animals for Awareness had a lot. Parrots, hedgehogs, and an albino male boa were pretty much par for the course. What I did not expect was the kinkajou - a smallish Central and South American mammal related to raccoons. She was very active, so unfortunately, my pictures sucked. Fret not; I will call them about volunteering opportunities.



Incredible Bats was just that: A bunch of awesome fruit bats that people could see right in front of them. Both species (Egyptian and Straw-Colored) were from Africa, which is usually not praised fro its fruit bats. Alas, bats are nocturnal, and these guys were not very interested in the fruit we offered them.

Jim Nesci is something of a legend among reptile people. He uses exotic reptiles for a lot of educational shows and appears regularly at ReptileFest and NARBC. We just missed his big display involving an albino Burmese python. BUBBA was there, too; check out the little girl getting a ride on an alligator's back!

Finally, Big Run Wolf Ranch made it to this awesome exhibition. Neither Shanoa nor Zeus wanted to show up; instead of the standard gray wolf, we got to see Canuck (sp?), a British Columbian wolf. These wolves are actually the ranch owner's favorite, sparting dark coats, brilliant yellow-green eyes, and a white mark on the chest. It's a shame I couldn't figure out how to get my camera to shoot right. Kirby II was there as well.

This was a pretty awesome event, if small. With only so much space to work with and so much time, it's pretty easy to see everything in an hour. Stick around for a show; you won't regret it.

Fun Spotlight: Big Run Wolf Ranch!

Instead of my usual Creature Feature, today's entry will be a totally different kind of Creature Feature. Much like many bloggers who actually go out and go things, I will provide coverage of any nature-related events I happen to encounter. I'd like to do this seriously one day- it's an awesome idea -  but funds and such will not allow. So, for now, I am limited mostly to events that happen in Illinois.

That said, if you see an event hosted at or by Big Run Wolf Ranch, don't turn it down. They happened to be at my local forest preserve last night (the 24th). That place has a lot more than just wolves, so along with Shanoa, we to see some really wild stuff:

For those of you who have no idea what a groundhog is...there ya go. This is the groundhog we in IL use for our Groundhog Day predictions. 

Skunks make amazingly great pets, even though many people would consider them wild. They also come in colors other than black and white. Kirby II here was a real doll, letting everyone pet and cuddle them. Kids even got to "babysit" him.

 There was a coyote, too. He was skittish, as a real wild coyote would be. Coyotes will not eat humans, but will eat small pets like Chihuahuas. I like them already. Pecos, our coyote, was also used as an example of a desert animal, featuring large ears and small paws. Another good example: Fennecs.

The wolf above, Shanoa, also appeared at Loyola the night we had a wolf showing. The big male, Zeus, was unwilling to come; when unwillingness is backed with a 1400-pound bite, even a wolf handler will listen. Tangent: The porcupine also could not make it.

Now, something that bugs me that did not get answered: it's hard to tell where this guy draws the line between "domesticated" and "tame." As I went into detail in my first essay on breeds, domestication is an iffy issue with no real scientific gauge to back it. I'm curious as to where this guy draws the line; his wolves and many other animals were bred in captivity and tamed.