I love random bits of nature trivia. I store them away like nuts in a chipmunk larder, to be taken out and paraded around when the right situation occurs. The term "raptorial claw" is one that most people will sort of know what it means, but not really, so for today's blog post a short introduction to my shiny chipmunk term of the day.
For those of you who are in the woods all the time you're probably pretty familiar with what a tick looks like. But there are plenty of people who aren't really familiar with what they look like, and let's face it, when you have one on you, you rarely take the time to check it out up close and personal, you just want it OFF! This post is dedicated to some basic tick anatomy (what they look like) and pictures of the ticks that are most commonly found in the Eastern US. I've also created a nice quick table that should help you too.
Ugly Animal Gallery
Sometimes it's fun to just go off the rails and post something completely different. Today, I bring you a gallery of under appreciated animals of North America. Some may call them ugly, but they are all an important part of their relative ecosystems.
However, there's no getting around the fact that these critters won't win a beauty contest. I did have to make some tough choices here, but I went mostly with animals that I would think of as "ugly" and not scary or frightening. If I missed any, feel free to e-mail me!