Obstructions

Some recent obstructions remind me not to complain too much about that
annoying traffic light on my daily ride. Most them expand in Explorer
if you click on the lower right. None of them are squirrels or dogs.

Absolutely limp, motionless, and hoping that it won't be noticed,
stretched across the path:
http://i11.tinypic.com/52fvkno.jpg

Obviously, it _was_ noticed, but my first attempt at one-handed
photography is embarrassingly fuzzy:

http://i15.tinypic.com/4utq8mh.jpg

This unharmed idiot was sunbathing on the path a few days later. The
one-handed focus is better, but a more intelligent photographer would
have checked that his automatic shutter had opened all the way:

http://i15.tinypic.com/6ccz2iw.jpg

Another unharmed idiot, caught a few minutes later, also sunbathing on
the path:
http://i10.tinypic.com/673ty4n.jpg

This poor foot-long devil was still alive, but couldn't rattle, coil,
crawl, or hiss, so I had to put it out of its misery. (Handling this
kind is foolish--most fatal bites in the U.S. involve the head or neck
and a bizarre religious belief that rattlers won't resent handling.)
At first I thought that a car had hit it, but it was almost undamaged.
The fatal wound, an ugly, unseen gash on the far side of its neck,
probably came from a beak:
http://i13.tinypic.com/53rtreu.jpg

These two camera hogs were too big for one-handed photography. The
first is about three feet long, the second about four feet long:
http://i6.tinypic.com/4ztygba.jpg
http://i18.tinypic.com/4xqogfs.jpg

This nitwit was playing why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road, as they
often do, and finally ran over my shoe. They have a disconcerting
habit of near-sightedly charging at you instead of fleeing:
http://i16.tinypic.com/5z6l5y8.jpg

Here's his little brother, next to a bottle of bug repellant:
http://i9.tinypic.com/4uxcfa1.jpg

These three adults just stood there, while the two recently born kids
ran happily back and forth past them. The second kid is just visible
between the middle and right hand adults:
http://i13.tinypic.com/6g1xe1s.jpg

One kid has already zoomed past the left edge of the picture. The
other is following:
http://i14.tinypic.com/5z20k09.jpg

If you look closely, you can see the other kid, now running back the
other way, its head just past its sibling's tail:
http://i7.tinypic.com/4muhbbl.jpg

And now it's raced back the other way, past all three adults:
http://i7.tinypic.com/4yhvh42.jpg

These two versions of four horns have already been posted, but you
might as well see them again if you've browsed this far:
http://i8.tinypic.com/4yjyjvn.jpg
http://i7.tinypic.com/4y7cbgx.jpg

Finally, here's about ten pounds of expectant mother, a bit bigger
than a bike helmet. Inflamed by a thunderstorm, she foolishly dug a
nest this afternoon at the edge of a sandy but poorly drained two-rut
road, fifteen feet from her marsh:
http://i12.tinypic.com/6gxpi1g.jpg

Tails are often broken or truncated, but this tail is pristine, ready
for the show ring. (Yes, I once kept them as pets, but no, there are
no formal best-of-show competitions.)
http://i13.tinypic.com/4zvf9nb.jpg

Excellent shell, little moss, no leeches, no holes:
http://i17.tinypic.com/6434ia9.jpg

The tail has been moved to one side to show to advantage, while the
eye catches the camera flash:
http://i8.tinypic.com/5y9huds.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Jun 3, 2:13 am, wrote:
Some recent obstructions remind me not to complain too much about that
annoying traffic light on my daily ride. Most them expand in Explorer
if you click on the lower right. None of them are squirrels or dogs.

Absolutely limp, motionless, and hoping that it won't be noticed,
stretched across the path:http://i11.tinypic.com/52fvkno.jpg

Obviously, it _was_ noticed, but my first attempt at one-handed
photography is embarrassingly fuzzy:

http://i15.tinypic.com/4utq8mh.jpg

This unharmed idiot was sunbathing on the path a few days later. The
one-handed focus is better, but a more intelligent photographer would
have checked that his automatic shutter had opened all the way:

http://i15.tinypic.com/6ccz2iw.jpg

Another unharmed idiot, caught a few minutes later, also sunbathing on
the path:http://i10.tinypic.com/673ty4n.jpg

This poor foot-long devil was still alive, but couldn't rattle, coil,
crawl, or hiss, so I had to put it out of its misery. (Handling this
kind is foolish--most fatal bites in the U.S. involve the head or neck
and a bizarre religious belief that rattlers won't resent handling.)
At first I thought that a car had hit it, but it was almost undamaged.
The fatal wound, an ugly, unseen gash on the far side of its neck,
probably came from a beak:http://i13.tinypic.com/53rtreu.jpg

These two camera hogs were too big for one-handed photography. The
first is about three feet long, the second about four feet long:http://i6.tinypic.com/4ztygba.jpghtt...om/4xqogfs.jpg

This nitwit was playing why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road, as they
often do, and finally ran over my shoe. They have a disconcerting
habit of near-sightedly charging at you instead of fleeing:http://i16.tinypic.com/5z6l5y8.jpg

Here's his little brother, next to a bottle of bug repellant:http://i9.tinypic.com/4uxcfa1.jpg

These three adults just stood there, while the two recently born kids
ran happily back and forth past them. The second kid is just visible
between the middle and right hand adults:http://i13.tinypic.com/6g1xe1s.jpg

One kid has already zoomed past the left edge of the picture. The
other is following:http://i14.tinypic.com/5z20k09.jpg

If you look closely, you can see the other kid, now running back the
other way, its head just past its sibling's tail:http://i7.tinypic.com/4muhbbl.jpg

And now it's raced back the other way, past all three adults:http://i7.tinypic.com/4yhvh42.jpg

These two versions of four horns have already been posted, but you
might as well see them again if you've browsed this far:http://i8.tinypic.com/4yjyjvn.jpghtt...om/4y7cbgx.jpg

Finally, here's about ten pounds of expectant mother, a bit bigger
than a bike helmet. Inflamed by a thunderstorm, she foolishly dug a
nest this afternoon at the edge of a sandy but poorly drained two-rut
road, fifteen feet from her marsh:http://i12.tinypic.com/6gxpi1g.jpg

Tails are often broken or truncated, but this tail is pristine, ready
for the show ring. (Yes, I once kept them as pets, but no, there are
no formal best-of-show competitions.)http://i13.tinypic.com/4zvf9nb.jpg

Excellent shell, little moss, no leeches, no holes:http://i17.tinypic.com/6434ia9.jpg

The tail has been moved to one side to show to advantage, while the
eye catches the camera flash:http://i8.tinypic.com/5y9huds.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Great photos, Carl, thanks for sharing.

Lewis.

*****

wrote:
On Jun 3, 2:13 am, wrote:
This nitwit was playing why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road, as they
often do, and finally ran over my shoe. They have a disconcerting
habit of near-sightedly charging at you instead of fleeing:http://i16.tinypic.com/5z6l5y8.jpg

This one reminds me of a nature break I took for about an hour while
driving between L.A. and S.F. by a man made reservoir. I was just laying
back and watching the clouds when I felt more than one something on my
legs. Looking down at my legs I saw about 15 adult Tarantulas marching
over my legs just like any other obstruction heading for where ever it
was they were going. I got up and put my hand in front of one and he
just walked over it like any other object.
Migrating?
All in all, an interesting but odd experience.
Bill Baka


Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Great photos, Carl, thanks for sharing.

Lewis.

*****

On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 16:39:18 -0700, Bill wrote:

wrote:
On Jun 3, 2:13 am, wrote:
This nitwit was playing why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road, as they
often do, and finally ran over my shoe. They have a disconcerting
habit of near-sightedly charging at you instead of fleeing:http://i16.tinypic.com/5z6l5y8.jpg

This one reminds me of a nature break I took for about an hour while
driving between L.A. and S.F. by a man made reservoir. I was just laying
back and watching the clouds when I felt more than one something on my
legs. Looking down at my legs I saw about 15 adult Tarantulas marching
over my legs just like any other obstruction heading for where ever it
was they were going. I got up and put my hand in front of one and he
just walked over it like any other object.
Migrating?
All in all, an interesting but odd experience.
Bill Baka

The species in this country live in solitude. Another tall tale from
Planet Baka. If you're going to bull****, Billy, at least try and make
it entertaining. Like going down the highway at 120 doing one of your
world famous wheelies and seeing a tarantula... no wait... make that a
swarm of tarantulas, coming down both arms.

R Brickston wrote:
On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 16:39:18 -0700, Bill wrote:

wrote:
On Jun 3, 2:13 am, wrote:
This nitwit was playing why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road, as they
often do, and finally ran over my shoe. They have a disconcerting
habit of near-sightedly charging at you instead of fleeing:http://i16.tinypic.com/5z6l5y8.jpg
This one reminds me of a nature break I took for about an hour while
driving between L.A. and S.F. by a man made reservoir. I was just laying
back and watching the clouds when I felt more than one something on my
legs. Looking down at my legs I saw about 15 adult Tarantulas marching
over my legs just like any other obstruction heading for where ever it
was they were going. I got up and put my hand in front of one and he
just walked over it like any other object.
Migrating?
All in all, an interesting but odd experience.
Bill Baka

The species in this country live in solitude. Another tall tale from
Planet Baka. If you're going to bull****, Billy, at least try and make
it entertaining. Like going down the highway at 120 doing one of your
world famous wheelies and seeing a tarantula... no wait... make that a
swarm of tarantulas, coming down both arms.

None of these groups needs you, moron.
I wasn't bragging about the big bad spiders, just a comment on something
that happened while I was taking a 'car' break.
At any rate I would rather a swarm of Tarantulas migrate over me than a
herd of cattle.
Go home to your mommy.
Bill Baka

On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 22:48:31 -0700, Bill wrote:

R Brickston wrote:
On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 16:39:18 -0700, Bill wrote:

wrote:
On Jun 3, 2:13 am, wrote:
This nitwit was playing why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road, as they
often do, and finally ran over my shoe. They have a disconcerting
habit of near-sightedly charging at you instead of fleeing:http://i16.tinypic.com/5z6l5y8.jpg
This one reminds me of a nature break I took for about an hour while
driving between L.A. and S.F. by a man made reservoir. I was just laying
back and watching the clouds when I felt more than one something on my
legs. Looking down at my legs I saw about 15 adult Tarantulas marching
over my legs just like any other obstruction heading for where ever it
was they were going. I got up and put my hand in front of one and he
just walked over it like any other object.
Migrating?
All in all, an interesting but odd experience.
Bill Baka

The species in this country live in solitude. Another tall tale from
Planet Baka. If you're going to bull****, Billy, at least try and make
it entertaining. Like going down the highway at 120 doing one of your
world famous wheelies and seeing a tarantula... no wait... make that a
swarm of tarantulas, coming down both arms.

None of these groups needs you, moron.
I wasn't bragging about the big bad spiders, just a comment on something
that happened while I was taking a 'car' break.
At any rate I would rather a swarm of Tarantulas migrate over me than a
herd of cattle.
Go home to your mommy.
Bill Baka

Tarantulas migrate? What were these Army Tarantulas? Or perhaps a new
sub-species of traveling Tarantula somehow related to the Monarch
butterfly.

On Mon, 04 Jun 2007 04:46:28 GMT, R Brickston
rb20170REMOVE.yahoo.com@ wrote:

On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 16:39:18 -0700, Bill wrote:

wrote:
On Jun 3, 2:13 am, wrote:
This nitwit was playing why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road, as they
often do, and finally ran over my shoe. They have a disconcerting
habit of near-sightedly charging at you instead of fleeing:http://i16.tinypic.com/5z6l5y8.jpg

This one reminds me of a nature break I took for about an hour while
driving between L.A. and S.F. by a man made reservoir. I was just laying
back and watching the clouds when I felt more than one something on my
legs. Looking down at my legs I saw about 15 adult Tarantulas marching
over my legs just like any other obstruction heading for where ever it
was they were going. I got up and put my hand in front of one and he
just walked over it like any other object.
Migrating?
All in all, an interesting but odd experience.
Bill Baka

The species in this country live in solitude. Another tall tale from
Planet Baka. If you're going to bull****, Billy, at least try and make
it entertaining. Like going down the highway at 120 doing one of your
world famous wheelies and seeing a tarantula... no wait... make that a
swarm of tarantulas, coming down both arms.

Dear RB,

I've never seen such a thing, but I'll keep an open mind about lines
or groups of tarantulas.

"Groups of tarantulas are often seen in the evenings at Desert View,
scuttling back into the warmth of the [Grand] canyon for the night."

http://www.travelotica.com/travelgui...-rim-47220.htm

"I live in the country and during certain times of the year you'll see
a line of tarantulas crossing the highway."

http://community.cookinglight.com/ar...p?t-27548.html

The mass migrations in search of mates are well-known in Texas:

"Exactly when male brown tarantulas go a-roaming seems determined by
the weather. Their movements tend to occur after a rain in early
morning or late afternoon. Mass sightings are rare but memorable.
Arachnologist David Sissom of West Texas A&M University in Canyon
recalls braking to a stop on Highway 385 just south of Odessa early
one summer morning in 1986. 'There were hundreds of tarantulas
crossing the road, all moving in the same direction,' he says. 'For
100 yards or so, there was easily a tarantula every meter or two. It
was pretty incredible.'"

http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/...988&issueId=70

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Mon, 04 Jun 2007 01:15:33 -0600, wrote:

On Mon, 04 Jun 2007 04:46:28 GMT, R Brickston
rb20170REMOVE.yahoo.com@ wrote:

On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 16:39:18 -0700, Bill wrote:

wrote:
On Jun 3, 2:13 am, wrote:
This nitwit was playing why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road, as they
often do, and finally ran over my shoe. They have a disconcerting
habit of near-sightedly charging at you instead of fleeing:http://i16.tinypic.com/5z6l5y8.jpg

This one reminds me of a nature break I took for about an hour while
driving between L.A. and S.F. by a man made reservoir. I was just laying
back and watching the clouds when I felt more than one something on my
legs. Looking down at my legs I saw about 15 adult Tarantulas marching
over my legs just like any other obstruction heading for where ever it
was they were going. I got up and put my hand in front of one and he
just walked over it like any other object.
Migrating?
All in all, an interesting but odd experience.
Bill Baka

The species in this country live in solitude. Another tall tale from
Planet Baka. If you're going to bull****, Billy, at least try and make
it entertaining. Like going down the highway at 120 doing one of your
world famous wheelies and seeing a tarantula... no wait... make that a
swarm of tarantulas, coming down both arms.

Dear RB,

I've never seen such a thing, but I'll keep an open mind about lines
or groups of tarantulas.

"Groups of tarantulas are often seen in the evenings at Desert View,
scuttling back into the warmth of the [Grand] canyon for the night."

http://www.travelotica.com/travelgui...-rim-47220.htm

"I live in the country and during certain times of the year you'll see
a line of tarantulas crossing the highway."

http://community.cookinglight.com/ar...p?t-27548.html

The mass migrations in search of mates are well-known in Texas:

"Exactly when male brown tarantulas go a-roaming seems determined by
the weather. Their movements tend to occur after a rain in early
morning or late afternoon. Mass sightings are rare but memorable.
Arachnologist David Sissom of West Texas A&M University in Canyon
recalls braking to a stop on Highway 385 just south of Odessa early
one summer morning in 1986. 'There were hundreds of tarantulas
crossing the road, all moving in the same direction,' he says. 'For
100 yards or so, there was easily a tarantula every meter or two. It
was pretty incredible.'"

http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/...988&issueId=70

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

C'mon Carl, everone knows that Sissom is Bill Baka's mad uncle.

wrote:
On Mon, 04 Jun 2007 04:46:28 GMT, R Brickston
rb20170REMOVE.yahoo.com@ wrote:

On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 16:39:18 -0700, Bill wrote:

wrote:
On Jun 3, 2:13 am, wrote:
This nitwit was playing why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road, as they
often do, and finally ran over my shoe. They have a disconcerting
habit of near-sightedly charging at you instead of fleeing:http://i16.tinypic.com/5z6l5y8.jpg
This one reminds me of a nature break I took for about an hour while
driving between L.A. and S.F. by a man made reservoir. I was just laying
back and watching the clouds when I felt more than one something on my
legs. Looking down at my legs I saw about 15 adult Tarantulas marching
over my legs just like any other obstruction heading for where ever it
was they were going. I got up and put my hand in front of one and he
just walked over it like any other object.
Migrating?
All in all, an interesting but odd experience.
Bill Baka
The species in this country live in solitude. Another tall tale from
Planet Baka. If you're going to bull****, Billy, at least try and make
it entertaining. Like going down the highway at 120 doing one of your
world famous wheelies and seeing a tarantula... no wait... make that a
swarm of tarantulas, coming down both arms.

Dear RB,

I've never seen such a thing, but I'll keep an open mind about lines
or groups of tarantulas.

I don't know what they were doing but a bunch of them just walked over
my legs and paid no attention to me. Why there were a dozen or so, I
don't know, only that they seemed determined to get someplace.

"Groups of tarantulas are often seen in the evenings at Desert View,
scuttling back into the warmth of the [Grand] canyon for the night."

http://www.travelotica.com/travelgui...-rim-47220.htm

"I live in the country and during certain times of the year you'll see
a line of tarantulas crossing the highway."

http://community.cookinglight.com/ar...p?t-27548.html

The mass migrations in search of mates are well-known in Texas:

That is a possible explanation. I was on highway 152 (the Pacheco pass
road) and stopped at an access to the new Melones reservoir, just to
kick back and relax after about 6 hours of driving. They appeared to see
me as a non threat and just kept marching. I thought it was strange
behavior too.

"Exactly when male brown tarantulas go a-roaming seems determined by
the weather. Their movements tend to occur after a rain in early
morning or late afternoon. Mass sightings are rare but memorable.
Arachnologist David Sissom of West Texas A&M University in Canyon
recalls braking to a stop on Highway 385 just south of Odessa early
one summer morning in 1986. 'There were hundreds of tarantulas
crossing the road, all moving in the same direction,' he says. 'For
100 yards or so, there was easily a tarantula every meter or two. It
was pretty incredible.'"

I had a dozen or so in a cluster of about 1 meter so it had to be some
kind of social event, maybe looking for mates. I know absolutely nothing
about spider rituals so I am not making any assumptions here.
Bill Baka

http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/...988&issueId=70

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Jun 3, 2:13 am, wrote:

Absolutely limp, motionless, and hoping that it won't be noticed,
stretched across the path:http://i11.tinypic.com/52fvkno.jpg

Dr. Fogel: Snake, hope: an uplifting assumption. Many sermons will
fall far short of that today.

Thank you. --D-y