In Praise of Naturalists and Humor

I'm a day late writing about Friday's photos and Archie Carr. Yesterday, the 13th, I couldn't resist driving 6 hours, round trip, to see an art opening for one of my former students, one whom I've alluded to indirectly as a person interested in scatology.
Now, the photos. I'm still not an expert at manipulating the software on this blog, so I can't post these "captions" next to the correct photos. Instead, it's a narrative and hopefully you can match the cryptic comments with the appropriate photos.
To go along with the "pretentious artist's statement" I said was in preparation for a springtime show, I need to print a set of ID cards for the photos. The millipede will be labeled "My Friend Fibonacci." Math teachers, at least, should get the connection. There are two photos of a bee surrounded by blooming "Showy Milkweed." They will be labeled "Coming in for a Landing" and "Landed." The lady bug on a rock will be labeled "Lonely Lady" even though it might be a male. Still thinking about the two scorpion photos. The one inside a jar lid will probably be called "Handle with Care." The photo of a slug with a pocket comb will be called either "Slug with Pocket Comb" or "Pocket Comb with Slug." I might need to take a poll. The photo of the yellow violet (yellow violet?) is actually a photo of two ants mating. I might steal the title from a cute little insect book I bought yesterday at a great used bookstore in Chico. It was called "Six-legged Sex." But that might not get past the censors. Still not sure about the Jerusalem cricket. These magnificent beasts always leave me speechless. Finally, the red milkweed beetle, my favorite new discovery since I returned to Quincy, is also unlabeled for now. I have around 25 different photos of this beetle, always on Showy Milkweed, and I'm seriously thinking about framing all of them together in one giant mat full of holes and calling it Photographer's Obsession.
Now, Archie Carr, the late great naturalist and sea turtle expert. Dr. Andy Arata, my ecology professor at Tulane was trying to persuade me to do my graduate work at University of Florida which was actually third on my list of choices. One weekend he invited me to take a field trip to places unknown east of New Orleans. To make a long story shorter, he took me to meet Dr. Carr at his home in Micanopy, Florida. On the way, we stopped to get a bushel bag of Oysters. I nearly gagged because I knew I could never swallow a live oyster. When we started up Dr. Carr's long, dirt driveway (I still didn't know where we were.) I heard an amazing variety of beautiful tree frog calls from the trees on either side of the drive. I found out later it was Dr. Carr's kids doing fantastic impersonations of several local species. After meeting Dr. Carr and his wife Marjorie and the kids, it was time to feed Jasper. Archie fetched a fish from the freezer and walked down to the pond in his back yard. He slapped the fish on the surface and called out "Jasper." A huge alligator snapping turtle emerged from the depths and took the fish out of his hand then slipped backwards underwater to dine. Back at the house, I was in such awe of these professors, my own ecology professor and Dr. Carr, that I ate several raw oysters without wincing. Much to my surprise, I loved them! I eventually enrolled at the University of Florida and did two wonderful years of graduate work there including taking Advanced Ecology from Dr. Carr. Dr. Carr was a very busy man and already had lots of graduate students. Being a novice to research I felt I needed more attention than he could give me so I was directed toward Dr. Walt Auffenberg, at the time the world's leading expert on Komodo dragons. I had two wonderful years of working with Dr. Auffenberg ending with his finding me my first post-graduate job in California. Thank you so much Drs. Arata, Carr and Auffenberg for your contributions to my life as a naturalist/teacher. I want to close with a quote from Dr. Carr's great "Handbook of Turtles." Unlike other volumes in this series of academic field guides, Dr. Carr's reads like a novel. He was in love with language and his several books are must reads for naturalists.
"The Cenozoic came, and with it progressive drought, and the turtles joined the great hegira of swamp and forest animals to steppe and prairie, and watched again as the mammals rose to heights of evolutionary frenzy reminiscent of the dinosaurs in their day, and swept across the grasslands in an endless cavalcade of restless, warm-blooded types. Turtles went with them, as tortoises now, with high shells and columnar, elephantine feet, but always making as few compromises as possible with the new environment, for by now their architecture and their philosophy had been proved by the eons; and there is no wonder that they just kept on watching as Eohippus begat Man o' War and a mob of irresponsible and shift-eyed little shrews swarmed down out of the trees to chip at stones, and fidget around fires, and build atom bombs."
You must find yourself a copy of "The Handbook of Turtles" by Archie Carr at your nearest excellent used book store. There are many more eloquent passages - plus lots of interesting turtle lore. Signing off.