life's rich pageant

[greygirlbeast]

So, yesterday we walk out the back door and down the back-porch steps, only meaning to have a short walk, maybe over to Inman Park. But we were immediately greeted by an unfamiliar orange girl cat, and we stopped in the driveway to pet her and say hi, as she was very friendly and vocal. Then, suddenly, she turned and pounced something in the grass. Moments later, she had a small snake in her mouth. When she dropped it, we shooed her away. It was a young DeKay's brown snake (Storeria dekayi). Worried that the cat had seriously injured it (the snake had flipped over into the "playing dead" position as soon as she dropped it), I scooped it up and brought it inside the house. It seemed fine and very active. DeKay's are the only common snake in our neighborhood; indeed, the only other squamate I've ever seen hereabouts was an Eastern ringnecked snake back in '05. Anyway, we've been talking about keeping one as a pet this year, as they are reported to be extremely low-maintenance herps. So, instead of our walk, we put the snake somewhere safe from Hubero and drove over to Pet Smart on Ponce to get a small tank and a heating pad (where some dork tried to convince us we were in imminent peril, handling a wild snake, and I didn't have the heart to tell him I've worked as a herpetologist; he seemed the sort who lives vicariously through a World of Warcraft character, poor soul). So, for now, we have pet #3, a young Storeria, which shall either be named Edward Drinker Cope (Drinker, for short) or Severus Snake. We haven't yet decided. We're waiting to see if it's going to feed as readily as Dekay's usually eat in captivity (snails, slugs, worms, etc.). If not, we will release it and hope that the cats and crows don't make a meal of the wee beastie. Here are photos, behind the cut (all photos by Spooky):









Because of all the ophidian distraction, it was after 3 p.m. (CaST) before I finally sat down to write, and then there were constant interruptions relating to the busyness of writing. Some very good back and forth with my lit agent, but it didn't help the word count. I did only 893 words on "In View of Nothing," which was the entirety of the section labeled "06. The Train." Also, the bit to be written yesterday required research into guns and maglev and metallurgy, as well as Greek and Turkish geography, all of which slowed me down. I hope to do 1,500 words today. I really need to finish this piece by Monday (the 12th), and I'm losing tomorrow, as we've promised to have a movie day with Byron.

As for last night, Spooky and I set out to have the nerdiest evening possible, playing two games of Scrabble while simultaneously watching four Sherlock Holmes films on TCM: Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943), The Woman in Green (1945), Terror by Night (1946), and Dressed to Kill (1946). The last of the four is my favourite of the bunch — mostly because Patricia Morison makes such a delightful femme fatale — though none of them are in the same class as Rathbone and Bruce's first two Holmes/Watson outings, The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939). It also occurred to me that Basil Rathbone has a certain resemblance to Christopher Eccleston, and I got to thinking how wonderful it would be to see Eccleston play Holmes.

Okay, If I am to get a walk in today, I must sign off. Is that a gorgeous little snake or what?

LJ Postscript (1:41 p.m.) — Robert Thompson of "Fantasy Book Critic" has posted a very positive new review of Daughter of Hounds over at species_of_one. Have a look.

Comments

[dyfferent.livejournal.com]

He's very pretty! I love the Loch Ness Monster shadow he's casting in the middle picture. Also, the pin oak leaf makes me homesick.

[edwarddain.livejournal.com]

It is a quite attractive beast!

I have to say that Jeremy Brett as Holmes really captured my loyalty despite a warm spot in my heart for dear Basil...

[mb2u]

I have to say that Jeremy Brett as Holmes really captured my loyalty despite a warm spot in my heart for dear Basil...

I'll second this. I thought he totally captured Holmes....

[scarletboi.livejournal.com]

Such a cute little guy! He looks very friendly.

Eccleston would make a great Holmes, I agree... Holmes was, I think, my second male crush. (The first being Atreyu in Neverending Story.) I'm rereading a bunch of Doyle's stories right now, thanks to Neil's "A Study in Emerald" being in Fragile Things.

Also, I saw 300 on Monday. If you get a chance, you should go see it. It is beautifully shot, and a very, very strongly written movie. I think it succeeds on a number of levels that Sin City didn't. Not to say that Sin City wasn't well done, it was. But 300 is a bit more effective, I think.

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

If you get a chance, you should go see it.

The plan is to see it with Byron tomorrow evening.

[ladyeuthanasia.livejournal.com]

MmmmMMMMbbaaaaaybeee snake! :D Squeeee!

::fiercely resisting expressing full blown Gidget Fit in journal::

Um, seriously, the first pic belongs on CuteOverload.

[mellawyrden.livejournal.com]

What a pretty snake.. Best of luck with him/her.

and ~YES~ to your thoughts about Christopher Eccleston!

I vote for Severus.

The snake has that same look in its eye, commanding: "READ!!"

[smu.livejournal.com]

Aw. He's adorable. Like I want to give him a hug.

[mlle-rouge.livejournal.com]

What a gorgeous little one! And I vote for Severus Snake, definitely.

[stillsostrange.livejournal.com]

Aww. He(sheit) is gorgeous.

[niamh-sage.livejournal.com]

I don't know much about snakes, but that one is beautiful. I hope it settles in well!

[sovay]

So, for now, we have pet #3, a young Storeria, which shall either be named Edward Drinker Cope (Drinker, for short) or Severus Snake. We haven't yet decided.

That is a gorgeous little snake. He looks like a Severus to me, but I have a soft spot for classical names.

It also occurred to me that Basil Rathbone has a certain resemblance to Christopher Eccleston, and I got to thinking how wonderful it would be to see Eccleston play Holmes.

I'd watch that.

[sclerotic-rings.livejournal.com]

I vote for "Drinker": the snake has his look all over it. (I'm presuming that you haven't sexed it yet: I know nothing about DeKay's snakes, so I definitely want regular updates as to its status and habits.) Sadly, I'm not all that surprised by the response from the PetSmart guy: when it comes to reptile supplies, I shun PetSmart, mostly because of the incredible ignorance of the people manning the reptile section. Of course, it's not any better anywhere else: the only Petco employee I knew who honestly enjoyed manning the reptiles section quit to take a job at the Dallas Zoo for better pay and less customer abuse, and I couldn't blame her in the slightest.

[humglum.livejournal.com]

This particular idiot is the same one who sold us Chiana. He acted like we were trying to buy a rabid squirrel, or something. "Are you sure?" "They tend to bite."
I saw him a few weeks later, while I was browsing the rodent supplies. He didn't remember me but asked "what kind of critter" I had and I told him we have a winter white dwarf. He wanted to know how it was going, and I said she got tame really fast and only ever gently nipped to taste my fingers if I smelled like food. He acted surprised and said "occasionally" they get a good one because they tend to be mean.

Yeah. Whatever.

As for Drinker. It appears to have eaten a small snail. I got a tiny slug, small earthworm and another snail from outside, all of which are residing on a plastic lid with some moss and dirt so they won't expire. Hopefully Drinker will snack again soon.

[sclerotic-rings.livejournal.com]

So I take it you're completely sold on the name "Drinker"? Again, you don't hear me complaining: this comes from the man who named his little gray kitten "Leiber", and had a succession of savannah monitors named "Gwangi", "Afsan", and "Steadman". (The last was because of his temperament: within five minutes of getting him home, the little monster had the entire interior of his cage resembling a Ralph Steadman painting. In his case, the comment "Ten pound shit, one ounce bag" was probably literally true.)

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

So I take it you're completely sold on the name "Drinker"?

I think we're both leaning that way. Not only does it honour one of my favourite paleontologists, it brings to mind the Jurassic hypsilophodontid ornithischian of the same name (also, of course, named for Cope). Plus, one of the first things sheheit (not yet sexed) did upon being placed in her tank was drink. So...

Maybe, if all goes well, this will lead to me acquiring a couple more snakes. I'd love to have an Eastern kingsnake named Severus, and we could always named a milk snake Othniel.

[txtriffidranch.livejournal.com]

And considering the work Cope did with North American reptiles and amphibians, it's perfectly reasonable that he be honored this way. No complaints. (Me, I'm not quite so good with names: I'm still ashamed that I found a beautiful speckled kingsnake 25 years ago this summer and promptly named it "Plissken". Boy, I was dumb back then.)

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

And considering the work Cope did with North American reptiles and amphibians, it's perfectly reasonable that he be honored this way.

Indeed, Cope I have often wondered if Cope does not deserve to be remembered more for his work as a neoherpetologist than his duels with Marsh. There's Copeia, at least.

[gallifreyangoth]

Oh, he's darling! I think Drinker would be a nifty name. He looks like a Drinker.

[cause-catyljan.livejournal.com]

He's very attractive. Love the inquisitive look on his face in the first one. Definitely found the right place to hole up in...

[stsisyphus.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, (s)heit's freaking cute. I hate calling things cute. But Drinker is freaking cute. I nearly gushed.

I'm all about some Drinker. There's probably any number of snake names derived from the Potter novels. "Drinker" gives any serpent added distinction and dignity.

[broknmirrorgirl.livejournal.com]

i never thought i would use the word cute to describe a snake, but he is indeed just that.

i always feel a little crazy leaving comments here because i have such admiration for you, but i wanted you to know that i received alabaster in the mail yesterday and it was one of the first times i've really smiled since monday - when my house was broken into and my ibook which contains everything i've written or worked on creatively in the last year was stolen. so i guess i wanted to say thank you for being who you are and doing what you do.

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

but i wanted you to know that i received alabaster in the mail yesterday and it was one of the first times i've really smiled since monday - when my house was broken into and my ibook which contains everything i've written or worked on creatively in the last year was stolen. so i guess i wanted to say thank you for being who you are and doing what you do.

You're very welcome, and I am so sorry to hear of the break-in and the iBook theft, having just been through that shit ourselves. May the days ahead be kinder.

[sleepycyan.livejournal.com]

He's beautiful. I love the amber color of his eyes. :)

[sovay]

Nothing to do with snakes: I found this review of Arthur Machen's The Hill of Dreams (1907), and when I saw this paragraph—

In the final analysis, Arthur Machen in Hill of Dreams successfully merges appearance with internal mystery, suggesting the different truths singing beyond each. He suggests a flaw in our observational abilities to interpret truth vs. image, symbol vs. meaning. His words, inspiring awe and terror, are a testament to the lasting value of the horror story, emphasizing the powers lurking within the fringes of experiences too horrible and, at times, too beautiful for the mortal mind to comprehend without the filtering lens of art.

—I thought it could as easily be applied to you, too.

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

I thought it could as easily be applied to you, too.

Okay. You just hit the stupid frelling blush response that I would not even possess if I did not have to hide my true Nebari self.

But, alas, I am no Machen.

[sovay]

But, alas, I am no Machen.

I don't know about that.

[setsuled.livejournal.com]

The last of the four is my favourite of the bunch — mostly because Patricia Morison makes such a delightful femme fatale

I kind of liked Henry Daniell as Moriarty in The Woman in Green.

It also occurred to me that Basil Rathbone has a certain resemblance to Christopher Eccleston, and I got to thinking how wonderful it would be to see Eccleston play Holmes.

That's an interesting thought. You know, I can't think of an actor living to-day better suited to the role, except maybe Patrick Stewart.

Is that a gorgeous little snake or what?

That's a gorgeous little snake. Though I can't help feeling a little sorry for the orange cat . . .

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

That's a gorgeous little snake. Though I can't help feeling a little sorry for the orange cat . . .

Nah, she was a well-fed little pussy.

Actually, domestic cats are wreaking havoc with many snakes and lizard species in North American (and elsewhere).

[setsuled.livejournal.com]

Nah, she was a well-fed little pussy.

You're trying to make a joke about pussies eating snakes, aren't you?! By gad, what makes you think I'd stand for such things, really!

I'll overlook this indiscretion only because of my deep respect for you. Now, then, let me congratulate you again on not only finding such a fine, sturdy, specimen of snake whose head lifts with a clearly sensitive exuberance, but also on taking him into your warm, loving home. Knowing little of snakes, mind you, I somehow think you must keep him somewhere moist and close. It pleases me to think of him stretching, nestled in the glowing and dewy folds of your care.

Now, no more dirty language!

[greygirlbeast.livejournal.com]

I'll overlook this indiscretion only because of my deep respect for you. Now, then, let me congratulate you again on not only finding such a fine, sturdy, specimen of snake whose head lifts with a clearly sensitive exuberance, but also on taking him into your warm, loving home. Knowing little of snakes, mind you, I somehow think you must keep him somewhere moist and close. It pleases me to think of him stretching, nestled in the glowing and dewy folds of your care.

*snork*

No, really.

[lunablack.livejournal.com]

Aaaaaaaawww! Cuuuuuute!

I'm voting for Ed.

[stardustgirl.livejournal.com]

I also never thought I'd use the word "cute" and "snake" together. Pretty, yes, but cute? Never. But Drinker is definitely cute - and I didn't realize they could be so small.

[chn-breathmint.livejournal.com]

Drinker looks to be an incredibly adorable critter. How you found him/her reminds me of how once found a flying tree snake (Chrysopelea paradisi) on the footpath at the Singapore zoo. Most of those snakes live wild and free-range in the patch of land the zoo is on.

It was busy sunning itself in a patch of light and had flipped over to warm its tummy some. When I stood at a respectful distance to study it, it obligingly rolled over to show me its attractive stripes and blunt nose.

Then it continued sunning itself some more.

That was the first time I thought snakes could be cute rather than imposing and handsome.

In that same visit I got to see the wondrous sight of an anaconda shedding its skin and luxuriating in the pond in its vivarium; it was a fairly sizeable individual and it was pure luck getting there when it was ready to molt.

- Mel

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

How lovely! I especially like the top picture.

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

Lovely snake. "Nake" was my son's first word. Obviously a well brought up child. (preen)