It's been a wildlife-filled couple days.

When we were kids, we used to try to get our parents to move (and take us with) to Florida, or Hawaii, or someplace like that. She said she'd never live anywhere where snakes would fall onto her head. I used to laugh at her and tell her that something like that would be highly unlikely in the wild, and since she never goes anywhere other than home, Disney World and shopping malls, it'd never happen.

Having shared that little anekdote, and since she's happily moved to Florida of her own choosing, I'll refrain from telling her that yesterday, when I opened the back door of their new house, a baby red rat snake fell from the top of the door, into the house, missing my head by inches.

Since I was not 100% certain that I was correct in identifying it as a red rat snake, I scooped it into an empty fast food drink cup and brought it to my brother, who confirmed it was what I thought. We then let it go in his yard. Of course, while at his place, I played with wolves, a cockatoo, a conure, a mocking bird, Argentine and Columbian tegus, two species of iguana, alligators, turtles, and the omnipresent anoles.

There's also a cockatiel and quaker parakeet at my mom's place.

Today, my dad and I got up early and met my brother at his place, and we drove to the Atlantic to go fishing. I'v actually never fished in the ocean before, other than a couple times trying to cast someone else's rod. We first went to the Atlantic side of the barrier island, and stood in the surf and fished. I caught nothing, but it was actually a lot of fun trying to stay on my feet while waves kept doing their best to knock me off my feet, while trying to either cast or reel in the line.

After a half hour or so of that, we went over to the lagoon side of the island, along with an extra pound or so of sand in my shorts. As soon as we walked out onto the fishing pier, a manatee swam by. A few minutes later, several dolphins passed by. My brother caught a few puffer fish with both hook and line and a casting net, and my dad caught a catfish. My brother also cought a sea trout and some other fish we couldn't identify. I caught my finger and the roof of the fishing gazebo. I also ended up in the lagoon myself, because I lost my fishing float over the edge of the pier and wasn't about to let it float away.

I also brought back a strangler fig sapling.

This evening, I noticed three raccoons asleep at the top of a palm tree next to my parents' house. I went up on the roof through my mom's bedroom window, and was first met by a tree frog, which my mom told me lived on her window. I then spent some time photographing the raccoons.

ah virgil. you may keep ripping off homer's linguistic style, and i still resent you for putting the main verb and relative clause three lines down from their main noun (i'm talking about pallas' death here, don't pretend you don't remember), but mostly i do love you. we just have a bit of a love/hate thing going on sometimes. you have to understand that trying to learn roughly 600 lines of latin, plus the english translation, not to mention all your funny little stylistic techniques (oh your emphatic placement slays me as do your insistant parentheses) and the implicit meaning behind some of your phrases, is a little trying sometimes. it can get a touch too much when the air outside is a welcoming temperature, and the sky only faintly dusted with clouds, while i'm sitting at my desk trying to get my head round your persistant use of litotes and asyndeton. it would be nice if you could poke a little fun at yourself from time to time as well. nothing major, just be a little crude, have some innuendo baby! i know there's the part where that man falls off aeneas' ship, and i'm sure it's very witty in its place, but unfortunately i don't translate that bit. i'm trying to relish in thoas' shattered skull mixing with his bloody brains, but its getting a little tired virgil. let's spice things up a bit.

Sir Christopher Wren did a magnificent job with all of the architecture there; I love the symmetry and columned covered walkways and white stone and all of that. I don't know any real architectural terms, otherwise I'd be able to give you a better description. It was the kind of place that I would have just sat and read a book in, I think. It felt very... classic and academic and sophisticated. I liked it. (Notice the symmetry of the buildings in the picture above.)