FARE THEE WELL, MY SLITERHING COMPADRES

Last Friday was my last day as a wildlife biologist, and I will miss it. A lot of good came out of that job: plenty of cool animals, new experiences, awesome coworkers. And now it’s over. No more traipsing around the beautiful California countryside, driving pickups off road, wading through waters that supply all of San Francisco. Oh well.

I took some pictures of a sharp-tailed snake (Contia tenuis) I got on my last day. They’re very small snakes that you might not see if you weren’t looking for them. Their tails end in sharp, horned points, and they are adorable.

I also took a few shots of these spiders we’ve been getting in the traps for the past month or so. I hadn’t taken a close look at them until this, but I think they might actually be mygalomorphs, that is, related to tarantulas. They have that look about them. But, as usual, I’ve having a hell of a time finding reliable ID information for local spiders. Maybe a little digging in the library tomorrow will unmask this guy.