Our local library has the best storytime ever (hooray for Heidi!) and every summer invites Steve the "Reptile Guy" to come do his Creature Feature presentation. Most of the exotic reptiles are repeats every year, but we are always amazed and intrigued.
Here, Steve points to the brightly-colored mouth of the barking gecko. It opens its mouth wide and makes a barking sound to warn off predators. It can also cling to just about any vertical surface with positively-charged pads on its feet, a technology that NASA is apparently researching.
I can't remember the name of this snake. It's some kind of South American viper and has the fastest strike speed of any snake in the world. I'm not sure how you clock that sort of thing, but Steve said it strikes at 95 mph. It has beautiful markings and a little upturned horn on its nose. You'd think I'd remember the name since this one is my favorite. It's so interesting to look at.
At the end of the show, after bringing out a rattlesnake and a king cobra, Steve allows for some hands-on experience. Here a bunch of children, including Maggie (far right) and Adah (in the middle, head down, in a gray shirt) sniff this python that actually smells like buttered popcorn!
Adah tried on this snake, necklace style. I don't know its name either. I do know that its markings are similar to a more well-known venomous snake, but this one is not venomous. It's just a copycat, trying to bluff everyone. At this point of the show I was pretty busy wrangling Gunnar who had long since lost interest and was more intent on playing with blocks in the children's book section than touching snakes.
Maggie just went for a light petting, rather than neckwear.
We think libraries are the best and provide such wonderful resources for communities. The community across the river from us just failed to pass a levy to keep their library open as the county pulled funding. I think it's a shame that people didn't vote for it and hope that if any of you are facing similar elections will consider the value of the library in your community. Even if you can afford to buy all of your own books, there are so many people who can't, and libraries have so many programs and features beyond the books. Keep them open!!
2 comments:
I couldn't agree with you more. I have become incredibly pro-library since moving to the Gorge! I love our little library.
I'm bummed we missed Creature Feature this year. Oh, the snake in the last pictures--king snake. The venomous look-alike is the coral snake.
I am with you on the value of libraries. When Dad and I are too old to wander we will get a bus pass and library card for our entertainment. Hope there are still some around!
Love the new look of the blog.
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