Monday, April 18, 2011

parlay view parsnip...


parlay view parsnip..., originally uploaded by angryparsnip.

My Monday blog about what is going around my home in Tucson. . .

Monster !
Gila Monster !

Say Hello to Ethel or Fred, since I can't tell them apart, a Gila
Monster that lives on the west side of my home with a baby I named
Ricky !
Ricky was at my front door the other day and when I open the top of my
double door he was trying out his best open mouth hiss at me. I think
he was showing off.

Gila ( HEE-la ) Monsters Named for the Gila River Basin were they were
first discovered, are the largest about five + pounds and only venomous lizard in the US.
They should be treated with caution and given lots of room... to go
where ever they want to !

It you have ever seen a 1950 Sci-fi movie with a monster/lizard that
walks like a Bull Dog across the landscape ... well that is how these
very lethargic low to the ground, heavy body lizards move across the
desert, much like an Iguana.
Unlike snakes that inject venom, Gila Monsters latch onto their
victims and by digging or chewing on the wound this allow the
neurotoxins into the bite. The bite is extremely painful and the way
their teeth are angled and their strength you have to pry off the
mouth, once they latch on they do not let go. Except for a local
Newspaperman who picked one up a few years ago ? ? ? the last known
bite was around 75 years ago.

Because of human encroachment they are considered a threatened
species. So I am very happy they are letting me share the land we live
on.
Plus, I think they are beautiful much like the designs on Pottery or
Baskets of the Navajo and Hopi people.

desert. . . parsnip
music. . . Magical Beast Farm, Final Fantasy OST

8 comments:

  1. For me there's something scary about the reptilian scales on a lizard, however benign lizards are. But as you say they're also beautiful, like works carved in stone.

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  2. Yes, the pattern is very much like the baskets of the southwest area. I didn't know they were poisonous though. I thought they were more like iguanas. The do look fierce--but very beautiful.

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  3. Hello:
    We do agree about the beauty - another of Nature's wonders - but that is about as far as we go! In all honesty, we should find it very difficult to cope with such a creature outside of the hall door. We wonder how the dogs react?!

    Finally, we did find you previous comment on our second post. So sorry for all of the confused messages.

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  4. William...
    Yes, I think they are rather cute, but know really close up.

    Elisabeth...
    I never really notice the scales but I know many people dislike lizards and snakes. There is a very tiny zebra lizard who when he runs carries his tail up and over his back.

    Joanna...
    I love how rather intricate the patterns are on the Gila Monster. Plus the pink/rosy color is beautiful.

    Jane and Lance...
    You get use to all the nature rules... just another day in Tucson. By the time I got my camera he/she had gone away after telling me what he had to say.

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  5. Haha! I just, like one hour ago, showed a picture of a Gila Monster to my 1st year JHS students (7th grade in the USA) and they all replied "EWWWW"

    I'm bummed that I've yet to see Ethel, Fred and Ricky. :P

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  6. We just have the adder and that is now also an endangered species. Not nearly so exotic as your Gila.

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  7. Actually, rather beautiful once I had got over the shock of thinking it was a snake!

    go to ngorobobhillhouse.blogspot.com
    for the most alarming SNAKE story.....

    Buster sends his best.

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  8. You have dinosaurs in your garden!

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