HAPPY HALLOWEEN! HAPPY SAMHAIN! HAPPY SUMMER'S END!
Here in West Texas I'm often glad when summer ends, with triple digit temps from spring through fall having worn out their welcome. This year's October ice storm in Lubbock is a less common occurrence, but it was a welcome 'event' (as they refer to weather here) for this displaced Midwestern soul. I never thought I'd miss the Midwest winters, but I do. I hope that many of you are also experiencing cooler fall temperatures and perhaps enjoying the fruits of your own harvests of the season.
At any rate, I know that this is the post you've all been waiting for, so I'll get to it. Well, okay, it's the post I've been waiting for. I've been sitting on these photos for awhile and it's been a real challenge not sharing them until today. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do and that they offer you a few smiles and laughs on this last day of October 2020.
Rare Giant Blue Nose Spider [Non-Venomous]
Below you'll see photo evidence of the rare MidWestTexas Giant Blue Nose Spider. I believe these are the only existing photos of this rare species.
It appears that this species likes peanut butter, though it seemed to be agitated by its stickiness. I'll have to observe the creature in this state further to make an accurate report.
[When I first saw these on the computer I couldn't stop laughing. It's the combination of funny lip-smacking faces with the oversized cartoon eyeballs that slipped down into precisely the right place on Japhy's head. Click a photo to enlarge.]
More Rare Photo Evidence
I was also able to capture the rare West Texas Chocolate Tarantubull, a variation of the Blue Nose species. This appears to be a young specimen, around 3 months old. In my reports, I outline the interactions between it and the MidWestTexas Giant Blue Nose Spider. While I expected the Giant Blue Nose Spider to devour the smaller Chocolate Tarantubull, after only a short time together they have responded to one another quite agreeably.
I'm utterly stunned by this new species and am looking forward to spending more time familiarizing myself with them in various habitats. They appear to be intelligent, social and surprisingly friendly creatures despite their appearance and reputation for aggressive behavior. I believe that perhaps they are simply misunderstood. They certainly deserve our respect as well as our determined efforts to learn more about them. I intend to give them both of these things as I further my research.
I hope you enjoyed this silly post. Incidentally, October was Pitbull Awareness Month. Here on the Love Dogs blog, we encourage and celebrate Pitbull Awareness everyday. Most of you reading this are already more than aware of how misunderstood and mistreated this breed is within our society, and how time and training go a long way, not just with Pits but with any dog. There's a dog trainer I follow on YouTube who has a motto I like: "No Bad Dogs." He works with some of the most aggressive, behaviorally challenged dogs in the world, and I've found him to be one of the more realistic dog trainers I've watched, advocating for learning to speak the dog's language vs forcing the dog to speak ours. And while (as I've said before here on the blog) "every dog is different," there's one thing I know to be true for them all: they require time and training (training as a collective action, that develops our own understanding of our dogs, as well as our dogs understanding of our expectations for them). And though they may not require it of us, they certainly benefit from a good bit of love.
Whatever you do today to celebrate the beginning of the cold, dark season, be safe, friends.
