Westman Reptile Gardens

Monday, August 14, 2006

Westman Reptile Gardens

It was a six hour round trip to the Westman Reptile Gardens, but it was worth it. We actually estimated the time to get there pretty well all things considered.

I was out late last night with the astronomy crew so I'm a bit limp today. We couldn't stay as long as I'd have liked, but it was good enough just to get a peek through a commercial telescope in the same range as my home built one. I got to look at familiar objects and I was very happy to find my scope not lacking in anyway.

In fact, it has some advantages as far as viewing comfort goes. At least I don't have to be bent over.

More rain yesterday and today, but the sky cleared as we wound our way westward into the rolling hills and up off the plain. We stopped to pick porcupine quills from some road kill. We had a good gander at the wind mills experimentally generating electricity close to St. Leon. I love being around these massive wind mills. The sound they make is as pleasing to me as the motion and style of the engineering. Manon took a short 2 meg video of the one we were parked under.

Dave and his wife Candy were gracious hosts what for them was a busy business day. They have a fabulous collection of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. The massive reticulated pythons and their like, were sobering to say the least. There was also a large American crocodile that looked too big to work with in any meaningful way, but Dave obviously handles things pretty well.

Manon hung back when the "boys" were talking breeding and trading with Dave. Candy took her under her wing and had her handling all kinds of lizards and such. Manon like the Chameleons quite a bit.

We stopped in to visit a great aunt of mine, but she was out at the big Criddle homestead festivities. We drove by the signs, but I missed my cue. The Criddles have cropped up in conversations fairly frequently over the last few years. My Mum went to university with one of the Criddle boys. They were cultured people with time to sketch Northern skinks, tend to telescopes and numerous other amateur science projects. The telescope apparently sits in the museum at Wawanesa. Someday maybe I won't be in such a hurry to keep moving so quickly.

Here are the still images from the day.