FISH! FISH! FISH! (In France)

WHAT'S THIS????

SO MANY FISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the high points of our visit to Versailles was the surprising appearance of a swarm of voracious fish. They lived at Marie Antoinette's Hamlet and were content to go into a feeding frenzy at the slightest provocation from any visiting tour group. In the video below, please note the young Europeans boys screaming "Mama Mia!" Also notice the one super huge fish that surfaces for a split second. What the heck is up that that monster fish?!?!?!?!?

When I was in second or third grade, our class was brought to a trout farm somewhere in Massachusetts. The trout were so thick in those man made streams that I remember trying to sleep the night after our visit, and only seeing writhing pools of fish when I closed my eyes. This visit in France transported me again to that childhood moment.

Your Annual Cicada Post

The song of the majestic Cicada is one of the ever present features of summer, and nowhere does it feel more appropriate than in the thick of record breaking heat.
This summer looks like it will be the hottest one ever in Austin, TX. And during one of our 100+ degree days I came across this little fellow singing his song closer to the ground than usual.

I've documented my love for cicadas in other posts filed from all over the country, most notably here and also here. Next year I hope to take my obsession one step further, by asking you, my loyal readers, to donate dead cicadas they find to my ever expanding taxidermied insect collection. But this summer's cicada season has passed, and all we have left are this beautiful memories.

You Mock Me

The mocking bird is the state bird of Texas, so it seemed fitting that I ran into this one on a visit to the San Jose Mission in San Antonio. Personally, I feel that I have seen more of these birds around Central Texas lately, but I could simply be noticing them more for one reason or another. While mocking birds aren't particularly striking to look at, their complicated songs and ability to emulate noises make them on of the most compelling species in all of birdom. Please check the video below of this little fellow performing for you.


And if you haven't had enough mocking after that, you can check out this classic Saturday Night Live sketch with John Malkovich. He plays a man who sees mockery everywhere, except where it really is.

Awesome Friendly Turtle

I should point out that I identify this turtle as a "Box Turtle" in the video. I'm pretty sure that it isn't. Its just that i was so excited to be having lunch with such a big turtle I got confused. What si this, like a Galapagos turtle?

The Cave of the Water Spider

The video posted above stands as a testiment to the fact that Creature Comforts (TM) will go to every length possible to deliver the worlds BEST nature photography. In our voyage up Bull Creek we risked life and limb to photograph one of the largest spiders that ever lived. As you can see, I almost died!

Creature Comforts, After Hours

This video was shot of host MJB partying in a chic Manhattan nightspot with canine celebrity "Mr. Henderson." Rather than let the press have a field day, Creature Comforts has gotten ahead of the speculation and released the video here first. While the humor is a little "blue," it simply portrays two old friends having a good time. I ask that you bare in mind that producing and hosting your own nationally-syndicated web log can be very stressful and it is sometimes necessary to blow off a little steam.

Creature Comforts Goes VIDEO!

Wow! It sure was awesome seeing Ron at the Austin Zoo this weekend! As you can tell I'm experimenting with a new format which includes some video webcasts. Do drop a line and let me know what you think. I'm thinking the video lets me show better how some animals move, (or in some cases, don't move). In other news, I've decided I might not offer a single species series again for a while. I felt a little O.D.ed on spiders by the end of last week. Fortunately, my excursion to the zoo allowed me to make tons of new friends and stock up on many more ANIMAL PICS! So, how do we look on film?