Maui Mollusk Recap

So I’m back from Maui and fully recovered. I’ve gone through the grieving process that I’m not there any more. So now is the time to report on the mollusks that I saw. The short version: I didn’t see much in the way of mollusks. The longer version: I saw no terrestrial mollusks. The first [...]

Read Full Post »

Mollusks I’ve met: a slug!

It’s not too glamorous, but hey. When you live in New York City, wildlife that isn’t pigeons, cockroaches, and rats is a welcome sight. I chaperoned a high school field trip to the wilds of New Jersey in the spring, during which there was lots of rock flipping and rooting around in the wilderness for [...]

Read Full Post »

Other invertebrates (including more mollusks) of Golden Gardens

So last time I just focused on the chitons, but there were many other very cool creatures to be seen at Golden Gardens during the minus tide on Memorial Day. One of the very first things we saw as we walked toward where the shore birds were swooping (including one bald eagle!) was a sunflower [...]

Read Full Post »

Mollusks I’ve met: chitons!

I was in Seattle over Memorial Day weekend for a wedding, and there was a minus tide Monday morning. I couldn’t resist a chance to see some of the creatures that live in this most beloved habitat of mine. Seattle has a few spots to go tidepooling, but the one closest to where I was [...]

Read Full Post »

Mollusks I’ve met: East Coast Aquariums, part I

I’m back from epic holiday travels, where I spent some amount of time in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. I drove through five of those states on the same day, in fact. I was so fortunate during this time to visit two aquariums! I have been to both before, but I [...]

Read Full Post »

It’s Octopus Day!

Happy Cephalopod Awareness Days! For more about the history, see this post on the Cephalopodiatrist. Today is Octopus Day. For today I wrote a teensy poem and I’ll share this photo of a North Pacific Giant Octopus I saw at the Seattle Aquarium. I don’t know if it’s the geometry of the enclosure or if [...]

Read Full Post »

Mystery Snails and Giant Whales

During my recent trip to the American Museum of Natural History, I stumbled upon a section I’d never been to before: The Hall of Mollusks! That’s not really what it’s called. I wish I had written down the name of the exhibition, because it was named after a person. Hopefully next time I’m there it’ll [...]

Read Full Post »

Sea Lemon?

Nope. Harlem Meer orange. This amused me to no end when I saw it floating in the Meer the other day while I was checking out the cypress knees along the shore. It immediately reminded me of one of the more common nudibranchs to spot along the coast in the Bay Area, known as the [...]

Read Full Post »

Mollusks I’ve met: La Jolla Cove

I’m back from two trips, one to San Diego, CA, for work, and another to Middle Haddam, CT, for a wedding, and there’s a lot to report. The most exciting is La Jolla Cove, the first place I visited after I set my bags down in the hotel. Behold: (photo credit: Bashar A) I didn’t [...]

Read Full Post »

Mollusk Music Review: Joanna Newsom

Joanna Newsom is one of my favorite musicians out there. She’s got all sorts of things to love: a voice that definitely qualifies as an “acquired taste,” harp skills, an interesting sense of melody and song structure, and poetic lyrics. My favorite of her albums thus far is her first, and one of my favorite [...]

Read Full Post »