h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Journal entries:

Tuesday, 17 August , 2010
Yesterday

Found a serpent in my garden last week while watering early in the morning, inadvertently washing away a layer of sand it had buried itself under to sleep.

The serpent reared, bared its fangs, hissed... then grumpily tucked its head back into its coils and went back to sleep.

At that point, I didn't know quite what kind of serpent it was since it was wet and all covered with sand.

Later in the day I got a good look at it coiled up in a cool and damp hollow under a gladiolus.

It proved to be a magnificent desert racer, somewhat over five feet in length, which is exceptionally large.

This one is a non-venomous reptile that subsists primarily on crickets, occasional small rodents, but also preys on small rattlesnakes.

It can stay as long as it likes.




http://www.californiaherps.com/noncal/northwest/nwsnakes/pages/c.c.mormon.html



Thursday, 19 August, 2010
38 Minutes Ago

Found on my return from the Perris Valley this morning, about 1:30am PST, that the serpent had given birth under the front porch. Cute little devils, about 8" long, slithering at the high speed that gives the Desert Racer its name across the garden water puddling on the front step, hydroplaning.

I hadn't been aware that they gave birth to live young.

pic's
non poisonous are the best (safety) and also keeps vermin down, great if they stay in your area

Really quite a tickle watching them hydroplaning in the garden water pooling on the front step. The exuberance of youth! They really seem to get a kick out of their water sports.

I'm glad you can tell the difference between non and poisonousI'd do it from a distance with binoculars

Found on my return from the Perris Valleywas it a good trip ?
http://www.skydiveperris.com/

When it tucked its head back into its coils and went back to sleep, I knew it didn't intend any trouble.

Basics for the American southwest, if it hasn't got rattles at the tip of its tail, its not a rattlesnake, which pretty much exhausts the possibilities for venomous serpents in the American southwest. There are of course a considerable number of different rattlesnake species, I can recall a new species being discovered as late as the 1990s.

http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/rattlesnakesounds.html

1. Diamond shaped head, accomodating enlarged modified salivary glands which produce venom.

2. Rattles on tail.

If you hear the serpent rattling (more like a buzz), freeze, look around until you find it, then quietly back away.

Venomous serpents of the American southeast include the Cottonmouth Water Moccasin, which is an extremely aggressive venomous water snake, which will follow a fish caught by a fisherman onto shore and take it away from them, the copperhead, an exceptionally robust pit viper which lacks rattles, and the extremely colorful coral snake, notable for the parallel red, white and black bands circling its body.

This last one, unlike the other north American venomous snakes, otherwise uniformly pit vipers, is a member of the cobra family. There are several other serpents which closely resemble it, but the coral snake is found only in the American south east.

I grew up with garter snakes and ribbon snakes.

On the trip to the Perris Valley, routine, twice a month venture. Ran my Mom out to her medical appointments, did some shopping, soaked in my sister's swimming pool, picked up some stir fry bananas from her dwarf banana tree.

The bananas have triploid chromosomes, only make good fruit when pollinated. When unpollinated the flowers produce a small green bean or little finger sized fruit after the flower drops that doesn't mature but has a slightly tart flavor like green beans or 'nopalitos', tender slices of cactus pads. Those are the ones I use in stir fry.

The banana tree, which produces copious honesuckle sized flowers oozing a resinous nectar, has recently been discovered by the hummingbirds, with eight of them hanging around it.

I have a friend who goes in for regular sky diving but its not my thing. Haven't seen him in a while.

I'm not into skydiving either.

Garter snakes aren't unusual in southern California, with an iridescent coat very similar to the desert racer and very similar head, but smaller.

http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/snakesid/gartersnakes.id.html

On recreational skydiving in the Perris Valley, rather than being equivalent to a 14 foot free jump as with an old fashioned parasol type parachute, with the more modern hang-glider chutes they actually use, according to my friend, one simply walks out of the landing.

I was dreaming last night that I had not won the lottery for some time.
When I awoke I was amazed to find that my dream had come true.

Last night I dreamed that some persistent friend (a dream-friend, not someone I know in real life) was trying to interest me in tasting slices of some bread he had just made. It featured tiny bits of salami and ham.

I cooked two whole-meal loaves yesterday, and have already eaten one of them with Flora and Co-op cheese. This was not a dream, so no wonder I am getting so fat, I do not add sausages; only in your dreams would I do that.

What is Flora?

http://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/foodbrands/Flora.aspx

one of our margarine brands

http://www.co-operative.coop/food/

co-op

I only use real butter and olive oil myself, about a pound of butter and half a gallon of olive oil per year, along with a quarter pound of cocoa butter for pan cakes in the winter. If I were doing baking, I'd be using soybean oil or peanut oil.

I distrust shortening, so I grind up nuts and use them instead when I bake. Although I steer clear of butter, it's very hard to find alternatives that are much better. Most margarines contain partly-hydrogenated oils (i.e. transfats), which are worse than lard and butter. I can only find two brands of margarine that lack hydrogenated oils, so I use those two.

For soups amd stews, I use olive oil. For lubricatintg the bottoms of loaf pans, I use canola oil.

olive oil, olive oil, olive oil and - once or twice per year - butter if I can get my hands on really good steaks

i found a nice olive oil flavoured with truffels

if you can get it, try the oil from "Il Fornaio", it doesn't get any better than that!

Bad things about Flora.....the orangutan is endagered...its habitat is being lost to people who cut down forests to provide land for the farming of crops used to make mergarines.