Andrew Quick

06/16/2025

Let the Joro Spider! Not only can it fly, but it's also venomous.
Experts are warning residents of the northeastern U.S. to watch out for this invasive species that is coming your way. People in several states, including Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, and Ohio has already reported sightings of the Joro spider.
The Joro Spider is hard to miss as it has 4 inch long legs, FLIES by using its web in a balloning technique, and is venomous.

06/16/2025

North America’s common box turtle (Terrapene carolina) is found throughout the eastern United States and much of Mexico. For people who do not know turtles very well, almost every North American turtle they see is erroneously a “box turtle.” The real box turtle is distinctive, with a high-domed carapace (upper shell), and a hinged plastron (lower shell) allowing the turtle to completely enclose itself within its shell to evade predators. There are a total of seven recognized species of box turtles in the same genus, with three recognized subspecies of the common box turtle.

North American box turtles are declining due to habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation, in addition to human activity. Many die attempting to cross roads. The species has been assessed as being vulnerable to extinction. As with many reptiles, and especially turtles, box turtles are long-lived, and slow to reproduce, making any population declines much more significant. These charismatic turtles are omnivores, and are known to eat a wide variety of animals and plants. Their home ranges are surprisingly small, varying roughly between 0.4 and 15 acres; for better context, the lower end of that range is smaller than a football field. All of this means that these turtles cannot be moved far without causing them harm. Additionally, their widely varied diet means that these turtles have complicated needs, which cannot be easily met under human care. While it can be tempting to keep a box turtle found in a roadway as a pet, removing that turtle from the wild may be detrimental to the local population. It may also be illegal due to state protections.

If you see a box turtle in the road, and can safely help it cross, move it only in the direction it was headed across that road. It has a destination in mind. It is so important that more people understand the challenges our native reptiles are facing, and help conserve them.
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The photograph used in this post shows a juvenile eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) observed crossing a road. The photo was taken by Dominic and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. The image was not altered for use in this post.
View license information here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

10/22/2022

08/12/2022

If it fits, I sits.

“Catcus” alert! 🌵Sitting on a throne of spines, this bobcat was observed at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona. Perhaps, it was scanning the landscape for a tasty treat? The height of the cactus provides a good lookout station. But what about the spines? Bobcats are very adept climbers. They also have very thick foot pads that protect them from the sharp spines of a Saguaro cactus. The combination of being proficient climbers with their clawed and thickly padded paws allows the bobcat to climb these cacti without any injuries.

Fun fact: Not all bobcats are named Bob. That’s it. That’s the fact.

Image: Bobcat in a sticky situation as it perches on the arm of a large cactus. NPS

05/16/2022

Working on this big splitting double lead Hackberry now. It's got main lines and service lines all around it and partially leans over the house. Already took off a huge lead that went from the back of the house directly over the middle to the front yard. It's a beast!

04/14/2022

We finished this ivy covered leaning Hackberry yesterday without harming a leaf on the lace leaf Japanese maple.

12/12/2019

A couple pics of the last jobs.