In the book I'm reading, I'm in the middle of a chapter dealing with the consequences of introducing (either on purpose or by accident) "non-native" species into a habitat. Nasty things can happen. Native species can be driven to extinction. People can die. Death Cap mushrooms anyone? Yep. They're not native. Then there's the Cane Toad. Check out the documentary, now on DVD (creatively entitled "Cane Toads"), for the whole story. The list goes on. Wherever you are, there's bound to be something there with you that came from somewhere else. Of course, you came from somewhere else too. I came from somewhere else. If we we are to be consistent about trying to put everything back where it came from, we have to take a long, hard look at ourselves too. And how long does a species have to be in residence before it can be considered native? 100 years? 1000 years? An epoch? An age?

This was on my mind as our group of BioSITE facilitators wandered down to the Guadalupe River today. Of course, going back to bed was also on my mind, but I digress... Imagine my surprise to see a small turtle floating in the river. I pointed it out to the others, and snuck up on it. The fact that I could sneak up on it should have tipped me off. Every other turtle I've ever tried to sneak up on has seen me from a mile away and vanished into the water. This one bumbled along in the current, and was easy to pick up. You can probably see where this is leading... I grabbed the turtle and discovered that it was a (gasp) "non-native" turtle! Just like the Bullfrogs that also call this river home. Just like the Pigeons nearby. We decided to make the turtle, a Red-eared Slider, our BioSITE mascot, and it is currently sleeping in a tank at the foot of my bed. I had to buy various turtle supplies today, and still need to get a couple of additional things, but soon everything will be as it should be. The turtle is now back where it came from, more or less, because I'm reasonably certain that it was a pet before it was thoughtlessly tossed into the Guadalupe.

Tonight I wore a jacket for the first time this season. Welcome autumn.

cds I listened to while realizing that I belong to an introduced species: Once again, all various artists: Heavenly Voices III", "Onore Alle Arti", "NWOBHM Vol.3", "Hate People Like Us" (People Like Us remix/tribute cd), and "Mitten Ins Ohr" (Krautrock!)