It's a rainy Saturday, which is a bit unusual for June. I'm inside listening to music, and have resolved to do nothing productive today.

Jeanine and I have been continuing our long walks through the suburbs and beyond, increasing our reach nearly every time we go out. I've now walked or ridden over 184 miles since we started keeping track sometime back in April. The majority of those miles were walked. Yesterday, we took a 7+ mile walk down the Los Gatos Creek Trail and back, and discovered a perfect Alligator Lizard attempting to sun itself on a sidewalk. Given the weather, it only succeeded in clouding itself. It cocked its head and favored us with a suspicious glare before turning and disappearing into a nearby Agapanthus. It looked like it had recently shed, and it had its original tail, which I'd guess is unusual for a suburban Alligator Lizard. Cats and dogs can be hard on local lizard populations.

We also ran into a woman with a Red-Eared Slider that she'd found on the trail. It had probably come out of the creek or nearby percolation ponds in an attempt to lay its eggs, and she'd caught it thinking it was a pet. Since Sliders are an invasive species, she was at least half right. It was either a released pet or the descendent of one. Not knowing what to do with it, she tried to give it to me. I told her that she might as well just put it back in the creek, since there is already such a well established population of them locally. I don't have it in me to kill invasive species just because of the thoughtlessness of some long ago pet owner. Maybe that makes me a bad conservationist, but sometimes the proper action clashes with my personal inclinations. After all, given my European descent, I'm an invasive species too, and I definitely don't want anybody killing me. Sometimes the barn door just stays open.

I did once keep a Slider for a short amount of time. I'd found it in the Guadalupe River. It's damn time consuming to care for semi aquatic species. I ended up bringing to the children's museum where I worked at the time, and if I remember right, it eventually ended up at a turtle rescue organization.

This coming week is the last week of outdoor school before the lazy madness of Summer begins. It's hard to believe this given the very Winter-like weather we're experiencing at the moment. Due to budgetary concerns, Willow and her siblings only get 1 free week of summer camp this year, which disappoints them greatly. As for me, I'll just be thankful that they've gotten whole summers of free camp for the last several years.

Currently listening to: Marissa Nadler "s/t"