Animals Are Tight
Finally, it’s time for the long awaited sequel to “Plants Are Tight.” The aptly named, Animals Are Tight. Plants are a good time, and we see them all over the place each and every day. But ultimately, they don’t move around much. They don’t really have eyes. They only eat…sunlight? Animals, on the other hand, can get a little crazy. They move around. They have diverse diets. They appear in a variety of forms. Today, we discuss some of the ones we’ve seen around while cleaning trash.
Here, among the plants, up in Irvington NY, is a deer. This park has a lot of trails, so you know the deer are real used to people getting up close, such as myself in this case. Deer are incredibly common up in that neck of the woods, but they are a lowkey majestic creature. Sleek, elegant, pretty much harmless, herbivores, stewards of the forest. Most of the time you’ll catch them quietly walking around munching on leaves, like some kind of watcher of the land. It’s easy to forget about them because they’re everywhere, but they’re a staple and worth appreciating.
Here we have another majestic creature, this one of a more water dwelling variety. Swans. You may find them cruising around bodies of water in the NY area during the winter. Easily recognizable by their white feathers and long necks, they are mostly likely to just be cruising around, maybe looking for food or otherwise just hanging out.
Their feathers keep them warm, as in the summer they migrate up to the arctic for breeding and nesting, finding the relatively warmer NY biome to be more appropriate in winter. They are pretty much the opposite of human “snowbirds” who fly down to Florida for the winter. Having said that, we don’t have feathers.
I’d be lying if I told you I knew exactly what kind of bird this was, but they also arrive to the NY area in colder months. Many of these similar species of migratory birds migrate south for the winter, and here you’ll catch these ones huddling together on a rock for some reason. They’ve obviously capable of gliding on the water as well but I guess they prefer this method at the time of this picture. Foggy day, which sets the scene. Love it.
Switching gears, we have one of the most prehistoric creatures you can find in a natural environment, pictured above. The Horseshoe Crab, which has not evolved much at all since before dinosaurs. These bad boys are unfortunately rarely found alive nowadays, but they can be found along the northern Atlantic Coast, and really do still look prehistoric. They have a hard shell protecting the soft underbody you see here, as well as the long spine/tail along the back. If you’re interested in reading more about them, I wrote a blog awhile ago, linked here.
Our Florida representative for the wildlife post is the lizard, the above picture of which is one of they many species we see around here. They’re quick, and I believe they eat insects and other small creatures. Unclear if they eat plants as well. This one is a bit of a big body, but other leaner species of lizard even get up on their hind legs when they run, almost like some kind of dinosaur. It’s a spectacle if you get to see it. Since coming down here, we’ve witnessed at least 5 different species of lizard, varying in body makeup and color. Having said that, they share similar mannerisms, such as freezing upon sight and doing weird pushups.
Funnily enough, the biologic reason they do these pushups is to display their strength and signal, “get out of my territory!” It comes off mostly as funny, though, when they’re much smaller than humans and are at the apartment building pool, which is my territory.
We also found this incredible wildlife specimen on a clean one time….
Dinosaurs are real, and still around. There’s photo evidence for you.
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