November 5, 2010

That's What Little Girls Are Made Of...


Sugar and Spice
Author: Unknown
Sugar and spice
and everything nice
that's what little girls are made of

Sunshine and rainbows
and ribbons for hair bows
that's what little girls are made of

Tea parties, laces
and baby doll faces
that's what little girls are made of
While my daughter's 18th birthday celebration was not conventional, it was completely a reflection of her unique personality!  The guests in attendance were mostly family and long-time family friends along with a   few "unusual" exceptions.  The tortoise above weighed in at 50 pounds and was nearly 18 years old!


He would have preferred all the perennials in the garden over the fruit.   If it weren't for the luck of having fruit in the crisper drawer and the diligence of the girls who brought him to the party, it could have been ugly!  These wonderful girls spent the hour distracting him from the tasty offerings of the flower beds.  No small task when you're talking about a determined 50 pound tortoise!


This Emperor Scorpion was the only poisonous guest at the party.  The handler assured us that he was a "calm" scorpion and that he rarely stings.  My daring daughter was the only one willing to hold him and did so gladly and with relish!


This Milk snake's markings mimic that of the Coral snake which is fairly common in the area where we live.  The rule of thumb is "red on yellow, kill a fellow; red on black, friend of Jack."   



He was quite friendly and enjoyed being handled by all the guests.  His markings were beautiful in the afternoon light.



This Ball Python was gentle as well.  At first he was coiled up in a ball and then as he became more comfortable, he began to stretch out and investigate his surroundings.


Fortunately for me, someone has to take the pictures, right? 

While this probably isn't most people's idea of a rockin' good time, the addition of all these beautiful creatures to her party thrilled her and for her love of all things in nature (even the ones that scare most of us), I'm completely grateful.  She'll be leaving us soon to go to college and is considering a career in wildlife preservation.  Our world needs people like her who will look out for the creatures among us. 
 Snakes, snails and puppy dog tails, that's what some little girls are made of!

Thanks for reading.   ~Cat




24 comments:

  1. I was wondering when you were going to post some of the creature photos. The Milk Snake best photo is absolutely fantastic!! Great shot!

    Fantastic job, as always, my friend. We truly enjoyed spending the afternoon celebrating your wonderful daughter.

    Love you!

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  2. Oh my gosh...what a fun birthday party! She looks very content and comfortable holding the snakes and scorpion.
    Very cute kids!!

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  3. What a sweet post! It looked like a fun party. I am glad to hear that your daughter loves nature and intend to venture into wildlife preservation. If I am 18 now, I might just consider that. Nah! Most likely, I would just hold the camera.

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  4. I'm quite certain that party was a lot of fun. Most especially that it was special for your daughter because it wasn't a generic debut by uniquely hers. Good job Mom and Dad. Belated happy 18th birthday to your "little" girl.

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  5. I wish your daughter every success in her future studies. We need, and are grateful for, people who study and conserve wildlife.

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  6. What a post! What a daughter!!! Amazing photos of your birthday party guests! How interesting to know there is a calm Scorpion. Yikes! Thank you for helping to raise such a thoughtful person, who will now go out into the world to help make it a better and more diverse place. Happy Birthday Too!! I so enjoyed this most unusual and clever post! ;>)

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  7. Thank you for all your birthday wishes and support and encouragement of her future studies. I'll pass them on as we all need all the love and support we can get in this great big world, especially when we are just venturing out into it on our own!

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  8. Those photos were amazing but the scorpion gave me the chills. Only been "hit" one time but lots of near misses. This was definitely a party your daughter will never forget.

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  9. Great post Cat ! Congratulations on your daughter's 18th - she's quite a gal/lady/girl (?) - and a whole lot braver than me ! Quite an assortment of photogenic guests too - made for an interesting party ! Good luck to her in college and pursuing a career in wildlife management. Looks like she's well on her way !

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  10. Dear Whimsical Gardener,
    what a special way to celebrate a birthday! I'm always surprised that snakes when you touch them are warm and soft. But I never have touched a skorpion - don't know if I would dare:-)
    These are beautiful pictures!
    I know a woman in Scotland who is most time in Africa, where she teaches the natives how to protect wild life (Serengeti etc)

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  11. What a great party, lots of unusual party guests. Your daughter is a beautiful girl and I wish her luck in her pursuits.

    My favorite was the tortoise. What a large guy.

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  12. TG - The scorpion scared me too. It was interesting to see how everyone in the crowd took a few big steps backwards when he was pulled from his cage!

    Rick - Thank you. I'll pass your well wishes on. She read the comments section yesterday and had a little smile, somewhat surprised at the goodwill fostered in the blogosphere! Love is every where!

    Britta, Thanks for stopping by. Truth be told I didn't even touch the snakes but I was able to be close enough to photograph them which is a big improvement for me ;-) I hope she will pursue the field of preservation - she will be an excellent advocate for wildlife. I admire your friend's courage.

    GWGT - Thank you for the well wishes. I liked the tortoise too as he was really the only one I could bring myself to touch! He was quite fast considering his size - especially when he was tempted by the perennials.

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  13. So nice post! love the picture with the snake as belt and the one with the turtle!

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  14. oh i would have loved to be at that party...when i was a kid we used to take slow-worms ( a legless lizard) to school in england to scare the girls but i expect your duaghter would have played with them instead!

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  15. Thank you fer - the snake in the beltloop is my favorite shot too! Thanks for visiting ;-)

    Mike - yes, she definitely would be the one girl playing with the slow-worm! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment.

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  16. Happy Birthday to your daughter -- she's lovely. My older daughter is a Wildlife Biologist and enjoys her work immensely. :) (I left a note in the comments section of my blog, but in case you don't see it, your comment on the garden "uglies" was my 10,000th...quite a milestone! So thx for dropping by.)

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  17. Thanks for the birthday wishes Nancy. Glad to hear your daughter enjoys her career field. We need folks like our girls to take care of this planet! Congrats on reaching 10,000 comments - that is quite a milestone!

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  18. Yes, the living snake belt is great. My daughters 4th birthday is coming up. I doubt she'd want any thing quite that wild, but I agree. The world needs people like the birthday girl. I hope Imogen is the same one day.

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  19. Hi Cat - a lovely party, a beautiful daughter and such exotic guests. Enjoyed sharing the birthday and I wish your daughter good luck with her future career. As a Mum, I know how sad you'ff feel to see her go

    Laura

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  20. Hi Cat - Looks like such a fun time! your daughter is quite brave to hold that scorpion. Did she also allow the snake through her belt loops? I think they are beautiful creatures, but I'm not sure I'd like one slithering around me. ;) Happy Birthday to her and best of luck at college!

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  21. Happy 4th to your Imogen Paul!

    Yes Laura this is a bit bittersweet. I'm excited for her to move forward but already miss her at times and she's not even gone yet! Thank you for the well wishes, I'll pass them on to her.

    Hi Kate, Yes, believe it or not she did let the snake slither through her belt loop. The snake seemed to be looking for something to anchor to. I'm with you and was happy to just take pictures!
    Thanks for the encouragement, I'll be sure to tell her of your well wishes.

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  22. An unusual party for sure, but what an interesting array of guests! Looks like fun to me. It's wonderful that your daughter has such an interest in wildlife.

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  23. What a GREAT kid and what an incredibly cool party! I don't think I would have been brave enough to handle the scorpion but the snakes were beautiful.

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  24. it look scary. Nice shot this snake belt.

    Just like to share with you a life quote...

    "I love my past. I love my present. I'm not ashamed of what I've had, and I'm not sad because I have it no longer. " -- Colette

    You can get more life quotes at http://quotelandia.com/category/life

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