So I went on a mini herping trip in Ojai, CA, the location of my new job. Although herps were limited as night time temps were in the 50's, my boss and I did run across quite a few critters. The highlight was a Ring-tailed cat. These are solitary animals that are EXTREMELY secretive and climb about rocky outcroppings hunting for small animals and invertebrates. I was lucky to find one in a tunnel, and even luckier to grab a few crappy photos of it under a bridge. While not really cats, these animals are still wickedly adorable. (They're actually procyonids, a part of the raccoon family.)

Here's a preview of what's to come. Since i'm in an LA starbucks right now, here are two of my favorite herp and food pictures taken in LA: A Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) and a fish taco from Tacos Baja in East LA proudly being modeled by a friend/fellow herper Miles Meyer.

So your boyfriend says he has herps...

Well looks like I might as well start this by saying i like reptiles. No, I mean i REALLY like reptiles. While not a full blown fetish, my friends would say that reptiles are much more than a hobby. In particular, turtles have dominated the majority of the synapses that occur in my brain's left hemisphere. The other remaining scraps of brain power? well they are devoted to food and sports. What better way to celebrate these obsessions than with their very own (Felicia inspired) tumblr.

"But what about the creepily titled first post James?" you asked...

Well..."Herps" happens to be science slang derived from the branch of biology termed "Herpetology."  

Any likeness to the boil-filled disease afflicting crotches in Greek communities in colleges nationwide is merely a inconvenient result of our Latin rooted language and the prefix herpe-. You see, herpe is latin for "creepy-crawlies." And Since Carl Linnaeus (the dude who classified animals for modern science) despised reptiles and amphibians, he lumped them in a group all on their own to be forgotten, even though reptiles genetically resemble birds more than amphibians. This moniker has many derivatives - herpetologist, herping (the act of finding herps in the wild), herper, etc. So basically all the hours herpetologists spend defending themselves against the super hilarious ridicule of their peers and friends is due to one 18th century Swedish douchebag. And since I've had to memorize this spiel and recite it to many girlfriends...I thought this post to be aptly named.

Anyway, hopefully you'll keep following me on my many reptile related adventures.