This Is Molly, Our Loggerhead Musk Turtle, Receiving Her First Valentine’s Day Worm! Her Incredibly

Good luck to everyone participating in November’s writing challenge! The SNC’s own Environmental Educator will also be participating and wanted to share some tips for this month: 

1. Don’t be afraid to jump segments. Write where you can and jump to the next scene that excites you if you feel like you’re running out of steam. It’ll be easier to go back and connect the pieces later. 

2. Pick a buddy. Have someone else holding you accountable. Send each other the updates to your WIP at the end of the day just to share with someone your word count accomplishments. 

3. Have a mini reward system. For every X amount of words you finish you can give yourself a piece of your favorite Halloween candy. Or make a cup of tea. Or give your S/O a snuggle. 

“Fragile & paper thin, is the compelling nature of many perfect things. Like butterfly wings, unfolding from a chrysalis, vibrant & vital in release. Exploring their place in this tangled world, faint heartbeat fluttering over roaring air, velvet lace floating on fitful winds. Barely there for the briefest of moments, then with one final, breathless flourish—gone again”.

RhymingTherapy—November 2020 (Caper White butterflies in my garden last weekend) poem inspired by @Writerscreed challenge “we need unfolding”

Got a nice video of a pollinator doing some pollinating. 

The SNC crew had a great time last night at the Coral Springs Drive Thru Holiday Experience. Our display even won the Commissioners Award! Thanks to everyone that came out to share the experience with us and celebrate 25 years of wildlife rehabilitation and environmental education!

Rocky Mountain Golds: © gifs by riverwindphotography, September 2020

With Easter closing in, the Sawgrass Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital feels it’s important to put out a reminder to not buy a bunny as a gift for your families. A majority of the bunnies bought as gifts around Easter time are abandoned shortly after the Holiday passes.

Bunnies are adorable animals and they can be charming companions, but most people do not realize the amount of love and care that goes into these guys. Bunnies are long-time commitments. They can live longer than dogs and cats if given the right amount of care. Bunny vets can also be very expensive because they are not considered a “common” pet. It is also important to know that their nails and teeth are growing constantly. That means their nails are going to need trimmings, which is not a fun experience for any animal, especially an animal that is used to being prey.

Because bunny teeth are constantly growing, they are going to need a healthy stream of hay in a day in addition to their regular diet. This means their cost of food can get pretty expensive for those who weren’t expecting to need a bunny budget. Bunnies are commonly mistaken as low-cost, beginner pets. The truth is that they are not. Like all animals, bunnies require research and forethought prior to committing to one.

This is Michigan in the summer. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore - Chapel Rock and Chapel Beach [OC] [3946 x 7018]. - Author: whitewaterfanatic on reddit

Our resident Red Rat Snake, Cory, has this same genetic mutation! 

seeing really common birds with the leucism mutation is really neat because sometimes they look like totally different birds ? so i got some pictures from macaulay

blue jay

mallard

blackbird

crow

house sparrow

american robin

black-capped chickadee

red-tailed hawk

This African Spur Thigh Tortoise is named Bubba and he is a permanent resident at the Sawgrass Nature Center. He was previously kept as a pet, but his owners did not realize that he would get this large. And since he is an exotic species to Florida, he is non-releasable. 

The African Spur-Thigh is a native species of tortoise to Northern Africa, specifically along the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. They dig burrows in the ground to spend the hottest parts of the day in. This is known as aestivation. 

Fun fact: The African Spur Thigh Tortoise is the third largest tortoise in the world. Surpassed only by the Galapagos Tortoise and the Aldabra Giant Tortoise. 

More on the bees 🐝 The nature center at this park had an outdoor area that connected to the indoor hive (as well as a standard outside one) and several bachelor hotels for the solitary types.