Monthly Archives: November 2020

Episode 25: The Best Worst Project



Hello again everyone and welcome to Episode Twenty Five!  The episode where I experiment with a different format – 13 segments featuring a baker’s dozen of folks sharing their best and worst (or worst and best) experiences in the realm of amphibians and reptiles.  That’s twenty six anecdotes, if you think about it.  I have been collecting these tales of woe and woah for a few months now – many thanks to Andy, Mack, Bryan, Phil, Matt, Marisa, Shaun, Brandon, John, Pat, Alex, and Justin for your participation in this project. I had a lot of fun talking with this group and (with one notable exception) no two stories are alike!

STATE OF THE PODCAST NOTE:  I’m still working on making some merchandise available, and I hope to have that and a Patreon supporter page available soon!  Thanks for your patience!

And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming!  The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, tales of two cities, tips for herping better, etc.

Stay tuned for more episodes! And don’t forget to herp better!

-Mike


Episode 24: Fireside with Josh Holbrook



Hey there everyone!  Welcome to Episode Twenty Four!  Thanks for your patience, I had a lot of crazy stuff going on over the past couple of weeks!  I think I’m back on track again and I plan on releasing another episode next week for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.  This week’s guest is my friend and co-author, Josh Holbrook, and this past October I got to sit around a campfire with Josh, down in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois, and we had a nice fireside chat.

The picture of Josh that I chose for these show notes was taken down in the Peruvian rainforest last March.  Josh is an ecologist who specializes in wetlands, and he was in the process of setting a series of aquatic traps in a small forest creek.  Looking at the photo, I think it’s safe to say that Josh was having a pretty good time!

FUTURE SHOW NOTE:   My request for herp jargon is coming to an end – the window closes after this weekend!  I’ve got a neat little pile, but I could use a little more!  Get those pithy phrases and clever words to me via the show email below, and we’ll get a future episode together from the results!

STATE OF THE PODCAST NOTE:  I’m still working on making some merchandise available, and I hope to have that and a Patreon supporter page available soon!  Thanks for your patience!

And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming!  The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, salad recipes, tips for herping better, etc.

Stay tuned for more episodes! And don’t forget to herp better!

-Mike

 


Episode 23: Turtle Talk with Carl Franklin



Hello everyone and welcome to Episode Twenty Three!  I like turtles, you like turtles, we all like turtles, so I’m very happy to have Carl Franklin on the show to talk about – turtles.  There’s Carl in the photo with a double-handful of Alligator Snappers. Carl is a very busy person, with an impressive list of accomplishments to date, and along with talking about turtles, we also cover a number of other topics – including flying turtles, weaponized turtles, and worm lizards.  And who doesn’t like worm lizards?  It’s been a long while since I spoke with Carl, so I was happy to sit down with him for ninety minutes and do some catching up, and I hope you all enjoy our conversation as well.  It was so much fun for me.

And folks, be sure to check out the Texas Turtles website, and if you can, get yourself a cool tshirt and help out Texas Turtles and of course, Texas turtles.  Conservation, research, and outreach, y’all.

Also – if you’re interested in worm lizards and amphisbaenians in general, check out WormLizard.org for more information.  I’ve managed to see a few different types over the years and I find them fascinating.

FUTURE SHOW NOTE:   My request for herp jargon is coming to an end – the window closes in one week!  I’ve got a neat little pile, but I need more!  Get those pithy phrases and clever words to me via the show email below, and we’ll get a future episode together from the results!

And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming!  The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, flying turtles, tips for herping better, etc.

Stay tuned for more episodes! And don’t forget to herp better!

-Mike

 


Episode 22: Taco Dreams: A Mexico Round-Table



Hello everyone!  We’re going to hang around south of the border for just a while longer.  Episode Twenty Two was recorded in September in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, at the tail-end of a two week visit to Baja Sur.  Tim, Bryan, Matt, Mack, Andy, John, Pat, Shaun, Brandon and Jeni agreed to hang around the hotel for an hour or so, with the notion of having a round table discussion about herping in Mexico.  Cumulatively, this bunch has spent hundreds of days in Mexico, across many regions, and I thought it was an appropriate group to cover the subject.  Thanks to the media’s focus on drug cartels, Mexico can seem like a scary place, and my goal with this round-table was to get folks more comfortable with the idea of visiting and herping there.  I can’t wait until I get to go back!

We may have talked at lot about tacos, but hey, they are pretty terrific in Baja California.  Thanks to the whole gang for sitting down and making it a fun conversation!  I needed two photos to get everyone included in the round-table (pay no attention to those Little Caesar’s pizza boxes).

FUTURE SHOW NOTE:   My request for herp jargon is coming to an end – the window closes in two weeks!  I’ve got a neat little pile, but I need more!  Get those pithy phrases and clever words to me via the show email below, and we’ll get a future episode together from the results!

And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming!  The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions. shrimp taco recipes, tips for herping better, etc.

Stay tuned for more episodes! And don’t forget to herp better!

-Mike