OCTOBER 21, 2011 HERPETOLOGY

"FORGIVENESS is not something we do for other people. We do it for ourselves- to get well and move on."

Practice forgiveness for yourself. If you practice forgiveness because others think it is the right thing to do--you are not doing it to help yourself. When you recognize anger and resentment, meditate, pray and forgive. Forgive from the heart. I am the same person I have always been- a little wiser, a little kinder and a lot sober. I am the man I always wanted to be.

I am a poster child for learning. I am always learning something new. I love learning. I didn't know what herpetology was until I was reading a colleague/friend and mentor's blog. His name is 7song. I am awe of his photographs which are above, in addition to his constant flux of learning.
HERPETOLOGY is not the study of the herpes virus. It is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles. I also found out that the study of amphibians alone is called Batrachology.

When I was growing up I loved all animals. I loved going into the woodlands upstate and finding amphibians and reptiles. This is why I loved studying in Ithaca, New York with 7song. I could spend my life in a town like Ithaca. Perhaps one day--beyond my wildest dreams-- I will! As a child I used to have box turtles, frogs, and newts; and would have had snakes if my dad had not been so fearful of them.

Today, I know Herpetology does serve some benefits for humanity. Amphibians and reptiles are very sensitive to environmental changes. All species of animals are affected by global warming--not just polar bears.

We also have snake venom's being used as medicine in some circumstances.

This is a remarkable branch of zoology.

I am not studying herpetology yet, but I am studying Apiology. This is the study of honeybees, which is a sub discipline of Melittology (study of all bees), which is a branch of Entomology (study of insects).

What animal or plant do you have an interest in? Perhaps you could start with a simple google search....

Until tomorrow...

Photographs: Compliments of 7song