until some of them go "we have to strike him in the darkness too! we know the halls of this palace! the odds can be tilted!"

Intaglio: Two cicadas fighting as gladiators

Roman Republic, 1st c. BCE

Carnelian, 17 x 21 x 3.5 mm

The Amur Leopard and Clouded Leopard (which recently celebrated its 50th cub born at the zoo!)

The Sumatran Tiger

The Red Ruffed Lemur and Ring-Tailed Lemur

The Cotton-Top Tamarin and White-Cheeked Gibbon

The Colobus Monkey and De Brazza’s Monkey

And the Mexican Spider Monkey!

Data centers have been recorded creating constant noise at a frequency outside the human range of hearing but which still causes severe issues. This could be even worse with animals that have more sensitive hearing than humans do.

We also took the truck instead of the Jeep on this trip. Other than to pick up my trailer, I haven't done any trips in it that weren't just around town. And I wanted to see how it handled driving up into the mountains, too.

Truck did great! And Mesa really seems to prefer riding it. He jumps right in with no hesitation or balking, unlike the Jeep which I have to pick him up to get him in it (granted, it's a taller jump... but it's not so tall that he can't do it himself. I've SEEN him do it multiple times!).

He loves riding on that center console, where he can watch out the front windows and get AC right in the face. And also because he can reach over with a paw to grab my arm and give me kisses while I'm driving and can't escape. XD

"Haha! You can't get away from me here, CAPTIVE KISSES FOR YOU!"

He's such a silly dog. I love him.

A nice day at Lake Sabrina up in the Eastern Sierra. It was a beautiful 77ºF, with a light breeze, and the water was a refreshing 67ºF. Meanwhile, it was 110ºF at home when we got back, so this was a REALLY nice break from the unbearable heat. And lemme tell you, after weeks of having hot water come out of BOTH sides of my faucet at home, that cold water felt SO GOOD.

Mesa didn't want to get in the water, but I did manage to lure him out about knee deep with some treats and encouragement. But he made it absolutely clear that he was doing so under duress. And as soon as I gave him the treat, he shot out of the water like a rocket.

That said, while he may never have a career in dock diving, I do think I might be able to take him kayaking. I am pretty sure that he will not jump out of the boat once it's surrounded by water. And this would be a great place to try it. There's a really nice boat launch.

However, I'm not going to try it until I buy him a float coat. I have no idea if he can even swim, so if he did jump out, I'd want some safety measures. And I'll have to take the kayak down from the rack in the garage and see how well he fits in it on dry land, too.

Adlerweg trails 11-15/? - Adlerweg, Tirol, Austria, October 2022