The Adventures of Darwin the Evolutionary Banana Slug

A slug squees

2008-07-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

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My mom said that it was OK to “squee” since it is Thursday.

I don’t get it.?

I also kinda slimed myself I was so excited (blushes)

Mom just said that she’s going to take me with her when she rides the STP this weekend.

We’re going 204 miles from Seattle WA to Portland OR. We’re going to spend the night in Centralia and hang out in the beer garden. Mom says if I’m good, she’ll give me a sip of beer.

I haven’t made so many new friends since she let me run the Seattle Half Marathon with her.

I even have my own shiny reflector to wear when I’m on the back of her bike so that I’ll be a safe slug!

~DTES

Adventure Slug !!!

2008-07-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

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thank you Thank You THANK YOU to everyone who has nagged my Mom to take me out on adventures and to help me post to my blog. (I’m a young innocent slug and I’m not allowed to be on the internet unsupervised)

My Mom took me on the bestest adventure ever!

She says she comes up with crazy ideas late at night when drinking wine with friends.

I got to drive all the way across the Cascade Mountains (that’s in Washington State) to Eastern Washington to camp, and hike and ride (metal) wild horses and even look through a telescope.

Normally, I’m not allowed to stay up that late, but this was a special occasion.

Here are a few pictures…

I LOVE to ride in the car; this time it was my Mom’s friend Tom’s car and we were heading up the Coulee Scenic Byway

Here I am at Soap Lake; Mom wouldn’t let me go in. Tom said the water was slimy… What’s wrong with slime?

I got to ride one of the wild horses at the Wild Horse Monument at Vantage. That’s the Columbia River down below.

and I got to look through a telescope at Frenchman’s Coulee where we camped.

Here is a link to the rest of the pictures form our adventure.

Eastern Washington Road Trip

My next blog has some even MORE exciting news.

~DTES

I'm so excited !

2007-04-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

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I am so excited that I think I just slimed myself [blushes]

I was getting very sad because I was stuck at home so much while the weather was bad and mom started working her new job at headquarters.

She was gone longer during the day and I was very lonely because Bad Kitty sleeps a lot. She’s kind of boring that way during the day.

But on Thursday, I had a very exciting day.

Mom took me for a ride on the TRAIN and took me to work.

Everyone was very friendly on the train and at her office. I hope I get to go again!

Then we got into a van and went to one of my absolute favorite places to do some volunteer work.

Being a socially and environmentally responsible slug, I love to do volunteer work.

One of my favorite humans, Chris Carrell from Friends of the Hylebos just named me the “Official Slug of Hylebos Creek”

You can read all about it here

Here I am with Chris

and here I am with Mom and Chris. Chris thinks I’m very brave for braving the storm damage to explore the creek.

And here I am doing some very hard work grubbing out Himalayan Blackberry roots for Earth Corps, REI and Friends of the Hylebos

I also got to go hiking afterwards, but mom says that I’ll “dilute the message” if I blog about that right now.

I don’t get it. I wasn’t going to pour water on it?

That’s it for now.

~DTES

Slug Love

2007-01-29T16:44:00.000-08:00

Mom said everyone was worried about me because I haven’t posted much.

Don’t worry, I’m a happy slug and have lots of love. Mom’s just been very busy and she hasn’t wanted to take me out where I’d get wet and slimy (I don’t know what she has against slimy, slimy feels good) and stinky from mold, so I’ve been staying close to home.

I will get out for some new adventures soon.

I have a new friend, his name is “Crazy Kitty”. Aunt Betsy brought him over after Christmas. If you push his tummy, he yowls, purrs and laughs hysterically. Bad Kitty HATES him. She lays her ears back and leaves the room every time someone pushes his tummy.

Can’t we all get along?

Give Crazy Kitty a chance !

That’s it for now, Mom needs the computer.

~DTES

I feel the need... The need for SPEED !

2007-01-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

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Wahoo !!!

My mom took me cross-country skiing today.

It’s even MORE fun than snowshoeing, because you get to go faster and cover more ground.

I even got to slide down a hill all on my own.

It was really cold in the backpack though.

Mom says I need to go sit by the heater for a while, or I’ll start to stink.

I don’t want to be a stinky slug.

That’s it for now

~DTES

Slug snowshoeing

2006-12-31T10:35:00.000-08:00

I had the best time yesterday.

Mom, Auntie Mo, Mich and Jen took me snowshoeing up at Mt Rainier National Park.

Mom told me that the park is created on and around an active volcano. I’m not sure what that is, but it sounds exciting.

It was very VERY cold up there. But everyone warmed up when we started moving up the hill into the park. We stopped and took a lot of pictures

http://www.wildcelticrose.net/lisasplace/rainiersnowshoe06.html

Here I am riding in Auntie Mo’s car. I love riding in her car.

Here I am in Mom’s pack. We climbed to the top of a really big hill and then slid down. It was so much fun !

Mom says “Don’t eat yellow snow”. Why not? I think yellow is a beautiful color

Here I am at Wapiti Woolies. My mom says it’s the best place in Greenwater to stop for a mocha or hot chocolate after skiing or snowshoeing. They make the best wool hats. Unfortunately, they don’t make them in slug size. But I tried one on anyway…

We’re going Cross Country Skiing tomorrow!

Woo Hoo !!!

Mom’s says I need to get off the computer now, so that’s it for now.

~DTES

Christmas Cheer (and a lot of it)

2006-12-25T09:19:00.000-08:00

It was my first Christmas.

Christmas is very much like Solstice. I’m not certain what the difference is. Some of my mom’s friends came over for a big turkey dinner and then we sat around the tree, talked and listened to music.

I was a naughty slug and got into the champagne while my mom was doing the dishes and cleaning up.

Mommy says that once I get un hung over (I don’t get it, I’m not hanging on anything?) we’re going to have to have a serious talk.

She says “everything in moderation” and that it’s “never good to get so drunk that you can’t find your own butt with both hands.”

Do I have a butt? If so, I can’t find it.

Uh oh…

That’s it for now…

~DTES

Solstice !

2006-12-23T20:42:00.001-08:00

My mom had a Solstice party last night.

She says that after last night, the days will start getting longer again. I guess than means more time to go out and play, which sounds good to me!

I was so excited ! My Aunt Tony, Uncle Knut and Aunt Molly were there. So were a whole bunch of other really nice people.

I got to eat stuffed mushrooms. They’re much tastier than the ones in the rain forest.

We ate, drank and visited, and then we turned down all the lights and lit the Yule Log. Mom lit a candle off of it, and passed the flame to everyone in the room.

While they were doing this, they listened to a very cool song about “The Christians and the Pagans” and then sang “Here Comes the Sun”

Here I am with my candle and the Yule log. Mom says that when we get a house, we'll have a fireplace and a different kind of Yule log, but that for now, this one is just fine.

But I don’t get it.

The sun didn’t come out.

Oh well, it was a fun night !

That’s it for now

~DTES

Peace on Earth Goodwill to Slugs (and reindeer)

2006-12-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

My Mommy’s been too busy to help me post an update lately.

We’ve had all sorts of excitement around here!

Snow, windstorms, and floods. I watch them from the safety of our living room window.

But the coolest thing, is Christmas.

It’s my first Christmas.

Mommy brought a tree into the house. It reminds me of being home in the rainforest. She’s decorated the place and her friends have come and cut snowflakes for the tree.

She even brought out a friend for me. Rodney the Rockin’ Reindeer. He sings a very cute song when you press his hoof and he’s one cool dude!

Come visit us and have Rodney sing for you. We’re having a party on Solstice night and on Christmas Eve.

That’s it for now,

~DTES

I'm a marathon kind of slug!

2006-11-26T16:54:00.000-08:00

I was so excited today!!!

I got to take a ride in Uncle Robert’s Truck.

But it was snowing.

I love rain (I am after all, from the rain forest) but am not used to snow or my Mom and Uncle Robert getting all stressed out and complaining about idiot drivers. When the snow was sticking on I-5 and the truck was sloshing and sliding, my Mom said she nearly had to “pick seat cover material out from between her butt cheeks”.

I don’t get it. What are butt cheeks? I don’t think I have them.

But the cool thing is that I got to run a half marathon today!!! It was so much fun and I made a bunch of new friends.

Since they aren’t used to snow and rain that early in the morning, they had to wear trash bags over their running clothes until they got moving and warmed up. They looked silly!

Running was SO much fun! Everyone that ran near us commented on what a cute slug I was and said they were going to read my blog. I hope they comment!

After the race, we got medals and shiny blankets to wrap up in,

and we got Ivars Clam Chowder! I LOVE Ivars clam chowder. I ate some with Uncle Robert after he finished.

I have to go now. My mom needs the computer to write her race report and she says I need to lay by the heater and dry out.

That’s it for now

~DTES

My first race !!!

2006-11-18T20:23:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun today !!!

My Mom, Aunt Tony and Uncle Knut and I went to walk/run the Thanksgiving Dash races down in Olympia.

Here I am riding in my Aunt Tony’s car. I LOVE riding in her car!

Here I am registering for my first ever race

Here I am running with Mom

Here I am celebrating. Mom’s right, champagne is good.

And here are Aunt Tony, Uncle Knut, Mom and I toasting Aunt Tony’s first ever 10K race and wearing the shirts and medals.

After the race, we headed over to My Aunt Molly’s house to celebrate and watch the Apple Cup on TV.

It was a great day!

~L

New Journal and Races !!!

2006-11-17T18:42:00.001-08:00

I’m so excited!

My mom finally made me a LiveJournal so that my LiveJournal friends don’t have to read that silly syndication that keeps republishing and spamming their friends page.

If you read me on a LiveJournal Syndication, you can delete it from your friend’s list and just add my LiveJournal

You can also keep reading me directly on blogspot.

But the BIG news, is that I’m going to run the Seattle Half Marathon with my Mom the Sunday after Thanksgiving!

I even have my own race number !!!

Tomorrow my Aunt Tony is coming down and bringing my brother Foster to visit. Then we’re all going down to Olympia for the Thanksgiving Dash Race. Aunt Tony’s going to walk the 5K, and Mom and I are going to run the 10 Mile.

Then on Thanksgiving Day is the Norpoint Turkey Trot before we head over to Aunt Molly’s to feast.

I’m going to be one fast slug by the time this is all over…

That’s it for now…

~DTES

Good friends and family are the BEST!

2006-11-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

My mom’s been very stressed out the last couple of days over the flooding.

She hasn’t let me out to see it. She says it’s not safe.

Auntie Mo was stressed out too, but I'm not sure why.

She came over to watch a “mindlessly funny move” There’s Something About Mary.

She let me sit with her.

I love my Auntie Mo!

That’s it for now…

~DTES

Kayaking and Envronmental Stewardship

2006-11-05T14:13:00.000-08:00

I am one happy (and tired) slug!

My mom took me out KAYAKING this morning.

Even better than kayaking was the fact that we did more volunteering to help the environment.

This time, we were volunteering with the Puget Creek Restoration Society helping replace markers for an Eelgrass survey. Eelgrass is very important for salmon habitat. (among other things) Did you know that out migrating juvenile, salmon may stay in Commencement Bay (and other areas of the Puget Sound) for a year until they are big and strong enough to survive in the Pacific Ocean?

I didn’t either. I learned that today when Mom told me.

We carried equipment out to the divers and carried old rebar back to shore.

Here I am on a KAYAK!

Here’s me and my Mom

AND, with John and Jacqueline from the City of Tacoma’s EnviroChallenger program. John took my Mom’s friend Bruno’s job after he moved away to take another job. He’s pretty cool. Jacqueline is cool too!

After a while, my Mom made me watch from shore. She was carrying some heavy and awkward stuff, and even in my plastic bag, she was afraid that if a load shifted and she rolled her kayak, that I might float away. It was all very fun to watch though.

That’s it for now…

~DTES

Girls Night... Great Fun!!!

2006-11-03T22:38:00.000-08:00

I had SO much fun tonight.

Since Banana Slugs are hermaphrodites, Mom let me attend “girls night” tonight. She said that since I had both male and female parts, that I could be one of the girls tonight.

But I’m a “good slug” and don’t use my parts. I saw a video of mating banana slugs today and it was “icky”. Mom always said that the best birth control is medically accurate (better if it’s graphically illustrated) information.

In any event, girls night was a BLAST.

Mom’s friends are great, and I even got to taste some champagne…

I’ve got to get some sleep…

We’re going to the watershed council retreat in the morning, and I want to make a good impression.

That’s it for now…

~DTBS

I'm a Hylebos kind of slug!

2006-11-01T16:27:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun working on the upland habitat restoration/planting last weekend.

But what’s even cooler is that my Mom’s friend Chris, the Executive Director of Friends of the Hylebos has a blog, the Hyleblog and he linked to MY blog.

It makes me feel warm and fuzzy (OK, warm and slimy, I am after all, a Banana Slug) to be linked on his blog.

Maybe some day, I can be the “Official Banana Slug of Hylebos Creek”

On Saturday, my mom is taking me to the Puyallup River Watershed Council retreat.

She says I’ll be the only Banana Slug there, but who knows?

That’s it for now…

~DTES

Helping the environment!

2006-10-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

I had the BEST day today.

Mom and Auntie Mo (and LUNA came too!) volunteered with REI, Earth Corps and Friends of the Hylebos to do Upland restoration/planting at Spring Valley Ranch on the upper reaches of Hylebos Creek. We planted FIVE HUNDRED Douglas Fir and Big Leaf Maples that will help cool the water so that salmon can survive and spawn.

We got VERY cool “Get Dirty” shirts!!!

It was a GREAT day that a slug can feel GOOD about; Look at the good work we did!

We did have one very scary moment. After all the hard work LUNA was missing. Auntie Mo almost cried, I did cry. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing my best friend. I was one panic stricken slug. Auntie Mo searched through her pack over and over again, and Mommy was going to “shake down” all the girl scouts that were there. She said, “Girl Scouts are NOT “goodie goodie; I should know, I was one!” Luckily, Luna was hiding in Auntie Mo’s jacket pocket, so it was all OK.

After all that great, hard work, we went up to Buck Creek in the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest to mushroom hunt and check out some new trails.

I LOVE riding in Auntie Mo’s car!

But even better than riding in the car, is riding on Mom’s backpack. I’m such a lucky slug!!!

I’ve got to get off the computer now. Mommy says that she needs to get in a hot bath, and I’m not allowed unsupervised internet access.

That’s it for now…

~DTES

More fun in the forest!!!

2006-10-20T19:28:00.000-07:00

Auntie Mo and my Mom took me and Luna on another mushroom hunting adventure after work today.

We found all sorts of baby Chanterelles, but they won’t be ready for a few more days. So we did some exploring and took pictures of all sorts of interesting mushrooms.

But the best picture was of Luna and I (we were naughty and stayed out after dark!)

That’s all for now…

~DTES

Hide and Seek !!!

2006-10-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

I got to go out mushroom hunting with my Mom and Auntie Mo yesterday. They were looking for Chanterelles.

The Chanterelles were hiding, so I decided that I’d hide too.

As it turns out, we were in the right place, they just weren’t big enough to pop out from under the leaves yet. We’re going back in a couple of days when the sun comes out.

We did find all sorts of other cool mushrooms that they took pictures of; they are on my Mom's blog.

Maybe Luna will come with us next time

That’s all for now…

~DTES

My Lost Lake Backpacking adventure

2006-10-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

I had such a GREAT weekend. My Aunt Tony brought my brother Foster to visit and we went backpacking with our other friend Don. I wish Auntie Mo had been able to come along this time and bring my friend Luna. Maybe next time...

We went backpacking in the Norse Peaks Wilderness and camped at Lost Lake!!!

We got to ride on their backpacks so we could see everything. The forest there is so pretty.

Since it was very cold at night, Mom let me sleep with her in her nice, warm down sleeping bag. We sat by the campfire most of the night before bed (after hiking around the lake of course)

After we got done backpacking, we were all cold, tired, wet and hungry so we had Mexican food

As a responsible slug, I made sure that no one had more than one “weak ass” margarita and had lots of food and water so that they were safe to drive.

My mom is posting the whole adventure to her blog

http://www.awildcelticrose.blogspot.com

and all the pictures are here

http://www.wildcelticrose.net/lisasplace/lostlakefallbackpack.html

This was a great weekend!!!

That’s all for now…

DTES

My Point Defiance Adventure

2006-10-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

Here I am on Five Mile Drive at Pt Defiance Park, where my mom and Aunt Molly took me for a walk. It was misting and lightly raining out, and all cool, green and mossy just like home (the Quinault rain forest). I was looking for some of my cousins but didn’t see any.

Here I am overlooking the Narrows (an area of the Puget Sound between Pt Defiance and Gig Harbor/Vashon Island) I am sitting on a Madrona (known as Madrone to the South and Madrona from the Puget Sound and North of the Canadian Border, eh.) Tree. My mom especially likes them because they are related to the Manzanita where she grew up. Both have very cool red bark that peels and are evergreen. Madronas only live within a few miles of salt water. Madronas are cool!

and here I am enjoying fall color. My mom wanted to take my picture in a Japanese Elm in the Zen Garden, but Aunt Molly liked these leaves better. It’s best to give Aunt Molly what she wants.

And this is the ferry Rhododendron coming into the Pt Defiance ferry dock from Vashon Island. I love the ferry. Maybe my mom will take me on a ferry ride one of these days!

Mommy’s going to dragon boat practice later. I don’t think she’ll take me today. The weather isn’t good and the water may be rough. She said it wouldn’t be good for a slug to fall into salt water.

[sigh]

I’m sure I’ll have another great adventure soon.

Until then, that’s it for now…

~DTES

Play date for tea and geeking

2006-10-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

Luna and I finally got to spend some time together today.

I’m so excited to be taking a trip in the computer bag!

Our moms brought us to the Mandolin Café for tea and computer geeking. My aunt Morgain (Auntie Mo) likes the free WiFi Luna is a Mac Bunny and I’m a PC slug, but we get along just fine.

Depending on how long we’re here there will be live music.

That’s it for now. I’m going to Pt Defiance tomorrow on another great adventure.

~DTES

Darwin does the Tacoma waterfront (and gets political)

2006-10-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun today!

My mom Lisa and her friend Morgain took me for a walk on the waterfront today after they got off work. (I napped with Bad Kitty today) Morgain didn’t bring Luna, which made me sad, but we’re going to meet for tea at the Mandolin Café tomorrow afternoon. We’re going to have so much fun!!! While our humans geek on the computer, we’re going to PLAY!!!

I LOVED the fishing pier, but Mommy wouldn’t let me go out there. She said that someone might use me for bait!

They have a very cool fire boat on display. I want to be a fire slug! You may not know this, but slime is an excellent fire suppressant. It works by cooling AND smothering. (removing heat and oxygen, two thirds of the “fire triangle”) See how my antennae are pointing the same way as the fire nozzle?

but the REALLY cool thing, is that I got to PROTEST!

United for Peace of Pierce County was out protesting against the bogus war in Iraq. The really cool guy that let me slime his protest sign is also a member of Veterans for Peace. If anyone has a moral and ethical right to protest, it’s a veteran who has “been there, done that”

Even a SLUG knows that this war is wrong and immoral

It’s been a busy day, and I’ve got another busy one tomorrow. I’ve got a "play date" tea with Luna tomorrow and a visit to Point Defiance with Molly on Sunday.

I am such a social slug! (but social slugs don't turn into social butterflys)

That’s it for now…

~DTES

In my new home

2006-10-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

Mom was tired last night and had to get up early to go to work this morning, so I spent the day getting used to my new home.

There are a lot of interesting things in this tiny space and it’s quite cozy.

My new sister is Bad Kitty.

She sure sleeps a lot. She tried to ignore me (actually, she spent most of the day ignoring me) but finally came around and starting sniffing me. I thought she was going to nibble on my antennas, but she licked them instead and then gave me a bath. She made a funny face and then went back to sleep.

I think she likes me.

That’s all for now…

~DTES

My first post and adventure! (how I got adopted and brought home)

2006-10-01T18:55:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day.

My brother and I were slugging around our bin in the gift store at the Lake Quinault Lodge where my new Mommy Lisa, her friend Tony and other friends came to have clam chowder for lunch after a backpacking trip to the beach.

They dug through the bin to find the best slugs, which were my brother and I of course.

They would have paid full price for us (we’re way too cute to resist) but all the stuffed animals were 30% off, so that gives them more money to take us on adventures and get us “slug treats”

My tag said that my name is “Foster” (what’s all this fuss about Bananas Foster?) and that my favorite food is Lichens. (I like chocolate, clam chowder, pizza and beer too!)

She named me Darwin because of my arms. She said I was “evolved”.

Here are Tony and my brother and my new Mom Lisa and I saying goodbye to the gift shop.

I am so happy riding in the car with mom.

My brother and I enjoyed the view from the dashboard

We got to take a break with the other pets at the Elma Rest Stop. Everyone said that I was “soooo cute”

I love riding in my mom’s backpack! I plan to spend a LOT of time there…

Until next time…

~DTES