ICHTHYOSTEGA

Couldn't have just left well enough alone, now we have to pay separate insurance for our bodies and our teeth even though our teeth are IN our bodies...

I imagine the warm coastal deltas and lagoons were a scary place to navigate for our little friend, what with the mighty Dunkleosteus chopping things in half with his boney jaws, but now we're on all fire and we need to blame someone.

CRABBING

The Convergent Evolution was really kicking off on Stone Creek Beach. Just wait for the snake crabs...

SNESSY

This is the Lock Ness Monsters cousin Snessy, she enjoys long swims near the beach, Yankee candles, warm fish by the fire, and girls' night at the Slots-o-Fun in Berwin IL.

DEB’S DOG

People usually want you to identify as a "Cat" or "Dog Person". I'm a fan of all vertebrates and pay homage to the little Haikouichthys who lived 518 million years ago and swam the shallow coastal seas of the Early Cambrian. Without him, and of course, my boy Tiktaalik 220 million years later in the Late Devonian, none of us would be here today to complain about our back pains and bone spurs.

Anyway, dogs are cool, I prefer snouted over snubby ones and short hair over long, but that's just my preference. You guys know Deb? She owns a dog and she is gunna tell you about it.

YOUNG NOSSY IV

Abelard was already a skilled swimmer and took to snorkeling that summer, but Bardolf was in the same space as Nossy. Water seemed like a pretty good time, but precautions needed to be taken for safety. A properly fitted water-wing (or two) should do the trick...

NOSSY III

Young Nossy did his share of volunteer work when he was a kid. Bardolf and Abelard had some novel phlebotomy techniques that were worth noting.

YOUNG NOSSY II

Just a few more of Young Nossy's hobbies and activities when he was growing up. Abelard and Bardolf were usually hanging around by this time in his life. They've been pals for hundreds of years.

YOUNG NOSSY

It wasn't always dank and creepy dungeons and dark forests. The young Nossy had some nights in his childhood filled with more normal activities. I'm going to draw a few over the next days. Which Nossy do you guys like? Summer Camp Nossy, 1st Day of School Nossy, Skull Snacker Nossy, or Bikes Nossy?

CICADA PSA

Summertime is the best time for PSA awareness campaigns since we're all out there being wily and putting ourselves in potentially dangerous situations. Jon Cicada has a message for the winged variants among us. Although this message is meant for arthropods, us vertebrates can take heed just the same IMO.

CICADA SUMMER V

Even after the fall of humankind. There is no escape!

I like the one sitting on the zombie's ear having a blue-raspberry snow cone. He's having a good time.

RIDE SHARING

Things could have gone south really quickly. *whew*, Glad it all worked out.

THE VOTES ARE IN

Sometimes I wonder what kind of public speaker Sagan might be in a universe where cats talk. He's charismatic and charming, so I feel like he'd be quite persuasive. I used to let him explore the building hallway but there are too many dogs in the building and the vet said he could catch something he's not vaccinated for. Since this new no-hallway rule has been put into place, he's none-to-happy about it and I can feel him drawing up political strategies against me.

CICADA SUMMER

"Ah now summertime's here babe

Need somethin' to keep you cool...

You better look out now

'Cause I got somethin' for you"

- Cicada Lee Roth