Curious flyers dive after a sandwich.
A giant swimmer rams into the boat.
A pet dinosaur is not like your average dog. When your dog needs some exercise, then you can just take him out on a walk. But what do you do when your pet is a giant, sharp-toothed meat-eater three times the size of the biggest tiger at the zoo?
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I’ve had a month to figure out what worked last year, what was messy, and what doesn’t quite fit. Right out the gate and looking back at what I did, I must say I’m rather surprised and pleased with how much I finished. Through most of the year I didn’t think I was accomplishing very much, and when I set out to evaluate the past year I thought I would be in for a rather dissapointing reality check.
Small wins quickly add up! And this time you have the option of either reading this post, or listening in on the recorded version. 😀 I thought it would be fun to have a little chat with my kids about this post. Next time I’ll try writing the post first and reading from that, so that they sync up a little better. It’s a learning experience. 🙂 Right now the audio version will be a bit different from the written post.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at what my goals where February 2021…
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This handsome little fellow was only about the size of a pigeon or perhaps a crow. The one and only fossil preserves beautiful details about its feathers, the skin membrane between a few fingers, and even the structures that hint at color. But fossils like these can often lead to even more questions than one started with! Let’s take a moment to unpack what I mean…
Continue readingThis sketchbook sneak peak is all about the upcoming Critter of the Month! As you might have guessed from last month’s clue, Yi Qi will be joining the critters at Pete’s Paleo Petshop.
Continue readingIt’s Dinovember, and I thought I’d have a little fun with one of those lists of dinosaurs floating around Instagram. Just a few critters, to shake things up a bit with a slightly different style and fun fact bits. The list I borrowed off of Instagram had mostly Cretaceous critters in it, but I decided I’d post a few here anyway. Enjoy!
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Last year I wrote a little story about Tango and Twig, but it was posted in two halves. Tango and Twig would be much happier if I posted the whole story in one place, so enjoy this silly little tale about Tango the Archaeopteryx and Twig the Compsognathus.
Continue readingThe seasons are changing here in the Texas hill country.
The nights are cooler, the leaves on the pecans and sycamores are falling, yellow wildflowers like broomweed and ragweed are abuzz with busy bees and huge monarch butterflies, and everywhere you go the world is aglow with the golden hue sunlight seems to get at this time of year.
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What do you like to do over the weekend?
Pete enjoys leisurely walks with the critters at the shop. Today he’s taking Opie the Ornitholestes and Nina the Nanosaurus.
Wait a second, don’t they have a rather antagonistic relationship? Well, yes, you’d be correct if we were talking about wild Ornitholestes and Nanosaurus, but domestic ones can learn to get along with the proper training. A well fed and regularly exercised Ornitholestes soon learns to ignore a Nanosaurus, especially one that is fully grown. Nina here will be just a little bigger than Opie once she reaches her full size, but that’ll be a while yet since she’s already mature and now in slow-growth mode.
Many dinosaurs grow very quickly in size when they’re young, like us. Once mature, we don’t grow any taller, but many dinosaurs will continue growing (at a much slower pace) for as long as they live.
Pete usually has a harness for Nina, but he doesn’t need one for Opie. Opie saw Pete for the first time when he hatched out of the egg, and he followed Pete around like a duckling follows its mother. He’s all grown up now, so he usually spends time out in his paddock, but he’ll still follow Pete around when he comes by. All the Ornitholestes that did not see Pete as a hatchling don’t do this, so he uses a harness anytime he needs to take them somewhere.
Out in the wild, a fully grown adult Nanosaurus wouldn’t have too much to worry about from an Ornitholestes, especially as a flock. Young chicks would definitely have to watch out though, like these hiding in the cycad fronds. Luckily for them, this Ornitholestes is only curious about the rustling in the foliage, and not particularly hungry. A hunting Ornitholestes would keep its head low, and move slowly and quietly. Then the young Nanosaurus would crouch low to the ground and sit absolutely still, ready to dart out of the stiff cycad leaves if they are found.
Thank you so much for stopping by! See you on August 1st for Critter of the Month! 😀
Pete's Paleo Petshop 