Meet Ron. He’s the flying ace. He’ll swoop from the sky, dive into the water, and swim anywhere for a shiny fish. 🙂
Rrr- just how do you pronounce that? I wasn’t 100% sure on that myself, so I looked it up on Youtube… Continue reading
Paleo Petshop
Critter of the Week: Pliosaurus
Meet Tigger. This big guy is always ready to flash a big, toothy smile, especially at mealtime.
Look at that giant, toothy grin. He’s sure happy to see you! He’s looking for a treat or two (or ten), so that’s what this stinky bucket of slimy deliciousness is for. Tigger has a huge appetite, and he’ll eat anything that fits in that giant mouth of his. Even dinosaurs if one of them decides to go for a swim. (you heard right, dinos can swim, we have tracks to prove it) Continue reading
Critter of the Week Dilophosaurus
Meet Picasso. This quiet softie loves spending time with his special person. Snuggling under the tree to hear a good story? That sounds like a lovely way to spend a warm afternoon. 🙂
Picasso looks very happy to see you, and he wonders very much if you like his red crest. He’s very proud of it, you see, and he’s been strutting around the field like a very large rooster. Continue reading
Critter of the Week: Ornitholestes
Meet Opie. He’s a happy little fella who loves to curl up in your lap, so it’s a good thing he’s about the size of a big dog!
Yes, Opie seems to think he’s a big lapdog, and he loves it when you stroke his feathers. Where is he off to now? It looks like he’s going to show you his favorite toy…Opie carries Teddy around everywhere. He’s gone through quite a few “surgeries” to poke the stuffing back in after Opie nibbled on him. Continue reading
Critter of the Week: Dryosaurus
Meet Rosie. She’s a bit shy, and might need a little encouragement to come closer. A few treats should do the trick. Before you know it she’ll be perfectly content to snuggle close and put her head on your lap. 🙂
Rosie is smaller than your average dinosaur, about the size of a deer. Like a deer, she can be a bit jumpy, and she feels much better if she has friends to keep her company and watch out for troublesome, over-exuberant types like Opie. He’s far too excitable, and that makes her nervous. She’d much rather curl up under the shade of spiky cycad fronds for a little siesta. Continue reading
Critter of the Week: Apatosaurus
Meet Ajax. He’s a gentle giant with a big heart and a big appetite. He’ll do anything for food and a belly rub. And when I say anything, I mean anything…
Ajax is big, heavy, and always hungry. He’s got a knack for sniffing out treats and getting into places he shouldn’t. He really didn’t think things through when he squeezed into the shed that one time… Continue reading
Critter of the Week: Leedsichthys
Meet Gulper. He’s the biggest, most easy-going fish in the sea. All he wants in life is to drift through nice sunny waters. He’d love it if you joined him for a swim, and you’re welcome to hitch a ride on his fin. 🙂
Gulper has a giant mouth, but don’t worry, all he eats are tiny sea critters called plankton- just like whales. 🙂 Continue reading
Critter of the Week: Pliosaurus
Meet Tigger. This big guy is always ready to flash a big, toothy smile, especially at mealtime.
Look at that giant, toothy grin. He’s sure happy to see you! He’s looking for a treat or two (or ten), so that’s what this stinky bucket of slimy deliciousness is for. Tigger has a huge appetite, and he’ll eat anything that fits in that giant mouth of his. Even dinosaurs if one of them decides to go for a swim. (you heard right, dinos can swim, we have tracks to prove it)
Now when I say dinosaurs, I don’t mean swimming critters like Tigger. If you want the nitty gritty on what a dinosaur is or isn’t, you can quiz yourself on “Which One is the Dinosaur?”. 🙂 But even though Tigger wouldn’t mind a dino snack on occasion, it wasn’t usually on the menu, since he has plenty of turtles, squid, ammonites (think squid with a snail shell), fish, and marine reptiles to chomp on.
I say marine reptiles, because that’s what this big guy is. Tigger isn’t a dinosaur at all, but a pliosaur. In fact, his species, Pliosaurus, named his whole group!
The other marine reptiles swimming around here are ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. My little girl calls them “icky-saurs” and “pleasy-saurs”. 😛
Making progress… Continue reading
Critter of the Week Dilophosaurus
Meet Picasso. This quiet softie loves spending time with his special person. Snuggling under the tree to hear a good story? That sounds like a lovely way to spend a warm afternoon. 🙂
Picasso looks very happy to see you, and he wonders very much if you like his red crest. He’s very proud of it, you see, and he’s been strutting around the field like a very large rooster.
He marches up and down the fence line with his chest puffed out and his neck arched like a stallion. He watches over his patch of yard like the duke of the land, and if something doesn’t look quite right, he’ll stand as tall as he can and show off those blue feathers- just so you know he has things under control.
Oh yes, feathers! Now we don’t know for sure if this critter had feathers or not, and the whole subject of feathered dinos deserves it’s own series of posts, but there’s a definite possibility. 🙂
If you want to find out more about dinosaurs and feathers, here’s a post on what makes a feather, and here’s a post on figuring out which dinos might’ve had them. 🙂
I’ve given Picasso a coat of feathers similar in texture to an emu’s, which gives him the furry look. His fingers and feet are feathered too, like a snowy owl, but they have pads on them for walking and grabbing.
If you’ve watched a lot of Jurassic Park, take note that Picasso has awesome grabby hands that are good for hugs. Not dangly zombie bunny arms. What good are those for? 😛
Making progress…
Happy New Year! I hope you’ve been having a good holiday season.
I have big plans for the new year…Here’s a basic list, kinda in the order I want to accomplish it.
- officially set up Mailchimp so that I can launch Pete’s Postcards from the Shop.
- Finish Dippy vs. Ball so I can publish my first book (ever.)
- Earn my first 99 cents from said book. 😀
- Prep Dippy vs. Ball to make a print version available.
- Create more Critter Cam episodes until I have enough for the anthology, which will also be available in print.
And…
- Publish “Little, Quiet Dinosaur” (working title) by my birthday this year! We’ll see how realistic a goal that is later, but I’ll try my best to have it at least finished (if not ready to publish on Amazon).
I have a strategy in mind, to make sure this happens. Once Dippy vs. Ball is published, I’ll then work on an illustration for the picture book.
With an illustration complete, I’ll prep Dippy vs. Ball so that it can be available in print as well.
Then another illustration for the picture book…then I’ll start a second Critter Cam episode…you get the picture. 🙂
This way I hope to have more books out there (and therefore more easily seen, so future readers know I exist) while still making progress on the picture book. 🙂
P.S. – In case you didn’t notice, Picasso got an update!
- He looks more like most of the other critters now, style-wise
- He’s more balanced over his hips now, and doesn’t look like he’s about to fall on his face
- His head crest is shorter, and more like the latest skeletal drawings
- His body is leaner, since I gave his feathers a slightly shorter, more fur like look.
Here’s the older picture for comparison. 🙂
Coming Next Week…
This big guy is always ready to flash a big, toothy smile, especially at mealtime.
Share your guess in the comments! He’ll be one of the critters over on the critter page. 🙂
Pete's Paleo Petshop 