Meet Bowser. Those horns may look intimidating, and his toothy grin can be downright fearsome. But you know what they say about books and their covers… 😉
There we go, he smells it! See these nice big strips of jerky? He’ll love it. I brought some for you too if you want to give him a special treat.
See him cock his head off to the side a little? Bowser can see a little bit in front of his nose, but he has trouble seeing very much past those bony ridges in front of his eyes. He still has better binocular vision than his cousin Alfred though!
Here you go, just take a strip of jerky with these tongs, and we’ll get to see the size of Bowser’s chompers. Bowser’s teeth are some of the longest for a dinosaur his size.
Yep, hold the tongs just like that, so we keep our fingers out of the way. There we go! Good boy Bowser! Listen to him grunt. 😀
Oh he wants more. Ok big guy! Wow, look at the size of those teeth! Personally, I’m glad he usually keeps his mouth shut…
The teeth on this mount may be extra long, because teeth tend to slip out of the socket when there’s no soft tissue to hold them in, but they’re still super long! This is a younger individual, so the horns aren’t as big as Bowser’s. Photo courtesy and copyright of Dr. John Meck. Obtained from qilong.wordpress.com
Bowser always reminds me of a pit bull. Kinda short (compared to Alfred), thick muscle, big head…he’s the pit bull of Jurassic predators. He’s buff, he’s tough, and he’ll stop at nothing to protect his special person.
He has an unfortunate reputation for being aggressive and nasty, but animals are only as bad as their owners train them to be.
Give them a good home and healthy training- you’ll have a loyal friend that is sweet and adoring.
Well, I’m not sure how adoring Bowser can be…he’s not exactly the sharpest tack. But Pete’s trained him well, and he never shows his teeth except when he’s chomping down on a meal.
That’s a good boy Bowser, here’s another piece of jerky for ya. 🙂
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”. 😛
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. 🙂
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.
Oh no! I opened the back pasture gate to let Picasso up the hill this morning, and Pete and I just can’t find him anywhere. A bit odd that he didn’t come for his treat. I hope Skittles doesn’t mind. I did see Picasso playing tag with her once…
I’m sorry about that. You never know with critters…they can have the most predictable habits, but sometimes things turn out differently. He probably found a lizard or something in the brush and ran after it.
Picasso is a Dilophosaurus, a leopard-sized predator of Jurassic Arizona. He’s quite good at catching small, slippery snacks, so it might take Pete a while to find him in the brush.
While we wait, here is a Youtube clip that squashes a lot of misconceptions about Dilophosaurus. Enjoy! 🙂
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.
Oh! That’s Miss Kitty peaking around the corner. She’s a little shy after Opie tried playing a game of snatch with her. He’s just a big softie though, and he only wants to play. He’ll get a little droopy when Miss Kitty doesn’t understand. So he’ll curl up in his bed to snuggle with Teddy, and he’ll chirp happy chirps when he snuggles. He sounds a lot like this…
Speaking of soft and cuddly, those feathers are rather like those on an emu or kiwi. Looks a lot like fur, doesn’t it? 🙂
Emu feathers. Photo courtesy of Amanda Slater (2009)
Making progress…
Getting along spiffily (is that a word?) on my little storybook, Dippy vs. Ball. Here’s what I have so far on one of the spreads. A handy little map so we can take a little stroll around Dippy’s hometown to meet the neighbors.
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. 🙂
Meet Elmer. He’s a little shy, and likes staying in his comfort zone, but he’ll be your best giant friend if you give him some greens and a big hug.
The best way to a dino’s heart is through his stomach, as they say. Well, that’s not really the phrase, but I’m sure it’s just as true, especially when it comes to these long-necked sauropods. 🙂 I think the rough estimate is a solid cube- 5ft x 5ft – of vegetation in a single day to feed one of these guys.
Oh, there’s Elmer, browsing on a few of the trees that grow here in the pasture. You’d think you’d see him right away, he’s so big. But his striped pattern is surprisingly good camouflage in that grove of tall conifers.
What’s he looking at…? Oh, here comes Pete on the Kabota. He’ll be joining us here on the platform to feed Elmer. If you lean over the railing a bit and look down, see that row of big boxes kinda spaced along the wall? That’s where the big bunches of conifer branches and ferns will go. They’re in the big shed behind us, the one to the left of the stairs we came up.
And here comes Elmer. My goodness, he’s fast. It looks like he’s moving slow, but with those long legs he sure covers ground quickly! And so quiet…You’d think there’d be the big stomping footsteps you hear in Jurassic Park.
Hey there Elmer! We have a friend to see you today. 🙂
I just can’t get over how big he is! What are we, 30 feet up? 40?
It’s hard to grasp how big these guys really are until you’re right next to them. Come to think of it, that’s the way it is with most animals.
To think that Elmer is as heavy as 5 elephants. Five! And not just any elephant. 5 bull African elephants, which are about as big as it gets when it comes to land animals walking around today.
Here’s a video that helps put that into perspective…
So five of those guys is about as heavy as the average humpback whale. Yes, Elmer here is every bit as big as a whale, and he’s not even the biggest sauropod out there!
Oh, hi Pete, we have a visitor today!
There you are, friend, a nice bunch of ferns you can give Elmer. Just grab it at the end here, and make sure your fingers are in a nice, tight fist.
That’s it.
Elmer’s teeth are like pruning shears, so we don’t want to lose any fingers today by mistake.
I think he likes you!
Making progress…
I’ve been working on actually finishing the homepage image for a bit now, and I thought I would share my progress so far.
It’s an important part of the site, since it’s the first thing you see, and it’s the “front window” of Pete’s Paleo Petshop.
But it’s also a test.
A test for style, to make sure I’m happy with it, and it’ll have the feel I’m going for.
A test to see how long it takes me to complete a full illustration. (so far two weeks, but that’s in between the margins of everything else)
And a test to make sure you like what you see as well. After all, this may be an ambitious idea and project, but the long-term goal is to earn a passive income in a way that doesn’t take time from my family.
So here is two weeks of sporadic sketching between posts, child herding, and making sure the house doesn’t fall apart. 😛 (I exaggerate, but truly, being a stay-at-home mom takes quite a bit more work than a lot of people think 🙂 )
Compared to the current homepage…You’ll notice the little saber-tooth cub lost his fangs. They’re just hidden behind extra large lips. Turns out only tusks are exposed, so all saber-tooth cats should have their teeth nicely sheathed. 🙂
I did look at reference pictures, but research was kept to a minimum since most of these animals are not in the Jurassic period. I’ll update the picture as I get to the appropriate periods, which may take a while. 😛
Coming Next Week…
I hope you don’t mind getting wet, because this swimming critter loves to splash! 🙂
Pete's Paleo Petshop 