Snail Races

Maybe you get a little cabin fever when you're stuck in a forest, I don't know. But we wanted to have a little fun. So we went to Walmart for supplies and decorated some of the snails for the first annual snail race. (all snails were cleaned after the race :)


Sometimes a little coaching doesn't hurt.


We placed the snails at the end of a table and rubbed an apple down the table to hopefully give some 'inspiration.' I made the RSU snail and the one with the orange pom-poms. We didn't win, as a matter of fact, my snails went the wrong direction, to the edge of the table, lol. But at least my snail didn't cheat. One snail hitched a ride on another's back, but it wasn't a very good cheater b/c that snail only traveled in circles.


Miami won about an hour later! AND he came back down the table for a victory lap.


GOOD TIMES!

If a tree falls in the forest...

If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a noise? Yes my friend, yes it does. Summer is the rainy season in Puerto Rico. And with the rain comes wind. This tree fell across the driveway to the field station over the weekend. Since its the weekend the station employees are not available. So the researchers found a chainsaw to clear the drive. it was hilarious because you could tell none of these guys have used a chainsaw before. Leave it to the country girl to give direction on how to cut from the bottome, etc. Come on guys, put your back into it! (or legs lol)

In the last picture Mike and Mary scratched M+M in the stump. Look past that, aren't the rings cool?!

Snail Guide

These pics are from the Puerto Rico Snail Field Guide.

Yummy

Pinchos (meat on a stick), Bacalaitos (a fried cod/white fish fritter), and hot oil Pulpo (octopus) from the can with ritz crackers....yum....snailer's delight. Nearly all of the kiosks provide these delicious foods. Their mangos and coconuts are delicious as well. But getting the coconuts takes a skilled person...

DayGlo Hammers

So how does one justify buying 3 hammers at $35 a pop? Its simple really, make a game out of it.

Home Depot hammers were purchased initially to pound pvc stakes into the groud. Since the work takes place in the forest the bright orange would be easily spottedin the litter.

"Los Hammeros," perverted Spanglish at its peak, was invented by snailers for snailers. Its like horseshoes. There are 3 teams of 2, you throw your hammer and try to get the closest to the pvc stake (which can easily be placed on a beach :-). If your hammer is the closest, you get 1 point, if you're within a handle, you get 3 points, if you get a leaner, that's 5 points. If your team is desperate for points, you can throw over the head backwards to double your points. (Yes, an over the head backwards leaner has been accomplished). The first team to 15 and winning by 2, wins. There are some other rules but those are the main points.

(no snails are harmed in the playing of the Los Hammeros)

A similar game can also be played back in oklahoma with a frisbee, 4 solo cups, and 4 bamboo sticks. Just ask me another time, lol.

raining in the rain forest....what?!

These pics are before the rain...

The videos below are during the rain! So I'm supposed to gather my last bit of data tonight but there has been too much rain. The thunder quaked the whole mountain earlier, that was amazing.

all work and no play...not for the snailers

So being at El Verde Field Station doesn't mean all work all the time. There is time for exploring, going out to dinner (even if its just pinchos en pinones) and playing pool. With the station full of people from U. Mass., Colombia, U. Conn., Univ. Puerto Rico, Ohio, Chicago, and more individuals working on research from different locations, then all of the REU students (Research Experiences for Undergraduates), there are plenty of people to have a good time with and also talk to about their research and graduate school experiences. (its like I have 10 mentors instead of 1! )

The first set of pictures are from Michael (RET; research education for teachers) and I. I told him about this nice cold swimming hole that's a short hike from the station. When we got there there we saw this tree that fell over the water, so no swimming here for now. Luckily, there are many swimming areas all around. If the rain ever stops (we ARE in a rainforest during rainy season), we'll go to another one. Back in the states I'm creeped out by snakes in swimming holes. Here in El Yunque I dont' have to worry about it. There's the Puerto Rican Boa but its been years since anyone has seen one. And there is a racer, which apparently doesn't come into the forest. So the only large critters in the tributaries and rivers here are fish, shrimp, and crabs.

At least once in the summer the snail crew takes a drive to old san juan for our tradiational dinner and pool playing. Old San Juan makes me homesick for NOLA. We had a nice dinner of Mofongo (plantain based) then some COMPETITIVE (joking of course) pool playing.

So we have tonight off since there has been too much rain and that's great because its someone's 28th birthday. That means good food, good music, salsa dancing, and throwing hammers (to be explained in another post).