Yo. I'm Ainsley, I'm an entomology student who likes to draw stuff. I'm 20. I'm partial to the musical stylings of Bob Dylan, TMBG, Paul Simon, Queen, the B-52s, etc. I'm in a marching band, if you call that "music". I like Cadbury's Mini-Eggs. I read stuff by Brian Jacques, Umberto Eco, Terry Pratchett, Joan Aiken, Konrad Lorenz, and possibly even J. K. Rowlings, though Lord knows I wouldn't admit it. I think that's about all there is to say just now.

EVEN MORE ALL-NEW HOT NOT-SO TEEN BUT STILL NOT QUITE LEGAL PIX!!! FEB 2nd: Kayak adventures!! No, EXTREME KAYAK madness Madness MADNESS!

So, I like kayaking. That's me and Ol' Blue up in BC, last summer.

My Dad & I camped on a tiny wooded island just east (I think) of Vancouver Island, up northly.

My natural habitat. No offense to NY people, but this SO kicks the ass of the Finger Lakes and similar, lesser bodies of water.

The OTTER story!

So, it's the very, absolute last day of my winter break this year, and I'm kayaking around in Puget Sound with my Dad. We heard there was a sea otter (Enhydris lutra, I think) hanging around, and we were hoping to maybe spot it through binoculars. I'm a big fat nature nerd and I really, really, really like weasel things. Like otters.

So, it's raining and kind of cold (Duh, this is Washington) and we've been on the water for two hours, and NUTHIN. As we turn to head back to the launch, I see this little floaty thing bobbing around waaay offshore. We paddle over and drift a bit, trying to get it in the binocs and see if it's an otter. It IS an otter. It's hard to see because it keeps diving and resurfacing and (heart attack) approaching the boat with each dive. Eventually it comes right up to us. Now, I've been hiking and so on for a long time, and I know what you should and shouldn't do around wild animals. Sadly, this all goes out the window because IT'S AN OTTER! OH MY GOD! etc. So I put out my hand to see what'll happen, and this otter grabs my fingers in its li'l otter paws. They're remarkably strong from wrasslin' mollusks, and they have hardly any claws to speak of. I'm trying to decide whether to retract my fingers before I lose one, when AAAIGH there's an otter eating my sleeve. Fortunately I'm a good Seattle child in a rugged, durable REI jacket, and no damage is done. The otter then tried to climb into the kayak, pictures of which are not yet developed. And theat's the Otter Story.

My new pets! Ain't they just the cutest?

More beetles! They're in the family Passalidae and they came from a rotten log in Georgia. When they're mad they make squeaky noises.

Me in front of some lovely Upstate autumn foliage. Lousy angle, nice colors.

Me and my goofy hair.

Me attempting to blend, chameleon-like, into the British flag.

dude, e-mail.

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