Kids & Snakes

This August, I will start my PhD program in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Iowa State University. Mostly, I will be studying garter snakes -- the same animal that I chased, caught, and admired in my youth. Actually, I will be fortunate enough to have a job as adult doing basically the same thing I did when I was 9 years old: running around beautiful places looking for, and catching, snakes. Of course, every parent hopes to share their passions with their kids. I'm pleased to say that in recent weeks, this has undoubtedly been the case.

James has had a great deal of fun playing with his toy rubber snake lately. The other day, he even fell asleep for his nap clutching the snake's neck, in a hold that would make his grandmother proud:


Anna, too, clearly loves her snakes:


And today, James and I caught a little garter snake on our hike:


James was an amazing field assistant, helping me to handle the snake and even weigh the little guy! I could want for nothing else this Father's Day. For more photos of James the field assistant, see here:

Jamie the Field Assistant