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somuchpingle.bsky.social
Mike Pingleton
@somuchpingle.bsky.social
19K followers 890 following 2.9K posts
Naturalist, Author, Peru wildlife guide, all photos mine 📷 Panasonic G9🪲 Host of the So Much Pingle herpetology podcast 🐸 Co-author of "The Field Herping Guide" 📗 Co-creator of HerpMapper (herpmapper.org) 🦎 Herpetofauna blogger at fieldherping.org 🐢
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somuchpingle.bsky.social
Mike Pingleton @somuchpingle.bsky.social · Nov 8
Welcome everyone, and thanks for following - let's build community, let's heal, and not give up. My agenda? 20k photos just sitting on my hard drive is a waste, so I'm gonna share 'em out - mostly nature pix, esp. amphibians and reptiles, but other subjects too. I'm glad you're here.
A middle-aged man (me) sitting at a table in a small restaurant in Hong Kong. Hunched over because I am very tired, I am holding my cup of morning coffee in front of me. I am wearing a blue shirt, my hair is short and graying, and I have a mustache and goatee. The worn table is painted a neon green, and behind me are other customers having breakfast.
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Starlink giving me a brief window of access. Here’s a tub of hatchling Yellow-spotted River Turtles (Podocnemis unifilis), part of a head-starting project at a village along the Rio Blanco. NE Peru. #turtles #herps 🌿
Top-down image of a red plastic tub with several inches of water, some aquatic plants, and a dozen baby turtles. The turtles have greenish yellow shells, and dark gray heads with yellow spots. Top down shot of a baby turtle in shallow water with aquatic plants. The turtle’s shell is a yellow-brown; the head and neck are dark gray with yellow spots.
January 16, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Reposted by Mike Pingleton
junkboxjim.bsky.social
Know your rights and how to respond to illegal attempts to get you to give them information or allow them entry.
January 13, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Reposted by Mike Pingleton
thinkingbayonet.bsky.social
evergreen
The only thin blue lines I respect are my local rivers and estuaries
January 12, 2026 at 7:40 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
My home river is the Mississippi. I grew up a half mile from its banks, and fell asleep listening to the deep rumble of tugboats pushing their barges. (posted from seat 22C as our plane fills up in Panama City)
thinkingbayonet.bsky.social thinkingbayonet.bsky.social @thinkingbayonet.bsky.social · 5d
My favorite Twitter prompt was "RT this with your home river," so reskeet this with your home river.

Mine is the Patuxent.
January 12, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by Mike Pingleton
redpilljunkie.bsky.social
With the recent passing of Bob Weir from The Grateful Dead, this would be a good time to remember how parapsychologist Stanley Krippner (a long-time friend of Bob & the rest of the band) once carried out a dream #telepathy experiment during their concerts:

www.dailygrail.com/2019/08/the-...
The Grateful Dead Once Carried Out a (Successful) Dream Telepathy Experiment During Their Concerts
One of the most iconic studies in parapsychology is the decade-long ‘dream telepathy’ research conducted at the Maimonides Dream Laboratory from 1964 to 1974 (see the short documentary, “Transmitting ...
www.dailygrail.com
January 12, 2026 at 11:21 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
I haven't been on BlueSky much - lots to do and like so many others, my anxiety levels have been through the roof. I'm flying to Peru in the morning, and I'm hoping to get my groove back maybe just a little. Painted Ant Nest Frog (Lithodytes lineatus), NE Peru. #herps #frogs #NaturePhotography 🌿
Side image of a stocky frog perched in some leaf litter on the forest floor. The Frog's back is a dark charcoal gray, while the flanks and chink are a pale translucent gray. Two bright yellow stripes part at the nose, each running down the back, and there are yellow spots on the limbs and back and face. The iris is a dark orange, and the black pupil is horizontally elliptical.
January 11, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Reposted by Mike Pingleton
tetzoo.bsky.social
We are approaching twenty full years of Tetrapod Zoology. The birthday is Jan 21st. A few highlights...
Tet Zoo montage showing dinosaurs. Tet Zoo montage showing book, cassowary, time travel device. Tet Zoo montage showing lake monster pics. Tet Zoo montage showing matamatas.
January 11, 2026 at 2:03 AM
Reposted by Mike Pingleton
conniemenefee.bsky.social
IDs: Green frogs have ridgelines extending from eyes down their backs; bullfrogs have ridgelines around their obvious tympana (eardrums) #Herps #Frogs
Top two frogs are green frogs with ridgelines indicated by bright green arrows; bullfrogs have tympana ridgelines indicated with red arrows
January 8, 2026 at 2:45 AM
Reposted by Mike Pingleton
cait.bsky.social
reminding myself there is good in the world and it is right here
orange cat asleep peacefully under the christmas tree
January 7, 2026 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Mike Pingleton
tedrkahn.bsky.social
#wetwednesday Found a slightly better pic of this pregnant Carolina Salt Marsh Snake (EN) Nerodia sipedon williamengelsi (Conant and Lazell, 1973) & a ventral pic; very cool snek. Enjoy!🐍
January 7, 2026 at 4:33 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
I'm busy packing for Peru this week, and trying to keep the doom at bay...I need to chill like this turtle! For #TurtleTuesday, a Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) floats in aqueous space without a care. South Texas. #herps #turtles #NaturePhotography 🌿
A top-down image of a turtle floating just at the surface of calm, blue-green water. The ground color of the turtle's shell is a dark gray, with intricate patterns of lighter gray lined with bright yellow stripes.
January 6, 2026 at 10:42 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Just say no to cognitive amplifiers
Face shot of Bugs Bunny saying “No”
January 3, 2026 at 4:19 AM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
I’m batman
Angled down image of an orange cat’s head resting on a gray sofa fabric. The cat’s head throws a shadow that kinda looks like Batman’s head in silhouette.
January 3, 2026 at 1:06 AM
Reposted by Mike Pingleton
jayispainting.earthskyart.ca
Possibly my finest work.

You might have to be from the UK or Ireland to get it though...
jayispainting.earthskyart.ca JayIsPainting 🍁 @jayispainting.earthskyart.ca · 15d
Every year we watch Lord of The Rings about a week before A Christmassy Ted and every year, I've told myself I'd make this.

This year, I finally did.

It's a pretty niche joke (you need to know the Father Ted tv show) but it makes me laugh
January 2, 2026 at 4:12 AM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Rabbit-Rabbit-Rabbit! A look back at the 2025 garden add-on. Mid-March I tilled the ground & built a frame for a 6 inch raised bed, 12ft x 30ft. Added 5 tons of soil and planted pots and seeds I started, mostly natives. Made a few mistakes, learned some things, it was so much fun! #garden #flowers
Angled side view of a a large wooded frame resting on bare ground in a back yard. The frame is a 6 inch raised bed, and while some soil has been added inside the frame, there is far to go to fill it up. The wooden frame is orangish color, being finished with a cedar stain to match the cedar fence which runs behind it. Angled side view of a raised bed garden, three months after planting. The bed is full of green plants and some flowers are blooming, mostly purple and red coneflowers and yellow brown-eyed susans. More mature and taller flowers are blooming behind the new bed along the orangish cedar fence - yellow susans, white shasta daisies and pruple and red coneflowers. A closer view of the raised bed garden at the end of June. There are many flowering plants in view, including yellow zinnias and pink cosmos, purple, coral, and yellow coneflowers, and yellow susans. Behand the bed and along the orangish cedar fence are more mature and taller purple and coral coneflowers, white shasta daisies, and some towering swamp milkweed and bee balm, both with pale purple flowers, A side image of the raised bed garden in late September, mostly a shot of flowering plants. the middle and background of the shot is a riot of yellow susans; in the foreground are white, purple, and coral cosmos. On the left is a sprinkling of orange coneflowers.
January 2, 2026 at 2:06 AM
Reposted by Mike Pingleton
emilytaylorscience.com
I am excited to share my new book, California Amphibians and How To Find Them, hot off the press from Heyday Books and ready to help guide your wet winter frog and salamander adventures! It is available now from my website or Feb 3 at bookstores.

www.centralcoastsnakeservices.com/shop.html
January 1, 2026 at 1:23 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Music for wrapping up some 2025 to-do lists (and pushing away the darkness)
Image of an album cover: "Bruce Hornsby - Spirit Trail - 25th Anniversary Edition" Features a middle-aged white man with very short grey hair, in a dark suit, white shirt, and striped tie. He has a round, clean-shaven face, and has a sort of surprised look. His eyes are as wide open as can be, showing white all the way around his blue irises. One hand is visible, clutching a lit cigarette lighter. A cigarette is sticking straight out of his right ear (on the left).
December 31, 2025 at 9:27 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Thanks to the clearsky app, I found out I was on someone's block list for being "a birder".

I'm kind of a birder, but more birder-adjacent, but I will wear that banned-birder badge <struts around>

The thread I'm quote-posting from is hilarious, btw.
wapplehouse.bsky.social Kristi Yamaguccimane @wapplehouse.bsky.social · 18d
What’s the funniest reason someone got mad at you on Bluesky this year?
December 30, 2025 at 11:11 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Me saying bye to 2025
a black and white photo of a person standing in the snow in the woods .
Alt: a black and white video clip from a silent film - a man in a suit (Buster Keaton) runs across the screen, left to right on open ground in front of some trees. As he exits the shot on the right, a large bear appears on the left, chasing him
media.tenor.com
December 30, 2025 at 4:45 AM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Here's a Nakon Si Thammarat Caecilian (Ichthyophis supachaii), observed in a shallow rivulet near a forest trail in peninsular Thailand, 2023. Caecilians are amphibians, & generally live underground, although there are some completely aquatic species. #herps #caecilians #NaturePhotography 🌿
Angled down image of a worm-like caecilian moving through a thin sheet of water over rock and pebbles. The caecilian is a dark gray from nose to tail, and there are narrow but bright yellow stripes on either side of the body
December 29, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Reposted by Mike Pingleton
ellisjrosen.bsky.social
Here are four of my most popular cartoons on 2025
December 29, 2025 at 5:06 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Atmosphere looking ominous here in central Illinois.
Side view of a rain-soaked parking lot full of cars, under a wall of gray clouds.
December 28, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Reposted by Mike Pingleton
dr-mafeta-phaka.bsky.social
Northern Forest Rain Frog in all its rotund, and grumpy-faced glory.

#Herpetology #Amphibians #Herping 🐸
December 28, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Reposted by Mike Pingleton
arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social
#FrogFriday 🐸:
Netsuke: Group of #Frogs on a Temple Bell
Sei Min, Japan, c.1850–1900
Marine ivory with metal inlay
Worcester Art Museum 1976.228
worcester.emuseum.com/objects/1411...
#JapaneseArt
official museum photo of object on white background, rotation view 1 netsuke of an army of frogs piled together on a temple bell “metal inlaid eyes; striation in ivory indicates marine ivory” official museum photo of object on white background, rotation view 2 netsuke of an army of frogs piled together on a temple bell “metal inlaid eyes; striation in ivory indicates marine ivory” official museum photo of object on white background, rotation view 3 netsuke of an army of frogs piled together on a temple bell “metal inlaid eyes; striation in ivory indicates marine ivory” official museum photo of object on white background, rotation view 4 (underside; looks like a skull) netsuke of an army of frogs piled together on a temple bell “metal inlaid eyes; striation in ivory indicates marine ivory”
December 27, 2025 at 3:29 AM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
I already have too many yet-to-be-used writing journals but holy cow, these were so cool. I had to avert my eyes, put my hands in my pockets, and walk away. #IMayHaveAProblem
Two leather-bound writing journals standing up on a book store shelf. The leather is a yellowish-brown and each cover features an animal, rendered in a ‘wood burning’ style. On the left is a raccoon, and on the right is a great horned owl. Additionally, the page edges are tinted, and show a series of relief images in white - on the raccoon book, it is a series of raccoon footprints; on the owl book, it is a cascade of feathers.
December 27, 2025 at 1:46 AM