And some tidepool things and birdwatching in a snowy plover area

Caught an adorable crab mate-guarding when I was on a restricted-access beach. I was unsuccessful in finding any ligia sp. though

Also millipedes! Like jumping spiders, they always make my day }:3

I also had a bunch of other firsts. Picked up a tarantula spiderling and a local cricket species. Picked up a lil scorpion and caught an awesome photo of a black widow who caught herself a scorpion meal (NOT the scorpion I found!)

Last month on my work trip, I managed to pick up some really cool critters as a side quest to my actual job. This was the highlight and a first for me...a Jerusalem cricket! Chonky little tank was plowing through spider webs and literally marched right past me in the hanger so I put him outside.

There are torpedo and missile hatches forward, starboard/port, and dorsal. Those little deets were really fun to design in in. Same for utilizing axle bricks and translucent yellow bricks (I wish I could easily incorporate internal lighting). Just lots of fun details to work on!

2026 will bring a 40k angry nuns transport/logistics ship and a grackle barge. I've already designed the sororitas ship and need to order the bricks to get it started. The fortress prow opens up to a flight deck for drop-cathedrals :) Sneaki peeki

Lol I basically spent a chunk of this year designing CAD and doing test renderings before picking up ~7000 bricks to build a 30k Salamanders battle barge, which will close out my 2025 rando project. Just a few more revisions and tweaks to the support stand and slab armor.

Look at this really pretty wild sailfin molly from a local creek!

P. hoffmannseggii getting her exercise. They get substantially larger than this and always have resting angry face. I need to do a vid of the males with their long uropods :)

(My hands always look like they belong to a lich in handling vids as I don't want lotions or oils to hurt the critters)

A hardshell taco turns into a soft bean burrito.

G. portentosa, Madagascar hissing roach.

Do you have an STL for this? This might be enough to push me over the edge to buy a small resin printer. I have a hollardops specimen preserved in matrix but having a physical model that isn't a delicate fossil with full on leggies would be awesome.

Obligatory trilobite tax:

Essentially this four-panel after Twitter turned to Xhitter, except we have moderation tools and won't be forced to engage by Xenon Husk changing rules to embolden trolls.

Art belongs to @alexnorris.bsky.social

As long as you don't spook them and set off their skittish nature, they'll happily run laps around your fingers all day and actively explore, unlike hissers (which will sploot on your palm and take a lazy bean nap)

These sweethearts are Simandoa conserfariam and discovered only 20 years ago in a single cave system in Guinea.

Their habitat was destroyed by a mining company shortly thereafter and rendered extinct in the wild, save for some specimens saved by biologists. They can get the zoomies and squeak!

They're definitely a more difficult pillbug species to keep healthy and they're mega shy, but omg they're just too darn precious!
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My old ass car is old enough to buy alcohol now, crazy. How long can I keep it running?

Idk what I'm doing so here is a clip of my dirt shrimp babies.

Cubaris sp 'rubber ducky'