Curtis Curly-tail is Blown Away Archives — Elaine A. Powers, Author

What Do You Call a Group of Animals?

Image courtesy of Markéta Machová from Pixabay

Hello, Friends!

It’s me, Curtis Curly-tail! How is everybody out there? I hope you are staying strong and well.

Are you familiar with collective nouns? I knew they existed. They’re the words that describe a specific group of animals, like a flock of birds or a school of fish. Lizards like me are found in a lounge, i.e., a lounge of lizards (like in the photo above). Other reptiles have fun collective nouns, too. Alligators are found in a congregation, while crocodiles collect in a bask. Cobras form a quiver, while rattlesnakes, a rhumba! That’s one of my favorites. One I have a hard time understanding, though, is an army of frogs. Where did that come from? How threatening would an army of frogs be? (Although, from a reptile point of view, it does sound a bit slimy.)

Mammals have some interesting collective nouns, like a leap of leopards, a horde of hamsters, or a sneak of weasels. That one made me laugh. Then, I learned a collective noun I had never heard of: Fluffle. What is a fluffle a group of, you may ask? I certainly did. A fluffle is a group of wild rabbits. A fluffle of wild rabbits. Can’t you just imagine a group of fluffy, jumping rabbits? I thought this was the perfect collective noun.

Well, it’s time for me to return to my lounge and pose for some pictures on the beach. I just love showing off my perfectly curled tail!

Until next time, take care and please, check out the Curtis Curly-tail series of books, especially my latest adventure when I was caught in a hurricane: Curtis Curly-tail is Blown Away! I think you’re gonna love them. After all, the stories are about my adventures, and Elaine A. Powers, my friend and the author, sneaks science into them. She always says, “Science is fun! Let’s show them!”

I say, “Sure! As long as it’s about me!” She just shakes her head and smiles.

The show must go on! And that reminds me, please come on over and watch me in my starring role on my YouTube page. Lots of fun and interesting things there to learn about really cool (literally) reptiles.

I’ve Been Blown Away!

Image courtesy of David Mark of Pixabay

In my book Curtis Curly-tail is Blown Away, I described Curtis and his iguana friends being caught in a hurricane. I’ve had personal experience in hurricanes from living along the Gulf Coast. My first week at Florida State University was delayed by a hurricane. I had to go to class on Saturday to make up for the lost day. When I worked at the JN Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, we were out checking islands in Tampa Bay when a hurricane passed by. We were in a 16-foot boat in 16-foot waves! Fortunately, we made it back safely.

children's book cover about Curtis Curly-tail lizard and a hurricane in the Bahamas — In this story, I join Allison Andros Iguana to warn the iguanas of Beach Cay about the impending hurricane. Low lying areas are particularly vulnerable to the storm surges, high rainfall and powerful winds of hurricanes. Small islands or cays here in the Bahamas can be completely washed over. Beach Cay, the setting of Curtis Curly-tail is Blown Away, has entire populations of endemic animals, such as the iguanas like Allison. One powerful hurricane could wipe out her entire species.

But the hurricane that made the biggest impression on me was Hurricane Alicia in Houston. I was working as a bone marrow transplantation technician and a patient had been scheduled for the day of Alicia’s arrival. This was not a procedure that could be delayed. One of the team doctors had been trapped at the hospital due to the storm, but a technician was needed to prepare the cells. I was single and all the other techs had families, so I told them to stay home and I would go in. I had no doubt I could make it; after all I had a heavy-duty SUV.

The world was gray with rampaging rain and violent winds. Power lines snapped in front of me. Building pieces flew to the street, littering my route to work. I had to keep changing directions to get around the debris. The power of the winds threatened to push in my car windows. I eventually worked my way to the parking lot of the hospital. I was very thankful I had survived the trip.

Comforted by the thought I had arrived, I opened my car door and stepped out. The next thing I remember is catching the bumper of my car as I was blown away. I might have been able to drive through 105 mph winds, but I couldn’t stand in them! I was contemplating how I was going to pull myself up my car from the bumper to the open door, when my savior arrived. The shuttle bus driver had seen me and positioned his bus as a wind block. I was able to crawl up my car to his bus and get in. He then shuttled me to the hospital.

I can’t remember now if I told him the importance of why I was there. He not only saved me that day, but the patient who was successfully transplanted with bone marrow. I hope I did tell him. I’m grateful to this day, because I don’t know how much longer I could’ve held on. I was almost blown away that day by very powerful winds. I have a great deal of respect for the might of hurricanes. In the case of Curtis Curly-tail is Blown Away, the writer was writing what she knew!

Let ME Tell You How to Find a Lizard! by Curtis Curly-tail Lizard

Hello, my friends! It’s been a while! I’m just getting back home after the hurricane on Beach Cay. Phew! THAT was an adventure! If you’d like to see what I’ve been up to, Curtis Curly-tail is Blown Away is now available at Amazon.com. But I’m back, and my friend, Elaine Powers, author, asked me to tell you how to find a lizard. I’d be happy to!

Some of my lizard cousins live “in captivity” with humans. This living situation has advantages and disadvantages. A caring person will provide hiding spots for young lizards, so they feel comfortable. We lizards retain all our survival instincts in captivity and like to hide from possible predators. And, young lizards are so very tasty. (I hear the seagulls talking about this on my beach. Shudder.)

There is one problem with good hiding places, however. On occasion, it becomes hard for the human to locate their reptilian family member.

The photo above is what Twizzler, a Spiny-tail iguana’s, human saw when looking for the young iguana. Is that a lizard body part? she thought. Or just another piece of the plastic rock formation?

Okay, yes, it was a body part. When she looked behind the rock, she saw identifiable parts of Twizzler, his snout and tail.

a rock from an iguana's enclosure — Can you see an iguana knee in this photo? Please comment below and tell me where it is. Thank you! Curtis

And what is the part of Twizzler’s body seen in front of this rock? His human claims Twizzler’s knee is in the picture. I’m a lizard and I can’t see it! Can you? Please make a note for me in the comments, if so. I’d love to know where it is. Thank you for your help.

I do have a clue if you ever need to find a lizard: Remember to look for the tail. We lizards often forget to pull in our tails. Of course, Twizzler could have felt comfortable enough to leave his tail out. After all, there are no predators in his enclosure, and he knows that now.

Now, back to me! Here is my latest adventure story. I just love being the star of Warderick Wells and having my friends see me on You Tube!

Until next time, you all take care out there. Be good to each other–life is short.

Desert vs. Island Temps by Curtis Curly-tail Lizard

illustration of curtis curly-tail lizard — It’s me, Curtis Curly-tail Lizard! Don’t you just love my perfectly curled tail?

Since I’ve been staying in my den more, I’ve been tuning in to old TV shows. I enjoy the old Westerns set in the US Desert Southwest—maybe because that’s where my good friend and author, Elaine A. Powers, lives! The dry climate there is so different from my humid island weather. Where I live in the Exuma Island chain in The Bahamas, the temperature only varies between 28.0° Celsius (82.4° Fahrenheit) and 20.0° Celsius (68° Fahrenheit).

I mention this because I was watching the show, The High Chaparral, which is set in the Sonoran Desert, outside of Tucson, Arizona. In one episode, the character Manolito complains that the desert is very hot during the day, but so cold at night. Summer temperatures can exceed 40°C (104°F) during the day, but fall to around 20.0° Celsius (68° Fahrenheit) at night!

That’s a huge drop! I wondered how that happens, so I asked Elaine, of course. It’s due to the lack of water. No humidity! The sun warms the ground during the day, which raises the temperature. The lack of water in the ground means all that heat is lost after the sun sets; and the lack of vegetation helps in the loss of heat from the ground, too.

I realized it’s the humidity here in the islands that helps maintain our temperatures, so we don’t heat up too high during the day and lose as much of the sun’s warmth at night. Our temperatures stay within a narrow range, while those in the desert swing wildly.

photo of ocean wave coming in, below an orange sunset — Image courtesy of RUBEN EDUARDO ORTIZ MORALES from Pixabay

I’m glad I live here, in this perfect place, here on Warderick Wells Cay in the Caribbean. It could be the most perfect place in the world. Well—except for one thing. The hurricanes. I’d love it if you picked up a copy of my latest adventure/survival story, Curtis Curly-tail is Blown Away! The kids will learn all about how my friends and I work to survive the hurricanes and how the people of The Bahamas help each other to rebuild. It’s an adventure tale with a happy ending—and environmental and weather science woven into the story. That’s Elaine’s specialty: making science books fun! Check her books out here and click on the amazingly fun workbooks to see the educational supplements associated with her books, published by Lyric Power Publishing, LLC.

If you’d like to learn more about the science of islands, check out the complete Curtis Curly-tail Series. If your children need to learn more about desert science, they should read Elaine’s Don’t Series, as well as the amusing How Not to Photograph a Hummingbird, which shows how dangerous that can be in a desert (in a humorous way) and includes a glossary of flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert.

Really! Check out Elaine’s books! She loves making science fun to read, in the hopes budding scientists will be born. And don’t forget about me! I have my own YouTube channel, where you can learn about Everything Reptiles! Come visit me today at Curtis Curly-tail Speaks. See you next time!

Moon and Venus say Hello to Each Other!

PHOTO above is courtesy of the App called SkyView.

Thanks to Tucson, Arizona being a dark sky city, stargazing can be wonderful. One recent September morning, I enjoyed viewing the crescent moon along with a bright object. Of course, that object was not a star, but the planet Venus. I thought it was worth a photo (below), even though my cell phone doesn’t take the best night-time images.

photo of crescent moon and the planet Venus near each other — Photo of crescent moon near the planet Venus by Elaine A. Powers, Author

I’m not very knowledgeable about constellations, so I use the SkyView app. The constellation for the Zodiac sign Cancer was overlaid. I like how the claws appear to be holding the moon.

Several of these astronomy apps are free and fun to use. All you have to do is go outside and look up.

I wonder if Curtis Curly-tail lizard ever navigated his way home using the stars as guides? He certainly is a bright little guy and he really helps make learning science fun. Check out the Curtis Curly-tail series today!

Elaine A. Powers, Author

MAKING SCIENCE BOOKS FUN!

Tag: Curtis Curly-tail is Blown Away

What Do You Call a Group of Animals?

I’ve Been Blown Away!

Let ME Tell You How to Find a Lizard! by Curtis Curly-tail Lizard

Desert vs. Island Temps by Curtis Curly-tail Lizard

Moon and Venus say Hello to Each Other!

About

Elaine A. Powers, Author

© 2021 ELAINE A. POWERS, TUCSON, ARIZONA