Appalachian Weird

It's one of my favorite native plants and I've been talking about it all week!

Thanks for sharing!

Since I don't smoke, sometimes I just go stand in the bathroom at work and dissociate for a few minutes.

Just listened to @emilytaylorscience.com on a brand new rattlesnake focused episode of @ologies.bsky.social and it was perfect! Go listen!

Truly one of Appalachia's weirdest creatures, the spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera).

From their snorkel noses to their weird leathery shells, every inch of this turtle is highly specialized and bizarre. And now you can have these weird little guys as a decal! Find it on my Etsy shop.

Snakes are always tricky, it's difficult to find the right balance of scale details. Too much detail and you'll never be done, not enough and it just looks like a worm. I think I found the balance though and I really enjoyed working on this queen snake (Regina septemvittata).

I was on the news tonight and personally I love this screen shot I took.

Whatever the thing is that tells the body to stop eating humus, I don't have it.

The Trump administration warned federal employees of “adverse consequences” for not reporting colleagues resisting orders to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, giving a 10-day deadline to report via a special email account.

You're as pretty as a painting.

Find this greeting card and more by following the link below!

appalachianweird.etsy.com/listing/1852...

Do you have a crush who is into birds? I can't think of a better card to send them.

Find this card and more on my Etsy shop!

appalachianweird.etsy.com

Send this to someone who's got you feelin' froggy.

appalachianweird.etsy.com/listing/1837...

We're releasing greeting cards! These 4"x6" cards are shipped with their own brown kraft envelope, ready to be addressed and stamped. The back is blank, providing a space for a handwritten note that would be perfect for a small heartfelt message.

That being said, all shipments right now have a much bigger chance of being lost or delayed so I can't make any guarantees. I really do appreciate all of the recent sales, it's exciting to think people will be opening gifts to find my decals inside.

I'll be honest, I'm not 100% sure when a good "cut off date" for Christmas orders will be. The USPS has always been good to me and gotten my orders to customers usually within a week of me dropping them in the mail. So I'd say at absolute latest, you'd maybe want to place an order on Dec. 16th.

I'm knocking these orders out as fast as they're coming in.

Had the realization I can just turn my decal illustrations into rubber stamps for a few bucks.

This red eft is one of the first decals I illustrated.

It's based on a photograph I took of a very small but beautifully colored newt crossing a sidewalk in Kanawha State Park here in WV.

Holy cow that thing is vibrant, crazy to see them in situ like that. I wonder if it's the same species, I know they are in Greenbrier and Monroe county, but I'm not sure about Pendleton. There are a few other blue crawdad species in WV that it could be.

The meadow river mudbug (Cambarus pauleyi) and the yellow-spotted woodland salamander (Plethodon pauleyi) both share the distinction of being named after the same West Virginia herpetologist; Dr. Thomas Pauley. (And I've illustrated decals of both!)

A little more info:

Originally a member of the Cambarus dubius species complex, C. pauleyi was described as its own species in 2015 by Zachary J. Loughman, Roger F. Thoma, James W. Jr. Fetzner, and G. Whitney Stocker.

Oooooh, oakworms have been on my illustrations list for a while. They're so gorgeous.

Cold weather got you feeling blue?

Maybe a little brilliant blue crustacean could cheer you up. Meet the meadow river mudbug (Cambarus pauleyi)! This charismatic crawdad is an endemic species native only to certain high elevation wetlands in WV.

Good newts, everyone!

I've added two more designs to my "I Brake For" bumper sticker series. Now you can let cars behind you know that you'll stop for any and all toads or newts in the road.

appalachianweird.etsy.com/listing/1617...

Sometimes I find a good meme while using my business accounts and I have to DM my personal account so I can then disseminate it to the proper degenerates.

I had a dream last night I was standing under a cabin porch light where bats were catching moths in mid air.

It's morel season in Appalachia and I decided to do something about it.

appalachianweird.etsy.com/listing/1716...

Yesterday was the two year anniversary of my first sale and it's time to celebrate!

Two years ago I made my first official, online sale to a wonderful person in Davis, CA. Since then I've completed nearly 700 orders (approximately 1,172 individual decals)!

Didn't expect to see a box turtle crossing the road, but here we are. Safely moved to the other side of the interstate in the direction he was heading.

Nothing says "fall" like marbled salamanders and these marbled salamanders say fun words like "WEIRD," "STRANGE," and "FREAKY."