Deby Fredericks's Blog, page 110

Sungazers

Another type of lizard that’s been styled as a “dragon” are the Sungazers of South Africa. The largest species is Smaug giganteus, named after Tolkein’s famous dragon from The Hobbit. These grow between 7 and 8 inches in length, so they aren’t terribly big compared to other lizards, especially in the Monitor family, but their spiny-all-over bodies give them a distinct, dragon-like appearance.

Sungazers live in dry grasslands, where they dig burrows protected by rocks at the surface. They are mostly insectivores but will take small animals if the opportunity presents itself. Like all lizards, they are cold blooded and must move into the sun to warm up in the mornings. This “sungazing” behavior led to their common name. They are also known as Girdled Lizards, as oulvolk (old folks) in Afrikaans, mbedla by Zulu speakers and pathakalle in the Sotho language.

At one time, Sungazers’ striking appearance made them widespread and popular in American pet shops. Unfortunately, their numbers have fallen due to habitat loss and excessive capture for the pet trade. Sungazers are long lived, up to 20 years in captivity, but they breed infrequently and lay few eggs. Because they live in colonies, an entire group can be wiped out by pet-hunters or development. Thus Sungazers are a threatened species, no longer legally available. If you see a Sungazer in a pet shop, it either was illegally caught or it is something else being mislabeled as a Sungazer.

Flying Dragons

Yes, there really are flying dragons! Draco are a family of lizards native to Southeast Asia. All members of this clan can fly, or more properly glide, by extending “wings” of loose skin attached to their ribs. The best known of these is Draco volans, a gliding lizard that’s popular in the pet trade.

These are not large lizards. An average flying dragon is 9 inches from tip to tail. Their “wings” spread about 6 inches. The head is blunt with a short nose, giving them a baby-like look. Most species have brown and gray mottled skin, providing camouflage in their treetop homes. Brighter patches on the throat and underwings may help them identify others of their species and make displays to drive intruders from their territory.

The native habitat of flying dragons is tropical forest, where they glide from tree to tree. Some varieties can glide up to 30 feet at a time. Females descend only to lay eggs and briefly guard their nest. Otherwise, these lizards stick to the treetops and feed on ants or termites. They will not fly if it is raining or windy.

Species are scattered from India to the islands of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia, suggesting they have adapted to local conditions. Fortunately, these little guys have a dragon-like hardiness and have kept up their numbers in modern times. They are neither threatened nor endangered.

Dragon Encounters 13

My husband was clearing some things away in order to move a dresser, and look what he found!



It’s very nicely engraved glass, and neither of us has any memory of how we got it. His sister’s name is on the envelope, so perhaps she brought it back from one of her deployments.

At any rate, I went and got a frame the next day, so his “moon dragon” is now proudly displayed in a window near his computer.

Dragon Encounters 12

During the last week of school for 2015, I walked into the room where I was subbing and what did I see? Tyler D., hard at work.

Tyler was a freshman at North Central High School. He said that he drew this picture on the whiteboard during class about two weeks ago. He kept touching it up and it stayed there until the last day.

This kid has a lot of talent. I hope he’ll keep growing as an artist.

“Natural History of Dragons,” by Marie Brennan

This book, published by Tor in 2013, is the starter of a promising series that combines classic fantasy with a steampunk-inspired setting. The main character, Isabella, is born with keen scientific interests. Her special love for learning about dragons propels the story. Alas for Isabella, her Victorian styled homeland disapproves of women having such interests. The first few chapters detail how her very conventional mother kept throwing away her experiments.

Isabella internalized these negative messages, frequently referring to herself as an “ink nose,” yet she couldn’t let go of her passion for science. While living at home, she enlisted one of her brothers to borrow books from the family library and pass them to her. In her “season” of searching for a husband, she started with a list of men who might be open-minded enough to let her read from their libraries, too.

This character is very telling for modern girls and women who are interested in science but continually receive negative feedback. Yet Isabella also infuriated me in the way the author turned her unconventional drive for knowledge into a very conventional, stupidly reckless “female curiosity.” She made a great deal of noise about being practical, yet continually got into dangerous situations without any sort of planning or escape route. Her poor husband, Jacob, was left scrambling to figure out where she went. I was disappointed in Brennan for falling back on a stereotype that’s just as damaging as the one she was trying to refute.

But… the dragons! There are several varieties, including the charming Sparklings found in Isabella’s garden and hedges. This book revolves mostly around larger, more dangerous Rock-Wyrms that Isabella wangles her way into a field expedition to study. Rock-Wyrms that have mysteriously begun to attack humans all around the study region. One of the most important discoveries their expedition makes is that Rock-Wyrms bury their dead. This behavior raises the possibility that dragons aren’t just savage beasts, but possess some degree of intelligence.

Despite my complaints, I enjoyed this book and plan to follow the series as it unfolds.

SpaceX Dragon, Part 3

We got some sad news last week, as a Dragon spacecraft, operated by SpaceX Corporation, exploded during a routine launch. Dragon was laden with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station.

According to this report from USA Today, computers in contact with the launch vehicle, a Falcon 9 rocket, detected some sort of anomaly. The vehicle was ordered to self-destruct.

Obviously, this is a setback for SpaceX and NASA, who had planned for Dragon vehicles to begin carrying crew in the near future. Now begins the lengthy process of recovering debris and analyzing telemetry in order to discover the cause of the malfunction.

Dragons in My Garden, Part 2

Last January, as I was longing for spring, I mentioned a number of garden vegetables and flowers with “dragon” in their names. Of these, the two I planted are Dragon radish and Dragon’s Tongue, a variety of wild arugula. Now I’m back to report on the results.

In my 2014 garden, I planted the Dragon radishes but unfortunately they were infested with onion maggots. This year’s crop was much better. I’m happy to report Dragon radishes give finger-long bulbs with bright red skin and white interior. They have a nice crunch and plenty of zing. I like them so well that I’ve let one of the plants go to seed so I can save some for future years.

But the Dragon’s Tongue arugula hasn’t been working for me. It sprouted inside my house, but didn’t transition to the outside. Two different seedings directly outside have failed to sprout. This is really disappointing, because I love arugula and have found it very easy to grow. Perhaps what’s being marketed as “wild arugula” really is a different plant just given that name for sales reasons.

I’m giving it one more try before I toss the packet and go back to plain old Rocket arugula.

Beware the Bogeydragon!

Coco/Coca are a type of wicked spirit in folklore from Spain and Portugal. They sometimes take the form of dragons, sometimes of a ghostly floating head or skull, and even a horrifying hairy brute that lurks under the bed. Males are called Coco and females are Coca, though otherwise they have the same attributes.

Cocos function rather like the Bogeyman in Northern Europe. Parents warned unruly children that the Coco would come get them if they didn’t behave. They were especially associated with getting children into bed on time. One lullaby translates: “Sleep child, sleep now. Here comes the Coco and he will eat you!” Sometimes legend said the Coco would snatch the victim into the land of the dead, rather than eating him.

Cocos must not have been all that awful, though. In Portugal, if someone was “given coca,” they had been charmed and made weak by magic or sweet words. The root word Coca appears in a few phrases about children who are “spoiled rotten,” thus carrying through the association with a Bogeyman to threaten naughty children.

The draconic form is most associated with the female, or Coca. Legends all over Portugal and northern Spain related how a terrible she-dragon came from the sea and was devouring the young women, until a band of young men put an end to her reign of terror. Even into the 21st Century, village festivals feature re-enactments around the time of Corpus Christi in late May or early June. Oddly enough, St. George often comes into the tale, too! He battles a large Coca puppet or mannequin that has been paraded through the streets. If St. George is victorious, the crops will be good and no famine is expected. If Coca wins, well…

Dragon Statues, Part 7

A blogging buddy of mine brought this to my attention. GoGoDragons is an interactive sculpture walk, community event, and charity auction in Norwich, England. The kickoff was June 21, 2015 and it will run through the summer.

There are several layers to GoGoDragons, and the public can participate as they like. Eighty-four artists were commissioned to paint or otherwise decorate large dragon sculptures. Local businesses and organizations sponsored these dragons. In addition, 120 schools received medium-sized dragons to decorate.

In all, 204 dragons were installed around Norwich. There are two separate art walks, one for the school dragons and one for the artist dragons. Shuttle buses are available for visitors to reach some of the outlying dragons. At the end of the viewing period, the school dragons will return home and the larger dragons will be auctioned for charity.

This sounds like a totally fun public art activity. If only I could get there to see it! But if you’d like to view some photos, check out my blogging buddy, Princess of Dragons, for her take on the GoGoDragons event.

Dragon Statues, Part 6

Here’s a link to another atypical dragon statue. “Dragon Family” is located in Varna, Bulgaria. I’ve been unable to find out much about the statue, except for various photos posted by tourists. (The one linked above is from Pinterest.)

So I can’t regale you with how tall it is, or the exact location in Varna. It appears from the photos that it’s near a public pool; the taps on the statue’s base are said to run with hot mineral water, so perhaps it’s at a hot spring. I do know the name is the sculptor is Eugene Ivanov and the work was installed in October, 2010.

The statue depicts two bipedal dragons, presumably a male and female, gazing at each other with loving eyes as they hold a golden egg between them. Some notes say that the male is leaving on a journey and entrusting his mate with their unborn offspring. To me, it appears that the female has presented this egg to her mate and he is overcome with solemn joy.

Apparently there was some public debate when people saw this sentimental depiction of what are usually fierce dragons. A church group protested that the artwork undermined their Christian values. Okay, yes, dragons appear in the Bible as one of Satan’s disguises. Still, it’s hard to understand their objections to such a lovely and — dare I say it — wholesome work of art.

Another for my “someday I would like to go there” list.