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Howdy herpsters! And welcome to Episode Twenty! My guest is Steve Marks from Windsor, Ontario. And at left we see composite photos of Steve engaged in tracking fox snakes. Steve and I have been buddies for a long while now, and I am happy to get him on the show and talking about his projects and passions, which are often one and the same thing. One of the things we talked about is the Herb Gray Eco-Highway conservation project which Steve has been a part of for many years. The man has taken a deep dive into fox snakes and I was happy to get him talking about it! I’ve also had the privilege of watching Steve radio-track one of his beloved study animals up in Windsor – the man has done a wonderful job in not only keeping fox snakes going in Windsor, but in future-proofing their populations as well.
Steve is a well-traveled fellow and we covered some of his herp adventures in detail. I enjoyed our chat and didn’t realize until near the end that we talked for nearly two hours! Wanna meet Steve? Come on down to Snake Road during Canadian Thanksgiving some time. Here are some links related to this episode:
A wonderful blog post written by James Paterson about the Eco-Pass and other projects
The Canadian Herpetological Society
Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, Steve’s favorite herp charity
TRIVIA: The teaser intro is borrowed from the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor, and adapted from Dashiell Hammett’s novel of the same name. I’m doing my best to bring back obscure phrases like “crackin’ foxy” and “I won’t play the sap for you!” And if you haven’t already seen it, the Maltese Falcon is worth your time. Film noir murder mystery at its finest and heaps of obscure phrases.
FUTURE SHOW NOTE: Speaking of obscure phrases, once again I am asking you to send me interesting herp jargon! Get those pithy phrases and clever words to me via the show email below, and we’ll get a future episode together from the results.!
And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions. maltese falcons, tips for herping better, etc.
Stay tuned for more episodes! And don’t forget to herp better!
-Mike
Hello everyone and welcome back to the show! After a few weeks off, here we go with Episode Nineteen, which features Dr. Alex Krohn. Alex and I have been friends for a decade, and we have visited some exotic places, and had many an interesting conversation, so I am happy to have one more conversation to share with you!
Hi everyone and welcome! For Episode Eighteen, we travel to Arizona to talk with Michael Cravens. Mike and I go waaaay back, and we’ve spent time in the field together in a number of cool places, and had a number of interesting conversations around various campfires (hence the episode title). Mike and his wife Mary are from Missouri but have lived out in AZ for a number of years now, and it was good for me to chat with my old friend and catch up.
Hello again everyone, and welcome to Episode Sixteen! I’ve been having a conversation with Daniel Dye for more than a decade, and for this segment, microphones were put into play! Along with amphibians and reptiles, Daniel also has a great deal of knowledge and experience with insects, spiders, and other invertebrates, and fortunately for all of us, he’s crafty with a camera, and so there are a number of venues where you can check out his work. We didn’t cover it in the interview, but Daniel is also a serious audiophile, and he has a home audio system that he built himself that will blow your hair back (I’ve been there, done that). I get a kick out of his Facebook posts that feature a delicious breakfast and a selected album to go with it. Jethro Tull’s ‘Minstrel in the Gallery’ was on the turntable this morning – tasty stuff, Daniel!
Be sure to check out Daniel’s 
Hello again everyone, here is Episode Fifteen, the second part of my conversation with Justin Elden on this Sunday double-fun day. The main thrust of our conversation is Justin’s work in Guatemala with the 
Hey there herpsters, it’s Episode Fourteen! What shall we talk about? Let’s ask the triumphant dude on the left, the one with the little viper in a tube. That’s Justin Elden, the viper is Armenian (Montivipera raddei), and guess where they are? In this episode, I talk with Justin about his involvement with the St. Louis Zoo’s 
Hello everyone, and welcome to Episode Thirteen! Lucky! We’re talking about herps, herp trips, photography, and the overall coolness of the cosmos with Josh Wallace. We’ve been to some places, and we’ve seen some things…..Josh also brings a strong herp meme game to social media, and we talk about that, and much, much more. The fantastic photo at top left is representative of Josh’s astroscape work with a camera. Think about it, folks – while you’re tucked snug in your beds, Josh is slapping his cheeks to stay awake and capture images of the universe as it wheels overhead.
Welcome to Episode Twelve! In this installment, I talk with Dr. Emily Taylor, professor of biological sciences at Cal Poly (California Polytechnic State University), and we cover a number of topics, including rattlesnakes and leopard lizards. Dr. Taylor is pursuing some fascinating lines of research and her passion for her work comes shining through. Now this episode comes with some homework – I want you all to read “
Hi folks! For Episode Eleven, we have an interview that I recorded last month, on location in eastern Colorado, with Tim Warfel and Hunter Johnson. The main thrust of our conversation was the recently concluded COPARC Otero County herp survey, and we managed to cover a few other topics as well. This was the eighth Otero survey and I was happy to participate, and to hang out with a lot of Colorado herpers. We found some pretty cool herps as well. In photo left is Ryan and Cambria Borgmann. Cambria was the youngest participant, and she got to see her first horned lizard and her first rattlesnake. Guess who the oldest surveyor was?