Hemigrapsus estellinensis – It Was Very Good

Yellow Shore Crab (Hemigrapsus oregonensis) on Orcas Island Washington, 2008

Hemigrapsus estellinensis

The Hemigrapsus estellinensis was first described in a paper published in 1964 by Gordon Creel who “discovered” the species in February of 1962. In the same article, Creel shared his belief that the species was already extinct.

Estellinensis’ was found in the Estelline Salt Springs in the panhandle of Texas, 500 miles from any ocean. The species nearest relative, the yellow shore crab (pictured above,) is endemic to the northwest coast of North America.

The small crab was nearly square it’s body dimensions being less than an inch on each side. The crab’s limbs and claws were noted for being smaller than its oceanic relatives’. The small crab was a greyish-green color and noted for the three white spots it had on its back.

H. estellinensis, The Southwestern Naturalist Vol. 8, No. 4 (Feb. 5, 1964), pp. 236-241

Creel returned to the springs in December of 1962 and despite eight days of extensive searching was unable to find a single specimen. In fact, most of the life in the springs was gone, including an unidentified barnacle that Creel had made note of on his February trip. The extinction of the crab and the other life in the springs is believed to have been caused by the containment of the springs by the Army Corp of Engineers .

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de Vere’s Irish Pub- Best Cocktail in Yolo County

Finished Whiskey Sour, de Vere’s Irish Pub, April 2019

de Vere’s is perhaps my favorite restaurant in Davis. The location is nice, the space is beautiful (the bar was built in Ireland, taken apart, and then shipped to the USA.), and the food is really good (One of the best burgers in town.) How were their Whiskey Sours though?

de Vere’s Irish Pub – The Review

Taste (5/10) – Not bad. Can taste the lemon juice and the simple syrup. Not much of a hint of whiskey. A little boring

Presentation (3/5) – Pale, half of a garnish. Very well shaken. Fizz on top made me think, at first, that there was egg white in the drink.

Balance (3/5) – Good balance. Can’t tell if smooth whiskey or none? Very hard to tell.

Correctness (3/5) – No egg white, half a correct garnish (cherry.) The juice was pre-squeezed. House-made syrup. Not a lot to say.

Delivery (1/x) – No flourish. Shaken very vigorously though. Asked what whiskey I wanted (Well is Evan Williams.)

Total (15/25) – This wasn’t a bad drink but I don’t know if it was a good drink either… Very run of the mill.

In what is now very much a trend the signature cocktail I ordered, Pall Mall, tasted better than the Whiskey Sour. I had high hopes for de Vere’s, I was hoping their bartenders would pay as much attention and detail when making drinks as their cooks do when preparing meals. I guess not…

Pall Mall, de Vere’s Irish Pub, April 2019

Links

de Vere’s Irish Pub
The Project
The Criteria
The Bars

STAR**** **OOP**S: Surreal Space Poetry – Page 50

Starship Trooper Bard, Dean Stahl, 2019

Finished and
Smoking

uh…

Fission all.

Explosion Destruction – Not a lot to work with

Haast’s Eagle – It Was Very Good

Haast’s Eagle, Paul Martinson, 2006

Haast’s Eagle (Hieraaetus moorei)

This giant endemic eagle was the largest predator among New Zealand’s fauna. It is the largest, heaviest eagle species yet described. The species was first described in 1871 from remains found in a former marsh.

Haast’s Eagle was known to the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maori, who named it the “Hikioi” or “Pouakai.” Maori oral tradition from the late 1800s records that it had red, black and white plumage with “black feathers tinged with yellow or green” and “a bunch of red feathers on its head” and lived in the mountains.

Various studies estimate that the Haast Eagle could have weighed as much 30 pounds and a wingspan of nearly 10 feet! Females were larger than males. The birds feet and claws were as big as a modern day tiger’s! The Haast Eagle was an apex predator and is believed to have hunted that other extinct bird of the island the Moa.

It is believed that the arrival of the Maori in the 13th century and their hunting of the Moa to extinction are the primary contribution to the extinction of the Haast’s Eagle.

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