I went shopping last night for some new hiking boots and ended up getting the same pair as I had purchased last year:

They are touted as ‘rattlesnake proof’. I have no idea why, but some herpers view wearing this kind of thing as stupid. I personally don’t see how any extra caution could possibly be laughed at … it isn’t like looking for venomous snakes is like playing checkers and you can afford to ‘lose a couple’. Also nice, they’re CACTUS-proof, waterproof, and one long boot up the calf makes them pretty damn comfortable for driving long distances to my surprise. I absolutely wore out the pair I bought last year, putting a good 50+ miles on them from what I can estimate.

I also bought this hat:

It will make me look stupid, but not as stupid as the constantly sun-burnt ears and nose of last year. It is a welcome trade.

I also got a new maglight. I can’t find my other one, and I solve my problems irresponsibly.

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I’m unfortunately stuck at home sick on the first really nice, herp-friendly weekend of the year. That leaves my pets to be the subject of lots and lots of bad photos while I practice with my new toys.

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Today I took a step away from just being a herp-nerd by spending $1700+ on camera gear for the upcoming year. After months of research and thousands of reviews (not kidding, unfortunately), I got some great advice from a couple of folks at the AHA Forums and ended up getting a Canon 40D DSLR and two Canon lenses (28-135 & 75-300) with a 3-year warranty.

It comes in the mail in about a week. I am flipping out inside, hard.

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