Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2022: H is for Hank Aaron

 April air, the green of Spring luring me back to baseball as I continue through the A to Z Challenge. Today's letter is H and I return to baseball, and the Atlanta Braves with Hank Aaron. H is for Hank and for home runs which he hit a ton. Many years the slugger held the all time home run record until he was passed in 2007 by Barry Bonds. He was a great player being a 25 time all star, and his records for runs batted in, extra base hits and total bases still stand!

                                             Historic home run 715

Highlights

Tha A to Z Challenge continues on Monday!

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2022: G is for Garcia, Sergio Garcia

 G is for Garcia and golf. As I am going through the 26 days of the A to Z with athletes, teams, sport theme going on I am trying to hit several sports. So far boxing, tennis, baseball, football and now golf.

Sergio won the 2017 Masters and 11 PGA Tournaments. In Europe the Spaniard has won 16 European tours. 

                                              Highlights in Dubai in 2021

His final round of the 2017 Masters

Stayed tune for tomorrow's H post.

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2022: F is for Fred Taylor

 Fred Taylor was a Gator great at the University of Florida. The running back was part of a National Championship winning team and ended up being named to the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame.

                                                          His Gators highlights

In the NFL he finished his career as the 17th leading rusher in NFL history. He is a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars Pride. He holds multiple franchise records.

His NFL highlights...

Fred Taylor the athlete for F, as in football.

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2022: E is for Elway, John Elway

 In the 80's and 90's John Elway was a star quarterback in the NFL. Leading the Denver Broncos to five Super Bowls. He won two.

                                             Some of his highlights....

He was considered among the best quarterbacks! He played football and that lends well to the letter F which is next!

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2022: D is for Dale Murphy

 I grew up in the era of superstations, WGN in Chicago broadcasting Cubs games to the masses and WTBS broadcasting Braves games across the nation. I have found members of watching many of games on television at my Granddad. Like many people who followed the Atlanta Braves Dale Murphy became my favorite baseball player.  

                                          Below Dale Murphy hits his 300th homerun

Dale Murphy was a two-time National League MVP and a seven-time all-star. His number three retired by the Atlanta Braves. He may not have had a Hall of Fame career, but he did have a great career.

Here he hits a homer off Rick Sutcliffe

Who was your favorite baseball player when you were growing up? Who is your favorite player now? Who is your favorite player of all time?

Come back Wednesday to see who I come up with for E!

Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2022: A is for Muhammad Ali

 Muhammad Ali was perhaps the first athlete I remember. Muhammad Ali is considered to be the greatest boxer of all time. He had a career record of 56-5 with 37 knock outs. 

Here is his second fight with Leon Spinks, where he won the Heavyweight title for the third time.

Keeping it short and sweet on my first A to Z post this year. Are you a boxing fan? What was your favorite Muhammad Ali fight? Thanks for visiting and I will be back tomorrow with another A to Z post.

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: Reflections

Well my topic was on reptiles, I tried to mix up a bit.

The posts ended up breaking down like this:

One was in general

One crocodile

Two on a Tortoise

Five on Turtles

Seven lizards

Ten snakes (only three venomous and one of them was semi-venomous)

I wanted to visit 300 pages (which means leaving comments). I fell short I came up with 250. I am planning to do the roadtrip so that number could grow. 

This bearded dragon thought my lap was comfy unfortunately I had already posted about Bearded Dragons.

Reflections on the A to Z the best part is interaction with others. Sad is the bloggers who have come on gone for various reasons.

I didn't have a huge A to Z "hit" post. Yes my page views were up for the month of April but with 32 posts for the month that would be expected. Past years posts also get some love during this time. 

Personally I as a blogger wanted to blog about something different. Sure, I have blogged about reptiles before but not to this extent. Plus certain topics can get your blog a label. This on just balances out the blogosphere.

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: Y is for Yellow-bellied Slider Turtle

 The reptile for Y is a pretty common turtle called the Y is for Yellow-bellied Slider Turtle. Not only is it common in it's native range the southeastern United States it is also a popular pet. 

Here is a video all about them...

Just one more letter to go on  the  Blogging from A to Z Challenge. come find out what I come up with for Z as it relates to reptiles!

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: Xenosaurus

 Xenosaurus sounds like a dinosaur. Well it might be a distant cousin. Sharing reptiles like real live dragons, giant sea turtles and tortoises a dinosaur wouldn't be too far off. However, Xenosaurus is a mere genus of lizards native to a small area in Central America.

A video of some kept as pets...

Two more left to go! 

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: W is for Watersnake

 There are several Watersnakes in the United States. The one I see the most is the Banded Watersnake.

In the picture above taken by me there are two Banded Watersnakes. Were they romantically involved? Were they chasing each other? Were they playing? I don't know but I was lucky enough to catch both.

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Above is another Banded Watersnake. The watersnake is non venomous. However it does share the same habitat as the cottonmouth and is sometimes killed by mistake. 

Three more letters to go!

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: V is for Vine Snake

 

Above is a picture of a Vine Snake taken by me at Alligator Alley. It was a sunny day so I apologize for the glare.

It is a venomous snake whose venom is not fatal. However, if one was bitten it would not be enjoyable. Symptoms could last three days. Pain, swelling, bruising and discomfort would be the symptoms. 

We are in the final week of the challenge  and I hope to share a few more reptiles with you!

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: U is for Uromastyx alfredschmidti

 Uromastyx alfredschmidti is the scientific name for Schmidt's spiny-tailed lizard which is native to Northern Africa. The lizard is a threatened species due to loss of habitat.

It lives in rocky desert areas and is a herbivore mainly with an occasional bug thrown in.

The final stretch starts Monday!

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: T is for Tortoise

 

Above is a picture of a baby Sulcata tortoise also known as the African Spurred Tortoise. You can't tell from the picture that the Sulcata is the third largest tortoise in the world. This little one could grow to weigh 231lbs.

Here is one about 16 years old. They get bigger than that. (picture by me)

If you are wondering the largest tortoise in the world is the Galapagos tortoise, followed by the Aldabra Giant Tortoise.

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: S is for Snapping Turtle

 Today's letter is S and instead of going with a snake for my reptile which would be easy I am going with the Snapping Turtle.

All pictures in the post by me. A bigger one below..

Snapping turtles eat plants too! They are scavengers and hunters as well. 

We are coming to the home stretch of the challenge and I have shared crocodiles, lizards, snakes and turtles. I have a few ore so stay tuned!

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: Q is for Querétaro dusky rattlesnake

 No matter what the topic some letters are tougher than others in the A to Z Challenge. Have no fear I did find a reptile for Q. The Queretaro dusky rattlesnake which makes it's home in the highlands of central Mexico.

A short video on the snake...

They are not  huge snake growing just over two feet in length. Well I will be back tomorrow with another reptile.

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: N is for Nile Crocodile

 The April A to Z Challenge keeps moving and today's letter is N. The reptile for today is the Nile Crocodile. The Nile Crocodile is the second largest crocodile in the world.

Here is a quick video of these apex predators.  

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: K is for Komodo Dragon

 We went with a smaller dragon for D let's go with the largest lizard for K. The Komodo Dragon can reach 10 feet in length and weigh 150lbs. 

Here is a clip from a BBC "Special Deadly 60"

These giant lizards were called "Land Crocodiles" by the locals. In the wild they feed mainlyon local deer species and carrion. 

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: J is for Jungle Carpet Python

 

Today's letter in the A to Z April Challenge is J. My reptile of the day is the Jungle Carpet Python, Morelia Spilota Cheynei

Picture by Mike Spain

The picture above is one of my personal snakes and is a Jungle Carpet Python. My snake is captive bred and was hatched in Maryland. In the wild Jungle Carpet Pythons are native to the rainforests of Queensland Australia.

Female carpet pythons tend to grow bigger than males. Jungle Carpet Pythons are considered medium size python and average 5 to 7 feet.

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: I is for Indigo Snake

 

A news segment on the Indigo Snake to open my post. It is one of many animals to use my G letter Gopher Tortoise burrows for shelter. Like yesterday's reptile the Hawksbill Turtle the Indigo Snake is endangered.

The longest native state in the United States the largest recorded was over 9 feet long. The snake is nonvenomous but eats venomous snakes and a wide variety of small animals.

Some efforts are being made to reintroduce this snake in places where their population has disappeared or has been severely reduced. 

 

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: H is for Hawksbill Turtle

 

Opening up my post on the Hawksbill Sea Turtle with a short video on some turtles in Hawaii. The endangered turtle likes hanging out in tropical reefs.  It is also  a reminder that reptiles don't just live on land. I have been fortunate to see a few sea turtles in the wild but I don't know if they were Hawksbill.