Johanna Speaks

I got my ears pierced on Friday. It was lots of fun. I have had my ears pierced before but it closed up. And that was two years ago. And I have had my ears pierced for four months. 

And for Christmas, I got earrings from my friend Julliette. I begged my mom to get my ears pierced. And she finally said yes as she saw I got earrings as a gift. I was so excited when I heard my mom say yes. I was a little scared and excited. And when we were at claire's I got to pick lots of different earrings. I chose a blue one. It looks very pretty. My sister Noelle and my mom was there to watch me get my ears pierced. 

When she was ready to pierce my ears I was scared. So I was holding on to the chair as tight as I could. And then she pierced my ear it did hurt a lot like a big pinch. But when she was done with one I didn't feel that scared anymore. And then she was done. I felt a little hot and felt kinda dizzy. When I was done they gave me an alcohol bottle for my ear so it won't get infected. 

And after I got my ears pierced we went to a tea place and Noelle and I got two smoothes. And my mom got a coconut tea. 

Coyote Peterson is in Costa Rica. He is at Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary. He is going to meet a Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine. Its name is Bud. His favorite food is avocado and nuts. Whenever the porcupine eats an avocado or a nut instead of a squirrel shoving the nut into its mouth the porcupine takes a little bite each time. 

The porcupine stays up in trees most of the time. And he comes out only when it's getting night. The porcupine is a baby. Coyote Peterson said the porcupine can grow to be five and a half pounds. He also said the Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine is very common in Costa Rica. He also said porcupines can't actually shoot their quills. Let's say a dog comes and tries to eat or play with it. The dog actually hast to get close to the porcupine's rump and disturb the guard hairs. Let's say I put my nose close up to the porcupine. It thrust its rump, and you get a big hand full of quills stuck to you. I would never want quills stuck to me at all.

Coyote Peterson said if you get a hand full of quills. The quills actually get deeper and deeper into your skin over time. That sounds very scary to me. 

I love the porcupine's name, Bud. Bud is so cute. 

Here is a picture of a Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine.

The twelve days of Christmas start on Christmas, and this year it ended yesterday. Yesterday was also Epiphany. 

Coyote Peterson did a 12 Animals of Christmas book with video clips with each animal. 

Here is the book that he wrought. 

on the first day of Christmas, Brave Wilderness gave to me one feisty Pine Marten in a not so festive pine tree. 

on the second day of Christmas, Brave Wilderness gave to me one tiny Mexican hairy Dwarf Porcupine who loves countless tiny treats.

on the third day of Christmas, Brave Wilderness gave to me one stinky little skunk who I really hope does not spray me. https://youtu.be/mT5ePjOHswI?t=186

And there's more to it. If you want to see the rest, here is the link.

My favorite of all twelve animals is the baby reindeer.  https://youtu.be/mT5ePjOHswI?t=771. Because it is so cute. The reason why reindeer are called reindeer is that they are controlled by people with reins to pull sleighs. 

I love reindeer!

Coyote Peterson is in Costa Rica. Mark and Mario were alone in the forest without Coyote Peterson this time. Because Coyote Peterson was in a cabin working. The cabin that he was working in was right next to where Mark and Mario were.  Mark and Mario are looking for a Velvet Worm. A Velvet Worm is very rare because it only comes out at night. It is a nocturnal creature.

Mark found a Velvet Worm! It was a big one too. They were so happy! They couldn't wait to show Coyote Peterson. When they got to the cabin, they showed Coyote Peterson the Velvet Worm. He was even more excited than they were because it was so rare to find. 

Coyote Peterson said the Velvet Worm feels like a gummy worm. He also said the Velvet Worm could shed its skin just like a snake. And when they shed their skin, it walks out. And their skin gets brighter and softer. Coyote Peterson said the Velvet Worm looks cute, but really it's a voracious predator. He also said it is not aggressive in any way whatsoever to humans.  

He said the Velvet Worm gets its name because it feels just like velvet. He also said there are only two hundred worldwide of Velvet  Worms.

 Coyote Peterson said the way that the Velvet Worm hunts is it moves slowly through the rainforest floor and looking for dead logs and leaves. They will use the two front sensory organs to tap on their prey, and as soon as they sense something to eat, they have two glands on the side of their face that shoots out a sticky slime. And the Velvet Worm is very strong.

Coyote Peterson said the Velvet Worm has one tooth, and its a like a razor blade.

The phylum is different than the worm phylum or the slug phylum but the phylum is close together in the categories of animals.

Here is a picture of an Onychophora.  

There is a new Coyote Peterson video. The video is called."Surviving a Cage of Death."

Here is the video:

Coyote Peterson is in Australia. He is with Mark and Mario. They are going to a place called World of Crocs. The World of Crocs is a place where you get to see a saltwater crocodile close-up in this big cage. The cage can hold about two people the most. The cage is made out of Plexiglass, and it is three inches thick. They are going into a cage called the Cage of Death. It sounds very creepy. There was a crane to hold and lower the cage into the water. There were two other people out of the cage and feeding the saltwater crocodile while Mark and Mario were in the cage so you could see the crocodile eating right next to you. 

Mark and Mario are going first into the Cage of Death. They were a bit scared. When they saw the saltwater crocodile get into the water, they were even more scared. The saltwater crocodile that they saw was very big. It looks very scary to look at because of its sharp teeth. 

Mark said. "We survived the Cage of Death."  Now it was Coyote Peterson's turn. He was going in by himself. He was also scared when he saw the big saltwater crocodile get close to him.

Coyote Peterson said going into the Cage of Death was the coolest thing he had done.