Essays
Moseying: Living La Vida Llanero
Live animals and wild foods at Sibley Open house October 8th
October 2, 2011
The Sibley Nature Center is having an open house on October 8th. Dr. Jessica Todia will be presenting live native mammals (opossum, raccoon, and cottontail ) at 9.30 a.m. Ms. Todia will soon be getting her educational permit to present live birds, so this event will be Dr. Todia's first public presentation to the citizens of Midland about her efforts to rehabilitate wild animals and birds. Dr. Todia will also have video of the release of the "Chevron owl" whose story so many Midlanders followed via emails and Facebook, and video of a release of a mountain lion. Michael Price will be presenting live turtles, lizards, and snakes (including rattlesnakes) at 11 a.m. Troney Toler of Amarillo will talk on wild foods at noon.
On the website of Dr. Jessica Todia (DVM), it states, "Dr. Todia has been involved in the veterinary field for 21 years. She began working at a veterinary clinic in Morrow, OH when she was 15 years old. Growing up, she knew she wanted to attend either veterinary school or culinary school; as she also has a passion for cooking. At the age of 21, during her undergrad studies, she knew that the veterinary field was the right choice for her. She attended Ross University in St. Kitts, and graduated in 1997. Jessica works on large, small, and exotics. She especially enjoys focusing on wildlife, birds, and turtles."
"Her husband, Dr. Tommy Wilson, and she work as team at A to Z. They met at Oklahoma State University while working on their clinical rotations. They both came to West Texas to work their first jobs and were married shortly after that. They were always told that “you would never leave West Texas once you wore out your first pair of boots.” Obviously the saying ran true for them, as they fell in love with the area and opened A to Z Veterinary Clinic together. She also enjoys working in her garden, canning, and cooking."
At 11 a.m., Michael Price, the Director of the city owned and managed San Angelo Nature Center will talk about snakes and other reptiles of the region. Mr. Price is a “SERIOUS” herpetologist with an incredible collection of the venomous snakes of the American Southwest (and a comprehensive collection of the non-venomous species, as well). He writes a weekly nature column for several west Texas newspapers, including the Odessa American.
Mr. Price works with a network of zookeepers, university professors, and private breeders. He completed his first book last year on the Rock Rattlesnake, a species with four distinct geographical races, with a highly variable coloration pattern throughout its range. ECO Publishing in Rodeo, New Mexico published the book, which covered the races found in the United States and will also publish the follow-up book covering the races found in Mexico. He was the first to captive breed a rare species of Mexican rattlesnake and has been conducting studies in that country for the last five years, publishing several articles in peer-reviewed herpetological journals.
A native of Snyder, Price was fascinated with herpetology at an early age. David Heckard, then assistant director of the Abilene Zoo, became his mentor, introducing him to the herpetological community and its activities. Like all serious “herpers” he has spend thousands of hours “night-driving” West Texas roads. “Much of my early field work was to try to “fill in the blanks of the range maps,” to find specimens of creatures in every county within their range. Those specimens go to Travis LaDuc at the University of Texas.” He received a degree in theology from the Christ for the Nation Bible College in the Metroplex. In 2004 he became the director of the San Angelo Nature Center. “It is a dream job for me,” he told us.
At noon, Troney Toler of Amarillo will give a program on wild foods. "The program is my experience and thoughts on how to harvest, prepare, and store the major wild subsistence crops. Ever since I was 5 years old and went to the fields with my grandparents I have loved harvesting and putting up food. It makes no difference if the crops grow in rows or if they grow scattered by the wind -- harvesting and processing is a family-tribal-community affair." Toler is the president of Knives Plus, Inc, and a semi-retired journeyman boilermaker, knifemaker, photographer, potter and cook. Have you ever eaten mesquite or cactus?
Dr. Todia's and Toler's presentation will be indoors in Sibley's auditorium. If the weather is pleasant, Mr. Price's presentation will be outside in the teaching pavilion just east of the parking lot.