Cold

A ripple for every moment

Frigid sky scattered here and there. Shadows watch mountains who are not easily scared. Snowflakes fall as time stands still, while sun's warmth trembles under the treacherous chill. Depths run thin as the ice grows, and blue meets white in the blue shallow. Everything covered perfectly in a blanket, one that is cold and doesn't need to fake it.

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• Eye
• Ophthalmology
• Barred Owl
• Blue Tongued Skink
• Surgery
• Rotations
• Shaven
• Beard
• Before and After

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Today was the last day of Ophthalmology. We got to work with a Barred Owl and a Blue Tongued Skink. Pictures are included for naive individuals, like me who didn't know the names of either of the animals we worked with until someone told me. The Barred Owl was very cool. The examination of the back of the eye was very cool and their pupillary light response is unbelievably quick. During the examination, the owl tried to nip as well as fly away. It was a very cool experience.

The day went on as it always had until a Blue Tongued Skink came in. He was transported in a small blue cooler and I didn't know quite what to expect when it was opened.

The handler gently removed the reptilian from its solitude. At first glance, it appeared
to be a snake until I saw the front two stubby legs. A blue tongue shot out hitting the air violently and quickly returned as if the air was distasteful. I watched in amazement as the ophthalmologist shot a light into the eyes trying to find the underlying cause for the chronic eye irritation. The back of this little guy's eyes were unique as well. I find it intriguing how every species and every individual possess such different ocular "fingerprints." Reptiles are tetrachromic animals. This means that they have 4 different conical photoreceptors, compared to only 3 different kinds in the human. This means that reptiles could potentially discriminate colors that a human cannot, which I think is awesome.

Finally, I also have a picture of me. One picture was during my surgery rotation, the other was when I was finished. You can guess which one is which. I have an odd feeling this will happen again over the next two weeks as I finish my final surgery rotation. We shall see. Until next time...

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