I spend almost all my time working with, contemplating, or writing about technology, however I do occasionally get away from the computer. Now that the weather is getting cooler, I thought I’d reflect back on a few adventures we’ve had recently that were decidedly not technology related.

This is a blacktip shark I caught off the coast of Sandbridge, Virginia this summer. It was hard enough to pull in that I was thankful for the sudden rain that kept me cool. He was released completely unharmed right after the picture was taken.

This is an American bullfrog I caught in a pond while on vacation. I had no idea how to catch a bullfrog, so I invented a method. I used a flashlight to spot and subsequently blind the frog while I got close enough to extend a fishing net with a three-foot handle above her. All I had to do then was startle her, and she leaped right into the net. Sounds easy, but it took me at least a dozen tries with as many different frogs. She was completely unharmed and released after a brief photo shoot.

This is probably one of the biggest northern water snakes I’ve caught. When distressed, they release a horrible musk which you will probably smell like for the rest of the day. They are also extremely vicious snakes. This one didn’t manage to bite me, but last year, I had a northern water snake tooth removed from my thumb.

Another vicious but harmless reptile, this is a terrible picture of a broad-headed skink I grabbed in front of a friend’s house. He held on so tightly that I didn’t want to pull him off for fear of injuring him. I finally put my hand down on the ground and let go of him, and once he felt the ground beneath him again, he let go and took off.

I have dozens of other photos that show I don’t spend my entire life in my basement office (Snake Rescue, Two Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Garter Snake), however this summer was busy enough that I feel like I hardly got away at all. It’s only September, and I’m already looking forward to next spring.