25. Three Feet Away from Death

It's always a good time at the botany greenhouse!

At a comfortable 75 degrees, the greenhouse is paradise compared to Seattle's unpredictable bursts of rain and sunshine.

This little guy likes the tropical climate almost as much as I do.

This one likes ribs.

Life is everywhere.

Ever wonder what the inside of a cactus looks like? Well here you go.

(I think these were cut a couple of days ago, otherwise they wouldn't have that orange color on them.)

This is dendrobates leucomelas, a poisonous dart frog.

I was trying to take pictures of the frogs, which were inside a large glass case, when the greenhouse manager came over and asked if I wanted him to slide the glass door open so I could get better photos.

"Umm...aren't they poisonous?"

"Yes, but they tend to stay inside the glass."

(a long pause and a nervous chuckle later)

"Yeah, sure."

nom nom nom termites

See that one on the left? See how he's thinking about jumping out? %*#&@!!

Three feet away from death.

Worth it? Oh yeah.

[EDIT] These frogs aren't poisonous if raised in captivity. I don't know if these were brought over or bred in the greenhouse. So the question becomes: Was the manager joking when he said they were poisonous? hahaha. A cool experience regardless!

Frog photos by Kevin Holmes.