What Were You Thinking - Pet Life Radio Original

What Were You Thinking - Pet Life Radio Original

An exotic pet is a rare or unusual creature kept as a pet, or a creature kept as a pet which is not commonly thought of as a pet. The definition is an evolving one; some rodents, reptiles, and amphibians have become firmly enough established in the world of animal fancy to no longer be considered exotic. Sometimes any unique or wild-looking pet (including common domestic animals such as the ferret and the domestic rat) is called an exotic pet. "Exotic" may also be used for a species which is non-indigenous to the owner's locale. Many major pet stores and service providers (such as veterinary insurance carriers or online retailers) tend to classify any animal besides cats, dogs, or fish as "exotic". Learn all about exotic pets on Pet Life Radio. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/what-were-you-thinking-pet-life-radio-original--6670171/support.

Episodes

What Were You Thinking - Episode 95 Special Magee Marsh 2017 Listener Depreciation Day Podcast

August 21, 2017 • 28 mins
In response to a rude email from a listener, Book Character Bill Holm sits out his annual trip to Magee Marsh with Feather Brained author Bob Tarte. In between discussing the birds that Bob isn’t seeing on the famous Magee Marsh boardwalk during a lackluster migration impeded by cold weather, he and Bill lament the lack of support from What Were You Thinking? listeners. The upshot? You folks had better straighten up if you want Bob...
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What Were You Thinking - Episode 94 ‘Tequila’ Birding at Island Lake State Recreation Area

August 3, 2017 • 38 mins
How much wood would a Woodcock chuck if a Woodcock could chuck wood? Feather Brained author Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm may not answer the perennial question, but they see a Woodcock doing the Pee-Wee Herman dance and nearly get run over by a pair of yoga pants while birding at Island Lake State Recreation Area in Brighton, Michigan. All of your favorite birding features are on tap, including "Just the Birds, Ma’am," "Ph...
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What Were You Thinking - Episode 93 Giant Silkworm Moths vs. the Feather Brains, Part Two

July 17, 2017 • 32 mins
The Giant Silkworm Moths may be masters as public speaking, but Bob Tarte shows he’s no sow’s-ear slouch, either, as he and Book Character Bill Holm extol the virtues and shortcoming of Bob’s latest book, Feather Brained. This is part two of a patience-straining nearly-one-hour talk about birds, birding, and flimflamming the general public on a sunny June afternoon at the Degraaf Nature Center in Holland, Michigan. For pity’s sake,...
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What Were You Thinking - Episode 92 Giant Silkworm Moths vs. the Feather Brains, Part One

June 26, 2017 • 32 mins
Two doors leading into the Degraaf Nature Center in Holland, Michigan, were each marked with a sign. Visitors had their choice of seeing 'Giant Silkworm Moths' or hearing a 'Feather Brained Talk' by author Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm. Bob and Bill were fortunate enough to catch the overflow crowd from the silkworm moths. This laugh-filled riot of a talk on Bob’s book, Feather Brained, is divided into two parts to keep yo...
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What Were You Thinking - Episode 91 Pointless Nayanquing Point and Tawas Point Birding, Part Two

June 1, 2017 • 30 mins
Surrounded by vocal House Wrens, Baltimore Orioles, Brown Thrashers, Yellow Warblers, and disgruntled park visitors, Feather Brained author Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm try their birding luck at Michigan’s Tawas Point State Park on Lake Huron. Bob recounts an important communication from a listener while Bill hosts an installment of the popular Motel Corner feature. Bob also offers hints on how to tell a Spotted Sandpipe...
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What Were You Thinking - Episode 90 Pointless Nayanquing Point and Tawas Point Birding, Part One

May 18, 2017 • 29 mins
After years of wasting your time with birding podcasts that go nowhere, Feather Brained author Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm achieve a rare success. At Nayanquing Point Wildlife Area on Saginaw Bay, they score a close encounter with the rare-in-Michigan Yellow-headed Blackbird, and you get to hear it, too! They also see the secretive American Bittern and Least Bittern plus numerous Marsh Wrens. Added to that are your favor...
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What Were You Thinking - Episode 89 Special Delayed Feather Brained Magee Marsh Show from 2016, Part Two

April 27, 2017 • 32 mins
It’s a total turnaround as Bob and Book Character Bill Holm enjoy a wind-free, warbler-filled new morning of birding at Magee Marsh. If that’s not enough excitement, listen closely to a slice of audio verite for a chance encounter with the esteemed author of The Warbler Guide, who had no idea he was being recorded – because Bob and Bill had no idea who he was. Pay close attention as Mr. Tom Stephenson validates an ID by Bob that an...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 88 Special Delayed Feather Brained Magee Marsh Show from 2016

April 13, 2017 • 32 mins
Sure, it’s almost a year late. But the jokes are as timeless as the birding observations when Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm dragged themselves to Magee Marsh in northern Ohio for the annual May warbler migration. High winds nearly ruin the birding, but Bob and Bill’s high spirits blow away potential misfortune in this unique, radio-simulcast episode that’s just begging for a Part Two. Plus you get the skinny on Bob’s new b...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 87 Special Feather Brained Muskegon Wastewater Something-Something Show

March 21, 2017 • 27 mins
Shamelessly promoting his new book about birding, Feather Brained, Bob Tarte shares birding tips with reluctant birder Bill Holm at Muskegon Wastewater System in a bold January 2017 winter expedition. The pair actually spot some nice birds this time, including a rare Glaucous Gull, whose habits require some delicacy to describe. Tune in for a shocking Enslaved by Ducks movie teaser, too.

Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: bob@pet...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 86 The Quest for the Worm-eating Warbler

May 31, 2016 • 32 mins
Do they or do they not stumble upon a breeding warbler that’s rare in Michigan? Feather Brained author Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm follow careful online instructions and still manage to get discombobulated as they search the vast, foreboding, and slightly muddy Allegan State Game Area (or at least a very small part of it) for this small, elusive bird. Please don’t reveal the special surprise ending to any of your friends...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 85 Tips for Writing Your Pet Memoir, Part 2

May 4, 2016 • 34 mins
In Part Two of a Two Part Show, appropriately enough, Bob Tarte and Bill Holm share tips on writing a memoir for publication with the Mid Michigan Word Gatherers Writing Group. Although the tips are for memoir writing in general, pet book author Bob bases the tips on techniques he used writing his published memoirs Enslaved By Ducks, Fowl Weather, Kitty Cornered, and his newest book, Feather Brained.

Questions or Comments? Email Bo...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 84 Long Legs, Long Beaks

January 5, 2016 • 32 mins
In this Golden Archive Show from August 2014, available to the public for the first time, Bob and Book Character Bill Holm brave the gathering storm clouds in Tawas City, Michigan, to search for shorebirds – or any birds, for that matter. Bob is posting this Golden Archival Birding Show not only because it is pure gold, but also for the opportunistic reason that his new book about birding, “Feather Brained,” comes out in April 2016...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 83 Tips for Writing Your Pet Memoir, Part 1

November 12, 2015 • 29 mins
Wall Street Journal Best-selling author Bob Tarte shares tips on writing a memoir for publication, aided and abetted by Bill Holm, who also shares tips on becoming a character in someone else’s memoir. The two will also discuss humor writing in dull, unfunny terms in part one of this presentation for the Mid Michigan Word Gatherers Writing Group. Although the tips are for memoir writing in general, pet book author Bob swears by the...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 82 World’s Worst Birding Show, Part 2

July 16, 2015 • 26 mins
How bad is part two of World’s Worst Birding Show? So bad that Bob Tarte and Bill Holm burn up the first 15 minutes apologizing for how bad the show is. Things get brighter in the second half, recorded live from the Estuary Trail at Magee Marsh, Ohio. A Gray Catbird, a Yellow Warbler, and other birds add their voices as Bob and Bill somehow manage to run into three birders even grumpier than they are. It's all a bolt of blazing sun...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 81 World’s Worst Birding Show, Part 1

June 12, 2015 • 30 mins
You may never read this description of the World’s Worst Birding Show, Part 1, because this podcast might never make it online due to the need for certain minimum quality standards. It’s the usual content-free rambling from Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm about their annual birding trip to Ohio for the warbler migration plus breaking news about Bob’s forthcoming book Feather Brained. Tough to sit through. But comedy gold for...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 80 Lake Huron Birding Bliss with Bob & Bill - Part 2

May 29, 2015 • 30 mins
In the long awaited sequel to Part 1, your hosts Bob and Book Character Bill Holm find more birds in the parking lot of Tawas State Park in northern Michigan than most people find in a zoo that has an aviary containing more birds than the Tawas State Park parking lot! On their return to Nayaquing Point, Bill outbirds Bob yet again. But Bob turns the spotlight back onto himself with his impression of Irish actor/singer Richard Harri...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 79 The Tofino Psychic

September 24, 2014 • 32 mins
Bob interviews animal communicator Kate Sitka, who lives in Tofino, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Kate talks about discovering and developing her abilities to make a psychic link with both wild and domesticated animals - though another form of animal communication is simply becoming more sensitive to your pet’s needs. She describes a chicken’s psychedelic view of the world, what it’s like to be a whale, and how her cat loves ...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 78 Lake Huron Birding Bliss with Bob & Bill - Part 1

August 26, 2014 • 29 mins
In the first Pet Life Radio show ever to be recorded live from a platform, Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm embark upon another epic birding quest. They begin the adventure on an observation platform near the Ferguson Bayou Trail at Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge near Flint, Michigan. As a Common Tern flies overhead, Bill shows uncommon erudition in a discourse about the Shakespearean sonnet poetic form. Then, atop an ob...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 77 Crabville

August 4, 2014 • 28 mins
Author Cayr Ariel Wulff (Born Without a Tail, Circling the Waggins, and more) likes to talk about her rambunctious dogs. But she surprises Bob by talking about her partner Dalene's rambunctious hermit crabs, whose proper care demands a carefully controlled environment. Learn about proper housing and whether Leroy the crab will eat honey on a cracker. Thrill to tales of crab escape artists and the crab who had two shells.

Questions ...
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PetLifeRadio.com - What Were You Thinking - Episode 76 The Full-Year-in-the-Making Birding Show, Part Two

July 18, 2014 • 32 mins
In part two of the birding show that took a full year to produce, Book Character Bill Holm blows the lid off the fraud that he considers ‘birding by ear’ to be and Bob defends the practice as they recap the 19 warbler species seen the previous day at Magee Marsh in Ohio. Then they set out with open ears if not open minds for day two, though they were spoiled by so many birds on day one, they don’t bird nearly as hard. Bill wows the...
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