Space Pods and other creepy things

There are some things in the world that just make my skin crawl. Chief among them are those things that give birth to their young through their skin. Who knew I would confront my ultimate heebie jeebie at the Portland Classical Chinese Gardens? Lotus pods are just one form of this inter-Kingdom freakishness.

To me, the most horrifying grotesque putrid thing in the world may have to be the Surinam toad. Coupled with the fact that I am more than a little disturbed by amphibians, these toaads have the most disgusting of all births. During mating the males' actions press the fertilized eggs into the soft skin on the females' backs. Her skin heals over the eggs forming a honey comb of pockets. Then, in a few weeks the little toadlets emerge leaving the mother a pitted horror-show. (I refuse to disgrace my blog with a picture of these things, besides just looking up that link made me queasy.)
It is for these same reasons I don't like berries. Sure they seem innocent enough, but left unattended those egg laden skins can turn into this:
And that's a risk I'm just not willing to take.

Since I have sickened myself with all this skin-baby talk I'll leave on a good note. My favorite structure in Portland: the St. John's bridge.
The bridge was completed in 1931. It provided many workers with jobs during the first years of the Depression. At the time it had

• the highest clearance in the nation,
• the longest prefabricated steel cable rope strands,
• the tallest steel frame piers of reinforced concrete,
• the first application of aviation clearance lights to the towers, and
• longest suspension span west of Detroit, Michigan.

It gives me a little dose of Oz every time I cross it. I am so glad it's in the neighborhood.