My great-grandfather
Dr. phil. Werner Hilpert
(17. January 1897 in Leipzig - 24. February 1957 in Oberursel)

Today is the 65th anniversary of his dead and I want to remember him.

1916:
Student of Economics, Legal Science and Philosophy

1916 -1918:
Fought in Romania and France (World War I)

1918 - 1920:
Continued studies and received doctorate in philosophy

1920:
Department secretary to the Statebank of Saxony

1920 - 1932:
Assistant/Syndicus to the Union of Leipzig Retailers

1922 - 1932:
CEO of the Linoleum Merchants Union

1927:
Member of the Leipzig city council

1932 - 1933:
President of the Centre Party in Saxony

1933:
Forced by the Nazis to give up all positions in politics and economy

1932 - 1937:
President of the Catholic Action in Saxony and open resistance against the Nazis

1932 - 1938:
Self-employed business consultant and syndicus, trying to provide Jewish business owners best working conditions

Authorized representative for Jewish citizens in "Aryanizations" in collaboration with Carl Goerdeler

1934:
Risk of being arrested in connection with the Röhm-Putsch

1938:
Office burnt down in Kristallnacht

1939:
Arrested by the Gestapo

1939 - 1945:
Political prisoner in Buchenwald concentration camp and member of the Buchenwald Resistance

1945:
Liberation by the Americans

One of five Germans on the Buchenwald International Camp Committee

Entrusted with certain tasks of the American military government

1945:
Taking part in founding the CDU party in Frankfurt am Main

1945 - 1952:
President of the CDU Hesse

1945 - 1951:
Deputy Prime Minister of Hesse

1946 - 1947:
Economics and Transport Minister of Hesse

1947 - 1951:
Minister of Finances of Hesse

1952 - death:
President and Finance Director of the Deutsche Bundesbahn

European hornet (Vespa crabro)

It's covered in dust.

Mind and world order

Thursday evening after the first of two windstorms calmed down. The weather was really nice for a moment. Evening after evening the sunset approaches the Taunus Mountains. Its glow is already touching the Altkönig ("Old King"). Shortly after taking this photo, hailstones started penetrating the sensitive tip of my sloth nose. Can't await summer!

People have forgotten how to talk about feelings. If you do, they immediately try to fix you without understanding first. There is nothing to fix, only to listen. Feelings are normal, even negative ones. The world will not end because of them. But not being noticed and instead being fed fortune cookie sayings is great to do alone.

Female Jamaican field cricket (Gryllus assimilis). This one has just reached sexual maturity. After its moult, the insect first has to harden and take on color. The long sting is called ovipositor and is used to lay eggs in the ground. But that will never happen, because crickets taste best that tender to my geckos.😋

We want sunshine and warmth!
🌞🌡️

Luckily, spring is coming.
My leopard geckos ended their winter rest 10 days ago. On Monday they move back into the big terrarium.

I have made a few improvements to the terrarium. You can also look forward to a live cam, which will be available on my website soon.

In the photo you can see me together with Nameless.🤍

Two years ago I adopted the clutch of a Giant African land snail (Achatina fulica, "White Jade" ). 🐌

Crazy how fast time flies. In this video they were just a month old. It plays at 11x speed. I hope they are doing well in their new homes now. I last saw them 9 months ago.

The little animals are predatory mites. They feed on small insects, springtails and mites. This is useful because they leave the snails alone but eliminate pests.

Mites are arachnids just like spiders and scorpions. There are many specialized mite species worldwide, including blood-sucking ticks and dust mites.

Warning! Not suitable for imitation! Even slightly poisonous animals can be fatal and any animal can behave unexpectedly at any time.

I've had a persistent fascination for getting bees, wasps and spiders on my fingers since early childhood. I've always wondered why everyone panics when an animal like that is around. Panic isn't necessary. Only respect and prudence. I've never been stung or bitten, apart from a few accidents, when I stepped on or reached into it unnoticed. Still, I wouldn't dare to pick up my Chilean rose tarantula (Grammostola rosea). I don't think that's even possible without stressing both of us.

With my deeply relaxed Vietnam forest scorpion (Heterometrus laoticus) I had the impression that it was easily possible and I couldn't resist giving it a one-time try. The species is known for its peacefulness. He crawled onto the hand by himself and behaved relatively calmly. Scorpions always observe their surroundings very closely with all their senses and sometimes react to it in a startled way. He moves backwards away from the potential danger and can easily fall off the hand.

Scorpion stings are described as extremely painful. It's considered to be one of the most painful poisons in the world. The reason for this are special acids it contains. A good first remedy for the pain is said to be strong chewing tobacco that is applied to the area. According to scorpion researcher Martin Handjaba, who handles many different species, he and his colleagues have been stung many times. With the first sting, usually no poison is injected. Young scorpions like to shoot a full load straight away and every animal is different! You shouldn't try to figure out. They feel most comfortable in a natural or nature-like environment anyway.

Merry Christmas from my 21 year old me!✨🐣🎄✨
I'm Santa, Bruce Willis... and an angel. 😇

My 35 year old wishes you a Merry Christmas too! May the spirit of love and harmony be with you!❤️✌️✨

Back then I loved to create such compositions with Photoshop. There are many more like this, for example of me as a robot, a lizard and a naked mole rat on space vacation. But I don't think I'll show you. Better let your imagination run wild.😋