I will be the first to admit that I know next to nothing about the Chinese Zodiac. I know there are different animals for every Chinese year repeating every twelve years. Of course the most memorable one to me is the dragon, because who doesn't like dragons? So I did a little research to get the old brain working after a caffeine pick-me-up, or better said a wake-me-up. As it turns out not all years of the dragon are the same. It cycles through fire, earth, metal, water and wood each time. For example 2012 was the the year of the water dragon, and the next water dragon year won't be for sixty years in 2072. The same holds true for the other animals on the Chinese Zodiac. I'm sure most of you probably already knew that, but I learned something new!

What does that have to do with the title of my post you might ask? Several years ago I visited an independent jeweler in Long Beach, California who I've known for several years. He buys silver and gold at his shop and most of it he send of to be melted down, but if he finds some items he thinks some of his customers might like he hangs onto them. On this occasion I picked up a few nice items from him including a year of the dragon silver round from 2012. I really liked the dragon design so I bought it.

About the round:
Produced by APMEX
Year: 2012
Composition: 99.9% silver
Weight: One troy ounce
Obverse: Dragon with the date and Chinese characters of the date with year of the dragon above in English and Chinese.
Reverse: Chinese symbols for bravery, power, strength, luck and honest. Top shows fineness and the bottom the weight

Although I purchased the round for the nice dragon design, not knowing much about the Chinese Zodiac I had no idea that 2012 was the year of the water dragon. So I thought wouldn't it be fun to find some images of a water dragon? I proceeded to look up pictures of a Chinese water dragon thinking I might find some cool images. Instead I found out that there is such a thing as a Chinese water dragon in real life, just have a look!

petsoid.com

The Chinese water dragon is native to southern China and most of southeast Asia. As far as size they can grow up to 3 feet (90 cm) in length, so not a small reptile. They like living near fresh water in dense subtropical forests (hot summers with mild winters). Their diet consists primarily of arthropods, worms, snails and plants. They are highly prized for their meat (especially in Vietnam) and for sale as pets outside of Asia. Their eggs are commonly used in traditional medicine as well. This has placed the species on the vulnerable list as populations in the wild are diminishing due to the above mentioned reasons. Additionally habitat loss is adding to the problem.

I must admit it's a very pretty lizard and I can see why people would want them as pets since they're so colorful. I'm not a big reptile lover myself so I'll pass on being a pet owner to a lizard! I grew up with dogs and cats, and we even had a pygmy goat, rabbits, and ducks over the years. But never reptiles, my mom hated them! I guess it rubbed off on me too... Does anyone have one of these as a pet?

Thank you for stopping by and taking time to read my post. I hope you found it interesting, I know I learned a lot today. I really appreciate all of your support! If you have any suggestions, comments or questions feel free to leave them below. Thanks again!

Keep on stacking!

And my disclaimer:
Gold and silver stacking can be a fun hobby but isn't for everyone. You can lose money. I'm not a financial advisor and this isn't financial advice, please always do your own research before spending your hard earned money.

All pictures are mine unless otherwise noted

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_(zodiac)
https://www.apmex.com/product/65011/1-oz-silver-round-apmex-2012-year-of-the-dragon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_water_dragon

Re-blog lottery

Now for the winner of the re-blog lottery! Today we had 27 people re-blog my post, thank you so much! You guy are the best! The people who re-blogged were:

@bitandi
@blitzzzz
@bulliontools
@caleb-marvel
@dfreitesp
@diodao
@ericburgoyne
@flaxz.alive
@florakese
@ganjafarmer
@henruc
@irfanmustafa
@kungfukid
@kunschj
@ladymisa
@matthew1
@maurojd
@monsterbuster
@offgridlife
@olaf.gui
@pepetoken
@stekene
@trautenberk
@trumpman
@vrezion
@vrezyy
@ifarmgirl-leo

Voluntary daily reminder list for those who request to be on it: @ganjafarmer
If you want to be added to the list as well just feel free to ask!

Thank you everyone! I have been working to improve my engagement and all of you have really helped out! If you have any recommendations or suggestions please feel free to let me know. I'm always looking to improve my posts.

Good luck to everyone!

And the Wheel of Names results:

Congratulations @diodao !
You will receive 3 HSBI!

Now for today's re-blog lottery! You just need to re-blog my post you will be placed on the Wheel of Names for a spin to possibly win 3 HSBI units! Just one prize for the lucky winner. An upvote is not required but is always greatly appreciated. Bots aren't allowed to win the prize. Contest ends at 14:00 (2 PM) California Pacific time tomorrow. If I somehow missed your re-blog please let me know and I'll add you to the next draw.

What are HSBI units? They are units that you can purchase to sponsor someone and you in turn receive a unit as well. This way we both benefit! They give you occasional upvotes on your posts for a lifetime, and the more you accumulate the more often you receive upvotes and the bigger they can be. You can read some more here:

https://hive.blog/hive-189312/@steembasicincome/hive-sbi

If you have more questions feel free to ask.