Cats Kill

CONTROL YOUR CATS!!

A new study posted in Nature Communications shows that cats kill upwards of 3 BILLION birds per year.  And according to Deborah Holle from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, "most people are unaware that their well-fed domestic house cat can take up on average one bird everyday."  This is insane!!!  With North America being the breeding grounds more thousands of species of birds, (there are approximately 10,000 different species in the world) these cats are a serious issue.  

How are we going to know it's spring if we don't hear the birds!!  So do the right thing here people, and keep those cats INSIDE!

Want more information on how to deal with your pet cat?  Visit American Bird Conservancy and check out their "Cat Indoors" program.


abcbirds.org

Ay, the beautiful ugly.

I was at work today when a small, beautiful Mockingbird was thwarting off an attack from a large black bird dark as night.  I heard my boss mutter under his breath "My God, what a beautiful bird."  I looked at him, and back at the now perched mockingbird, looking for the majesty he saw, but remained lost.  "I don't know, Mockingbirds are pretty but I like brighter birds like Cardinals or Green Herons."  He looked back at me with amusement in his eyes as he said "I was talking about that black bird.  It's so fierce.  People tend to hate them for their aggressiveness but that's the same reason I admire them.  They do what they do very well."

It was in that moment that I realized beauty is in the eye of the beholder but the most beautiful things are in the eyes of someone who is just seeing for the first time.

From Earth to Sky

We have entered the realm of the sky - this is it!  Birds on birds on birds.  I'll be keeping you posted as I learn more about them.  So far I'm obsessed.  I always knew birds started singing when it got warmer but did you know the physiologic reason they do it is because they have a gland in their brain that absorbs photons from the sun?  These animals are crazy.  Keep an eye out for the Indian Roller and the American Bittern - two of my favorites.  I saw the Indian Roller on a trip to Cambodia.  American Bitterns are more of a freshwater species.  Birds are cool.  Treat birds with respect.

Say hello to Cambodia!

Leaving January second I'll be off on adventurland to Vietnam and Cambodia.  You can follow me as I explore the world in a different way.  It's a wildlife conservation trip involving meditation in a monk monastery, hanging out by the Mekong River, visiting Angkor Wat and Phnom Penh, and being wild and crazy half way across the world.  More details soon to come.  

I am a mom (kind of) with one on the way!  After the tragic death of my first pet (a Beta fish named Rico who jumped out of his tank - R.I.P.), I've been somewhat pragmatic to take on responsibility of another life.  The thought that my care and attention wasn't enough was unsettling.  But they say the best way to get over a glitch is to submerge yourself in it - and so I have.  I now own six plants and the worlds coolest/craziest hermit crabs, Aralia and Ficus.  If your a tree hugger like me, you know what I'm saying.  I also brought home an Emperor Scorpion, rightly named Sumu which means Venom in Swahili.  I'm not sure what you think about them but oh my gosh what a cutie.  SO CUTE.  Crazy cute.  I love him and I'm sure he has to be the baddest one out there.

Soon, a puppy shall be on my list but for now, they are the the loves of my life.

So this is it.  The first one.  I always wondered what it would be like finally starting this.  I think I spent more time on the design of it than in the actual content (whoops).  I apologize for how short I must cut the first informally formal message to the start of my life-long depiction of life itself, but details and graphics will come soon.  I promise.  And I'm not really sure what this is yet, but I know it's going to be something.  For now, the dark blanket of night has triggered the street lights, and until the sun shines again I shall bid thee a farewell.