Cats' Wisdom

In the past, I’ve written about cats that I love...whether tabby
or those who live in the wild.

Displayed on a recent calendar, is their wisdom, so incredible.
Style is a reflection of your attitude and your personality,
(a quote by Shawn Ashmore).

A white Persian declares:
Act as if you don’t know me
and I will make it seem as though you don’t exist.
(Michael Bassey Johnson)

Playfully, a dark brown cat says,
If love is the answer,
could you please rephrase the question?
(Lily Tomlin)

If at first, you don’t succeed,
find out if the loser gets anything,
advised William Lyon Phelp’s tabby.

May West’s cat stated:
I used to be Snow White, but I drifted!

Yowling, tabby stated:
Medically speaking, there is no such thing as a nervous breakdown.
Which is very annoying to discover when you’re right in the middle of one!
(Marian Keyes)

If you’re nice to me, I’ll never write anything bad about you.
(Amy Winehouse)

One thing I know about the rich, being rich is that you can take money
from me...and tomorrow ~I’m still going to be rich, stated Lewis Black.

Long-tan-haired cat states: If I go on a diet and work out,
I’m always in a bad mood. Rather be a little heavier, but nice.
{Salma Hayek)

Will Roger’s cat states: Everything is funny,
as long as it’s happening to somebody else.

Ediith Pial’s cat declares: All I’ve done all my life is disobey!

I like coffee because it gives me the illusion that I might be awake,
(said Lewis Black.)

Mischievously cat declares: The most beautiful words
in the English dictionary are: Not Guilty, stated Maxim Gorky.

I never had any problem, stated Tituss Burgess,
Myself was a problem for a lot of people.
But I didn’t have a problem, observed
her black cat relaxing in the soap dish.

Groucho Marx,observing his cat, stated: Politics is the art
of looking for trouble. Finding it everywhere...diagnosing it
incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.

An angry black cat declares: I have a big mouth..and I have a temper,
so that’s not good for people That’s not good for executives,
(observed Leah Remini)

Resting his head sleepily on the bookshelf...
Marcia Cross stated” What I lack in energy, I have in wisdom.

A dark-haired tabby confided to Meg Rosoff:
I’ve been fired five times for having a bad attitude!

Looking at Betty White, her cat confesses:
I may be a senior, but so what: I’m still hot!

Akin to Albert Einstein, It’s not that I’m so smart:
it’s just stay with the problems longer.

Intelligently, cat pronounced: The first human
who hurled an insult instead of a stone
was the founder of civilization.

Sprawled on the chair seat,
golden haired cat observed from experience:
Nobody’s gonna care about your stuff the way I do!

Startled white cat with eyes of green, quoted Oscar Levant
who said “Roses are red, violets are blue;
I’m schizophrenic and so am I.

Grey cat with green eyes and paws stretched forward, concludes:
“I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford.
Then I want to move in with them.”

Compiled by MBK...February 13, 2021
Comments most welcome.

Greenland is Fast Melting

In a report by Seth Borenstein to The Associated Press, Earth's future is being written in fast-melting Greenland.

Summer is hitting the Arctic island hard with record-breaking heat and extreme melt this year.

Helheim Glacier is where Earth's refrigerator door is left open where glaciers dwindle ~ and seas begin to rise.

New York University air and ocean scientist David Holland, who is tracking what's happening in Greenland from both above and below, calls it the end of the planet.

He is referring to geography more than the future. In many ways where the planet is warmer and its watery future is being written. It's so warm inside the Arctic Circle, that on an August day, coats are left on the ground Holland and colleagues work on the watery melting ice without gloves. In one of the closest towns, Kulusk, the morning temperature reached 10.7 C.

The ice Holland is standing on is thousands of years old. It will be gone within a year or two ~ adding more water to rising seas worldwide. By the end of the summer, Greenland's record shattering heat and extreme melt, about 440 billion tons of ice...maybe more...will have melted or calved off Greenland's giant ice sheet, scientists estimate. That's enough water to flood Pennsylvania or the country of Greece and and to a depth of 35 centres. One of the places hit hardest, this 'hot Greenland summer' is on the south-eastern edge of the giant frozen island: Helheim, one of Greenland's fastest-retreating-glaciers.has shrunk about 10 kilometres since scientists came here iin 2005.

Several scientists such as NASA oceanographer Josh Wllis, who is also in Greenland studying melting ice from above said what's happening is a combination of man-made climate change ~ and natural, but weird weather patterns.

Glaciers in Greenland do shrink in the summer and grow in the winter, but nothing this year.

Summit Station, a research camp nearly 3,200 metres high and far north, warmed to above freezing twice this year for a record total of 16.5 hours in 2012,,.once in 1889...and also in the Middle Ages.

At Helheim, the ice, snow and water seemed to on and on, sandwiched by bare dirt mountains that now show no signs of ice, but get covered in the winter The only thing that gives a sense of scale is the helicopter, an almost imperceptible red speck against the ice cliffs where Helheim stops and its remnants remains..Those cliffs are somewhere between 70 metres and 100 metres high. Just next to them are Helheim's renbabts ~ sea ice, snow and icebergs ~ forming a most white expanse, with a mishmash of shapes and textures.

As pilot, Martin Norregaard tries to land his helicopter, on the broken up part of what used to be glacier...now a mush called melange...he looks for ice speckled with dirt...a sign that it's firm enough for the chopper to set down on. Pure white ice could possibly conceal a deep crevasse that leads to a cold and deadly plunge

Holland states that it takes a really long time to grow and ice sheet...thousands and thousands...but they can be broken up or or destroyed quite rapidly.

Along with NASA's Willis, he suspects that warm salty water that comes in part by the Gulf Stream in North America is playing a bigger role than previously thought in melting Greenland's ice.

In tiny Kulusuk, about a 40-minute, Mugu Utuaq says the winter that used to last as much as 10 months when he was a boy, can now be as short as 5 months. That matters to him because as the fourth-ranked-dogsledder in Greenland, he has 23 dogs and needs to race them.

“People are getting rid of their dogs because there's no season,” said Yewlin who used to run a sled dog team for visiting tourists at a hotel in neighbouring town Tasillaq ~ but no longer can do.

* * * * * * * *

“Greenland is not for sale ~ and the idea of selling it to United States is absurd,” stated Denmark's Prime Minister.

Greenland is actually the world's biggest island ~ by area ~ that it is not a continent.

About 836,330 square miles including other offshore islands.

Almost 80% of the land mass is covered in ice cap.

Its main point of interest is Northeast Greenland National Park.

In reading the foregoing report to The Associated Press, I concluded that this Arctic island is appropriately named GREENland! So sad! Yet today true, due the effects of Climate Change.

Written by MBK...August 25, 2019
Comments appreciated

Fast Food

Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

It can lead to over-eating...weight gain...and a host of psychological consequences.

Dieting can bring out the worst in us. Research suggests that the low calerie and restrictive diets make us anxious, irritable, frustrated and depressed. The key to success is to make healthier choices without starving or eliminating the foods you love.

Robert Collier states, “Success is the sum of small efforts ~ repeated day-in' and day-out.'

Sometimes the obvious answer is the right answer:

Eat Less! Make Healthy Choices! Move More!

Victor Klam, in humour states, “Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward.”

Mayo Clinic News Network

“An occasional stop for fast food can fit into a healthy diet if you're careful about what you order.

Keep portion sizes small. If the fast food restaurant offers several sandwiches, pick the smallest.
Bypass hamburgers with 2 or 3 patties, which can be close to 800 calories. Choose instead a regular or children's-sized hamburger, which has about 250 calories.

Skip the large serving of French fries. Ask for a small serving instead.

This switch alone, can save 200 calories.

Choose healthier side-dishes. Take advantage of the healthy side-dishes offered at many fast-food restaurants. Instead of French fries, choose a side salad with low-fat dressing or a baked potato. Or add a fruit bowl or a fruit and yogourt option to your meal. Other healthy choices include apple or orange slices, corn on the cob, steamed rice or baked potato chips.

Go green: Choose an entire salad with grilled chicken, shrimp or vegetables. Choose a dressing you like, but use half the package or keep the salad dressing on the side to control the number of calories.

Watch out for high-calorie salads, such as those with fried toppings. Also, skip extras such as cheese and croutons, which quickly increase calorie count.

Opt for the grilled items. Fried and breaded foods are high in fat and calories. Select grilled or roasted meats ~ such as turkey or chicken breast, lean ham or roast beef.

Watch what you drink. Many beverages are high in calories: a large regular soda (30 ounces) has more than 300 calories. Instead, order diet soda, water, unsweetened iced tea, sparkling water or mineral water. Also skip the shakes and other ice cream drinks. Large shakes can contain more than 800 calories.

Have it Your Way

Remember, you don't have to settle for what comes with your sandwich or meal ~ not even at fast-food restaurants.

Ask for healthier options and substitutions. And keep your eye on portion size.”

Compiled by MBK...August 27, 2019
Comments welcome

Animal Parents as Teachers

You will be surprised what animals said when questioned by researchers! Wolf pups learn to howl from the members of their pack.

So that in time they can join in the rally call for the pack to meet up....let others know their location...or even warn other packs to stay out of their territory.

A wolf pup will begin to mimic howling as young as 20 days old. The calls will be shorter in length and higher in pitch just because of their smaller little lungs.

The songs that birds sing are learned, not inherited: Songbirds don’t know how to sing like their parents until they learn that song. Songbirds practise by trying to repeat what they’ve heard from their parents...usually once they are fledglings that can fly out of the nest. By the time they can fly, fledglings have developed a subsong. With a lot of practice, that subsong grows into a song like the one their parents sing.

Can We Have a Snack as questioned by the animals. Since animals don’t have a fridge to open when they are hungry, it’s important for the little ones to learn how to get food for themselves. Otters eat while floating on their backs. Another otter will dive in the water to find shellfish...then come up and place a rock on her own stomach so that she can crack the shellfish against the rock to open it. She will do this repeatedly to show her young this technique until they learn it.

To show her young how to catch fish and shrimp, a dolphin’s mom will intentionally stretch out the time it takes...by as much as eight times longer! The young dolphin will watch the parent capture, then let go of their food ...and then recapture...let go of their food...and then let go of it again to show different ways of grabbing lunch!

Foxes teach their young how to forage for earthworms by finding a worm in the ground and showing their pups how to bite it .Next, the mother will find a worm...pull it loose...and stretch it out ...but let her pup take it. She will repeat this exercise until the pup learns the right amount of pressure needed to get the entire worm from the ground without breaking it.

Staying Healthy and Safe: Moose spend a lot of time standing in the water. It reduces the weight of their bones and joints...and the water cools them off on hot days. Most importantly for a moose family ...being in the water discourages predators like wolves and mountain lions from sneaking up on them! It’s much harder to sneak up on something surrounded by water.

Bison usually run when they sense danger. But, if there isn’t time to get away, the mothers will form a circle around their young...and the males will form a circle around the mothers. From an early age, this species learns that ‘family has your back’ literally.

After their first few steps into the water, loon chicks can bob around and float. They spend lots of time, however, on their parents’ backs during trips out in the lake to rest...conserve heat...and avoiding predators. Young loons are extremely buoyant and pop up like corks after their first attempts at diving.

Up until the young chicks are eight weeks old, the adults are with them most of the time...providing most of the food...and showing them how to dive again and again. By 11 or 12 weeks of age, the chicks are getting better at diving...and will be getting almost all their own food.

Empty Nesters: No bird is truly born with the ability to fly from birth because it takes practice. Baby birds are trained by their parents...who encourage them to try and try again! The main incentive for trying to fly, seems to be food. When it’s time to fly, mother birds start dropping food a little farther away from the young...encouraging the little ones to move out. Chances are, the first few times, the baby will fall to the ground...but eventually, the young learn they can cease their fall by flapping their wings. The family is happy to see them leave the nest, because fledglings are less likely to be preyed on by predators when they are out of the nest.

The foregoing, I foraged from the recent
Canadian Wildlife Federation’s recent publication.

Comments most welcome:
MBK...assembled December 8, 2020

Canada’s Hardest Working Animals

In a recent issue of the Canadian Wildlife magazine, Jerika Bradford questions readers:

Is it a bear? What about the wolf? You might be surprised~
Canada’s hardest working animals come in all shapes and sizes.
What sets them apart from others, is just how far they will go to get the job done.

Arctic Tern: The small Arctic Tern has one of the longest migrations of all birds. The Arctic Tern will fly up to 40,000 kilometres in a zig-zagging route from its Arctic breeding grounds to Antarctica, and back again every year. That’s like flying the length of the Trans Canada Highway. ~ across all 10 provinces,.10 times!

Black Ants: Black ants pack a punch far beyond their weight. They are some of the hardest working insects around. Ants are able to lift and carry objects that weigh as much as 50 times their weight. In fact, ants are such hard workers that that they are always busy ~ whether building tunnels ...collecting food or cleaning up...and maintaining their underground chambers..

Beavers: Have you heard the saying: busy as a beaver? There’s a good reason this saying exists. Beavers are nature’s architect. This animal builds impressive dams, canals and lodges all on its own. Did you know that beavers cut down an average of 216 trees a year? Beavers begin building dams by laying sticks and rocks on a stream bed. They then pack on more stones to create rooms...filling in the spaces in between with mud, twigs and leaves ...layer after layer. Their dams are sturdy and can handle great water pressure and erosion.

Earthworms: The humble earthworm may not seem like it belongs on the list of of hardest working animals. But, earthworms are nature’s first farmers...plowing the soil as they dig through it! Earthworms play an important role in soil health and quality. It takes earthworms an estimated 10 to 20 years to turn over the first 6 inches of soil keeping it fresh and full of nutrients.

Wolves: Wolves have to work hard for their food. They work in packs and kill about one large mammal ~ like a deer, moose, caribou, elk or bison. ...for every 10 they chase. It may take the entire pack to help bring home some food. They not only hunt in packs or groups, but also live most of their lives with other wolves....forming deep bonds and a highly organized social structure.

Salmon: The salmon’s journey is quite the journey. After spending some time in the Pacific or Atlantic oceans, these incredible fish begin an exhausting migration back to the place where they were hatched. They will fight strong currents and make their way past animals that want to eat them. Some even have to leap over waterfalls. Their migration back home is truly an obstacle course. Their migration is so exhausting that once they reach their destination, and spawn: they die.

Hummingbirds: Hummingbirds flap their wings super fast. ...up to 50 times per second. This means that hummingbirds need a constant source of food to keep up their energy, which is why you see them zipping through the air ...going flower to flower. You can help hummingbirds by putting out a hummingbird feeder outside your house. This will help them with their next meals so they can keep zipping around in the air!

Written by MBK Deceember 15, 2020
Comments most welcome.

Would You Believe It?

 

Just a few circumstances sent me, from a faithful reader!

In the 1400’s a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed
to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb.’
Hence, we have ‘the rule of thumb.’

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented.
It was ruled: Gentlemen Only - Ladies Forbidden.
Thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV
was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than tor the U.S. Treasury.

Men can read smaller print than women, yet women can hear better.
Coca-Cola was originally green.
It is impossible to lick your elbow.
The state with the highest percentage of people
who walk to work: Alaska.

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%.
The percentage of North America that is wilderness is 38%.
The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of 11 ~ is $16.400.
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000.
Each King in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades: King David...Hearts: Charlemagne...Clubs: Alexander the Great...
Diamonds..Julius Caesar.

For the mathematic’s wizard: 111,111,111 X 111,111=12,345,678,987, 654,321.

If a statue in the park has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle
If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died

because of wounds received in battle.
If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4:
John Hancock and and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2,
but the last signature wasn’t added until 5 years later.

Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
Their birthplace.

Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular
boat name requested? Obsession.

What do bulletproof vests, windshield wipers and laser printers
have in common? All were invented by women.

What is the only food that doesn’t spoil? Honey.
On which day are there more collect calls than any other day?
Father’s Day.

In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.
When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer
to sleep on. Hence the phrase: Good Night! Sleep Tight!

It was accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago, that for a month after the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based,
this period was called ‘the honey month’ which we know today as the honeymoon!

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So, in old England
when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them:
Mind your pints and quarts ~ and settle down!
It’s where we get the phrase: Mind your P’s and Q’s.

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim
or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill,
they used the whistle to Wet Your Whistle to get some service.
Wet Your Whistle is the phrase inspired by this practice.

At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow.

Being Mindless and Senseless

You accidentally enter your PIN number on the microwave.
You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years.
You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family
is that you don’t have their e-mail addresses.

You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone
to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries

Leaving the house without your cell phone,which you didn’t have
the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life is now a cause
for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

Before getting your coffee.

You start tilting your head sideways to smile.

You’re reading this and nodding and laughing.
Even worse, you know to whom you are going to send this message.

And FINALLY ~ Now U R Laughing at yourself!

For your Reading Pleasures
from MBK...written January 12, 2021.

Spirit Preamble

Spirit Preamble is the principle of Life, and Energy characterized by intelligence, preamble emotion and vivacity or energy.

Arriving one day to my third floor apartment, I observed Papa Bird flying around our neighbourhood ~ while Mama rested (so carefully) on her three bluish eggs in the nest built on my third floor balcony chair. Seeing me, she stretched up, ready to fly. However, observing her mate on nearby hydro wires, she invited him to the balcony railing for a chat. Engaged in chatter, they exchanged positions to incubate the eggs until ‘ready to hatch. For her, he brought a long juicy worm which she nibbled. Both male and female, trusted me where I sat at the balcony’s far end. So fortunate I was to watch their relationship...both avidly awaiting their three eggs to hatch.

Nature is my love: my 3^rd floor view overlooks several evergreen trees bordering the paved Bike path extending from Appleby Line to downtown’s Brant Street. Birds often fly in from the hydro wires to nibble on seeds I lay out for them. Watching their mutual interest, daily I documented , photographed and observed their routines. Night and Day, both birds had incubating chores. On a weekend Sunday, one egg hatched ~ the other 2 eggs hatched the following day. How surprised I was that both male and female family-raised these hatchlings until flying skills were learned.

Both fish and birds have their cycles of life...selecting mates...locating trees or bushes to build their homes. Then await Mother Nature to perform her tasks

In Southern Ontario, we dwell in rolling lands of woods, forests, streams, lakes, rivers and waterfalls which we as humans, share with God’s creatures ~ whether 4-footed, creepy crawlers or wings. ~ whose bodies are adapted for flights in and over rivers, lakes, and the big blue sky. We are so fortunate to have Nature at our doorstep!

Oft, I wonder: Do they and other beasties study humans for their retrospect on our populace?

Our planet, truly is an Animal World!

Hidden in my files has long been: The Starfish Poem:

A little boy walked carefully along a crowded beach
where starfish by the hundreds lay there within his reach.
They washed up with each wave as far as the eye could see
and each would surely die if they were not thrown back into the sea.

So, one by one, he rescued them
then heard a stranger call, “It really won’t make much of a difference ~
For you cannot save them all!”

But as he tossed yet another one back toward the ocean’s setting sun,
he said with deep compassion,“I made a difference to that one!”
(by unknown author)

Written by MBK...January 5,2021
Comments always welcome.