You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'Animals' category.
I’ve been a fan of Georges Laraque since he first started playing with the Edmonton Oilers. I remember watching one of his first games and being rather impressed. I was even more impressed to learn that he had played with an injury, but didn’t let that stop him as he tried to break into the regular lineup.
I have recently learned about Georges Laraque’s commitment to animal welfare and how he has adopted a vegan lifestyle. His dedication to these issues impresses me more than his best game on the ice ever could.
Go Georges!
When my beloved orange tabby cat, Taz, died a couple of years ago Nikki gave me a beautiful orange lily plant to commemorate his life and the happiness he brought so many of us. Each year when the first orange bloom opens I always stop and take a moment to remember one of the best cats that ever lived.
Today’s editing/writing session did not go as well as I’d hoped. The problem was not with my manuscript, my ideas or any of the changes I am making to the document. I did not have computer failure nor did I have meetings, appointments, etc. to take me away from the task I really wanted needed to be working on. What I had was a major case of sleep deprivation, and I felt like I was in a fog all day.
I have my neighbour to thank for this. It seems he has decided to set a trap for the raccoons who come sniffing around his garbage can, and last night he caught one. Oh yay. So from about 2am on I could hear this poor little raccoon trying to escape from the cage. Around 4am it seems that s/he gave up on the whole prospect of getting out and instead started to make whimpering noises. It was awful. I had no idea what to do. The thought of skulking about over the fence in the dead of night to free a very angry and upset wild animal didn’t seem like the best of plans. I contemplated ringing my neighbour’s doorbell and getting him to deal with the situation he created, but chickened out. I looked up the local humane society’s phone number, but wasn’t sure if this constituted one of the “emergencies” that they are on call for 24 hours a day. I’m ashamed to admit that I did nothing to help this poor animal in distress and it has bothered me all day. Today I left a message with the humane society to see what they suggest should this happen again.
Is my neighbour even allowed to do this? Seems pretty sketchy to me!
This incident has reminded me of how difficult cross-fence politics can be. On the one hand, I am appalled by the thought of an animal in distress. It makes me furious and upset. On the other hand, I cherish the sanctity and peacefulness of my home, yard and garden. I work from home and I need it to be a non-stressful place. The thought of waging war with my neighbour (and, yes, this incident would up the ante, I’m afraid) makes me a little sick to my stomach.
I’m also reminded of another set of incidents, incidents that took place in another city many years ago. In that instance, my neighbour was a hunting fanatic and occasionally had the bodies/partial bodies of the animals he killed on the lawn. It was revolting. It made me weep. Yet, what could I do? He was in his yard, doing his thing. I remember staying inside a lot during hunting season that year.
My research and writing has me thinking a lot about relationships between human and nonhuman animals these days, but I’m at a loss when it comes to negotiating some of the scenarios that play out (quite literally) in my own backyard.
I’m back home in Ontario but my mind is still in Victoria — such a wonderful conference, such a wonderful location. I want to blog about the conference in more detail, but first I need to unpack, do laundry and get some sleep.
After spending several days on the UVic campus I became quite used to seeing all the bunnies. Now that I’m back home it seems strange not to see bunnies hopping all over the place when I look out the window. (For those of you who have never been to the UVic campus, there are dozens and dozens of bunnies running all over the place!) I realize that they do present a number of problems, but as Andrew Revkin (who was a plenary speaker at the ASLE conference) asks, “what can be done about a pest that’s cute?”
I’ve blogged a bit about the graffiti I encountered while at the ASLE conference, so it seems fitting that just as I was leaving the UVic campus I spotted this piece of bunny-themed artwork. Excellent!
A few weeks ago Laurie bought me a hummingbird feeder so it is entirely appropriate that she gets credit for this photograph, taken today during our first sighting of one of these little beauties at the feeder.
I’d read all about how hummingbirds are attracted to red flowers, especially things like trumpet vines or the flowers on runner beans. My plan was to hang the feeder near the runner beans when the plants started to flower, but in the meantime I hung it out on a post near the back deck for fun. We didn’t really expect to have any visitors, but have noticed the Baltimore Orioles hanging around it for the past few days. We removed a couple of the yellow “bee guards” from the hummingbird feeder so the Orioles had easier access to the nectar, and that seemed to work. In spite of the lack of red trumpet-shaped flowers, the hummingbird feeder is a hub of activity today!
Last weekend as we were out working in the garden we saw a bright orange streak fly by — a Baltimore Oriole! I’ve spotted them a few times since moving to Niagara, but it still certainly is a rare sight in my backyard. Over the past few days we’ve watched a pair of them flit around the yard. Yesterday as I sat out on the back porch working on a book review I became distracted by them once again (one of the dangers of trying to do work outside!). They are quite shy, but I did manage to snap a few pics.
It was absolutely gorgeous in Niagara yesterday — the sun was shining and it was about 13 degrees (Celsius). We took advantage of the wonderful weather and went to Niagara Falls for a hike. We did a walk I’ve wanted to do since I moved here — along the Niagara Whirlpool. It was amazing!! One of the most exciting parts of the afternoon was spotting some Long-tailed ducks, who appeared to be enjoying the circular current of the water in the whirlpool.
I didn’t get any pictures of the ducks (I must buy a digital SLR with a telephoto lens soon — especially if we keep going on birding adventures), but here are some pictures from the hike. I was especially fascinated by the giant mounds of snow (melting very quickly in the warm sun!) and the icy blue colour of the water. I also loved the green sap oozing out of the wooden stairs down to the whirlpool. I know it is likely a side effect of the treated wood, but since it was St. Patrick’s day I imagined it was the work of an impish leprechaun.
On a related note, I was absolutely horrified to hear that there was another person attacked on a local hiking trail. This is terribly upsetting!!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
The weather has turned lovely and spring-like in the Niagara region, and I’ve been trying to get outdoors as much as possible. Throughout the winter we’ve been having occasional “Quack & Quaff” events — essentially, we go down to the lake and look at the ducks (that would be the “quack” part) and then head up the street to our favourite pub for a pint (or two). Over the past couple of weeks though, the weather has been so lovely that we’ve been going down to check out the duck action just about every day. (I’m not commenting on our beer consumption here). I’ve particularly enjoy watching the buffleheads, although I won’t admit to playing favourites. We’ve also noticed a funny little group of 3 ducks — 2 mallards and one white duck — that seem to stick together like glue. They just swim around in a little tripod formation, totally oblivious to the rest of the Port Dalhousie duck population. It is really cute to watch and I look for them each time we go down to the water.
And speaking of avian species, there is much action at the backyard feeders these days. In fact, I can hardly keep up with the demand for seed (although I suspect the fat squirrels in the yard might have something to do with this state of affairs). The typical cast of characters these days include: cardinals, blue jays, sparrows, chickadees, juncos, mourning doves, and a couple of woodpeckers (can’t tell if they are the downy woodpeckers or the hairy woodpeckers). There are also robins hopping around in the yard. When we were kids sighting the first robin of the year was such an exciting event and a sure sign of spring. While it is still exciting to see the robins, I was a little startled to discover that so many of them stay put throughout the winter in Niagara. (a side note: the Grackles have returned, but I’m pretending I don’t see them)
One sure sign of spring is the number of bikes out on the road these days. I reacquainted myself with my zippy little Electra Cruiser yesterday and did some errands on two wheels. There are new bike lanes on Lake Street (thank you, City of St. Catharines), so I am much more inclined to use my bike as a commuter vehicle this year.
