Puerto Rico....My hearts devotion...............

......Let it sink back in the ocean. Always the hurricanes blowing, always the population growing....

Okay, who knows the musical where this song is from?? I'll reveal in the comments if no one knows.

So, I've been so busy at work preparing for our summer board meeting. By the time I get home I have virtually no energy to post or to even read. PLUS, there is something wrong with my laptop at home. For some reason, I cannot post comments or even look at comments on my or other blogs! When I click on the comments, a box has always popped up saying there are secure and unsecure items listed, do you want to see all, then you click yes, or no. Well, I always click yes and that is that. Now, no matter what I click the message still comes up and freezes my computer so I have to shut down and start over. And, I have no energy to try and figure out what is wrong. So, I'm taking a break from work (Shhh) to send out a quick post.

Has anyone been to Puerto Rico? That is where our summer board meeting will be. In San Juan actually. I'll be there for almost four days. But, instead of spending my time here:



I'll be seeing this from 8:00 a.m. until 5 to 6:00 pm every day



Plus my job is to make sure all the arrangements are set, food is on time, etc. when I'm not taking minutes at the meeting. So my days are actually longer than the basic board meeting.

The hotel I'll be staying at is the Caribe Hilton. It is right on the beach (it actually has a private beach). That is the first photo posted. It is on 17 acres of lush tropical gardens and also boasts a bird sanctuary, shown below!!



So I'm hoping to get out in the early a.m. for some walking around. I'm thinking of getting a basic "Birds of Puerto Rico" guide to see what they have. I asked my hotel contact what to expect in regards to the weather. She just laughed and said "hot and humid". Oh great, out of frying pan and into the fire!!

I better get back to work. I have to figure out menus for 25 people for 3 1/2 days of eating!! No matter what I choose, I always get compliments and complaints.

TGIF!! (Thank God I'm Feline)

Butterball and his sidekick Apu relaxing on an absolutely beautiful Friday evening. Windows open, cool breeze, low humidity. A rare and wonderful summer evening in suburban Maryland.




Buddy, the neighborhood bully. A sweet cat that craves human attention but beats up on all the other cats. I have a supersoaker on my front porch, filled and ready for him. In this photo, he is quiet and relaxed not bothering anyone. I think it is the wonderful weather.



Woody (aka, Baby Huey). I took in Woody as a stray in June of 2002. He was the most emaciated kitten I had ever seen. He has since grown into the largest of my herd weighing in at a whopping 20 pounds! He loves absolutely everyone. If Woody were a dog, he would be a big goofy black lab.



Hey, wait a minute! Okay, I just had to post this photo of Rocky who came up on the porch to feed a few nights ago during a thunderstorm, hence his spiky fur-do. He does make an effort to blend in with the rest of the cats though.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and I hope your weather is as amazing as it is here!

Too funny

I have nothing of interest to say today but I checked out the Elephant Sanctuary's website to get an update on Dulary.

Some of your know Dulary is The Elephant Sanctuary's latest resident. She came from the Philadelphia Zoo in May. Although her living conditions at the zoo were not ideal, she was greatly loved and dare I say that she was one pampered packyderm.

I had to laugh at some of the updates saying she was adjusting well and was starting to "respectfully" interact with her caregivers. Hmmm, I wonder what that means?

The latest update stated that her caregivers noticed she has taken up the hobby of rock collecting. But guess where she stores them:



Can you see it? On the top of her head!! They said she likes to put a rock on her head and balance it as she walks around. What a character!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAT59!!

Cat59 and I met in 1984 working at a high-powered DC lobbying and PR firm. I've known her the longest of any friend from the DC area. We were both young, in our mid-twenties and trying to figure out our lives.


This photo was taking in 1986 at the Hands Across America event near the Washington Monument. Cat59 is the long-legged gal in the white jeans. (I was taking the photo.)

We've been together through good times and bad, boyfriend breakups, deaths of friends and family, and her marriage to wonderful Dave. They've moved around from Maryland to Pennsylvania. To Georgia, and now in North Carolina.

She was always the serious one...............;-)


This photo was also taken in 1986. Say, are those pantyhose on your head!?!

Have a great day!!

Love, Possumlady and the Herd

A little of this and that

I guess the hot weather has gotten to me. That, or deadlines at work because my mind has been drawing a blank as far as anything interesting to say. This weekend was a catch-up weekend. After not being able to do any errands last weekend I ran out on Saturday morning and stocked up on human, pet, and wild bird foods. Oh, and speaking of wild birds, I like my new screen feeder so much I bought another one this weekend!

Unfortunately, the house sparrows have returned, but not nearly the hordes that would congregate at the tube feeders. The most I've seen are 4 at the screen feeders (as opposed to over 20-30 hovering around). I'm now getting mostly chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, cardinals, purple finches, and even a downy woodpecker. I know these are the usual backyard birds, but it is so nice to see them and hear their song instead of the incessant chirping of the house sparrows. I also jumped for joy yesterday. I kept hearing these aggravating baby bird screeches in the morning. I went out and looked up and high in my neighbor's massive oak tree were two parent bluejays and two juveniles, pretty much the size of the parents, but still putting on the "I'm just a witto, bitty, baby, please keep feeding me" routine. Just about a month ago when I took a week off, I found a fledgling baby jay in the middle of the street and put it back in the bushes where I knew it's nest was. The next day I saved another (the same?) baby jay from being the plaything of neighborhood cats. Since I've not seen any other jay family around, I'm assuming the two babies have now grown "almost" up. I feel like a proud auntie!

Figaro (aka Figgy or Figgy Pudding) keeping me company while I'm in the garden. He always has a perpetual sleepy look.

I would never call this a blueberry bush, more like a blueberry twig. It keeps hanging on, this is its 4th year and the few blueberries I have gotten in the past have never made it to this size. The mockingbirds have always found them. But this year they are being hid by.......

Lots and lots of coneflowers that are just about to bloom. This is the first.

Did I ever mention that I love the color PINK! ;-)

Have you seen the latest issue of BirdWatchers Digest? It has Julie Zickefoose's wonderful phoebe painting as the cover! Interesting footnote about BirdWatchers Digest (BWD)...when I first moved into my home in 1998, I had NO money for anything. I had used up almost all my savings for the downpayment and it seemed like every paycheck went to things like garbage cans, ladders, rakes, etc. I literally didn't buy a piece of clothing (including underwear!) for over a year. But instead of going window shopping and drooling over clothes or shoes in malls, I would go to the closest Wild Birds Unlimited shop and drool over all the feeders, birdbaths, birdhouses, etc. The little store would have a big sale twice and year and the owners would put out their own old copies of BWD for FREE. I took whatever they put out. I remember thinking "when I have enough money, I'm going to get a subscription to this". Well, time passed and I forgot about it until meeting Julie Z for a talk at the National Zoo last year. I immediately starting reading her blog and low and behold found out her husband's parents founded BWD and her husband is the Editor! So, of course, I had to subscribe. I love the size of it. Small enough that I can carry it in my purse and read an article or two standing in lines or at the airport. The articles are fun and informative without being too scientific for us non-science chimp types.

One of the more informative articles in the latest issue of BWD has to do with Duck Stamps. Now, I always thought I was a pretty informed amateur naturalist. I just assumed duck stamps were sold to hunters so they could hunt ducks. Well, they are sold to anyone who wants to contribute to the National Wildlife Refuge system. According to the article by Paul Baicich, "In the almost 75 years since its creation, the stamp has raised nearly $700 million for the acquisition of more than 5 million acres of wetland and grassland habitat for the refuge system." And, many other birds benefit directly from the increased habitat. But, the number of hunters buying the stamps have stagnated or dropped. A number of birder organizations have stepped up to get members to buy the $15 stamp. The stamp will also get you into any national wildlife refuge for free! I'll be at my local post office in July to pick up the latest duck stamp that becomes available on July 1. Will you?

No update on the status of Maggie the elephant in Alaska. But The Elephant Sanctuary put out the following notice:

"The Elephant Sanctuary is pleased to learn that Maggie will soon be released from the Alaska Zoo. Many people have worked diligently to see that Maggie be moved to a more suitable situation; their efforts should be applauded. The Alaska Zoo has not contacted The Sanctuary regarding Maggie’s move but we are receptive to providing our expertise and facilities if they so desire, free of charge. The Sanctuary stands ready and able to assist in Maggie’s move in any way necessary. We know that wherever Maggie is moved will be of benefit to her. Most importantly, we are relieved to know that Maggie will not spend another winter in Alaska. "

So, like I said, just a little bit of this and that. I'll leave you with a photo of my latest windchime. I actually took a little video of it "tinklng" but I haven't figured out how to post videos yet. There is a reporter/columnist of the Washington Post that I like to read even though I usually don't agree with him. His latest subject was noise and what was considered noise and what wasn't. He thought all windchimes should be banned and those that have them should be fined. Thems fightin words in Takoma Park where just about every front porch has windchimes!

Reverse S.A.D. and polar bears

Hello, my name is Possumlady and I have reverse SAD. (All together now..."Hello Possumlady")

You all, I'm sure, have heard of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Come fall, there are always articles and tv stories on those affected by SAD. When fall comes, people affected by SAD feel bittersweet as fall is a beautiful season, is a respite from the dog days of summer. But fall also brings shorter days, colder weather and snow storms. People affected by SAD can get severely depressed because of the lack of sunlight.

I, on the other hand, feel very bittersweet in spring. As much as I love watching my garden coming up again, the birds singing, temps above 40 degrees, etc., I honestly start getting depressed thinking about the heat and humidity that is in store for the summer. I would MUCH rather be too cold than too hot. But I really think it is the humidity that does me in. In the Washington, DC area we can go for weeks with temps in the 90s and humidity in the 60s and 70s. Also, we don't even get relief at night. Sometimes the lows will be the high 70s, close to 80 degrees. I sadly watch the 11:00 news with reports that "it is still 87 degrees outside and unhealthy air quality tonight". It just makes me feel blah, blah, blah, with no energy to do anything. Even my cental air can't keep up sometimes. When all I'm doing is getting dressed to go to work and my upper lip gets sweaty, I know it's going to be a bad day. I mean, come on, you can always put more clothes on, but there is a limit to the clothes you can take off (in proper society at least). Oh, and don't get me started on the mosquitoes that have just started making their presence known over the last week. In another few weeks, I won't be able to go outside for any length of time without spraying myself from head to toe with DEET.

I mean, at least in the fall and winter, you're supposed to be inside, nice and cozy. I find it depressing to be inside in the summer, with the AC blasting, not being able to hear the birds or other sounds. I guess it also has to do with the fact that June and July are very busy and stressful times at work preparing for our governing board's summer retreat that takes place in mid-July. Maybe it also has to do with being a native Minnesotan, I just don't know.

So that's my dirty little secret. To take my mind off it all, I'm going to post a few photos from my trip in October 2005 to Churchill, Manitoba on the Hudson Bay. I went to watch the annual polar bear migration that passes pretty much through town as they make their way to the frozen Hudson Bay, where they spend the winter hunting seals. This was I trip I had wanted to take since I saw a National Geographic episode on the Bears of Churchill narrated by Jason Robards about 25 years ago. Needless to say, I want to go back.

Here is the Hudson Bay, talk about Global Warming, I was there in mid-October and virtually no snow!

Here is a cute little arctic hare all dressed in his winter clothes, just waiting for the snow.

Here is part of the tour group I went with, walking through town. The sun had just risen and it was around 9:00 am

Ah, this is what we came to see. I thought this was quite the clever shot.

Ta Da!! Ursis maritimus (water bear). This was a young mature male. He was sniffing us in our Tundra Buggy.

Ahhh, I feel better now.

Ghost Garden

So I returned last night from my neighbor's art exhibit that she put on. This was a truly amazing exhibit. My neighbor Stephanie decided months ago to try and get the Takoma Park Arts community together and see if they could collaborate on something. She invited everyone over to her house first as a getting to know each other event. Then they started brainstorming. What they decided on doing was that the visual artists (painters, sculptures, collage artists) would loan a piece of their work, to a poet. The poet then lived with the piece of art for a number of months and then wrote a piece of poetry about the piece of art. The exhibit last night was called "Artists Inspiring Artists" and had the pieces of art hung up with the poem framed and hanging next to it. Really innovative and fun!!

So, I returned last night just when things were getting dark. It was oppressively hot and humid and I was already hearing low rumblings of thunder in the distance. Then I saw something I had been looking for since early May. I was getting worried since I hadn't seen it yet. So I ran and got my camera and tried taking some photos while moving and this is how they came out

ooooo, scary

This one was a little more in focus

I had no idea of I was getting anything until I uploaded the photos, Then, I saw it!

Look towards the lower center, slightly to the left. Do you see the little light? It's a firefly!! They're back!!! I love them. They get so numerous that my yard looks like a fairy garden at night. Man it was hard to photograph them. My flash was going off and I can only assume the flashing males saw this huge flash and thought "Man, that is one big firefly, I better get out of here quick!"

Quick post

Got a crazy weekend brewing. Need to do some major cleaning tonight and tomorrow morning. But, I also need to stop by an art exhibit tonight starting at 7:00 that my neighbor is the curator of. Luckily it is at our community center so it is just a few blocks away. Whew!

I'll leave you with this photo quiz. Does anyone know what is wrong with this tree and who or what did it? I took this photo in January. It is a walnut tree that borders my yard.

A prayer for Maggie

Many know that I have become quite impassioned about the welfare of captive elephants. I am a big, BIG supporter of The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee that exists to take in sick, old, and needy elephants from zoos and circuses.

One elephant that the animal welfare community has been keeping its eye on is Maggie, a 25 year old African elephant that has been in poor health and languishing alone in the Alaska Zoo for years. My personal opinion is that very, very few zoos have the space requirements needed to house an elephant exhibit. (I won't even get into circuses--shudder). Elephants can only adapt so far to cold climates, so zoos in northern, colder climates keep elephants in barns for months on end in the winter, many times chained. No matter how trainable they may seem, elephants are NOT domesticated. Elephants are not cows, they need to move. Elephants in the wild walk between 12-30 miles a day, every day. The majority of elephants in captivity need to be put down at an early age due to debilitating arthritis and foot, nail and bone infections that don't heal. This is caused by lack of exercise and a too hard substrate for them to stand on.

Photo of Maggie taken recently. Note her sunken cheeks. This does not look like a healthy happy elephant to me.

There has been a tug of war for years between the animal welfare community and the Alaska Zoo regarding Maggie. The Zoo obviously thought she was fine, basically wanted people to butt out of their business and wanted her to stay. (They were even thinking of getting a treadmill for her!!) But, Maggie seems to have lost an awful lot of weight recently and in the past few weeks she has been laying on her side and then not been able to get up. They had to call in the fire department to work with getting her back on her feet. (An elephant cannot lay on its side for very long due to its own weight that can crush internal organs.)

The Alaska Zoo board finally agreed this week to relocate Maggie. I am REALLY hoping it is not too late. She may go to another zoo, or to a sanctuary. While I would love her to go to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, I think the trip from Alaska would prove to be too much for her.

So I'm asking everyone who reads this blog to please say a prayer for Maggie. If you don't believe in prayer, please send positive thoughts her way. Tell her to not give up and to hold on a little longer. I pray there are better and brighter days ahead for her.

Keep the faith Maggie!

One thing I want to add. I think the VAST, VAST majority of folks working IN zoos really DO care for the animals they are charged to look after. (No one I know gets rich working at a zoo.)But when you get big institutions involved (the American Zoological Association), they always seem very quick to defend themselves and the practices they have been using for years. They also seem to dismiss new research and those who question their practices as uneducated, crazy animal activists. I think there is a new era coming in captive elephant management that the more progressive zoos are tuning into. The Philadelphia Zoo, the Detroit Zoo, and the LA Zoo have all closed their elephant exhibits believing they could not ethically keep these animals because of either lack of space or the cold climate. What does the AZA do when this happens. Well, with the Detroit Zoo, they threatened to take away their accreditation if they decided to close the elephant exhibit. After the head of the Detroit Zoo made the decision to close their elephant exhibit....he resigned. Update: I was wrong, Ron Kagan, the head of the Detroit Zoo did not resign after making the courageous decision to close the elephant exhibit. As of the fall of 2006, he was still the Director. (I needed to double check that, as it is amazing how fast information gets thrown around on the internet and I didn't want to be on of those people giving out false information.)

Sometimes it really is the simple things

I've been feeding birds since the fall of 1998, about 6 months after I moved into my house. I could now feed birds in the open without sneaking around apartment or condo managers who would post, notes about how tenants were not allowed to feed birds because of the mess.

I bought a couple of good quality (expensive) tube feeders and except for adding a suet feeder, hummingbird feeder and a square seed/fruit feeder through the years have been pretty happy. Well, except for the hitchcockian amount of house sparrows I would get that would swarm the tube feeders bullying any and all other birds. Oh a chickadee or titmouse might sneak off a sunflower seed now and then. I thought it was something I had to live with being such an urban area. Fast forward to this past Saturday I was at the local Petsmart. I started looking at the bird feeders. "Should I get new tube feeders to replace the still usable but worn out looking ones" I asked myself. Then, hello what's this then....oooo, I think I'll get it.

A screen feeder its called. I thought it would be great because the hanging birds like the nuthatches would have an easier time. I hung it up on Saturday afternoon, without filling the tube feeder next to it so if the birds were hungry they would have to try it out. You think I added a live cat to the feeders, the birds were so afraid of it at first. No one came by at all on Saturday. By Sunday afternoon a few brave sparrows flew close by but did not land. By today the sparrows still come by for a few seeds but it is mostly frequented by chickadees, titmice, jays and cardinals. Duh, why didn't I think of this before?! Oh, happy day. I cannot tell you how happy I am to get rid of the bullying gangs of sparrows. Will they be back? Hope not. For now the more timid birds can eat their fill. This morning I heard all this chattering, actually more of a chickadee dee deeing and looked out to see a whole family of chickadees--five in total--swooping in to get seeds. I would never had seen that with the tube feeders.

Damn digital cameras with their split second delay! This was the only one of the bunch worth posting. (Mary how DO you DO it??)

That's all for today. I'm just happy as a clam with my new feeder. I will leave you with a photo of yet another of my herd--Sunkist. Just because he is so darn cute.

Remembrance of a gentle soul

Four years ago today I had to make the incredibly hard decision to put my dog Jiminy down. She had a series of small seizures the week before, then a small stroke. My vet came to examine her and said to give her a day or two since some dogs make quick recoveries. I must say the next day, except for a slight head tilt, she was completely back to normal. False sense of security since the very next day she had what I can only describe as a major stroke where she could no longer stand.

I had her a little over 4 years. When I moved into my house, I decided it was time to get a dog. I already had two cats (wow, was my life easy with only two cats!). I had done a lot of research and knew that I wanted a calm dog that would get along and not frighten those already in residence. That led me to greyhounds, which led me to a Petsmart that was having a greyhound adoption event. I went and was spending time with the greyhounds when I saw another group with another adoption event going on in another section of the store. I don't know why I went over there but there were about 5 dogs up for adoption. Lots of barking and jumping around. I then focused on this big furry black dog that was just sitting quietly watching her handler with, what I can only describe as a look of "please don't leave me". I asked the handler about her. "Oh, I just got her out of the humane society yesterday literally hours before they were going to put her down. Her family couldn't take care of her anymore. I think she is between 5 and 7 years old." Hmm, I thought looking into her cloudy eyes, closer to 7 or 8 years old. She had no exposure to cats so they didn't know how she would react. The woman said the others in her group were actually upset with her for taking such an old dog out of the shelter. They thought there was no way anyone would adopt her. I decided to take a chance on her and the handler was SO appreciative she would waive ALL the adoption fees and bring Jiminy over whenever I wanted. We decided on the next Friday since it was Good Friday and we both had the day off.

Jiminy

Sorry for the fuzzy photo, but it is a photo of a photo.

She came that weekend and never left. Her foster mom/handler got her records from her former owners. Imagine my surprise when I found out that she was 11 years old!! Can you imagine dropping off your 11 year old dog to the shelter? She had lived with these people all her life. I thought it would take a while for her to trust me and also thought she would be depressed about missing the only family she had ever known. It only took her a week to have my routine down pat. Only one run-in (well maybe two) with Apu the cat for her to realize it was best to leave all cats alone. In short, she was just the ideal dog. And, very smart. The second day I had her my boss came over to pick up some papers. He stepped in the doorway and Jiminy was standing next to the couch. Well, Butterball the cat was still pretty upset over Jiminy and was on the couch hissing. My boss got a little nervous and said "maybe I'll stay on the porch". I said "don't be silly"and offhandedly said "Jiminy, you're making Butterball nervous, why don't you come and sit by me." Jiminy then walked over and sat at my feet. My bosses jaw dropped open "how long have you had her?" Oh, just over 24 hours, I replied. I also remember once after a very tiring few days at work, I came home, and after I fed the cats, cleaned the litterbox, walked and fed Jiminy, I just wanted to sit down and read my mail. Well, Jiminy kept nudging me to pet her. I finally said, "Jiminy, mom just needs to sit here for a while. If you're bored, why don't you go into the tv room and get your bone to chew on." I kid you not, she cocked her head at me for a second after I talked, she walked into the tv room and brought out her bone and sat down at my feet and started chewing on it.

Man, did she have a lot of fur. Her vet records described her as a border collie/flat coated retriever mix

She developed arthritis in her spine about 2 years after I got her. By the time I put her down, she was almost totally deaf. But, again, being the smart dog that she was, we worked out a series of hand signals where she learned three things--I wanted to take her out, wanted her to stay, or I was very happy with what she had done.

She was loved by all who met her. In fact I credit Jiminy for bringing my neighbor Stephanie and I together. We have become good friends over the years. She had seen Jiminy for almost a year and wanted to know if I wanted to drop Jiminy off at her house during the day. She had a schnoodle named Koko that was a little anxious when left alone. My neighbor is an artist so she was home pretty much all day except for a few hours. Jiminy and Koko hit it off well and Stephanie would take them on little outings to creeks or ponds which Jiminy just loved. I would come home from work and pick her up, soaking wet and exhausted from a fun filled afternoon. Actually, Stephanie went with me to the vets when I had to put Jiminy down. Jiminy loved baby food. I had always split a jar for my cats for a treat each evening. Jiminy would then get to lick out the jar. When we went to the vets for the last time I brought a full jar of turkey baby food with me. Being surrounded by the ones you love the most, eating the food you love the most, then gently falling asleep. I can't think of a better way to leave this world.

About a year after Jiminy died, my neighbor surprised me with this wonderful portrait she painted

I will certainly get another dog at some point. But I think I will need to be retired. I have such a herd of cats right now that it just wouldn't be fair to the dog unless I wasn't working full time. One thing that I do know, though. I will always get a shelter dog, and always get an older dog (yes, maybe even an 11 year old). Jim-jim, you are still missed.

In honor of all the senior dogs languishing in shelters, the vast majority put there just because they are old and their owners don't have time for them any more, I'm providing a list of the top 10 reasons to adopt an older dog:

1. Older dogs are housetrained. You won't have to go through the difficult stage(s) of teaching a puppy house manners and mopping up after accidents.

2. Older dogs are not teething puppies, and won't chew your shoes and furniture while growing up.

3. Older dogs can focus well because they've mellowed. Therefore, they learn quickly.

4. Older dogs have learned what "no" means. If they hadn't learned it, they wouldn't have gotten to be "older" dogs.

5. Older dogs settle in easily, because they've learned what it takes to get along with others and become part of a pack.

6. Older dogs are good at giving love, once they get into their new, loving home. They are grateful for the second chance they've been given.

7. What You See Is What You Get: Unlike puppies, older dogs have grown into their shape and personality. Puppies can grow up to be quite different from what they seemed at first.

8. Older dogs are instant companions -- ready for hiking, car trips, and other things you like to do.

9. Older dogs leave you time for yourself, because they don't make the kinds of demands on your time and attention that puppies and young dogs do.

10. Older dogs let you get a good night's sleep because they're accustomed to human schedules and don't generally need nighttime feedings, comforting, or bathroom breaks.

What all the best dressed squirrels are wearing this season!!

Classic black with a red/brown accent. You GO squirrel-friend!

Okay, this was not at all what I was planning on blogging about tonight. But, I've seen this amazing two-toned squirrel in my neighborhood for weeks and everytime without my camera. I got home tonight and was changing out of my work clothes. Saw the squirrel in my yard, shouted "SQUIRREL", grabbed my camera and ran out the door.....almost! I realized I didn't have any pants on! So, I ran back and grabbed a pair of shorts and was again trying to run to the door while pulling on my pants. Luckily, she was kept busy eating from my seed/fruit block. Amazing!!