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Archive for the ‘Animals’ Category

Run for the Roses Saturday

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

Kentucky Derby Odds (from Associated Press):
Kentucky Derby Odds
The Associated Press
Field for Saturday’s 139th Kentucky Derby:
PP Horse Trainer Jockey Odds
1. Black Onyx Kelly Breen Joe Bravo 50-1
2. Oxbow D. Wayne Lukas Gary Stevens 30-1
3. Revolutionary Todd Pletcher Calvin Borel 10-1
4. Golden Soul Dallas Stewart Robbie Albarado 50-1
5. Normandy Invasion Chad Brown Javier Castellano 12-1
6. Mylute Tom Amoss Rosie Napravnik 15-1
7. Giant Finish Anthony Dutrow Jose Espinoza 50-1
8. Goldencents Doug O’Neill Kevin Krigger 5-1
9. Overanalyze Todd Pletcher Rafael Bejarano 15-1
10. Palace Malice Todd Pletcher Mike Smith 20-1
11. Lines of Battle Aidan O’Brien Ryan Moore 30-1
12. Itsmyluckyday Eddie Plesa Jr. Elvis Trujillo 15-1
13. Falling Sky John Terranova II Luis Saez 50-1
14. Verrazano Todd Pletcher John Velazquez 4-1
15. Charming Kitten Todd Pletcher Edgar Prado 20-1
16. Orb Shug McGaughey Joel Rosario 7-2
17. Will Take Charge D. Wayne Lukas Jon Court 20-1
18. Frac Daddy Kenny McPeek Victor Lebron 50-1
19. Java’s War Kenny McPeek Julien Leparoux 15-1
20. Vyjack Rudy Rodriguez Garrett Gomez 15-1
x-21. Fear the Kitten Mike Maker Alan Garcia 15-1
x-also eligible
Weights: 126 pounds. Distance: 1 1/4 miles. Purse: $2,199,800 if 20 start. First place: $1,439,800. Second place: $400,000. Third place: $200,000. Fourth place: $100,000. Fifth place: $60,000. Post time: 6:24 p.m. EDT.

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Extraordinary animals

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

From Huffington Post: Two new species of lizard have been found in Peru (above). On the same page, check out the best animal photos of the year 2012 (below).

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Invisible animals

Monday, March 4th, 2013

From The Daily Mail: Check out these incredible wildlife photographs.

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Missionaries may be hazardous

Friday, February 22nd, 2013

“Flannery also noted when he was in PNG (Papua New Guinea) the devastating effect of subsistence hunting, especially for species that are naturally rare and have a very circumscribed range. He suggested that one can predict the extinction dates of rare birds and mammals on the basis of the arrival time of Christian missionaries. Before missionaries came, mountain clans respected strict taboos on hunting. Some places were off-limits, such as where spirits dwelled; some species benefited from taboos on hunting during the breeding season as well. These bans honored traditions but also ensured that hunted species with low reproductive rates could recover. When priests arrived, they urged converts to ignore taboos and other pagan beliefs; overhunting was one result.”

— from “The Kingdom of Rarities” by Eric Dinerstein

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Blinded by science?

Friday, February 15th, 2013

Here’s a link to the latest “One for the Books” column, Blinded by Science?

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‘Our fishy past’

Friday, February 15th, 2013

fishphoto

Holy cow! Like it or not, fish are among our ancestors:

“During our time in the womb, we form three different kinds of kidneys, one after the other. The first kidneys are clumps of tissue that line the body and open to the body cavity, much like those seen in jawless fish. The second, like those of bony fish, run the length of the back to a common plumbing system. The adult kidney, which appears at the end of the first trimester, replaces both of these. In our first three months, we track our fishy past.”

— from “The Universe Within:
Discovering the Common History
of Rocks, Planets, and People”
by Neil Shubin

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Affenpinscher takes the ribbon

Wednesday, February 13th, 2013

From Bloomberg News:

At the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, 9-year-old Affenpinscher Banana Joe was named Best in Show.

Among my other favorites were the Bichon Frise, Beagle and Old English Sheepdog.

BichonFrise2013

Beagle2013

Oh, yes. I DO love an Old English Sheepdog!

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Merry Christmas message

Friday, December 14th, 2012

Click on the photo for a video Christmas message.

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Happy bluebirds

Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

bluebirdsatfeeder

This is here just because I love bluebirds. Happy December!

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Inspiring cats

Monday, November 12th, 2012

chandlercat From Buzzfeed: 30 renowned authors inspired by cats

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Horse stories

Thursday, October 11th, 2012

From The Guardian: Top 10 horse books for children

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Insomnia, anyone?

Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

Sleepingdog Sleepingcat

If you’re having trouble sleeping, pick up one of these most-difficult-to-read books of all time, as described by Publishers Weekly. This article refers to one on the same topic at The Millions.

Sleepingbear SleepingLion

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Educational books for kids

Friday, August 17th, 2012

Here’s a link to the latest “One for the Books” column — For kids, learning has never been so much fun.

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Can a book be your BFF?

Thursday, July 12th, 2012

From BuzzFeed: 25 Dogs That Love Reading

and

From The Guardian: Some of my worst friends are books by Rick Gekoski.

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Wonderful world

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

From the BBC: This is just a commercial, but how gorgeous can it get?!

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Kitties and Puppies

Friday, June 29th, 2012

Here’s a link to the latest “One for the Books” column on Kitties and Puppies.

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A visit from da bear

Thursday, June 21st, 2012

What does a wild bear do in the woods? I don’t know, but last night it was doing it in our woods. Here it is, destroying my brother’s birdfeeder, just a couple of feet from their window. It looks small, but would YOU want to go out in the backyard and take its photo?

And here’s the video. (video made by my brother, Dave)

UPDATE: I have named the bear Bascombe.

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Rescue and reward at Westminster

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

This is a wonderful story about a rescued Weimaraner who ended up becoming a champion and competing at the 2012 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. He didn’t win, but he won my heart. Here’s the winner, a Pekingese named Malachy:

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New breeds at dog show

Monday, January 30th, 2012

American English Coonhound, WKC photo

From Webvet.com:

Six new breeds will be competing at theWestminster Kennel Club Dog Show this year. Competition begins Feb. 13.

The new breeds are Mexico’s hairless Xoloitzcuintli, the Finnish Lapphund, the Norwegian Lundehund, the Cesky Terrier, the American English Coonhound and the Entlebucher Mountain Dog.

Xoloitzcuintli, WKC photo

(Click on each photo for information about the breed from the Westminster Kennel Club.)

Finnish Lapphund, WKC photo

Norwegian Lundehund, WKC photo

Entlebucher Mountain Dog, WKC photo

Cesky Terrier, WKC photo

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Interactive Advent Calendar

Monday, December 5th, 2011

Click on the photo for a link to a very funny video titled “Simon’s Cat.” Except for the ending, it is like going back in time for me, to when Tom and Phyllis and I lived on DePeyster Street in Kent and had the kitties and doggies at Christmas time. The cats loved having a tree in the house, and they thought (naturally) that it was there for them to climb. Oops.

This is part of the “Countdown to Christmas” interactive Advent calendar from The Guardian’s Children’s Books Department.

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Beagle love

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

beaglepuppysmellingflower

Ever since the National Dog Show on Thanksgiving, I’ve been thinking about Beagles. We used to have a couple, and I really love the breed. Just look at that face. How could you not love that face?! (photos from www.dogs-wallpapers.com)

beaglepuppyshy

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Doggone winners

Monday, November 28th, 2011

WireFoxTerrier

I joined millions of other dog lovers on Thanksgiving to watch the National Dog Show. Once again, I fell in love with beagles, but I also found some new breeds to love. The Best in Show winner, above, was wire fox terrier GCH CH Steele Your Heart.

John O’Hurley, shown with a few of his friends, was the excellent host for the special event.

I loved the collies, the schipperke, and the Old English Sheepdog.

I especially liked the coloring on the whippet (below, but I don’t think it was the one in the show).

whippet

They also had the prettiest Bernese mountain dog I’d ever seen (the 2011 finalist is shown below). I really thought it might win. (Bernese mountain dog photos by SEE SPOT RUN PHOTOGRAPHY)

Bernesemountaindog2011 . Bernesemountaindogruns .

The finalists from the other dog groups were as follows:

Toy Group, Affenpinscher: GCH CH Banana Joe V Tani Kazari

Hound Group, Whippet: GCH CH Starline’s Chanel

Herding Group, Australian Shepherd: GCH CH Propwash Reckon

Non-Sporting Group, Dalmatian: GCH CH Spotlight’s Ruffian

Sporting Group, English Springer Spaniel: GCH CH Cerise Tender Is The Night

Working Group, Bernese Mountain Dog: GCH CH Blumoon’s Tanzenite v Blackrock

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Bookstore cats

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

HamptonBookstorecat .

Hampton, the bookstore cat, discussed with other bookstore cats here.

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What a cutie

Thursday, September 1st, 2011

This is a seriously cute dog.

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Guarding his master one last time

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

Loyal Hawkeye the Labrador retriever lies beside his best friend, his buddy, his master, fallen Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson, 35, at the SEAL’s funeral in Rockford, Iowa. Tumilson was killed in the helicopter crash in Afghanistan that killed so many of his comrades. Hawkeye will now live with the friend who took care of him when Tumilson was away on missions. For more photos and text, click here.

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Musical cat dies at 19

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

From Care2Causes:

Ketzel, a 19-year-old cat who lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, has passed on. The black and white cat was a prize-winning composer, says the New York Times: In 1997, she won a special mention for a piano composition, “Piece for Piano, Four Paws” after her late owner, Morris Moshe Cotel, a retired professor of composition at the Peabody Conservatory, entered her piece in Paris New Music Review’s One-Minute Competition. Ketzel received a special mention for her work, as well as a check for $19.72. Cotel had noted who Ketzel was in the entry; the judges were shown only the music. Guy Livingstone, one of the judges, said in 1997 that the piece “reminded us of Anton Webern. If Webern had a cat, this is what Webern’s cat would have written.” The New York Times describes how Ketzel’s musical ability was discovered: [Cotel] was playing a prelude and fugue from “The Well-Tempered Clavier” by Bach, as he did every morning — he worked his way through a different prelude and fugue each day, as a kind of warmup exercise. On the morning in question, Ketzel leapt onto the piano, landing in the treble. She worked her way down to the bass. Professor Cotel was startled, but grabbed a pencil and started transcribing. He was impressed by the “structural elegance” of what he heard, Ms. Cheskis-Cotel said. “He said, ‘This piece has a beginning, a middle and an end. How can this be? It’s written by a cat.’ ” …

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