Category Archives: Uncategorized

Nov1

Adopt-A-Senior-Pet-Month

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Happy November!

 

November is National Adopt A Senior Pet Month! I’m posting in support of all senior animals – they may be older, but that just means they have more of a story that goes with them. Senior pets are who they are – you know what kind of animal you’re adopting when you get a senior animal as opposed to a puppy or kitten. They often already come house/litter trained, and are ready to just settle in and lavish their companions with love. So if you’re thinking of adopting a pet, go ahead and go for grey and furry – adopt a senior!

 

Here’s what the ASPCA has to say about adopting older animals:

Jun23

SavetheArctic.org

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How fortuitous!

Just a few days after my most recent post about the oceans and threats to them – most notably in the Arctic – I came across savethearctic.org, a new effort by Greenpeace to declare the Arctic a global sanctuary!

The Arctic and the creatures that live there are already threatened by global warming. Let’s keep oil drilling, industrial fishing, and international conflict OFF the list of the Arctic’s problems.

So click and sign the petition y’all!

Jun22

The World is a Fishbowl

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The world is a fishbowl. Really.

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According to NOAA, 71% of the world’s surface is covered in ocean.  Those oceans are filled with 20,000 species of fish, 1500 species of jellyfish, 131 species of marine mammals, 7 species of marine turtles, and more species of coral than scientists can count.

Yup. The world is a fishbowl.

A threatened fishbowl. The oceans are full of animals that have adapted to challenges for millions and millions of years – and that are dying out at human hands.

Or human nets, more accurately. Vegan or no, best fishing practices is a concern across the board. Too many of current fishing practices prove harmful for the fish populations and for the other animals that live alongside them.

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Drift nets catch sea lions instead of sardines. Dredges catch octopi instead of oysters. Shrimp nets catch sea turtles.

And then there’s the environmental havoc that human habits wreak on the environment. Seahorses are threatened because wetlands are disappearing. Sharks are under attack so exotic restaurants can serve soup. The oceans are heating up because people won’t take two seconds to unplug a lamp. Hotter oceans mean dying coral, a keystone species. Hotter oceans are also a problem for polar bears, another keystone species. Don’t get me wrong, polar bears can take the heat – the San Diego zoo has already proven that the white wonders are just as happy in warm water as they are in cold. We just need to stop melting their damn ice floes. Polar ice caps, polar bears – y’all get the connection. The Coca Cola mascots migrate through the ice floes,  swimming from one to the next.

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The problem comes when suddenly there aren’t enough ice floes because so many have melted. It would be like taking a flight from the Midwest to Antarctica with a layover in South America – and suddenly South America goes missing. There’s a lot of ocean between you and the landing strip, and odds are you don’t have enough fuel to get you there.

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So. Enough doom and destruction. The good news is, whether you eat fish or not, there are things you can do help them. And the marine mammals. And the sea turtles.

Monterey Bay Aquarium has a brilliant website compiled to hook people up with whatever conservation method is their style – learn the facts, carry around a pocket guide to sustainable sea food or download the app, write letters and read literature, whatever you’re moved to do.

But please, do something. Time is melting.

May27

Road Trip!

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Hello my lovely readers! I’ve been lost in over a month of balancing school, volunteering, school, medical treatment, and oh yeah, did I mention school?

But now it’s a three-day weekend and guess what?! I’m on a road trip!!!

My friend Leslie and I left yesterday morning for Monterey Bay. Our plans? Have adventures!

On our way down, we spotted a family farm advertising its orchards open for fruit picking. Detour!

I had been hesitant, actually, to pull off our route and push back our Monterey arrival time. The fearful type-A in me started to freak out – we’ve never been here before, we don’t know what it’s like, this wasn’t something we’ve prepared for, this wasn’t in our plan, what if it doesn’t turn out okay…

Goodness gracious! I know that I have issues with spontaneity. I grew up in a very scheduled world, where play dates had to be determined a month in advance, asking my parents for something required delivering a persuasive powerpoint, and all the way through high school my life ticked along to a safe, secure, work-driven clock.

Uh, no, I was not a risk-taker.

But, thankfully, over time I’ve started to accept that “unknown” does not equal “will turn out badly.” “Unknown” just means “unwritten.”

And writing the rest of that detour was a heck of a lot of fun 🙂

Our two-hour segway started with me beelining it for the farm’s animals. Goats and llamas and sheep! Just like at the Waystation! I was home! 😉

So… most people see goats and think “must pet” – yeah, my first thought was “must check for bloat.”

They were all good 🙂

After animal love time, Leslie and I rode the farm’s wagon to their fruit orchards. The farm staff was so great! We were told to just go ahead and try some of the fruit first, see if the tree was ripe yet, see if we liked the flavor.

Yup, we were given permission to just go ahead and have some fruit plucked straight from the tree. It was wonderful. And tasty. And I learned that apparently I like cherries 🙂

The yellow cherries were delicious!

Once we arrived in Monterey, we checked into our inn, grabbed some dinner at an impromptu choice of restaurant with awesome vegan food, and stopped by Cannery Row to do some night-rambling on the beach.

This is where I feel at home 🙂

Today we’re off to the aquarium!