Flying Nuggets

I think that this happens in my house on a daily basis. Diapers and a bib anyone?

A Mouse Amoung the Money Trees

Anyone else feel like the electronics are taking over? I'm forced to sit and stare at an inanimate computer screen on a daily, 7 hour basis, while my mouse plays games on me, deciding at the most inopportune moment, that it's going to shut itself off, laughing in my face as I struggle to minimize the Internet porn sight that I have open on my desktop while sales people are pouring into my office. Actually, I don't look at Internet porn - especially not at work. I'm not that stupid. I only look at dog sites. And no one really pours into my office - I try to make it as inhospitable as possible. But the mouse teases and taunts me, flickering it's little red light in my face ... isn't that a laser beam or something, that could destroy your vision with even an inadvertent glace in it's direction? My mouse at home is much more forgiving with me, never gives me any issues, doesn't turn off at odd times, doesn't try to burn my eyes out and never talks back. Oh, but to go back to pencils, pens, erasers and paper. Computers and other electronics can be bad for your health, or so they say. As far as I know, pencils do not cause cancer, and they're not bright enough to take over.

The Calgary Rays

It’s easy to kill a fish

The below are links to articles about the recent Calgary Zoo Cow-Nose Sting Ray inquiry:

DailyHerald Tribune

CTV

The Globe and Mail

It’s easy to kill a fish. I don’t mean intentionally, but inadvertently. It is such an unnatural environment when they are held in captivity, living their life behind four glass walls, with so much that can falter in such a close-knit, small ecosystem.

Minute changes in water temperature, ph, hardness, deficiency of dissolved oxygen (allegedly in the sting rays case) and levels of elements can reek havoc among a community of aquarium fish. Not to mention keeping aggressive species together. Captive bred animals are hardier in their tank raised environments, adapting to changes with more ease than their wild caught brethren, though the chance for mishaps still remains high, especially with more sensitive species.

So, can I fault the Calgary Zoo for their recent loss of those beautiful cow-nosed sting rays (which I had the pleasure of viewing and interacting with at the Toronto Zoo – amazing creatures, full of intelligence and personality)? I’m not sure that I can find them fully at fault, as there are issues with keep fish in a captive environment that are sometimes beyond control (though I will not speak of the other losses that have also recently happened with some of their mammals).

So many factors must be taken into account when dealing with aquarium species. My husband has been involved with raising and breeding fish for more years than I can count. And he has seen his ups and downs with these water dwelling creatures.

Tanganyikan cichlids, namely the tropheus variety, can really shoot down your confidence when raising and breeding these African beauties. They need hard water, they need specific ph levels, nitrate/nitrite levels, acidity levels, and temperatures or they do not thrive. The levels fluctuate, and they become sick. A loss of a whole colony can happen overnight as they are extremely sensitive to the aquarium environment. No poisoning, or toxins involved, which was the original hypothesis on what happened to the rays. And this can happen with many other species of captive, aquarium raised fish.

We had an incidence with our Koi Angels, in a tank that housed many different types from tetras to discus and rainbows. Overnight, the Kois all died, including one in a separate tank. We have no idea why, as the other fish living with them were completely unscathed an thriving.

So, unknowingly, it is very easy to kill a fish. It does depend on the sensitivity of the species that you decide to raise. Each type is different, and some handle changes in environment much better than others. My hump-backed limas are a perfect example of a hardier species, as they thrive and breed in water that doesn’t get changed on a regular basis, and that fluctuates in levels frequently (most likely the nitrates/nitrites are higher than they should be). They are just a hardier fish. Sting rays, apparently, are not.

This is the same, regardless if the fish are salt water or fresh water. Some are more sensitive to what we think might be insignificant changes than others, and environments need to be closely monitored in order for the fish to thrive.

It truly is a huge loss to have so many of these sting rays loose their lives – if you’ve been able to interact with them, you will know they are unlike any fish you’ve been in contact with before.

So is the Calgary Zoo at fault? I suppose in the long run, even though unforeseen circumstances and changes can happen in an instant when keeping fish in a tank or other captive environment, they are to blame as they are the keepers of these elegant creatures, and the rays depend upon the zoo staff for survival.

I would like review the long term effects that the handling of these rays has on their health. Precautions are taken before the viewing public is allowed to enter the tank area, however, this is definitely not a fail-safe, and I can not see human handling being good for their health in any way.

I just hope in the future more diligent measures are taken to ensure that no more harm comes to these delightful, intelligent and personality filled sea dwellers. And I hope that the Calgary Zoo is able to overcome their recent tragic losses, and move forward for not just the benefit of the zoo, but for the benefit of the animals that they protect.

Robins in the Winter?

I've never seen a robin in the winter, let alone heard one sing in the fridged weather, until this year. I, along with I'm sure many others, always assumed that the robins flew south for the winter, and only reappeared to announce that spring would be arriving shortly around the March/April time period. In the last few weeks I have observed more and more of these little red-breasted fellows roosting in the trees outside our office building. They even go so far as to sing a little in the cold morning air as I arrive for the 9:00am work day. This starts my day off great, however doesn't carry the mood into the building, which is unfortunate.

I want to tell these little guys, "You're not suppose to be here yet - don't you know it's still minus 15 celsius??!!". I want to give them little boots, a hat and perhaps a scarf to keep the chill off, because God knows a tree lacking leaves offers little protection from the elements. I want to invite them in the office, for tea and cookies, for warmth, and also for the entertainment value.

Perplexed by these early spring symbols, I decided to find out what the heck was going on. To my surprise, most robins will migrate to the southern regions for the long, long winter months, but not all of them partake in this vacation (I suppose the economy may have something to do with this, high fuel prices, jacked up flight prices and all). Apparently robins migrate more in a reaction to food supply as opposed to the change in seasonal lows. The ones that move further south are offered the opportunity of higher ratios of sustenance, but the ones who spread out in a more northern area, moving here and there, experience an average/low food volume. But, because the birds have spread out, it does leave a little more eats for one bird in a larger area. Robins, as most birds and animals, unless they're hibernating, need more food in the winter months when remaining in the cold in order to keep their bodies maintained properly for the climate. The spread of the birds in the winter months allows for this, which is why some may remain. If all the robins decided they'd take a year off from the sunny south vacationing, there wouldn't be enough food to maintain the population, hence the spread.

I still want to give them winter gear...bear legs in the snow, oooohhh, I can't imagine.

For more information and some charts on robin movement check out this website.

See, she likes the water...

Ah ha! Proof, she likes the water!! Brings back some good memories. (Bancroft, ON)

Swim, Swam, Swum

My little dog, she likes the water. Except when you put her in a tub, hold her in place and make her tread. I know, it's not nice, but it's not water torture for bad behaviour. She is recovering from a luxated patella surgery, over 2 months in, and the vet suggested swimming as a means of rehab, building back the muscle in her somewhat atrophied rear left leg (the colourful one).

I can attest that it is working, as I can see much improvement in her surgically altered leg. She is a muscley little creature anyway, so it's great to see the progress, as the leg was looking quite out of place on her pumped up little body.

In her earlier years, she wasn't one for swimming. Never showed any interest in the water, and especially loathed bath time, giving me that "look" when ever the deed was required. We bring the dogs camping and cabining with us in the summer, up to the land-o-lakes: semi-northern Ontario. Needless to say, avoiding water is not an option up there, especially when the temperature reaches 34 celcius in the shade, and your only protection from the sun is a bit of leaking tent fabric that doesn't sheild you from the bugs, and just barely deflects the sweltering suns rays.

So, on one of those days was her first time, and she screamed. We were at an out-of-the-way shallow lake (Coe-Island Lake, Bancroft, ON), with a nice easy, gradual slope, and we thought this would be perfect for a first time swimmer. Not a chance, she wanted to splash on shore, diddle around, do her own thing, but not involve her body touching water in any way, shape or form.

We tried to entice her in, we'd wade out a bit, and call her, HA, not a chance. We held her near shore for a bit, so she could get her paddling down pat. Then hubby carried her out a little ways and plopped her in. Right back to shore, no hesitation. We called her back, not a chance in hell. Hubby, once again, scooped her up and plopped her back in a shallow section. Right back to shore, no questions asked. We decided, perhaps we could coax her if we weren't so close. Out further we went and called her, very enticingly I might add. Oh did she scream, screamed with her mouth wide open, screamed like someone was killing her, screamed like when she watches the other JRTs race and she wants to chace the knot halfway through the rope instead of the tail tied to the end like she's suppose to be focusing on.

Suffice to say, that technique did not work either. We came back to shore and threw a stick for her own entertainment purposes, and the lightbulb over the head thing happened. Idiots, she's crazy about moving objects, throw the stick in the water and she'll chace it. Tadaa, that worked, and the rest is history.

I now have a smooth coated, tri-colour Jack Retrieving Terrier. Her form in the water is unparalled, and her speed, unmatched. She will retrieve any object you throw out there and bring it back with pleasure for you to throw again. She jumps in puddles and mud holes now just for the heck of it, and will swim and swim, so much that I know have to stick with her when I send her in the water because she'll take off. This is much to my displeasure, as I'm not a fan of swimming. I'll do it, yes, but not because you've thrown something for me to retrieve. She enjoys water retrieving so much that we can't even take her fishing anymore because she assumes that the large-mouth bass lure you've just cast out (hoping for the big one) is for her to fetch and bring back ... scream, oh does she scream.

So why, oh why does she harbour so much anger and resentment for the "tub". Perhaps its the fact that there is nothing to chase, or its because she has to stay in one spot and can never reach the edge - that would piss me off too. If it was bigger, I would make it entertaining for her, throw her ball, a kong, a stick or maybe a T-bone. Then she wouldn't have evil thoughts about me during her rehab sessions, I swear she's given me the finger every single time. Little bugger.

Alien Love

"Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" - how true, how very true.