My Commonplace Book

There's a lightly-used path in the county park that runs through the woods at the park boundary. About 40 feet east of the path is a hedge, and on the other side of that is someone's field (one of the few pieces of undeveloped privately-owned land in the area). The woods in that part of the park are very scrubby second-growth woods.

It's not unusual to see deer in the park -- it's overrun with them -- but they're usually quite shy and bound away with their white tails flying at the sight of a human. Last week I saw a doe in that narrow strip of woods. She had left her half-grown fawn behind the protection of the hedge and come into the woods to browse, and she seemed more curious about me than alarmed.

I stood as still as I could, and took pictures as surreptitiously as possible. She browsed a little, but kept a wary eye on me, and after several minutes she ambled back toward the break in the hedge, collected her fawn, and melted into the woods on the south side of the field.

Yesterday I was back in the same part of the park, and of course I was thinking about the deer. I knew it was unlikely they'd be there just at the moment I came by, so I watched for them but didn't really expect to see them and strode along the path trying to keep my heart rate up. Suddenly I heard a shuffling in the dead leaves near the path, so I turned around -- and the fawn was trotting toward me! Its mother watched nearby.

I don't know who was more surprised when I spun around and our eyes met -- the fawn or I! It stopped but didn't retreat at all, just kept staring at me curiously. I was on the far side of the wide paved path, so I started maneuvering to get closer, walking down the path at a slight angle, then walking back up at a slight angle, never moving directly toward the deer. I finally got as close as I could without actually entering the woods, but the deer just watched me walking around with caution but no apparent fear.

I was completely charmed! I have no idea why these two deer have been so curious about me. I thought last week that maybe it was something about what I was wearing (a white jacket), but I was wearing a black jacket yesterday, so that couldn't be it. They showed apprehension when a runner went by but didn't leave; but when another walk came up the path, and the two deer hightailed it.

I was only about 25 feet from the deer for the ten minutes we stood there watching each other, and it was a wonderful moment. I immediately named that part of the path, which divides a few feet further up the hill, Deer Corner.

I wish the light had been better -- the pictures I got are great, although some are sort of soft-focus because of the comparatively long exposures because of the shade.

( Deer pictures )

In my post about the jumping from summer to winter too fast I was complaining about the suddenness of the change from unusually warm to very chilly -- not about the weather today. It was gorgeous! The high was 57, the sun was bright, and there was just enough of a breeze to flutter the leaves a bit. Now that the weather has changed the leaves are starting to change too, and I had a wonderful 2½ mile walk this afternoon around the big lake.

I didn't see any exceptional birds -- a Chipping Sparrow and a Yellow-rumped Warbler were the only migrants -- but the White-throated Sparrows are here, and that always makes me happy. They come right out when you pish, and I love the way they all come over and peer at you curiously. They're so cute!

The highlight of the day today wasn't birds, but animals.

( Close encounters )

So I had a great time. I didn't do anything else productive all day, but I did get exercise and refreshment for my spirit.

Is it wrong to feel satisfaction when someone is injured in the course of tormenting an animal?

It's not really schadenfreude -- I'm not happy because of the individuals' misfortune. I'm just hoping that maybe if enough people get seriously hurt during an event like the running of the bulls, they'll eventually put a stop to it -- or at least people would stop running alongside those poor bulls and panicking them. (Don't even get me started about the reason the animals are being herded down the street....)

GRRRRRRR. This was sent as a post to a freecycle group in Maryland. This attitude drives me crazy.

Offer - temperamental female cat

Beautiful black 3-year old female cat available.  Lets you pet her when she wants, not necessarily when you want.  Has been known to swat you with her claws if you try to pet her when she's not in the mood.  Has not been spayed.  Getting rid of because daughter got a snake for her birthday and doesn't have time for the cat anymore.  Pick up in ___ this evening, or after 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday.  Picture posted in photos under ___.

This cat has obviously never been socialized properly. They haven't bothered to spay her. Now the kid is tired of the cat so they got her a snake and she "doesn't have time for the cat anymore" so they're "getting rid of" the cat.

Not "finding a new home" for her. Just freecycling her like any other object, first come first served, pick up this evening.

Fortunately that group doesn't accept pet posts at all, so it didn't make it out to the group. I recently beefed up my pet rules based on some things that sleepingwolf and oniricwolf have in theirs, including this:

1. YOU MUST WAIT A *MINIMUM* OF 24-48 HOURS BEFORE CHOOSING A RECIPIENT to ensure that you have enough possible homes to pick from.

While that's not really enforceable, since we can't know what's going on in private email between the owner and the prospective adopters, at least we can prevent them from saying "Pick up this evening."

I just hope this person doesn't decide to just dump the cat somewhere -- especially since she's not spayed. I wonder what will happen to the snake when the daughter gets tired of it, or it gets too large. It's a lot harder to find a new home for a snake than a cat, even an unspayed, unsocialized one. Dump it in the woods somewhere?

I wish there was a way to keep people like that from getting pets in the first place.

Click here and skip ahead in Real Player to 8:50.

If you insist on knowing what it's about first, ( click here instead )

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Dolphins can't use sign language, so a marine mammal rehabilitation facility opened a dolphin "chat line" of sorts Saturday, hoping to teach a deaf dolphin's unborn calf to communicate. The Marine Mammal Conservancy is maintaining a blog about Castaway and the preparations for the birth of her calf.

This is a fascinating situation in general. Scientists may not agree (I've had interesting conversations about animal comprehension and culture with cyanocorax), but it sounds to me like this dolphin purposefully came to the humans for help.

The female dolphin was found stranded on a Florida beach last November. During evaluation she was discovered to be in the third trimester of pregnancy with a live, active fetus. After 79 days of rehabilitation, she was released on January 30 close to her original stranding site.

She immediately restranded. Researchers were unable to figure out why the release was unsuccessful.

By late February, Castaway's lack of response to sound caused her caregivers to wonder if hearing impairment may have played a role in her reaction when release was attempted. Audiology tests were done, and confirmed the suspicions that Castaway is deaf. Without hearing, she would be unable to echolocate, avoid predators, or communicate with other dolphins.

Since dolphins are highly social animals and Cassie has no other dolphins for company, her caregivers swim with her to help keep her happy and active. She enjoys deep tissue massage, especially likes to have her belly rubbed,  and responds rapturously when her melon is tickled.

Even though she dislikes all the medical procedures and treatment she is subjected to, Cassie  cooperates willingly. She responds particularly well to her primary caregivers, exhibiting a developing relationship of trust and mutual respect.

The Conservancy became concerned about how the calf would learn to "speak," so underwater speakers and microphones were installed in Cassie's pen and at a lagoon at Dolphins Plus, a nearby research and interactive facility, and connected via phone lines so that even before birth the calf could begin hearing normal dolphin sounds.

Obviously Castaway had no concept of or concern about her calf's ability to communicate. But I do think that, whatever caused her deafness, she realized that she would not be able to care for her calf, or possibly even herself, without hearing, and turned to the humans for help. Whether that was the case the first time she stranded is debatable, although I don't believe it's outside the realm of possibility. But I do think it's likely that having experienced the aid of the humans she chose to go back to the humans for care.

I know there are other explanations for Castaway's stranding and refusal to leave, but although there's still much that isn't known about the dolphin's brain, they're obviously intelligent creatures. They have an extensive and complex system of communication, and wild dolphins are known to interact willingly, and seemingly knowingly, with humans. Dolphins have initiated long-term fishing cooperatives with humans in various parts of the world, including Australia, the west coast of Africa,  Brazil and Myanmar (Burma). They also behave altruistically toward humans as well as each other, and cultural transmission has been demonstrated in cetaceans, with the bottlenose dolphin having been shown to possess sophisticated social learning abilities, including vocal and motor imitation. Therefore it doesn't seem illogical that a dolphin that has seen other dolphins interact with humans might seek out humans when they need help.

Sadly, it has been determined that Castaway cannot be released because of her deafness. Sometime after the calf attrains 6 months of age, Cassie and her calf will be transported to "a suitable location" where they will be cared for permanently. Because she is a non-releasable wild animal, Federal law requires that such a location be a Public Display Facility, defined as a facility that provides opportunities for the public to view marine mammals in a captive environment. The Conservancy blog does say they will remain together, and I hope the Powers That Be have indeed realized that dolphins form family groups and don't take the calf away after it's weaned to put it in a show somewhere.

Beavers helped speed Manhattan’s development by attracting fur traders who were eager to feed huge demands for their pelts in Europe. In honor of their importance, two of them are depicted on New York City's Official Seal. But no beavers were seen in the city for 200 years.

Now one has been found in the Bronx River in the area of the Bronx Zoo -- less than a half mile from where I grew up!

Bronx Park was not as developed then as it is now.  The Bronx Zoo was there, and this baseball field was there -- but the area in between, surrounding the river, was mostly woods.

I'm sure it's hard for anyone who didn't grow up in a city to understand why I never went there. The woods was not a familiar or friendly place to a child who wasn't accustomed to anything but concrete streets and sidewalks and parks with concrete playgrounds and mowed lawns.

I would have gotten used to the woods if going there had been feasible. But in the middle of New York City it was entirely realistic to be worried that someone might see a young girl heading there, follow me, and take advantage of the isolation to harm me.  In addition, the river was horribly polluted -- in addition to plenty of trash, the river was dead thanks to the raw sewage being dumped into it by several towns just north of the city. It just wasn't a good place to play.

Now I look back on my childhood growing up in the concrete canyons of the city with no contact with nature, and wish it would have been clean and safe so I could have taken advantage of its proximity. But it wasn't, and so the wild area along the river wasn't a part of my world.

But in recent years there has been an ongoing cleanup effort. The sewage dumping has ended, the trash is being picked up, and the river is coming back to life. The presence of the beaver -- captured on video -- is proof!

Val likes to do experiments with water. He knocks over a plastic cup in the bathtub, and then watches the water run down the drain. He peers into the drain, then checks the cup. Is it still in the cup? Is it under the cup? Where does it go when it goes down that little hole?

I always thought it was really cute, and meant he was pretty bright -- but he doesn't hold a candle to Gizmo. Gizmo likes to watch water swirl down the drain too -- but in the toilet rather than the tub. However, while Val has to wait impatiently while I bend over -- over and over -- to pick up the cup and refill it, and has to stop when I get tired of it, Gizmo has learned to flush the toilet himself so he can keep watching! He obviously knows what he's doing. It's absolutely hilarious ... and extremely intelligent behavior!

Faith is a dog who has no front legs. She was discovered among some dead puppies, and the family who rescued her taught her how to walk on her hind legs. And she doesn't just dance around for a minute or so like a poodle -- she is fully bipedal, ambulating comfortably and adeptly. Her hip and thigh muscles must have developed tremendous strength -- she even leans over to drink water out of a bowl on the floor while standing on her hind legs, which puts her center of gravity far from her legs. She's truly an amazing dog. 

There are at least a few creative judges out there!

Logical consequences and embarrassment will always work better than unrelated punishment. In the second case, the guy did get some richly deserved jail time, but the length of his sentence was reduced in return for accepting the alternative punishment. (I think it was reduced a little too much, but maybe he'll remember it better this way.)


Public apology ordered for man who parked in handicapped space

( Text )


Man to Wear Pup Costume for Shooting Dog

( text )

When life is boring, I don't post because I have nothing interesting to say. When I'm busy, I don't post because I don't have time to recount everything that's going on! I love to write, and I enjoy describing interesting things in detail, so it takes a lot of time. It would probably be good if I learned to post overviews, and at least get the essentials down. Then if I get around to more complete descriptions later, at least I'd have the essentials written down.

On Saturday night I saw Junebug, the film club's September offering. They usually show foreign films, but toss an occasional American indie film into the mix. Junebug is kind of an odd movie ... I still can't decide if I liked it or not. Some of the people there didn't think much of it; the friend I went with was on the fence, like me; another friend I bumped into in the ladies' room said she just loved it. I read a bunch of user reviews at IMDb trying to find one that resonated with me, but still found equal proportions of things I liked and things I didn't -- a few of them being the same things!

( Comments on 'Junebug' [no spoilers] )

Because I was thinking about the movie I stayed up way too late. I woke up at some point, less than four hours after I'd gone to bed, to go to the bathroom. When I'm just getting up to pee I don't put on my glasses or turn on the light -- unfortunately there's adequate light from the street lamps outside, even if the blinds are closed. And I don't need glasses or light to find my way from my bed to my bathroom. So I was sitting there, only half awake, when I saw a small gray shape move quickly across the floor in the faint light. WHAT WAS THAT?!

Before I could get up, I saw Val's unmistakeable blobby shape running into the room and realized my first impression must be correct -- there was a mouse in my bedroom!

( Eeeeek! )

I had wanted to go to church yesterday because the sermon sounded like it would be interesting, but I knew I'd never make it. I hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep, and by the time I could settle down and get back to sleep there alarm would have been going off way too soon. So I just turned off the alarm, and ended up finally getting out of bed about the time the service was starting.

But Sunday afternoon I went for a walk for the first time in months! It was wonderful to be out again! Now that the weather is moderating, I'll be going out more often again.

The birding listserv has been abuzz with reports of migrants, especially warblers, but I didn't see any. In fact for the first mile I wasn't aware of any birds at all except for some Blue Jays yelling in the trees and a few Mallards on the lake. I loved being out in nature again, but having walked only three times in the last three months because of the sticky weather, I was really tired. But then things started happening!

( Wildlife )

Watching the birds and animals gave me energy, and I walked down to the geom-e-tree, a destination that gives me about a 2-mile walk. I got some nice pictures, and I'll try to post them tomorrow. (I end up not writing about walks because I want to link to the pictures, and then I don't get around to posting them, and the walk goes by the wayside.)

On the way back I saw even more good birds in and around the lake, and had nice chats about them with a couple of people. Binoculars are great conversation-starters! The highlights were a phoebe, a kingfisher, two herons (a great blue and a Black-crowned Night Heron), and a Red-shouldered Hawk. Not very many -- just 21 altogether -- but very nice for my first walk in such a long time!

Now I have to go get ready for the PFLAG parents group meeting!

Don't you think there's a strong resemblance? (cut for large image, but worth waiting for!)

( Separated at birth? )

Transsexual hen's crow wreaks havoc in the henhouse

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - A hen in southern Sweden that has grown a rooster comb, tail and wattle and begun to crow is wreaking havoc in its henhouse, where the rooster, Henry VIII, is hopping mad.

"Henry VIII is bloody angry. The other hens are mostly just surprised but they seem to increasingly accept him or her," the owner of the henhouse, Christel Hammar-Malmgren, told the online edition of regional daily Blekinge Laens Tidning Friday.

Hammar-Malmgren woke up one morning in July to the sound of two roosters crowing, instead of just one. To her surprise, she discovered that one of the black hens, Anne Boleyn -- all of the hens are named after Henry VIII's wives -- had undergone a transformation.

"She had lost most of her hen feathers and had begun growing a comb and tail," she said.

The transsexual hen joined the henhouse last year and was different from the start. She was uninterested in the usual hen chores and laid bad eggs, Hammar-Malmgren said.

She insisted however that despite the change, and unlike the hen's namesake, there were no plans to end Anne Boleyn's days prematurely.

Aaaaggghh!

We have a member in one of my freecycle groups who is feeding stray cats. We can keep him from posting because he's basically asking for a donation to an ongoing effort, and we don't allow that, but I also wanted to tell him it's not good to feed large numbers of strays. It's one thing to feed an individual stray, but it's bad for both the cats and the neighborhood to feed feral cat colonies and dog packs.

Unfortunately, one of the mods, P___, doesn't understand that either.

This is what he posted on July 15:

WANTED:CAT FOOD

WE NEED HELP FEEDING ALL THE STRAYS IN THE AREA.We`ve spent
100s of $$ and can use all kinds of cat food.They are not
fussy THANKS,JOHN

( Cut for length )

=sigh= I'm feeling very frustrated. This is so obvious, and I can't believe that P___ doesn't see it. I hope I can convince her.

I wish I weren't so passionate about things. I wish I didn't have such a need to be a crusader. I wish I hadn't stayed up until well past 1:00 am writing this post and getting all the formatting -- blockquotes and bolds and italics and fonts and everything else -- opened and closed in the right place. But it was on my mind and I had to get it out of my system.

If you were interested enough to read all this (don't feel bad if you weren't and just skipped over the cut, it's extremely long) I'd be interested to know what you think.

A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere.
                  —Groucho Marx (1890-1977), American comedian and actor

eudyptes, here's what you need --  a pet Emperor Penguin!

And don't miss March of the Emperors! (via mactavish)

Le Papa Pingouin, featuring little Pigloo, is awfully cute!

woofiegrrl, do you remember this song? Except the words have been rewritten, and now it's Le ragga des Pingouins! (Another cute Pigloo video, though not as adorable as Le Papa Pengouin) (ADDED: Gaaah, now I'm stuck with this earworm!)

Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals, ''love'' them. But those who respect their natures and wish to let them live normal lives, love them more.       
                  —Edwin Way Teale (1899-1980), American naturalist and writer