Celebrate birdsong on International Dawn Chorus Day, May 6, 2012

Not all of the bird song is, well, song. Woodpeckers provide the percussion for the morning (and afternoon!) concert in my own backyard.

My friend Mike is a morning show producer here in town. He told me once that he leaves for work around 4 a.m. and he’s always surprised at the  number of birds chirping at the hour of the morning. In total darkness. I think he used the word “eerie” to describe it.

Back when Scout was sick and we were up every hour or so all night long, I got to hear what he was talking about. Three in the morning, and Scout and I would  be in the backyard, he not sure what he wanted to do or where, me following around with the flashlight, and a cacophony of birds providing the soundtrack.

Eerie. But so very cool, too. [Read more...]

Mt. Hope Cemetery – and wildlife habitat

A small historical cemetery in Pittsford, NY, where we often wander among the headstones and read about the people who once shared our earth.

 

I’ve been neglectful in posting this last week because here in the Northeast, spring made an early appearance and I wanted to be outside as much as possible before another snowstorm hits. That’s life in Western NY.

One of my favorite places to walk with a dog is a local historical cemetery, but last week I visited Mt. Hope Cemetery for a change of scenery.

Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY offers not only a walk through history but a beautiful place to wander with your dog.

 

It’s ironic that I’ve lived in Rochester my entire life and have only once been inside Mt. Hope Cemetery, the nation’s first municipal cemetery, where people like Frederick Douglas and Susan B. Anthony are buried. (I was there once in high school for a field trip – 30 years ago.)

All of the history, right up the road. And such a wonderful place to walk the dog! [Read more...]

Kristen Bell has a meltdown about a sloth on The Ellen Show (videos)

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Actress Kristen Bell shared the exciting (and emotional!) story of how her boyfriend Dax introduced her to a sloth for her birthday.

To Bell is obsessed with sloths is an understatement. She says she’s  been in love with them her whole life! 

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Maybe she needs to meet Lucy Cooke, the documentary filmmaker who traveled to Costa Rica to visit the world’s only sloth orphanage. Cooke’s film, ”Slothville”, appeared on the Animal Planet channel last year. If Bell had a panic attack over meeting one sloth, she’d definitely need to be sedated for a trip to Slothville!

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Busch Gardens to give park visitors a behind the scenes peek at animal care

At Busch Garden's new Animal Care Facility, you can watch a white cheeked Gibbon get an ultrasound.

If you’ve ever wondered how the folks at the zoo take care of the animals, Busch Gardens is giving park visitors a behind the scenes look at large animal veterinary care when their new $5 million Animal Care Center opens January 23.

You’ll get to see routine animal care, surgery, x-rays, nutrition, dental care – anything that goes into take care of the health of the park’s 2,000 animals.  In a press release, the park announces that the treatment center will allow guests to watch as Busch Gardens’ skilled vets do preventative checkups, treatments and surgeries on animals.

You can even watch a Muntjac get his teeth cleaned!

Guests will be able to see into the rooms through glass walls, and audio capabilities will allow guests to talk to vets working behind the glass. Cameras placed over the exam table will show unique vantage points to guests who can watch on monitors. During treatments and surgeries, zoo educators will also be on hand to talk about what’s taking place. .

In the clinical lab, staff will perform tests on samples collected from the animals, such as blood, urine, and feces, using the same types of laboratory equipment used in human hospitals and veterinary clinics. A camera connected to the laboratory’s microscope will allow guests to see exactly what the staff who are looking under the microscope see.

Eew, you can check out elephant poop under the microscope! Now that’s a unique zoo experience!

You can learn more on the Busch Gardens Tampa website.