Today I came across what might be the most amazing thing I’ve seen in a long time: the rings of a tree translated into music. Media artist Bartholomaus Traubeck has found a way to take the rings that appear naturally in the trunk of a tree and turn them into musical sounds using a high speed camera, a mathematical formula, and a special turntable. In a 2012 interview with PRI’s environmental news magazine Living On Earth, Traubeck explained: “The tree slice is turning like... Read more
If you’ve been following along with the saga of Mrs. Robin’s nest, after a week of starts, stops and nests being blown away, not only did Mrs. Robin finally build her nest (with a little help from darling husband), you’ll be happy to know … we have an egg! As I write this, she’s out in the yard fending off a blue jay and a grackle, and declaring from her perch in the lilac bush war on anyone – animal or human –... Read more
There’s a robin building a next in the window of our neighbor’s house. I suppose “building” is an optimistic word; she’s desperately trying to build a nest without much success. We live in a village where the houses are separated by a single car driveway, so close that, if we were so inclined (which I’m not), we could talk to each other without leaving the house. I’ve had a front row seat to Mrs. Robin’s construction attempts over the last week and it’s been a lesson... Read more
Technology will make a giant leap from fiction to reality if self-driving cars hit the road within a few years, as predicted in this story in the Los Angeles Times. As expected, the big concern about the vehicle is safety … I feel like I should add a “duh” here. If there’s no one behind the wheel, the big question is obviously, “How does the car know where to go?” But there’s one aspect of this science fiction achievement that... Read more
This meme is making the rounds on Facebook – it’s a photo of a baby and what looks like a Neapolitan Mastiff. The title says “How to Hug a Baby”, but for dog trainers and animal rescue advocates, it’s a red flag. While most people see a photo like this and say, “Aw cute!” we ask, “How long before the baby gets hurt and the dog gets sent to the pound?” What we often interpret as a dog showing... Read more
I ventured out to the grocery store today to pick up a prescription and a few other small items. I say “venture” because it’s cold out. Not as cold as the arctic sub zero temperatures earlier this week, but it’s still only about 20 degrees out, and though the sun was shining the slight wind swept away any warmth. Brrrr. After two months battling bronchitis, laryngitis and asthma, I’ve been trying to stay inside and away from humans and germs... Read more
During the Christmas season, one of my favorite things to do is watch “It’s A Wonderful Life”. For me, it’s just not Christmas without George Bailey and Clarence the Angel. If you’ve never seen the movie, it tells the story of a despondent man who contemplates suicide, believing the world would have been better off without him. His guardian angel-in-training, Clarence, comes to earth to give him the opportunity to see what the world would have been like had he... Read more
I’m trying to be nice. Honest, I am. But it’s not easy. For years now, I’ve been working on a book idea about loving your neighbors. The idea came to me after I went on a mission trip to Mexico in 2004. At the time, I hated flying, didn’t speak Spanish, knew zero sign language and was completely inept with both ball peen hammer and ball point pen. And yet I got on a plane and flew to Mexico to... Read more
A friend posted on Facebook today: “Who decided that if dogs were able to speak and type they would do so with a speech impediment that makes you feel illterate trying to read it?” I understand what she means. As part of a community of dog writers, I see a lot of pets with blogs, Twitter and Facebook accounts, and to be honest, sometimes I have no idea what they’re trying to say. Dat for that, da for the, and... Read more
I just wanted to share with readers a link to my friend Carol’s blog, Fidose of Reality, and her most recent post about “coming out.” Over the few years I’ve known Carol, she went from editor at a dog magazine’s blog to host of her own blog, Fidose of Reality, where she writes about all things dog. I think it’s a little ironic that it’s taken her this long to share perhaps her most important “dose of reality” with... Read more
Heavenly Creatures
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