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Archive for the ‘animals’ Category

I heard a rumor a few weeks ago that someone once tried to train cats - CATS - to deliver mail. Sure enough, it really happened; someone wrote a story about it: The Mail-Carrier Cats of Liège!

Amazingly, this tale was inspired by a true event. It took place in 1879 in Liège, Belgium. The city fathers attempted to train 37 cats (imagine that!) to deliver mail from the central post office to outlying villages. What the cats thought about this, and what they did and didn’t do, is lost in the mists of time. All we know is that the scheme didn’t turn out exactly as planned.

For the life of me, I can’t even begin to fathom what could possibly make someone think that a cat could be trained to do this.

It’s true: turtles are generally liked by everyone! This is just so darn cute. I haven’t made a Duct Tape Turtle yet, but it sure sounds like fun. I like Step #8:Attach googly eyes to the head of the turtle.
And under “Tips,” we learn that…”Method One yields a turtle that can accompany you to school inside a textbook…”

Wow — doing some YouTubing on a lazy Friday afternoon and stumbled across this amazing Python versus Tiger video. I’ll admit to cheering for the tiger; something about wanting a fellow mammal to prevail must be hard-wired into our brains. It’s pretty dramatic, and the outcome isn’t certain until near the end of the 4+ minute clip:

And yes, this is a real video; it was shot in 1932 (!) as part of Frank Buck’s “Bring ‘Em Back Alive.” The incredible story of the movie and how this particular scene was captured are detailed here at Modern Mechanix.

Took a drive this evening along the river - past the Lewis & Clark Center - and spotted the first baby Canada goslings of the season! Just look at those tiny little balls of fluff!

Plenty more Goose fun here!

If you’re bored with lolcats and tired of I Can Has Cheezburger, then perhaps you will enjoy FAIL. Scores of FAIL photos, most of them humorous to some degree, although I don’t know how many of them are genuine (not shopped or edited). My favorite is Procreation Fail:

A close runner-up is this inappropriate Donald Duck ride, and there is another Procreation Fail pic, too. I just love intarwebs memes!

The younger of my two cats, Baby, likes to relax in a somewhat unusual manner: she often stretches out her front legs aaaalllllll the way and then falls asleep in that position. Yesterday we found her like this:

Even if you hate cats, you’ve gotta admit that this is pretty darn cute.

When my lady read this article about goats at Slate.com, she turned to me and said, in her no-nonsense but also very sweet voice: “We can not have goats, honey.” If you’re not the type to read a few paragraphs about the joys and jeers of owning - or being owned by - three impertinent goats, here are some of the highlights:

Whenever I walk out to the barn to do the chores, I am hooted and jeered. By my goats. The jeering is sharp, loud, and to the point—a quick, nasal “baah” that is presumptuous and annoying. They are the most impertinent animals I have ever known.

I love them, of course.

“Nuts to you, goats!” I yelled when they catcalled me a few mornings ago. “You don’t know anything. Bug off. Be quiet.”

My goats are not contemplative, accepting, or introspective. Unlike cows, they are not accepting. Unlike sheep, they are smart. Unlike donkeys, they are intrusive. Unlike dogs, they are useless, except to annoy me.

They are playful, chasing one another around, butting heads every now and then. It is not true that they will eat anything. Quite the opposite. My goats like fresh hay, Paul Newman’s low-fat popcorn, oat cookies, and multigrain wheat bran. They turn up their noses at almost anything else. The only time they are remotely respectful to me is when I bring them a bag of popcorn and dump it on the ground.

They don’t jeer only at me. They are the only creatures on the farm who regularly laugh at Rose, my working dog. They scoff when my cow Luna goes into heat and gets frisky. They poke fun at Winston, my venerable rooster, and find the spirituality of the donkeys ludicrous.

If this doesn’t convince you to run out and buy some goats, I don’t know what will.