Recuperating

Miss Phoebe had a little elective surgery last week to remove 2 small lumps from her leg. Hence the bandage.

Because of her girth, Phoebe tends to hold on to the anesthesia in her system for a few days. Hence the foggy look.

Sometimes I find her just wandering into a room or a spot in the backyard and just standing there as if to say "How did I get here."

We are all going to take a few days off and recuperate from the ordeal.

See you on June 1. Have a nice Memorial Day.

Help Create a Park!

So here's a great idea sponsored by a great group of Urban Planners from the Univ. of Pa. They have entered Pepsi's "Refresh" contest and are in the running for the $50,000 prize to reclaim a parcel of concrete in the city and turn it into a "pop-up park," something that is apparently all the rage in New York City.

Here's the catch. They have to win the contest which depends on your votes.

Please lend them your support by going to www.refresheverything.com/reclaimconcrete and voting for their great idea!

Thanks.

Pelicans in Peril

These are pelicans which are now back on the endangered species list (having recently come off) thanks to the oil spill that is coating them with black sludge. It is heartbreaking to see the photos of once white birds, completely black, trying to fly.

Barataria Bay, along the Louisiana coast, is a refuge for pelicans and home to thousands. These protected marshlands are one of the reasons for the proliferation of the shore birds, many of which are now encrusted with oil.

Officials say the birds try to clean the crude from their bodies by splashing in the water and preening. But their efforts are often in vain as more and more oil contaminates the water in which they are trying to wash themselves.

According to the AP, "Pelicans are especially vulnerable to oil. Not only could they eat tainted fish and feed it to their young, but they could die of hypothermia or drowning if they're soaked in oil."

Wildlife officials have suspended efforts at trying to rescue the birds, since this only spooked them. "They said sometimes it is better to leave the animals alone than disturb their colony."

Please do not buy BP gasoline or any other products with their label, ever.

Anticipation

A small announcement: I have ordered an ipad. After a considerable amount of research (basically hanging around the Apple Store and asking a lot of questions from very knowledgeable salespeople), I decided to take the plunge.

I ordered the Wi-Fi, 3 G version, 32 gigs, and the keyboard dock (as well as the wireless keyboard with the intention of returning one) and a case. The problem is that all of my local Apple stores are sold out of the ipads as well as most of the accessories so you really don't have a chance to play with anything more than the demo models--which is fine but its hard to judge if I will like the keyboard with a dock or the wireless one until I see it in action.

Plus the whole case thing is a bit confusing since I truly do want a case that will hold the keyboard but also one that supports the ipad on an angle. I think I need to have it in my hands before I commit to anything but I ordered the Apple case just to have something and also knowing I can return it to the store if I don't like it.

Now of course, I want it instantly which may be a bit of a problem. 7-10 business days is the current delivery but we will see. I have heard 2 weeks but am of course hoping for 2 days!

I will admit that what sealed the deal for me was the opportunity to sign up for the 3-G service month by month. I was having a terrible time rationalizing $30/month for something I might not use. We have Wi-Fi at home so the 3-G seemed a bit like overkill. But when I heard you can sign up month by month, as well as for an abbreviated plan ($14.99), I took the plunge. That way you can order the 3-G when you know you will be traveling to places where Wi-Fi might be spotty.

The keyboard was a no-brainer. I am hoping that this gizmo serves as a mid-level laptop for me--truly mid-level--but I was impressed with the word processing App and the fact that you can export documents as Word which means you can email them to yourself and they will at home on the desktop when you return.

I don't intend to write the great American novel on this but it may be very useful for short pieces on the road.

Stay tuned. I am officially excited.

Sam and Phoebe Have a Long Way To Go

Amazing....Sam and Phoebe are so far from this! My favorite part is the tail wagging at the end!!

Enjoy!

Rabbit Shortage?

Well it appears that New England cottontails are becoming scarce in New England. Guess what? They've all moved to Pennsylvania!

According to The Boston Globe, wildlife biologists currently estimate that the population of cotton tail rabbits in the entire state of New Hampshire is less than 100!!! Trust me, that's about the average siting in one night here in the wilds of Pa. (well, that might be a tad bit of an exageration, but trust me, rabbits are multiplying before my very eyes...)!

"They're the poster child for the loss of shrubland habitat," said Steven fuller, a wildlife biologist with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. In fact, last year the New England states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut "received federal grant to help preserve the cottontail." Could I make this up?

The problem seems to be that the forest areas that originally formed on farms (and therefore featured thickets that rabbits prefer) have grown and expanded to be so thick that thickets disappear. And then, apparently, so do the rabbits.

In my experience, rabbits do indeed make no secret of their existence. They build their nests out in the open in suburbans lawns, never under bushes or trees. Perhaps they should consider clearing some of the forest areas or better yet, checking around the ever present soccer fields of baseball diamonds. Chances are rabbits are hiding there.

In the meantime, if New Hampshire gets really desperate, I know a great place to nab a few cottontails for transport over state lines.

Scenes From a Photo Shoot

To whet your appetite, these are some scenes from a photo shoot for Lick Your Plate! due out in Fall 2011. The dogs in question are Daisy, the Great Dane and Lilly, the Weimeraner. As you can tell, they eat well.





Sabina works hard to get great angles! The entire shoot was a great success and the dogs ate everything!