It’s that time of year, no not Christmas – SHARK WEEK on Discovery Channel!!  To get things jumping check out this link of a group of sharks swimming right next to bathers at Bondi Beach in Australia.

This is cathartic for me I guess. Not that easy to do given the close proximity to the “event” which I’m speaking of, but still something good for me (I think), and something I should just express. I’m speaking about my choice to “put down” my 11 year old Chocolate Labrador Java, and now writing about her.

I’m not that “sentimental” of a pet person, although I’ve always had dogs as pets my whole life. I grew up with dogs, and always took interest in taking good care of them and training them well. All of my dogs have been of varying quality in both behavior and performance (intelligence, well-composed, affectionate, home protector, loyal, and a hunter). In all of the dogs I’ve had and worked with, none have been able to muster a high-degree in all of the criteria I’ve outlined. That’s not bad, just that I expect a lot from a dog, and most fell a little short. That’s not to say that I didn’t love my dogs – I always love my dogs and treat them well. I just realize that coming across a dog that can achieve all from my demanding list in not at all common.

Java was a dog that met all the criteria, and with the odds against her. She was a rescue from a broken home, and was obviously mistreated – at least verbally (yelled out frequently I know, and I suspect hit on occasion). She cowered quickly when anyone raised their voice, and she did anything in her power to get out of the room. But over time, with a lot of love and confidence building, she rebounded from the fear she experienced and began to respond to affection, as well as not cower when voices were raised in the home. I believe she recovered because of her high intelligence – especially for a dog. How many dogs can learn how to stop, then carry a full plate of food without spilling it, back over to the rug under the sink where it no longer slides across the ceramic floor? She would do the same on the deck outside, picking the plate up from the edge and returning it to a same location in the middle of the deck where she could complete the meal. Just one quick example of a higher-order canine.

Along with her intelligence, she never once displayed anger at any one of my 4 kids or others, attacked another dog, or disobeyed my command. If I called her, she came – no matter what. She retrieved from the woods and any body of water no matter how cold or tired she was (she is a Lab after all), and was not a bit gun-shy. She was loyal to the core, and never moved from the floor by my side throughout my tribulations of back surgery and the aftermath. She ran with me by my side for miles, never with a leash, and kept one eye on me at all times. Her best feature was her protective nature, barking only when necessary, as if knowing that too much barking would annoy me, and too little would have no affect on the perceived threat outside our home. How she could discern the subtle difference I’ll never know, but she struck the balance well, and was the best home-protection dog you could witness. She made her presence known, and never with violence.

I put her to sleep yesterday, after her short and painful battle with cancer. She survived a bout with the Parvovirus a year ago, a virus which killed several dogs in the vicinity. But the cancer was too much for her. Going against every voice inside telling me she can fight on, I made the painful choice to put her to sleep. How much pain must she endure just to satisfy my need to have her around? She would have fought – she was a fighter and extremely strong. But it was my selfishness and fear of loosing her that had to be tamed this time around. And so she’s gone.

Perhaps one day I’ll find another dog with such superior qualities. I doubt it though.

Ring-Tailed Lemur

For a general admission of $11, you see most of the park. There are some exhibitions that require an additional $3, which is well-worth the cost. One of these is the Congo Gorilla Forest, where you begin to feel more like the spectacle rather than the audience – as the gorillas observe you as intently as you observe them! This is a must see, as is the whole park. I mean how often do you get within reaching distance of a Ring-Tailed Lemur, a Toucan, or a King Cobra?

The diversity of life existing at this zoo is simply amazing, and within a few hours you can absorb an abundance of fauna observation and knowledge. If you haven’t gone, then go soon, as the weather still remains reasonable. And bring kids along too, and watch their faces fill with intrigue and wonderment.

That’s right, this cute kitty went viral and has 1o million views. Simon’s cat, the star of 4 black and white simplistic cartoon videos (all under 3 minutes), is an accurate depiction of the typical cat personality. Maybe the reason these vids have so many views is because all the cat people out there just keep watching it over and over again…

Once again, AdFreak succeeds in fishing out the most interesting and inspiring ways to advertise. Fisch Franke, a Frankfurt seafood restaurant, advertised their seafood cuisine by placing live trout in an aquarium-style ad. This ingenious approach to promote Fische Franke required 600 Liters of water and about 10 trout. The poster attracted a lot of attention, not to mention an increase in traffic for the restaurant itself.

Cited from: http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2009/07/but-wheres-the-sign-filled-with-tartar-sauce.html

Look at this thing – absolutely beautiful! Not seen too often in these parts due to its one week lifespan, the Luna Moth is common to The Northeastern United States. I had this one fly into my garage last evening, attracted by the contrast of the bright lights of my chicken brood lamp and the darkness outside. It buzzed around a bit until finally landing in a place where I could gently pick it up and get a closer inspection. It’s amazing what nature does with color adaptation – and this saturniid is one great example. Notice the eyespots on the wings. These spots confuse potential predators, giving the moth an appearance of an eye watching at all times. The Wikipedia entry looks valid, so read more on the Luna Moth there.

2 day old chicks under brood light

No, I’m not talking about a chicken dinner in the making, although those that know me may think I’m once again gearing up for filling my freezer with home-grown poultry in 12 or so weeks. I raise poultry for both eggs and meat, but that’s not the case this time – this time it’s only laying hens we’re raising, and my flock of chicks has just arrived.

There’s nothing difficult about raising poultry. From building the coop, brooding the chicks, and caring for adult birds, the work is essentially minimal. It’s a matter of keeping your birds clean and well watered and fed, which takes mere minutes each day. The reward for your work is fresh home-grown eggs, which are healthier and more nutritious to eat, larger in size, and richer in taste. If your culinary skills are more advanced, you may appreciate the fact that your fresh eggs have far less of a chance of carrying Salmonella than the store bought kind. This means you can enjoy the raw yoke for eggs over easy, sunny-side up, Caesar Salads, Mousse, Mayonnaise or Rouille. Try that with store eggs and you may end up in the ER within 24 hours witnessing your digestive system at full RPM’s.

Raising poultry for meat is a whole different thing. The care of the birds from chicks to adult remains the same (keep them clean, well watered and fed), but the work to process the birds for your freezer is time consuming and messy. But once again, if you have the constitution for such things, it’s well worth it. The meat is high quality, healthier and far better tasting. The antibiotics used with commercial birds are not used with your birds – so the concern of unhealthy levels of antibiotics in the meat is gone. You have the option of raising some birds for 8 – 10 weeks (small roaster size) to much larger birds in 12 – 16 weeks (oven stuffer size!). And if the zone between death and the dinner plate can be overcome without too much difficulty, you’ll enjoy healthier – better tasting poultry for months and months.

Eggs or meat, if you have the space to do so, raising your own poultry is a good practical step toward a healthier lifestyle. For more information on getting started, this is a great all-around site: www.backyardchickens.com

So funny right ?!?!  I wanted to share a few late night texts regarding our upcoming week of travel.  Agency life is incredible.  There are some days that seem to never end and some days that can’t start fast enough.  It has been raining outside for like two weeks straight (an exaggeration, but that’s how it feels).  Even with that, there must have been an extra shot of something in my caramel frap tonight because I can’t hold back this positive feeling.  I don’t know what is causing it, but I’m not going to fight it. 

It may have started when I posted The Will To Win.  That post made me feel so good that I wanted to get the week started – I wanted to accomplish a ton and push the company forward.  I can say going into Friday that I feel exhausted, but very satisfied with the week we have just put in as a company.  Next week we are talking to a handful of new partners (and one potential partner).  They’re all a very good fit for our group.  I know that in our business chemistry is everything and it feels like the chemistry is right on as we head into the weekend.

Stay tuned – I’ll let you know how things go.