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No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

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Roseate spoonbill and snowy egret wading in the Withlacoochee River

Nature & Respite

You are here: Home / Archives for Nature & Respite

Other Stuff Open Thread

by Major Major Major Major|  November 20, 201912:41 pm| 90 Comments

This post is in: Cat Blogging, Nature & Respite, Not Politics, Open Threads, Something Good Open Thread

I watched the Dem lawyer’s questioning, which was great. Then I watched about five minutes of the GOP questioning, which was just asinine, and I turned it off. It was too stupid to even rise to the level of bad-faith badgering.

Anywho, I figured I am not alone, and maybe somebody should put up a thread for other stuff! Here are some pictures of cats to get us started. From the wonderful @Bodegacats_ account:

pic.twitter.com/NTKLufkzX4

— Bodega Cats (@Bodegacats_) November 19, 2019

This is, as the kids say, “a mood”.
And here we have cats maybe passing the mirror test?

When cats meet cat filters… pic.twitter.com/BKC1OFzHQO

— People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) November 14, 2019

I just concluded a long argument about metadata. How’s your day going?

Other Stuff Open ThreadPost + Comments (90)

Just Chillin’

by ruemara|  November 15, 201912:49 am| 49 Comments

This post is in: Nature & Respite, Open Threads, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome, Green Balloons, I Reject Your Reality and Substitute My Own

Take a break from fuckery all day, every day. It’ll still be there when you’re ready to deal with it.

Go breathe. Go create something.

The feeling I have is that the constant crap we have to deal with is to prevent us from saying, “hey, we can make the world a bit better”. When we have room to breathe, time to focus on breathing, we have ideas. We gain strength, release anger and tension. We think clearer and for those of us with souls, we feel human and humanity towards others. So stop for a while tonight. Enjoy something. Write a few lines. Laugh at something. Feel unabashedly in love with a person, a story, a piece of music. Forget the bullshit of adulthood and expectations. Be intensely you – and enjoy how great you are.

You earned it. Obligatory cat pic from my library of shots during my tenure in animal behaviour.

Adorable little kitten wrapped in a full burrito restraining wrap.
Be the purrito, live the purrito

Just Chillin’Post + Comments (49)

Respite Open Thread: Scout Turns Two

by TaMara (HFG)|  November 12, 20198:45 pm| 24 Comments

This post is in: Dog Blogging, Duck Blogging, Nature & Respite, Something Good Open Thread

Difficult to believe, but Scout turned two on Sunday.

Here she is lounging in the sun this summer

And here she is her second day with us.

Hard to believe my gangly legged lapdog is all growed up.  Her training, which got a bit sidelined when Bixby got sick, is going so very well. Don’t tell Bixby, but she’s been such a breeze to work with, I almost forget to do training with her some days. I have put my name in as an emergency foster if needed with our favorite Great Dane rescue group. I think everyone is settled enough and ready for that if needed.

Now the ultimate test. Facebook video:

show full post on front page

WANT TO LAUGH? THIS MADE MY DAY! FIRST DAY OF SNOW IN VERMONTDucks exhuberantly rushing out into today's fresh snow…and then turning around and rushing back into the barn!! About sums up the mood!! #sanctuarylife #vermontwinterstarts #shofarm Want to learn more about these ducks and our farm sanctuary? Go to www.sanctuaryatsho.org.

Posted by Melissa Hoffman on Friday, November 8, 2019

Melissa Hoffman 

WANT TO LAUGH? THIS MADE MY DAY!

FIRST DAY OF SNOW IN VERMONT

Ducks exhuberantly rushing out into today’s fresh snow…and then turning around and rushing back into the barn!! About sums up the mood!!

Want to learn more about these ducks and our farm sanctuary? Go to www.sanctuaryatsho.org.

 

I’m glad to see someone else having fun with ducks. I wish my ducks were this smart. It drops to 20 degrees and they need to be in their coop (their little feet can freeze when temps drop that low) and I’m outside chasing them around while they protest loudly.

With the impeachment process starting, I doubt we’ll have time for respite threads for a while. But I will try to stick with Friday recipe threads as time allows.

And finally, if you’re not following Quilty cat at the Friends for Life Animal Rescue in Houston, you’re missing out. He was put in solitary for letting all the other cats out at night.  Facebook (don’t need an account) or Instagram #freequilty!

Respite open thread

Respite Open Thread: Scout Turns TwoPost + Comments (24)

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: President Jimmy Carter Recovering

by TaMara (HFG)|  November 12, 201910:52 am| 67 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Something Good Open Thread

Happy news from Atlanta. I know Pres. Carter says he’s ready, but I have to admit, I am not. Speedy recovery.

Statement on President Carter’s Health pic.twitter.com/Yn8iIYVWZc

— The Carter Center (@CarterCenter) November 12, 2019

show full post on front page

Still testing out the embed feature – this is ABCNews.  Let me know in the comments if there are any issues. I’ve put it below the fold because I have to run out and if it’s autoplaying or something, I won’t be able to address it until I return.

Mid-morning open thread

ETA: Hey everyone it’s autoplaying for – is it autoplaying, or doing the short half-second preview loop? That’s what I’m getting. That’s not really autoplay, it’s just a dynamic preview.

Also, if it is fully autoplaying, tell us what you’re using to view it.  Also, is the site running super slow for anyone else?

Thanks. Running out now…

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: President Jimmy Carter RecoveringPost + Comments (67)

Saluting Our Veterans And Their Families

by TaMara (HFG)|  November 11, 201911:06 am| 29 Comments

This post is in: Something Good Open Thread

As a military brat whose father and brother served in war zones, I have firsthand knowledge of what families go through when service members are deployed. And even without deployment, many military families relocate every few years.  So reading about this young man really touched my heart. And he has a book!

Davidson and his dad, as illustrated by his father in a book they wrote together.

(CNN) Davidson is only 9 years old, yet he’s been the man of the house eight times while his dad serves his country.

His father, Dave, is a Green Beret on his 10th deployment. The famil y lives in northern Virginia while Dave is stationed somewhere overseas. Davidson is used to not having his dad around, but he never forgets him.
This illustration shows Dave embracing Davidson after surviving an attack in Afghanistan.
“Sometimes it’s fine because we actually do a lot of fun things while he’s away, but it’s also sad because he’s just not here,” Davidson told CNN. “My mom sometimes breaks down and cries a lot because she misses him. And it’s not really hard for her because I help her, but it’s just she misses him.”
Please head to the link to read the complete story about this incredible young man and his family, there is also a sweet video of him that I cannot embed.
And here’s his book:
Brave for My Family

by Davidson Whetstone

Illustrated by his father

Davidson’s father was deployed every year of his young life when, at 6 years old, four days before Christmas, the call came that he was injured by an RPG in Afghanistan. With vivid, compelling art by Davidson’s own active duty father, this book tells the story of Davidson’s brave journey during his father’s service, recovery at Walter Reed Hospital, and return to the battlefield.

Brave For My Family is a book for every American child to read and celebrate the bravery of thos on the homefront when a parent is away fighting for our country.

Proceeds from the book support Military Families and Wounded Warriors through trusted organizations who have demonstrated their commitment to those who serve: Green Beret Foundation, Rick Herrema Foundation, Lead the Way Fund, Navy SEAL Foundation, Semper Fi Fund, and Patriot Foundation.

 

Closer to home for me – I’m in Niwot several times a month and I love this display:

 

Saluting Our Veterans And Their FamiliesPost + Comments (29)

Mikhail Gorbachev, Hero

by Cheryl Rofer|  November 5, 20193:22 pm| 23 Comments

This post is in: Russia, Something Good Open Thread, War

As the world watched the Soviet Union breaking apart in the late 1980s – early 1990s, there was much fear that things could go badly wrong and even escalate to nuclear war.

Mikhail Gorbachev, who had become the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985, had introduced reforms that he believed would reinvigorate the Soviet economy. But movements in the satellites, like Solidarity in Poland, wanted independence. There were similar movements in the Soviet republics. Those movements used Gorbachev’s reforms for their own interests.

This month is the 30th anniversary of Gorbachev’s releasing the satellites – Poland, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic and Slovakia), Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and East Germany – from Soviet rule. Two years later, the 15 Soviet republics became independent countries.

Hard-liners in Moscow would have used force to prevent those outcomes. There were some clashes with the Soviet internal police, OMON, and military forces were ordered into some of the republics as demonstrations took place. But Gorbachev decided against major force and allowed the Soviet Union to dissolve, even though it was not the outcome he wanted.

The United States has become too accustomed to using force to solve problems. Russia has become an international spoiler, looking for ways to create chaos. With 14,000 nuclear weapons between them, this is unsustainable.

Gorbachev is speaking out.

And Don’t build a wall between Russia and the West.

He will always be a hero to me for handling the Soviet Union’s breakup peacefully. Not so much in Russia, where that breakup led to misery for many.

What he’s saying isn’t outstandingly new, but it’s always worth hearing, especially from someone who stared war in the face and walked away.

 

 

 

 

 

Mikhail Gorbachev, HeroPost + Comments (23)

Respite Open Thread: Throw Like a Girl

by TaMara (HFG)|  October 24, 201910:46 am| 68 Comments

This post is in: Nature & Respite, Something Good Open Thread

I have a busy day ahead, but this started things off just right:

Here you can see the actual throw:

Simone Biles throwing first pitch at the World Series, while also letting the girls know she coming for necks in 2020 ?? #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/vSNqqXlgwW

— Joshua Chenault (@joshuachenault1) October 24, 2019

And thanks to Adam for sending this to me:

And another thing. pic.twitter.com/r4NUrpmNqQ

— jamie (@gnuman1979) October 23, 2019

Bailey used to talk and back-talk aaaallll the time. I miss it, but Scout is working on it. Sometimes she finds her voice and it startles her. Adorable.

Before today’s onslaught, here’s a respite open thread.

 

Respite Open Thread: Throw Like a GirlPost + Comments (68)

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