Nature Army

Phil

If you live near a wooded area, a stream, or a park, you're likely to come across the occasional creature that doesn't belong in the middle of your lawn. Such was the case with Phil.

He was sitting on the driveway, and my dad picked him up as he got home from work. I'm not sure how he noticed, because it was almost pitch black, but naturally we welcomed Phil (for a few minutes) with open arms. A little too open, actually. He did not turn into a prince.

Here he is not being kissed.

We have also found turtles, salamanders, snakes, crayfish (in our stream) and once even an injured chipmunk, who we tried to save but couldn't. I have yet to discover a newly fledged robin, which everyone always finds at some point, right?

In either case, I'd love to hear your stories about interactions with wildlife that you've had, so leave a comment if you want to tell us about one of your encounters.

Have You Seen This Dog?

I know I said I wouldn't do another post on animal shelters until I've covered a few more topics, but this is not about animal shelters. This is about dogs not in animal shelters.

Firstly, I would like to dispel any prejudice against pit bulls. It is not their fault that they were bred to fight to the death. It is not their fault that stupid people are arrested every year for dogfighting. It is certainly not their fault that idiots think it's funny train dogs to be as bloodthirsty as possible before having their lives gambled away for money, just because their owners need to get a life.

This is Marley. She is a very small pit bull who was dragged across two rows of fencing away from her owners. Her family is extremely concerned that she will be "bait" for the larger fighting dogs; that is, a dog used to train the ones born with the ability to put up a fight. Basically, some people have no qualms about sacrificing smaller dogs in order to kill one fighting dog, and corrupt another for life. If you see her, please contact Karen Barboza.

If you see any dogfighting, anywhere, report it. And don't leave your dogs outside unattended; just because they can't get out doesn't mean other people can't get in.

Dogfighting is illegal for a reason. It's possibly the most inhumane thing I can think of, and that includes all the thousand-dollar medical care expenses shelters receive each year, often for animals who have been neglected or intentionally mistreated. No one deserves to live like that. No one.

I'm back, and guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat?! Marley was found! She'd got an injury to her leg, but she'll be okay.

Earth Day

Well, this Earth Day is going to be a bit of a drag. For those of you who for some terrible reason don't know, Earth Day is the 22nd of April, and where I am it's supposed to rain, along with a bit of precipitation and possibly some cloudy skies. I will therefore mostly celebrate Earth Day today and next week. However, if you don't live in a rainy place, Earth Day and Every Day are great times to find me some new members. Please? That goal of 50 members by tomorrow isn't going so well. Here are your basics:

Plant a tree.
Pick up trash.
Plant a garden, butterfly or otherwise, NATIVE plants.
Make an art project out of recyclables.
Put together a lemonade stand for an organization like the World Wildlife Foundation.
Build or paint a birdhouse.
Make flyers about global warming or other nature topics.
Pull invasive species. For the Eastern Coast of the U.S., these include garlic mustard, DEVIL'S TEAR THUMB, bittersweet, multiflora rose, and Japanese honeysuckle. Sometime this summer, I'm likely to do a post on those. Nasty things.
Participate in Project SOS (one of our pages).

Please actually spend time doing something. Switching to recycled toilet paper is great, but it's kind of awkward for me to have to explain to someone that you need to do something a bit more in-depth than that. So, celebrate Earth Day or make a substitute. We'll be doing a little of both.

Happy Earth Day! 

 

A Few More Projects, And Then I'll Get Off This Animal Shelter Craze

Today it is Easter Monday (well it was when I started writing this), and the fruit of the labor of many Nature Army members (and a lot of ribbon) is finally going to the Chester County SPCA, as promised. Its goodness consists of a batch of dog treats, octopus cat toys, the blankets mentioned in the second post, pens, and two projects we haven't told you about: plastic Easter egg cat toys and denim dog toys. To make the dog toys, you will need... Oh, wait. I have to do it in this format.

Skills: Cutting, braiding, tying, drawing straight lines, and playing tug of war with a 2 inch hand-hold.
Time: I have no idea.
Materials: Old jeans, preferably not ripped, ruler, marker (that works), sewing scissors

First, cut off the legs so that the junk with all the pockets can be thrown away. Using the scissors, cut the legs into approximately 2 inch wide strips, with or without the marker and ruler. Take three of them and line up one of the ends. Tie them together. Then braid them. Tie another knot and pull in such a way that it couldn't come out unless it was tied to the tusks of 2 elephants in the mood to destroy something. It's rather self-explanatory. We made about ten of these with one pair of jeans. Don't use jeans that are too short because you won't have enough to braid. They actually look really professional when they're done. However, I won't lie— I look truly awful in that picture.

Our other project was plastic Easter egg cat toys. Just take an empty Easter egg and add a bell or 3 or 4 beans or pieces of cat kibble. Next hot glue the two pieces closed. You can decorate these with permanent markers. Don't add tails or other things cats could rip off and choke on. We made nearly two dozen.

Here is our enormous care package. Doesn't it look like a Tootsie roll?

 

No, no, no! I can't end this post yet because I forgot about another idea I had, and last post I promised I'd try to go at least 5 posts without talking about an animal shelter! We will be growing kale this spring, and possibly lettuce, to donate to the Baltimore Humane Society. Their website is www.bmorehumane.org/, and on their wish list they ask for fresh vegetables for the rabbits. It must be dreadfully boring to live off of "Nutri-Pellets" all the time.

Oh, and if you want to join, could you please work on that? Earth Day is next Sunday, and we are less than halfway to our goal. I doubt we'll get to 50 members by then, but let's make it close.

Final Results of the Contest

Remember that contest I put up an eon or two ago? Well, it's not fair to judge for just two posts, so I am giving the Participation Award to the makers of these two photographs.
This young octopus is performing a piano recital to a small group of adults at Peabody. (See the guy farthest to the right? Yep, definitely a Ravens fan.)

 

This is no regular stroll through the park as they might say- it's a swim in this underwater park for the octopi. While you swim, you come to realize that these octopi are no different than you. You see one fly kites, play with bouncy balls, and even a lonely octopus eating a pirate's treasure for lunch. Enjoy your stay!

Thank you to the two people who actually sent me entries. I understand that people who don't own a website or don't know my e-mail address didn't have the ability, but still...

So, I will have probably one post on animal shelters after this. Then I am going to try and do 5 posts after that in a row that focus on other topics. I'm not sure I can do this. Optimism. Right.

I Don't Know What To Call This Besides—CHICKENS!

So, right now there are 4 little puff balls in the basement. They came in the mail last Wednesday, and I am  in love.

A few chicken facts:

Pecking orders are not a myth. Chickens do have a social class system, and one of our poor Silkies is at the bottom.

Silkies get annoyed at their feathered legs. I can see how that might bother them.

Chicks can and will fall asleep in minutes on your hand. They won't exactly purr, but they do a little vibrating thing that has the same effect. We seem to have caught this one in mid-yawn.

Because they don't have muscles in their beaks they way we do in our mouths, when they take a drink they have to stick their beak in the air so the water goes down their throat.

The best way to torture a cat is to put a door between him and four delicious chickens.

Our two breeds of chickens are Silkies and Buff Orpingtons. Right now, being chicks, they don't really look like their adult counterparts, but I've done my homework and can tell that the Silkies are the ones with dark beaks, dark feet, and feathered legs, and the Buff Orpingtons are the other ones— you know, the picture you conjure in your mind when you think of chicks. This is one of the Silkies.

Absolutely perfect. Her eyes haven't disappeared— yet. Silkies. The old English sheepdog of the chicken world. And, because the Buff Orpingtons haven't been shown yet, here she is.
All photographs courtesy of www.kidbaltimore.com/.

Again: Aren't they just perfect?

Oh, and when they're bigger they'll lay eggs, but we don't particularly care about that at the moment.

And don't blame us for that.

Updates on Contest

So, it's the day of the contest and I just realized that you can't post pictures on comments. So, here are the updates:

The due date is now Sunday, April 1st. I am not going to judge for the second and third places, because so far this has been wildly unpopular. Shame on you, but mostly shame on me.

The only way to get the picture to me is to make it a link to a website if you have one, or if you have my e-mail address you can use that. If you don't have my e-mail address, you're not getting it.

Since I am judging the contest, I can't very well enter myself in it, so here's my post. Hey, I should get to have as much fun with this as you do.

 

On a field trip, these octopus students marvel at the diverse wildlife at their local park.

 So, Sunday. Sunday. Sunday. Remember that. 

A Contest of Citizenship, Creativity, and All Things Goodly

Time: For one of them? Roughly 5 minutes after you get the hang of it, plus decoration.
Skills Needed: Cutting, tying, drawing

Yes, we are actually in the process of making octopus cat toys. Believe it or not, the animal shelter approved this, which greatly surprised me. If you happen to be near Chester County, PA, their website is http://www.ccspca.org/ and I can't seem to be able to make that a link so you'll just have to type it in. Anyway, they also accept the dog biscuits at http://www.naturearmy.com/2011/09/dog-biscuits-1.html which also is not a link. Oh well, that's better than being unable to post pictures like last time. Anyway, after making several blankets (no, these are human ones), and cutting out the corners, we had a lot of scraps. (By the way, that's a good idea of someone's, whoever that may be. Cut out a square from each blanket that you make with the instructions on the second post and it isn't nearly so deformed.) Anyway, I asked for the scraps and took them home in a ginormous shopping bag. Now, anyone else might make a doll blanket or a sweater for Teddy or a soft quilt to drape over your nightstand. We made octopus cat toys for the animal shelter. Here's how you do it: You'll need 2 squares of fleece, both about 6" x 6", but the size isn't too critical. One square must be somewhat light-colored, solid, and either equal to or larger than the other, which can be any old thing. You can use a handful of scraps for the other one, actually. Next, squash the any-old-thing square into a ball in the center of the other. Gather the lighter square around it and hold it like that for a while. You can twist it around to make it go faster. When you take the lighter square off, there should be a depression where the any-old-thing was. With sewing scissors, cut a sort of tentacle thing up to but not into the depression. You might actually want to cut it a bit short. Repeat this as many times as you want— even though it's an octopus, no one's going to count the tentacles, least of all the cats. When your tentacles are cut, replace the any-old-thing and, with a strip of fleece about 1/2 inch wide, tie it shut. Very securely. Twice. Now I know that at this point you will have a fully functioning cat toy. However, it's no fun unless you decorate them with permanent markers.

Aren't they just adorable? Now, I can completely understand that a lot of people might not want to do this. It's not one of our more eye-catching projects. Which is why I'm turning this into a contest. These are the rules. With two or more octopus cat toys, use props and position them accordingly. The scenes will be scored on creativity, craftsmanship on the cat toys, and the photography. You can post a comment on this post with the picture and a caption that treats the octopi like people, similarly to this:
This octopus couple enjoys a romantic candlelit dinner at a restaurant in upstate New York.

At least two of the cat toys involved must be donated, unless you have made additional one(s). Please specify whether or not you are already in the Nature Army because if nothing is written I will assume you have not joined but now are. Winners of the contest will receive bragging rights. Check back often because on March 25 (the due date) I will judge them for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. The next post will include information about that. Good luck!

Rather Feathery Ornaments

Time: Depends on how elaborate you want to be
Skills Needed: Tying, spreading, etc.

WHAT! You think the Nature Army can afford to take the winter off!!! We have work to do!

Actually, winter is a convenient winter timing for lots of Nature Army tasks, both indoors and (shiver) outdoors. Though I'm posting this after the holidays, we did this on the 24th of December. (We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please stand by.) And yes, contrary to popular belief, it is OK to put up winter decorations after the holidays.

A while ago, my siblings and I decorated an outdoor holiday tree (fine, a holiday branch) for the birds. The ornaments are English muffins spread with peanut butter and covered in birdseed. We tied them on our branch (which, by the way, gives a stunning view of the stream nearby) with fleece strips leftover from making blankets for the animal shelter. (You can find out more about that at  http://www.naturearmy.com/2011/08/blanket_for_cats.html)

To make this delightful snowman, we used a cookie cutter to cut the shape out of the end of a loaf of bread. Looking back, it would have been more fun to forget the English muffins and just use cookie cutters. Obviously, we arranged the birdseed to make a nose, eyes, buttons, and the hat.

 

If you don't have birdseed, there are many other things you can use. Dried fruit, bread crumbs, peanuts, and cereal in moderation will often attract birds like sparrows and cardinals. We didn't use this idea, but you could also string cranberries and popcorn on your tree like tinsel.

String your ornaments with yarn, strips of fabric, or twine loosely, so the birds can take the strings for their nests, and you may also want to put out a birdbath. It can just be a soup plate filled with water (not too deep, or they won't be able to stand in it).

To get into the Nature Army with this, you can make your own tree/branch. Please don't put up a bird feeder and tell us about it. Take the time to put together something really special. You can make your own tree, or build a bird feeder yourself. Maybe you could get some friends together to make a bird bath. By the way, the birds really do like this; less than a week after we put it up, it was gone.

Right now our ornaments are limited to peanut butter, bread, and birdseed/cereal, so if you have any ideas, post a comment and tell us about it! You can find more ideas on helping backyard birds and gardening at http://www.birdsandblooms.com/. So, uh, yeah. One-sided good-byes are awkward.

Chemicals Without The Nervous Biting Of Nails

Can't use that old toxic chemicals excuse to get out of a cleaning chore, try though I may. But, being a dedicated (if I do say so myself) Nature Army member, I must make some sacrifices.

Let me ask you this: Why do we spray mystery solutions with "Keep Out Of Reach Of Children" labels on our surfaces in reach of children? (I wish they'd put an age range on that. That's really offensive.) Anyway, the only thing missing from that bottle is a skull and crossbones, so I'm not entirely sure this is the best thing to have in your house. Any chemical on your skin long enough eventually leaches into the bloodstream, and it's the same with animals. When you're cleaning something outside, then we have a problem. So you spray the picnic bench or whatever, and some of it hits the ground. That some of it runs downhill because of gravity, and with all the impervious surfaces we have, it runs very quickly. Also downhill is a lovely creek with frogs and fish living in harmony. Frogs are extremely sensitive to chemicals and pollution. Every frog it hits will probably die. The chemical continues downstream to induce more death.

Lovely, isn't it?

It's rather tedious to have a different bottle of cleaner inside and outside, so it makes sense to just use nontoxic cleaners. Here's the recipe we've been using.

almost half a bottle of vinegar
almost half a bottle of water
1 tablespoon borax 

If I were you, I'd add few drops of fragrance oil. No, really; add a drop of fragrance oil. Trust me.

Herbicides. Although I'm more of an uprooter than a sprayer of herbicides person, I won't hold it against you if you use them on poison ivy, oak, sumac, or things with pointy parts.

4 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup salt
16 drops liquid dish washing soap

As quoted from KidBaltimore: "Spray on plants liberally. Repeat every couple of days if needed, or after a rain." This stuff will reap destruction and devastation upon all  it touches. 

For pesticide, see Getting Rid Of Stink Bugs Without Poisoning The World. No, that's not a link. I think you're big enough and strong enough to scroll down on your own.

I would have posted with pictures, but all I'd be photographing would be examples of what you can kill with this fancy herbicide and perhaps a couple of spray bottles.

Most of you are probably gone now, looking at the stink bug post because you're terribly desperate to get rid of those things, so thanks to the few of you who deemed this post important enough to read through to the end.