Blog breakdown

Snagged from the Sept. 26, 2011 issue of The New Yorker, by Roz Chast:

Sky lanterns pose threat to animals

Chinese Sky Lanterns, popular at this time of year and at other festive occasions, pose a serious threat to wild and domestic animals. Cattle have died trying to eat the wire frames.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11173662/Dont-light-sky-lanterns-for-Bonfire-Night-says-Government.html 

Anniversary of Battle of Wounded Knee

The Battle of Wounded Knee took place on this date, 29 December 1890:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=755822994510776

More info. at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre

Native American sayings

Donkey

Cute donkey in our neighbor's front yard. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey

Boxing Day walk

Boxing Day walk at Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve:  http://www.coffeecreekwc.org/
It is 55 degrees F. which is amazing for December 26th in this part of the world. No snow in sight.

Photos: Marge Ishmael

Car sale sign

Christmas Eve

A deer ambling past my window on Christmas Eve morning.

Yesterday: bird watching on the Wooded Isle and Sunset on Wooded Isle:

New York State says no to fracking

 

New York state says no to fracking, citing health concerns:

http://news.yahoo.com/citing-health-risks-york-state-203621508.html;_ylt=A0LEVjNF65hUVZkAB3YPxQt.

Families who get sick from fracking turn to scientists:

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/07/22/15127/families-sick-fracking-turn-scientists?utm_campaign=syndication&utm_source=yahoo-news&utm_medium=calais-related-link 

Why we need the Winter Solstice

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/20/opinion/why-we-need-the-winter-solstice.html?_r=0

Fracking and Lima climate talks slammed

Photo: Free Source

Above photo shows fracking wellpads in Wyoming in the USA: "a total and utter form of destruction” the International Tribunal on the Rights of Nature was told.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/andes-to-the-amazon/2014/dec/10/fracking-redd-lima-climate-talks-slammed-nature-tribunal

Back to nature by George Monbiot

Photo from BBC Earth

You only truly live in the wild, according to George Monbiot:
http://www.bbc.com/earth/bespoke/story/20141203-back-to-nature/index.html

Chicago's bison statue

Bison statue at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago: http://www.naturemuseum.org/
I can recommend their butterfly haven: http://www.naturemuseum.org/the-museum/exhibits/butterfly-haven

Full Moon

Photo: Marge Ishmael

This was a photo I took of last Saturday's Full Moon on December 6th.  The full moon that appears in December is called the Cold Moon. During December, winter has come and the cold fastens its grip -- hence the name "Cold Moon".  It was sometimes referred to as the Long Night Moon by Native American tribes. The winter nights are at their longest and darkest.  The moon is above the horizon for a long time and the midwinter full moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low sun. 

Small things

Seven dead whales

This story is courtesy of the IFLS website: http://www.iflscience.com
Info. on sperm whales at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_whale

I read the following story and thought "I wonder if this was caused by the warming seas and the fact that fish are moving because of those warming seas?"

"A pod of sperm whales has been found dead on a South Australia beach after an extremely rare mass stranding event. The situation is made even more bizarre by the fact that sperm whales have not been observed in this area for more than 25 years. 

According to local TV reports, the whales had been seen recently swimming in the area by locals, but on Monday 8th six were discovered dead along the shore of Parara beach, Yorke Peninsula. Another whale was found alive, several kilometers from the rest of the animals, but onlookers were unable to save it and it later died. An eighth whale was also found alive struggling in shallow waters, and eventually environment workers were able to help it back into the open ocean.

At the moment, it is unclear how the animals managed to become stuck in such shallow waters, but some think they may have ventured into the area while hunting for fish. Others suggest that one of the whales may have entered shallow waters because it was sick, and then the other group members may have followed. Samples have been taken for analysis and will be tested at the South Australian Museum to see if scientists can dig up any clues that can explain this curious beaching incident. In the meantime, officials have to try and work out what to do with the carcasses because they could explode as they decompose, and may attract sharks to the area."

Reading to kindergarten-age kids

Probably one of the most fun and rewarding activities -- reading to little children! I recently became a reading mentor to kindergarteners at a local elementary school in Chicago.

Here is Kwame reading Harold and the Purple Crayon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_and_the_Purple_Crayon

Here is Abigail reading Maisy's Christmas: http://www.amazon.com/Maisys-Christmas-Sticker-Lucy-Cousins/dp/0763625124

Crows are smart

People say crows are incredibly smart and I suppose this proves it! Crows in Japan deliberately leave nuts in the road, and wait for cars to run over them and crack the hard shells. https://www.facebook.com/IFeakingLoveScience

More info. on crows at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corvus_%28genus%29

Icy Lake Michigan

Today we were at 63rd Street Beach.  Didn't see much birdlife but lots of ice!

Texas fracking ban

"The fracking ban that comes into effect on Tuesday in the heart of Texas might never have happened at all, if industry had not insisted on fracking beside a local hospital, a children’s playground, and the 100-year-old farmhouse that was Cathy McMullen’s retirement dream. That brought fracking a step too far. McMullen believes such overreach – typical under the Texas regulatory framework – helped turn a ruby-red Republican town against fracking."

Read more @:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/02/denton-texas-fracking-ban-oil

Cute baby bats

Here is a video showing cute baby bats, rescued after an extreme heat event in Australia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat

Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday is in its fifth year and encouraging people to shop small and local, thus supporting their community.  It's a great idea if we don't want the future to be only big box (Wal-Mart type) shops and Amazon warehouses! Here are six of my favorite small businesses in Hyde Park, Chicago:

Parker's Pets (pet market) on 53rd Street https://www.facebook.com/parkersnaturals

Hyde Park Animal Clinic (veterinary services) on 53rd Street www.hydeparkanimalclinic.com/

Freehling Pot and Pan (kitchen shop) on 53rd Street https://www.facebook.com/FreehlingPotandPan

 Cafe 53 on 53rd Street (small, laidback coffee house) www.cafe53rd.com/

Hyde Park Records on 53rd Street www.hydeparkrecords.com/

Neighborly (a pop up gift shop based in Ravenswood) on 53rd Street neighborlyshop.com/

Photos inspired by Lithuanian forests

I like these surreal photos, inspired by forests in Lithuania, on the Bored Panda website:
http://www.boredpanda.com/surreal-forest-nature-photography-raggana/

American red squirrel on Thanksgiving

Photos: Marge Ishmael

I took this photo of an American red squirrel munching on an acorn on Thanksgiving Day (yesterday). It was a dull, grey day and I took it through a glass window so the photo hasn't come out too clearly! Info. on the American Red Squirrel @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_red_squirrel

And here's my attempt at a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie:

 

Hiker killed by a bear that he was photographing

Photo: Darsh Patel

A 22-year old New Jersey hiker, killed by a 300 pound bear in September, had taken a series of photos of the bear with his cellphone before it mauled him to death. Darsh Patel was hiking with four friends in the Apshawa Preserve, 45 miles northwest of New York City. The bear did not seem interested in food and exhibited "stalking behavior" according to experts who surveyed the photos. It reminds me of the time I saw a wild black bear cub in Colorado. Luckily I was at a safe distance and sitting on a balcony. He was a cute bear and I was tempted to go over to him but, soon after he appeared, a much larger mama bear came in search of her cub! It taught me to always have the ultimate respect for wild animals when encroaching on their natural habitat -- and especially when they weigh around 300 pounds! Here's a link to the Apshawa Preserve: http://www.njhiking.com/best-hikes-in-nj-apshawa-preserve/

More on the American black bear: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_black_bear 
 

Keystone Pipeline and endangered animals

Photo of a swift fox: www.thedodo.com

The Keystone Pipeline was blocked in the Senate this week. If the proposed pipeline does eventually get passed, it will cross the Midwestern habitat of Swift Foxes who have only recently recovered from being nearly wiped out. https://www.thedodo.com/keystone-pipeline-animals-829268898.html?utm_source=upworthyfb

The New York Times gives pros and cons of the proposed pipeline in this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/us/politics/what-does-the-proposed-keystone-xl-pipeline-entail.html 

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I

The trailer for the latest Hunger Games movie "Mockingjay Part 1" was released to the excitement of Katniss Everdeen fans around the world.  The film will be released on November 21st and I'm excited!  

Update: I saw the movie today and it lived up to expectations. Jennifer Lawrence is a fiercely talented actress and perfect as the heroine, Katniss Everdeen. I've been a fan of hers since her role in the 2010 "Winter's Bone" movie. This is the movie version of the third book in Suzanne Collins' dystopian-literature juggernaut. Co-star Donald Sutherland describes Lawrence as a genius and compares her to Joan of Arc and Christ in the following piece: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/donald-sutherland-jennifer-lawrence-is-750770

"She's the right person at the right time in the sense of Joan of Arc or Jesus Christ, any genius, in that sense." [Donald Sutherland]

Cute raccoon photos

There are some cute raccoon photos at this link: http://www.buzzfeed.com/kaelintully/causin-a-big-old-ruckus-and-lookin-super-cute-doin-it   I find these animals adorable and fascinating!

China, Climate, Coal

I've been following this week's climate talks (between President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping) with interest.  Mr. Xi said his country would curtail carbon dioxide emissions so that they would peak “around 2030.” Mr. Obama pledged that the United States would cut emissions by at least 26 percent from 2005 levels by 2025 — a goal in line with targets he promised in a 2009 United Nations accord. This is better than nothing, but still sounds like too little and too late....
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/12/world/asia/climate-goals-pledged-by-us-and-china-2.html

Here is Paul Krugman's opinion and he's more optimistic than I am. I respect his opinion on most things and hope he's right in this case: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/opinion/paul-krugman-china-coal-climate.html?_r=0 

Blackhawks & Beards

Is it just my imagination or are beard-wearing men on the increase in Chicago? I wonder if it's due to the popularity of the Chicago Blackhawks (ice hockey team) or the extreme polar vortex last winter, or some other factor? One thing's for sure -- I seem to be noticing a lot of young men with beards around the city these days!  

[Just after I posted this, I spotted a BBC article comparing the current trend for beards with a similar trend in Victorian times (mid-1800s onwards) so I guess I wasn't imagining things. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30037914]

Celebration of Indigenous Dance

I went to a Celebration of Indigenous Dance this evening at the Newberry Library. http://www.newberry.org/11132014-celebration-indigenous-dance

It was a great evening and I especially enjoyed the Black Hawk Performance Company (an authentic Native American dance troup) and the Chicago-based Nuahalli Aztec Dancers. Both dance troups wore very colorful national dress, with a great drum beat. More on the Black Hawk Performance Company @ http://www.chicago-american-indian-edu.org/chicago-american-indian-university-education/Black-Hawk-Performance-Company.html

Other dance troups included BIBAK traditional Igorot dance and song:  http://www.4kbreathsofheritage.com/blog

Here is a link to a 2011 video showing a performance by the Black Hawk Performance Co. at University of Chicago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DKuNSMqRCc 

K9S for Warriors and Peshmerga Warriors

Two items of news struck a chord with me yesterday (Veterans/Armistice Day):

K9S for Warriors -- dedicated to providing service canines to warriors suffering from post-traumatic stress and/or traumatic brain injury as a result of military service post 9/11. Their goal is to give a new "leash on life" to rescue dogs and military heroes, empowering warriors to return to civilian life with dignity and independence. http://www.k9sforwarriors.org/

Kurdish Peshmerga female fighters, like the one in the photo below who killed over 100 ISIS extremists. Syrian Kurds treat women as equals and many of them are fighting in Kobani right now.  More info. on the Peshmerga @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshmerga   Last night's NBC News featured a female Peshmerga sniper:  http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/inside-kobani-men-women-defend-city-isis-militants-n246511

Armistice Day or Veterans Day

1. Armistice Day (or Veterans Day in the USA) is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month…"

   I'm attaching two photos -- firstly of my Grandfather, George William Ishmael, in World War I uniform. He saw action on the Italian front in WWI but survived.  Second photo of his brother, Walter Ishmael, who was killed in action on 5th April 1916 near Basra, which was then in Mesopotamia but now in Iraq .

My Grandfather

My Great Uncle

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them."

~ Ode from the Laurence Binyon poem "For the Fallen"

Smoke tree?

One of our favorite ornamental trees is gradually dying off, but we don't know what sort it is!  It's too late to replace it this year so we'll have to wait until Spring. We are wondering: "is it a smoke tree?".... http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/smoke-tree/growing-smoke-trees.htm