Since our friend was on vacation the past week, we were able to watch over their backyard chickens. M was in charge of feeding and caring for them - in exchange for fresh organic eggs! If you’ve never tried fresh organic backyard chicken eggs, you are missing out.

These hens are very friendly. But they do make lots of noise in the morning after they finish laying their eggs. I am surprised none of the neighbors have made complaints. I guess giving them free fresh eggs would change their mind.

Entrance to the hen house.

It seem most suburban cities in California allow backyard chickens, just no rooster. Roosters are super noisy and don’t just croak to greet the sunrise, but all day and whenever they feel like it.

We had a pet chicken once, her name was . By her 3rd year she was retired and couldn’t lay anymore eggs. She lived to be 7 years old and died of natural causes last summer.

Unlike our friend’s backyard chicken, she didn’t have a pretty chicken coup, but she had a sleeping perch. She would always follow us around, especially my mom. And she would come running if we called out her name. Who knew chickens had so much personality!

What Eliza enjoyed the most was roaming freely in the backyard and enjoying her life as a cage free chicken. She was a great addition to mom’s backyard garden because she would eat all the bugs like slugs and spiders. I truly miss having a pet chicken, but I don’t think I can have another one anytime soon.

According to Mother Earth News, compare to grocery store eggs, these backyard chicken eggs contain 2-3x’s more omega-3 fatty acids and 1/3 the cholesterol of factory-farmed eggs. I think that is great news for egg lovers.

Photos taken with iPhone, Campbell, California

This spring a family of Mockingbird made a nest right in the apricot tree. I’ve never seen a bird’s nest so close to our house before. Within a month the baby birds were big enough to fly off on their own.

Except they couldn’t fly on their own just yet. The two baby birds ended up on the lawn and was attempting to fly off. Since we have cats around, I didn’t put the babies back in the nest because they would have fell from it again. So I ended up putting them in a narrow box and hung it from a bigger tree.

The parent were able to locate their chicks with the chirping and was able to fly to the box and deliver food. Once the babies were big enough, which was within a few days, they all took off flying. Too bad I didn’t get the chance to photograph the baby birds, but they were very cute! Baby mockingbirds look like sparrows but have the long tails.

Northern mockingbird. Photo from Wikipedia by Ryan Hagerty. As nice as they look, they are one of the noisiest birds around.

This photo was taken a few weeks ago. Once the weather heats up, the fruits also begin to ripen. And June is the best time for apricot picking. Not just by me, but by the birds too.

Smithsonian announced the 2012 Photo Contest 50 finalists on March 4, 2013. Now it’s your time to vote for the Readers’ Choice Award winner. Voting will be open until March 29th at 2PM EST.

I really like this one - tiny yet strong ants holding on to the fruits and each other. And the eyes and those mandibles… yikes. Photo by Eko Adiyanto (Bekasi, Indonesia). Photographed in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia.

For a better look at more neat photos, visit Smithsonian.com and cast your vote!

The 11th annual contest is now open until November 29, 2013 at 2:00 PM EST. On a weekly basis beginning April 2, Smithsonian judges will post the best of the incoming entries to Smithsonian Retina. Finalists will be announced on March 3, 2014.

Smithsonian also notes, “This year we are also looking forward to highlighting the best photographs taken with mobile devices. Let us know that it was taken with your phone or tablet reader and show us the wonders of this new generation of photography.” So that means folks with smart phones and tablets can enter to win too.

Here’s what the judges look for in a winning photo:

“Technical quality, clarity and composition are all important, but so too is a flair for the unexpected and the ability to capture a picture-perfect moment.”

Photo Contest Prize Details

Fifty finalists will be selected, ten for each of the five categories. Smithsonian will notify the 50 finalists by February 28, 2014. Finalists’ entries will be published on the magazine’s Web site on March 4, 2014. At that time, readers can vote online for one readers’ choice winner. The Smithsonian will award eight prizes, as follows:

Grand Prize: $2,500

Category Winners:
The winners of each of the five categories will receive $500

Readers’ Choice:
The winner of the online Readers’ Choice award will receive $500

Mobile:
The best photo in any of the five categories that was taken with a mobile device will receive $500.

One cash prize per person; winners may receive additional noncash prizes. Winners must sign a release and license, declaration of eligibility, and will be responsible for paying any taxes they may owe on a prize.

Photo from Smithsonian.

Cat lovers in London will soon have their own cat cafe.  Entrepreneur Lauren Pears, 30 years old, was able to raise more than $151,000 through project-funding website Indiegogo. She is currently looking for space and will have the cafe opened up in a few months. The cafe idea is based on the popular Japanese cat cafe.

I wonder if the coffees are served up like this?  Photo via CoffeeStencil.com

Lauren’s already found 10-15 cats from the animal shelter to staff the cafe. She’s also received 300 prospective job applicants and more are coming in each day. She plans to charge about $7 per hour for customers to enjoy coffee in the company of cats. Or in the company of other cat lovers.

Lauren will have a volunteer program so people who can’t afford the cover charge can actually come in overnight and look after the cats. For hygienic reasons, the cats are to be kept out of the kitchen.

Vienna, Austria also had their first cat cafe open up last year and it seems to be a hit among locals and tourists. Cafe Neko (”neko” means cat in Japanese). The cafe was opened by Vienna resident Takako Ishimitsu, a 47-year-old woman originally from Nagoya, Japan, who moved to Vienna some 20 years ago.

If there was a cat cafe near where I lived, I would definitely check it out. Although I already have enough cats in my life, I wouldn’t mind having coffee with a few new cats.

BBC News Report on Youtube here - Vienna cat cafe with strict no dog policy.

I first saw these books at the local bookstore and thought what a cute and clever idea! Especially if you love knitting and love cats… or dogs.

And to my surprise I received these books as gifts. I got both “Knit Your Own Dog” and “Knit Your Own Cat” books.

Knit Your Own Cat: Easy-to-Follow Patterns for 16 Frisky Felines
The Second Litter: 25 More Pedigree Pooches
by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne

Just from flipping through both books, the dog one has more realistic looking knit dogs. There are neat little tidbits of information about each pedigree.

Here’s a knit Weimaraner. Some interesting notes from the book, “Originally from Germany, the Weimaraner has been a popular gun dog with European royalty. A bit of a clinging vine, once a Weimaraner trusts you it won’t leave your side. Surprising owners have included Brad Pitt and Ataturk.”

The cat version of the book had cat’s with such funny faces. It must be hard trying to knit tiny cat heads. I would probably change it up and give the cats larger eyes since cat’s do have huge eyes. Almost like cartoon characters.

But there are still a few cute cats, especially the Tabby (which comes in Orange or Gray stripes) that are nice. And the classic black and white cat Tuxedo cat is cute too. Maybe I’m just bias because these cats look just like the cats I’ve come to know and love.

I have yet to knit anything from the book so I can’t say much about the patterns. I do like that the book is small and would fit nicely into a book bag. Just looking through the pages is fun enough.

Just wanted to share this photo of the friendly turtle living in the pond from the S.F. Conservatory of Flowers.

The red ear slider appear to be sleeping. Then it heard us talking and stretched it’s neck out to see what’s happening. Looks like a friendly turtle to me.

The red ear sliders are the most popular pet turtle in the United States. Once a native only to southern U.S., it has spread to other parts of the country due to pet releases. In California it is consider to be an invasive creature as it out competes the native western pond turtle.

This is a very short (30 seconds) video clip of the pond room at the S.F. conservatory. Towards the end of the video you’ll notice the giant fans. The place was very warm.

Red pandas are one of the cutest animals in the world. Just like giant pandas, red pandas feed almost exclusively on bamboo. Red Pandas are found high in the mountains of Nepal and extend as far as eastern India, Bhutan, China, Laos and Burma. At the moment their numbers in the wild continue to decline.

There is a new community conservation center in Nepal being organized to help the red pandas. The Red Panda Network Community Conservation Resource Center is a community initiative located on the route to Pathivara shrine, an important Hindu pilgrimage site on the peak of a mountain, in Taplejung district of northeastern Nepal.

Other zoos in the U.S. also have programs to breed them. Just last June the Wisconsin zoo announced the birth of a red panda cub to the proud parents, Tae Bo and Leafa Panda.

The Sacramento Zoo has a pair of red pandas along with two young additions. I actually just found out they were there and plan on visiting them soon. Maybe when the heatwave ends as Sacramento is currently at 105 degrees!

In the meantime check out these cute red pandas playing in the snow. With the heatwave we’ve been having, seeing all this ice is such a relief.

The Sacramento Zoo has 14.5 acres with over 600 animals comprised of over 140 different species at the Zoo. They specialize in rare and endangered animals.

Red pandas typically live up to 13 years in captivity. In 2007, Harold the red panda with a mellow personality, living at the Sacramento Zoo died of natural causes. One week shy of his 17th birthday, Harold was the oldest male red panda in captivity. That’s 95 in human years! He had been living at the zoo since 2003.

If anyone is in the area, Red Panda Day will be held in September. Much cooler weather, plus proceeds benefit The Red Panda Network, a conservation group working directly with community-based organizations in Nepal.

Red Panda Day
September 15, 2012, 10 am to 4 pm
At the Sacramento Zoo
Join us for an interactive and educational event developed to raise awareness about Red Panda conservation. Kids (and adults too!) can become “Red Panda Rangers” after stopping at the various Red Panda Stations and completing the Panda activities.

Since the beginning of this year, strange things have been happening in nature. From birds falling off the sky to dolphins found dead on Peruvian beaches.

Photo by Susan Scott, 2012 Hawaii News Now

In Hawaii this week, strange purple little creatures have been found washed ashore along sandy beaches. They’ve been getting reports of the pea-sized crabs from Kahala to Ala Moana.

Beach goers describe it like little purple berries that look good enough to eat. Of the thousands of little purple crabs washed up in the surf, many of them are dead. Some that are alive are being kept to study at Waikiki Aquarium.

Norton Chan, a biologist at Waikiki Aquarium think they are some type of crabs still in the larvae stage. Scientist still aren’t sure what type of crab since they’ve never seen anything like it. Waikiki Aquarium officials are saving some and hoping to keep them alive long enough to see how they grow. Maybe they will grow to be big purple crabs.

And exactly what caused them to wash ashore is a mystery. Dr. Andrew Rossiter, director of thinks it “Could be storms although we haven’t had any, it could be a flux of warm or cold water coming in but I don’t have any signs of that either. It could be some kind of pollution, but if it was pollution it would have affected other species as well. So we really don’t know,”

Another possible reason, a biologist with the Department of Land and Natural Resources speculates that when the seas get rough, air bubbles can get caught in the crab’s carapace (shell) and they cannot dive so they get caught in the tides and wash up on shore.

Poor little baby crabs, makes me wonder if this has anything to do with last year’s nuclear disaster in Japan. Whatever the reason, it goes to show we have to take good care of our ocean. There are many neat life forms and gems that we have yet to come across. So let’s hope we can keep it clean and pristine.

Bugs including earwigs and slugs love young plants. Applying diatomaceous earth (also called DE) is one way of dealing with them. DE is considered to be a non toxic pesticide.

I’ve sprinkled some DE around these tomato plants.

DE is actually not earth but the fossilized remains of microscopic shells created by diatoms or single celled plants. It looks a lot like talcum powder.

Perma-Guard describes it best:

“Diatomaceous earth packaged under our FOSSIL SHELL FLOUR® label comes from an extremely pure fresh water deposit of the diatom Melosira Preicelanica. Its shell is made of amorphous silica. Its shape and hardness are important to how it works. Its hardness keeps it from dissolving in liquid. The holes along the diatom’s wall allow it to absorb moisture, hence its use as an anti-caking agent.”

When placed under the microscope, the diatoms look tubular with holes on the walls. DE is pure silica along with some beneficial trace minerals.

DE is perfectly safe for humans and pets. Safe enough that some people eat this stuff. But make sure it’s FOOD GRADE and not the type used to clean swimming pools.

Food grade DE can be mixed with water or juice and drink on a empty stomach. Start off with 1 tbs to 1 cup of water first thing in the morning. Health claims include detoxing, colon cleanse, and removing parasites such as worms. Just be careful to not breathe any of it. As it can get dusty when you are preparing it.

It’s an eco-friendly and naturally organic material used for pest control. Not only is it used in the garden, but it can be use to kill bed bugs, flea, and mites. When the insects come in contact with the powder, it will cut up their exoskeleton and cause them to dehydrate and die.

DE is also used for long term grain storage. DE gave better protection of grain than malathion, particularly over the long term, without exposing anyone to the dangers of toxic chemicals.

Note: Will also kill beneficial insects (except earthworms), including bees. Therefore avoid sprinkling on the blossoms.

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This may be old or odd news, but it’s still interesting news to me. Back in 2010 a cat named Oscar was able to predict the death of 50 nursing home patients.

During the patients final hours, Oscar would show up an curl right next to the dying patients.

Oscar waits outside a patient’s room. Photo AP news. He actually looks like he could be related to my cat.

Oscar, a tortoiseshell and white cat, would spend its time pacing from room to room. Rarely spending any time with patients except those with just hours to live. If kept outside the room of a dying patient, Oscar will scratch on the door trying to get in.

When Oscar shows up in a patient’s room, the nurses are able to call the family member ahead of time. And Oscar has never made a mistake in his prediction.

Many of the patient’s relatives and friends have been comforted and sometimes praised the cat in newspaper death notices and eulogies. They find great comfort in this idea that this animal was there and might be there when their loved ones eventually pass. And at the last hours, the cat was there when they couldn’t be.

The UK Telegraph reports, “The cat, now five and generally unsociable, was adopted as a kitten at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Providence, Rhode Island, which specializes in caring for people with severe dementia.”

Dr Dosa, who works at the nursing home also mentions that there are five other cats living there, but none of the others have ever displayed a similar ability.

I don’t think there’s been another cat like Oscar ever reported. Although there has been reports of dogs that can sniff out cancer in patients, by detecting ketones (which are the distinctly-odoured biochemicals given off by dying cells.)

Since I believe in an afterlife, I don’t think this cat is the grimm reaper. He’s more of an angelic cat that’s truly special. With the mission to help dying patients have a safe passage to the other side.

This cat can probably sense the spirit is able to leave this world. But something is holding them back. Thus Oscar, the cat, serves as the medium - almost like an angel that’s here to tell them it’s OK to pass on.