Local animal shelter news

Hey, Oregon people (or anyone, really), everyone is passing around this announcement:

"Safe Have Humane Society (a non-kill facility) is inundated with dogs, cats, puppies and kittens so the shelter is offering Independence Day adoption specials.

Now till the 4th of July the adoption fee is being reduced on Dogs by $20, Adult Cat adoptions are down from $65 to $10!!! Kitten adoption fees are down to $45.

Each adoption includes initial shots and deworming, flea treatment, a collar and ID Tag, microchip and a complimentary veterinary exam. Each animal will already be spayed or neutered.

Safe haven is open from noon to 5pm Sat, Sun, Monday and Noon to 6pm Tuesday thru Friday. The shelter will be closed July 4th.

The address is 33071 Hwy 34, in Albany. Phone is (541) 928-2789"

Some lighthearted links

Best explanation of invasive plants I've yet read:

Ballwoof

Let's talk about urine (the last link in that article goes to some astoundingly hilarious Amazon product reviews)


Octocam!

I don't know about everyone else

I feel so overwhelmed and helpless by the oil spill in the Gulf, I've gone into complete emotional fatigue on the subject. Ever since the first photos of oil-covered sea-birds had me bawling into my keyboard at work I've avoided thinking about the subject as much as possible.

If you haven't seen it yet (I'm always late to the party these days with my restricted internet time), here's a Pet Connection post with a depressing title but good links.

Also, Charity Navigator has some suggestions.

Personally, I like the looks of The Alabama Wildlife Fund.

Rocky sings

Dad practices the fiddle every morning. Rocky doesn't join in every time, and when he does, he seems to perfer the old-timey stuff.

do we call the cows "feral"?

Wild Horses in Warm Springs, OR by smcdevitt

I don't care how you feel about wild/feral horses. There is something very wrong about targeting them for removal from public lands so that private ranchers have less competition for grazing livestock. Especially when the official population estimates are starting to look a little fishy. Even if the BLM is not over-estimating their numbers, wild horses are still vastly outnumbered by livestock. I'm pretty sure we can do better to share that land.

An approximation

Fig. 1: Relative numbers of song bird deaths by various causes

Fig.2: Relative amounts of emotional energy spent on various causes of song bird deaths

I want to relax in the sun

Resting

Taking things a little slower

Just one link for today

But it's a cool one: The city that ended hunger

Encouraging local farmers to sell fresh, affordable, easily accessible produce has significantly lowered malnutrition, infant mortality, and hunger in this Brazilian city.

In other words: farmer's markets: Not just for privileged yuppies anymore.

Found it here.

Baby the old cat

Baby is a 17-year-old Manx. She's lived with the same woman her whole life. She's outlived 5 or 6 dogs, and survived as many young children.

A few years ago her black whiskers turned white, and she has slight arthritis in her hind legs. Other than that, she doesn't show her age.

East of the Rockies: landscapes

East of the Rockies: horses seem so at home

East of the Rockies: old buildings

Buildings in western Oregon tend to rot pretty quickly. Out there, things go more slowly.























I lost track of how many of these metal airplane hanger-looking things I saw on this trip. A local told me the army had a fire-sale on these former troop barracks after WWII, and quite a few farmers bought and re-assembled them to use as utility sheds and barns.

That's the spot

More hummingbirds