Category Archives: animals

Its World Crocodile Day

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Crocodile resting on a riverbank, highlighting the species for World Crocodile Day and its role in wetland ecosystems.

World Crocodile Day

It’s World Crocodile Day, coming right on the heels of World Turtle Day — another reminder that some of Earth’s oldest creatures are fighting for their future.

Crocodiles are incredible animals. They’ve been around since the age of the dinosaurs, surviving the mass extinction that wiped out nearly everything else. A meteor couldn’t take them out… but humans are giving it a pretty good try through habitat destruction, pollution, and hunting.

Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter himself, understood them better than most. He once said, “Crocodiles are easy. They try to kill and eat you. People are harder. Sometimes they pretend to be your friend first.” He wasn’t wrong.

 

Crocodile Facts

  • Crocodiles can be found in nearly every corner of the world — North and South America, Africa, Australia, and Asia.
  • The Florida Everglades is the only place on Earth where crocodiles and alligators live together.
  • You can tell them apart by their snouts: alligators have broad, rounded snouts, while crocodiles have narrow, pointed ones.
  • Crocodiles tend to be larger. The saltwater crocodile can exceed 20 feet and weigh over 2,000 pounds.
  • Alligators are usually smaller. The American alligator typically reaches 10–15 feet and weighs 500–1,000 pounds.
  • Crocodiles can live in both freshwater and saltwater.
  • There are 15 species worldwide, including Australia’s famous “salties” and the Nile crocodile — found, of course, in the Nile River.

Crocodiles are living dinosaurs, apex predators perfectly adapted to their environments. They deserve the same chance at survival as every other creature sharing this planet.

It’s up to us to protect their habitats, reduce pollution, and ensure these ancient reptiles continue to thrive for generations to come.

Crocodiles survived the dinosaurs’ extinction. They shouldn’t have to survive us!

 

World Sea Turtle Day

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Honoring the Ancient Guardians of the Sea

Sea turtles have been gliding through Earth’s oceans for more than 100 million years — long before humans, long before the continents looked the way they do today. These ancient mariners include seven species: green, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, leatherback, loggerhead, and the Olive ridley. The mighty leatherback holds the title of the largest of them all.

Sadly, nearly every species now faces danger. Hawksbills and Kemp’s ridleys sit at the edge of extinction as marine debris, habitat destruction, and poaching continue to threaten their survival.

The Honu, Sacred Turtles of Hawaii

snuba at Turtletown 2020

In Hawaii, people honor sea turtles as sacred beings. Five species live in Hawaiian waters: the green sea turtle (honu), the hawksbill (Honuʻea or ʻea) , the leatherback, the loggerhead, and the Olive Ridley.

Sea turtles are gentle giants, drifting with the currents and living quietly for 50–100 years — unless humans interfere. Their favorite meal is jellyfish, but our plastic addiction has turned the ocean into a minefield. Floating plastic bags look like jellyfish, and when a turtle swallows one, it fills their stomach and blocks real food. The result is slow, heartbreaking starvation.

On World Sea Turtle Day, let’s honor these ancient travelers by protecting the oceans they call home. Reduce plastic use, keep beaches clean, and give sea turtles the space and respect they deserve. The seas belong to them too — and they’ve been here far longer than we have.

 

Images of Our Natural World

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Capturing the Wonder of our Natural World

Yesterday was Nature Photography Day, a celebration for anyone who loves the outdoors and the art of capturing it. Whether your passion is wildlife, landscapes, or the quiet little moments in between, it’s a day to honor the beauty of our natural world.

The North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) established the day in 2009 to encourage people to enjoy, appreciate, and photograph nature in all its forms.

I began nature photography as my hobby a number of years ago. Here are some of my earlier efforts.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed being out there taking them.

White‑tailed deer with velvet antlers standing in lush green meadow, nature photography

White Tail Deer (South Dakota)

Grand Canyon (Arizona)

Prickly Pear Cactus (Arizona)

Great Blue Heron (Massachusetts)

Painted Desert (Arizona)

Water Lily (Massachusetts)

Queechee Gorge (Vermont)

Moonrise (Florida)

Trumpeter Swan (Massachusetts)

Looking back at these early photos reminds me why I fell in love with nature photography in the first place. Thanks for taking this little trip down memory lane with me.

A Tough Morning for Conservation — and One Bright Spot of Hope

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Crisp autumn morning at Mount Moran in Grand Teton National Park, the snowy peak mirrored perfectly in the calm water below.

Mount Moran reflected in the Snake River.. Grand Teton National Park

This morning I want to take a few minutes to get serious about a subject I truly care about. Not my cats and their furry antics. No joking around today. We’re facing a real shift in environmental conservation, and it’s not a good one for wildlife or the planet. We only have one world, and we need to do everything we can to keep it a safe, stable home to pass on to future generations.

Environmental Protections Under Pressure

Several news outlets reported new efforts to reduce or remove federal protections on land surrounding major national parks, including areas connected to Yellowstone. Conservation groups warn that these buffer zones support wildlife corridors — the pathways animals rely on to migrate, breed, and survive. Without them, the parks turn into isolated pockets instead of functioning ecosystems.

Other reports describe changes to protections for certain marine reserves. These changes open the door to expanded commercial activity in areas originally set aside to safeguard ocean habitats. Marine scientists and environmental organizations say the shift could weaken long‑standing conservation work.

Whether people support or oppose these policy goals, the impact is real. Wildlife, water quality, and future generations all feel the effects. It’s hard not to feel a sense of loss when protections that took decades to build can disappear so quickly.

A Reminder That Conservation Still Works

In the middle of all that discouraging news, something else crossed my feed — and it reminded me why conservation matters.

Just hours after California completed its first wildlife bridge, three deer walked across it. Fifteen hours. That’s all it took for wildlife to recognize and use a safe passage built for them. The moment felt like a small miracle. It showed how quickly nature responds when we choose protection over exploitation.

Wildlife bridges save lives — both animal and human. They reconnect fragmented habitats. They give species a fighting chance. And they prove that when we invest in solutions, we see results.

So yes, today’s headlines were heavy. But that photo of the deer on the new bridge offered a spark of hope. Even in difficult times, progress is still possible — and worth fighting for.

We only get one planet. Let’s do everything we can to protect the wild places that make it extraordinary.

 

Banner and Balboa, Agents of Chaos

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Two cats mid‑wrestle on the carpet, frozen in a moment of chaotic sibling energy.

Agents of Chaos

Today’s post is brought to you by Banner and Balboa, Agents of Chaos

Welcome to my life.
Please note: this really happened, and no cats were harmed in the chronicling of this post — though one was forcibly evicted from a bathtub and another contributed to the general unraveling of my sanity.

The Night the Gremlins Took Over

A Promising Start

I started the night so well. Fitbit proudly informed me I’d clocked 51 whole minutes of deep sleep — practically a luxury spa retreat by my standards — and I thought, Yes. Tonight is the night. I’m finally going to sleep like a human being instead of a haunted scarecrow.

Naturally, that’s when everything went straight to hell in a handbasket.

The Mysterious 2 A.M. Knock

Around 2 a.m., I was jolted awake by a rhythmic knocking sound. Not a random thump. Not a creak. A pattern. The kind of noise that makes you sit up and think, “Well, that’s not good.”

I still have no idea what it was. It didn’t repeat, didn’t reveal itself, and wasn’t attached to any cat‑related crime scene. Just unexplained knocking and then poof — gone.

At first, I thought it was outside — the windows were open — but then I realized neither cat was in the bedroom. That’s when the “responsible pet parent” alarm went off.

The Innocent Cats (Allegedly)

I got up to check on them, expecting to find at least one of them mid‑shenanigan.

Nope.

Balboa was curled up on the couch looking like a Renaissance painting of a peaceful angel. Banner looked suspiciously innocent, which is how I knew he’d probably just finished a snack he wasn’t supposed to have.

Since I was already up, I figured I’d go to the bathroom and then try to salvage the rest of the night.

The Bathroom Takeover

That’s when the gremlins took over.

Banner marched into the tub like he was claiming new territory and refused to get out. Balboa got up and started following me around like a tiny furry shadow.

I tried sitting in a chair, hoping Banner would get bored of lying in the tub without an audience, but no — he was committed to the bit.

Eventually, I had to turn the water on to evict him. He gave me the betrayed look of a Victorian orphan in a Dickens novel, but he left. I shut the door behind him like I was sealing off a crime scene.

The Failed Return to Sleep

Back to bed I went… or tried to.

By then, I was fully awake, my nose was running, and my brain had rebooted into “middle‑of‑the‑night chaos mode.” I had just settled when Balboa hopped onto the bed.

Normally fine. Except he refused to settle down. He did the whole “walk in circles, flop dramatically, get up again, repeat” routine.

The Longest Night

This continued for the rest of the night — a tag‑team of feline interruptions, sniffles, and the slow unraveling of my sanity.

And the knocking? Still unexplained. I’m choosing to believe it was either a ghost with poor timing or the universe tapping out Morse code for “good luck.”

A Nap Is My Destiny

A nap is absolutely in my future. Possibly my destiny.

P.S.

If you’re curious why cats get the midnight zoomies or suddenly claim the bathtub as sovereign territory, my feed is filled with articles that offer an explanation, Sadly I think most of them are making it up as they go along.

And In case you missed it here’s a a brief retospective of my chaotic life with cats Kitty Shenanigans or Life with 2 Cats