Exciting News!

Friends,

A quick note:  I am happy to report to you that a flash fiction piece that I wrote has been picked up by an online publication.  I am currently being paired with a very talented illustrator based in Belfast, and am excited to be involved in this project.  A scheduled publish date has been set for November 6th.  I will provide you with more details in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned!

Monsoon Critters - (My "Creature Feature")

So this was our first monsoon season, and we really didn’t know what to expect from that scary "monsoon" term.  But for our east coast friends, basically it was rain and thunderstorms with occasionally wind and dust.  Not too bad, we weathered it fine.  Thankfully, since we are in northern Arizona, we did not get the Haboobs that Phoenix saw.  By the way, a Haboob is a dust storm that looks like a wall coming towards you – think of the movie, The Mummy.  Google Haboob sometime to see some awesome pictures.

Now, as for the critters that came out during the monsoon season – yikes!  We saw some amazing creatures, some we liked, as many we did not, but it was “interesting” to say the least.  So now that the weather has changed back to dry, I thought I’d share with you some of the creature encounters on our property.  (Many of the below photos I sent off to Nature Abounds "Watch the Wild" volunteer program.)  Enjoy!  (Don't forget you can click on the photos to view larger images.)

A Horned Lizard (aka Horned Toad).  He was cute.

Green beetle on the Artichoke flower.

A little baby Horned Lizard/Toad.  Aw!

Okay, I know I've shown you these little lizards before, but this character somehow got into the house.

Meet our nemesis, the grasshopper.  What's wrong with a little grasshopper you ask?  Ha!  They came by the millions and haven't left yet!  They are messy and are everywhere you step outside.  See following photo.

Invasion of the grasshoppers!!

Bull/gopher snake.  I am supposed to want to see these non-venomous snakes because they will make a dinner out of our  problematic  pocket gophers.  So I am trying to practice the mantra, "Bull snake good.  Bull snake good."  Ugh!

Close up of Bull/gopher snake.

We estimate that the Bull/Gopher snake was about 4 foot long.

Ah, now this was an interesting creature -- Dactylotum bicolor (common names include:  Barber Pole Grasshopper, Rainbow Grasshopper, Uncle Sam).  This picture really doesn't give it enough justice.  It was a beautiful red, white and blue.  Hmm, hence the nickname Uncle Sam?

Now you get an indication of the size of the Dactylotum bicolor (Barber Pole Grasshopper).

Okay, now we get to the spider section of our creature feature.  The Tarantula.  I  really didn't care for these guys to say the least.

Another one on another day.  We saw them for about 2-3 weeks and then they were thankfully gone.

And my least favorite creature of all -- the Black Widow.  I don't have a photo of her red hourglass, but here is a picture of her and her egg sack on top of our propane tank  By the way, she and her offspring were promptly exterminated shortly after this photo.  (We didn't especially feel like making any emergency room visits.)

Well, that's all folks!

Quote of the Day

"There are as many worlds as there are kinds of days, and as an opal changes its colors and its fire to match the nature of a day, so do I."
--John Steinbeck

Quote of the Day

"Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music."
-- George Carlin

Zucchini Anyone?

Today's Riddle:  So if an apple a day keeps the doctor away, what will a zucchini a day do?

Can we say zucchini explosion anyone?  It seems that every day I go out to the garden I have a new zucchini waiting to be picked.  If you're in the area and would like some, by all means let me know.

Now what to do with it all . . . sauteed zucchini, grilled zucchini, stuffed zucchini boats, chocolate zucchini cake . . . hmm.

"Art"ichoke

Every year we try to grow something new in our vegetable garden, and this year was no exception.  Since this is our first "Arizona" garden we thought we would try something more indigenous to the area.  

So determined with cash in hand, we headed out to peruse the local gardening stores, and low and behold there in a corner we spotted a homely little fellow beckoning to us with its spiky leaves.  Intrigued, we cautiously approached.  Upon further inspection, we found this plant to be, the artichoke.  Oh what fun!  Why not, we thought and quickly scooped him up placing him in the cart alongside our tomato plants.  You could almost see the tomatoes cringe, staring at this ugly duckling and scoot to the far side of the cart.  But we wanted this little fellow to succeed.  We cared for it, watered it, gave it a home in our garden and gave it a little love.  We excitedly watched as it sprouted new growth.  And then one day it gave us flower buds. 

Now apparently you are supposed to harvest these buds when they are tight if you are using them for consumption.  We had heard that some people grow them just for their flowers.  We puzzled, these little spiky critters are grown for their flowers?  Well, we had fully intended to consume these chokes with a little melted butter and a glass of crisp white wine.  However, being new at identifying when a choke was ready to harvest, I allowed them to remain on their stalks for a wee bit too long.  Their buds started to loosen.  I figured, well okay, let's see what you've got.  This misfortune however was in fact a surprise.  

I therefore am sharing with you the “Art”ichoke.  Behold, the ugly duckling has morphed into a beautiful swan . . . . 

Apparently we are not the only ones enamored by these beauties.

Quote of the Day

"Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything."

-- George Bernard Shaw

Book Review Time - "The Beach House" by James Patterson & Peter De Jonge

I had no idea what to expect with this book, but having enjoyed the movies, Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, and having read When the Wind Blows and Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, I was game to read another James Patterson book.

First, I thoroughly enjoyed Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, a really touching love story that was uncharacteristic for Patterson at the time.  Now, When the Wind Blows I found to be a little strange (people that could fly), but what the heck, it took place in the foothills of Colorado (Boulder and Idaho Springs) and since I was living in Colorado at the time, I was interested in reading that book.

The Beach House was different from these others.  Taking place in the Hamptons, a murder occurs in the exclusive community that has the locals crying foul.  It was an extremely quick read for me, which means that it kept my interest and made me want to turn the page to find out what was going to happen next.  That being said, I found it a little bit of a let down.  It was "okay".  I don't know, but for me I could take it or leave it.  It's not a book that I'm going to say, "Oh, you have to read this."  This disappoints me a bit because When the Wind Blows didn't blow me away either, no pun intended.  I guess I'd have to say that these were beach reads and nothing more.  It is commercial fiction after all, not literary genius.  So I give this neither a thumbs up or thumbs down.  To me, it was average.

Quote of the Day

"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."
-- Terry Pratchett, Diggers

Try Kiva for Free!

Friends,

Once again Kiva is extending an offer to try them out for free, and for a limited time they are giving $25 to new users. If you are unfamiliar with Kiva, it is an organization that allows you to lend money to borrowers all over the world.  The borrowers consist of both individuals trying to improve their lives and small businesses.  You can view multiple profiles to find out how they are going to use the money, see their payback stats and choose who you'd like to lend money to.  Go to www.Kiva.org to find out more. When you are ready to try them out for free, go to:  http://www.kiva.org/invitedby/chris26043165  and feel good about helping someone improve their lives.

Thanks!

Book Review Time – “The Almost Moon” by Alice Sebold

Okay, I don’t quite know where to begin with this one, so I’m going to keep it short and sweet.  No, strike that, let’s say short and simple because sweet definitely is not the correct term to use here – no warm fuzzies hiding inside this book jacket.  

First, let me say that this is the author of The Lovely Bones, so I was eager to read another book written by her.  And although I felt unsettled reading this book, I do respect the author and her craft.  That being said, this book deals with some very difficult topics, namely matricide (killing one’s mother), mental illness and suicide, so definitely not light reading.  It is a fast-paced book starting immediately with “the act”.  The entire book takes place over a 24 hour time span during which the narrator takes you through childhood, bringing you to her current day calamity.   I will say that I liked the explanation the main character’s father used when describing her mother as the almost moon, meaning that she was almost whole, unlike the moon which is always full even if we don’t always see it.

A reviewer of this book likened Sebold’s writing to Edgar Allan Poe, and although it has been many, many years since I’ve read Poe, I’d have to say from what I remember, that it’s probably an accurate description.   Words that come to mind for me after reading it are:  disturbing, haunting and yes, well-written.  I suspect that some will abhor this book while others will find it successful.   Should you choose to read it, I’ll leave that up to you.

Now, on to the exciting part of finishing a book -- what do I read next?  Something a little more lighthearted perhaps?   Well, let me see . . . 

Fifty Shades of Lizard

I thought I would share with you some photos of the many different ornate tree lizards that we have been seeing around the property.  Like the Fifty Shades books, our little territorial lizard fellows feel the need to show off a little.  Do we have black, tan and white lizards?  Well yes, but they don’t stop there.  Instead they go about strutting their stuff all over the place in a wide array of colors.  I guess these guys feel the need to show off a little in the brown dry dessert! 

We have grown attached to our little Lizzys and so have our dogs and cat as they watch and chase them around the yard.  Having so many is a good thing though, because these little critters scurry about eating all the crickets, bugs, spiders and other insects (“go team”!).  They are also an inspiration.  Why?  Well every morning we can observe them keeping fit by doing their daily push-ups.  (I’ll have to try to catch this hysterical display on video sometime and post it.)  These push-ups apparently are their way of communicating with other lizards. 

As for the different colors, well it has to do with their hormone levels at different times of the year.  So without further ado, behold the Ornate Tree Lizards!

By the way, I think we have officially found a name for our property . . . The Lizards’ Lair.  Fitting, wouldn’t you say?

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

Brown lizard staring me down.  He looks a little cross with me for taking his photo.

Pretty patterned lizard at back door.

This one has a blue gray back.  He was out by our vegetable garden.

This male has blue on his under belly and neck.

Close up of blue neck.

Here is our orange lizzy.

Another photo of our orange lizzy.

And finally, here is a lizzy with bright green stripes on his side as he sits upon a tumble weed.

Another photo of our green lizzy.

Quote of the Day

"It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it."
-- Maurice Switzer

Quote of the Day

It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.

-- Oscar Wilde

Book Review Time – “Track of the Cat”, by Nevada Barr

If you enjoy suspenseful novels that take place in the great outdoors, then Nevada Barr is your author.  “Track of the Cat” is the first in Barr’s Anna Pigeon series, which take place in various National Parks across the country.  Her protagonist, Anna Pigeon, is a park ranger who manages to stumble upon all sorts of calamities during her posts.

Having read “Deep South” by Nevada Barr several years ago (set in the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi) I was excited to read another one of her works.  “Track of the Cat” takes place in Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas, and involves the accidental death of a fellow ranger.  Anna of course couldn’t shake her suspicions when things didn’t quite add up.  Then when her own life is threatened and another fellow ranger ends up dead, well . . . now she’s in way too deep to turn away.   Being true to herself, Anna couldn’t let well enough alone.

Throughout her mysteries, Barr’s love of wildlife and the great outdoors is apparent as you read along.  Barr herself was a park ranger and spent time at many of the parks depicted in her books, so you know the descriptions are thoughtful as well as accurate. 

Conclusion:  Although I still like “Deep South” better, I have to say “Track of the Cat” was a fun read, and I look forward to reading about more of Anna’s adventures.  

Western Coachwhip Snake vs. Man & Baby Bird

Well, just another boring day out in the wilderness. . . . . Ha!  The following is an account of our excitement last Friday.  I just started volunteering for an organization named Nature Abounds for their "Watch the Wild" program.  I had only hoped to be able to start off with a bang, but couldn't imagine what my first incident report to them would be.  The following is my observation and photos of an interaction with what I believe was s a young Western Coachwhip snake and baby Cassin's King Bird. We believe the snake was a young snake approximately 3-4 ft long.

Observation: At approx 10:00 am I saw a snake climbing our flowering plum tree heading towards a nest containing a baby Cassin's King Bird. My husband and I ran outside and my husband flung the snake out of the tree with a rake. The snake dropped the baby bird and very quickly slithered away. The snake kept trying to come back and my husband kept flinging it away. When the coast was clear, we used a shovel to gently pick up the baby bird and put him in the nest. Not wanting to put human scent on the bird, but knowing that he still needed help, I put leather gloves on and uprighted him by his legs only.  The adult birds kept flying around but would not go back to the baby bird. The below photos explain why. Apparently, the snake climbed up an adjacent tree and crossed over to the tree containing the baby bird. Once again we ran outside and flung the snake away (this time before he got to the baby bird). My husband then transported the snake to a field across the street from our house.

Time will only tell now whether or not the baby bird survives, however, I am happy to report that about an hour after this incident the bird parents returned to the nest to tend to their baby. 

Do you see it?  Look closely . . . . 

Western Coachwhip snake going from right tree to left tree.

He wasn't too happy with us for taking him away from his meal.

However he did allow me to take a good shot of him.

Scott taking him to find a new home in a neighboring field.

It's hard to see, but the traumatized baby Cassin's King bird is back in his nest.

P.S.  Unfortunately this weekend we noticed that the nest was barren.  We can only assume one of two things happened, either a snake came back or the bird died.  Trust me, I was hugely upset at the snake because I so wanted that little bird to live.  However, after simmering down, I do realize this is nature running it's course.  I like to think that my husband and I have been very lucky to have observed some of the many wildlife incidents that we have.  One day when it's time to leave this earth, we will be able to say, "Wow, how fortunate we have been to have experienced life so fully."

For more information on Nature Abounds' Watch the Wild program, IceWatch USA, and their other initiatives, visit:  www.natureabounds.org.  

Have a great week everyone!

Garden Escapades – Radishes a plenty and more!

Today I plucked the remaining radishes out of the garden, and I have to say that this year I had a fabulous crop!  I wasn’t sure how these little red gems would do in the Arizona heat, but with a little shade netting and cool night temperatures, they did just fine indeed. 

I planted three different types all from Ferry-Morse.  The first, Cherry Belle, was the most abundant with a mild radish flavor.  The white Icicle radishes didn’t produce too many, but what did come up was mild in flavor, not my favorite, but fun to have a different color and shape.  Now the third radish, the Sparkler, was surprisingly hot.  These red and white radishes left my tongue screaming and my husband laughing at me (he doesn’t eat radishes).  Of course the question he posed to me was, “If they are so hot, why do you keep eating them?”  Well, I guess as any hot pepper lover knows, you just can’t help yourself.  It’s addicting in a way.  They are good and spicy, and they came from my garden, so by golly I’m gonna eat those little buggers!

Anyway, now it’s time to tend to the other items in the garden, all of which are doing fairly well.  That is, except for the carrots.  Yesterday I went out to water and discovered that all the green tops had been eaten off of those little sweeties.  As Elmer Fudd would say, “Hey there’s something awfully screwy going on around here.”  Yes, the rabbit is back.  Last month he promptly demolished our green bean plants which were doing so, so well.  Let’s just say if we find that little critter we’re going to make some hasenpfeffer stew!  But I digress. 

Back to the point.  The tomatoes are doing well, the peppers are doing well, the eggplant looks so good we have to pinch it to make sure it’s real, and the artichoke (our new experiment) is growing in leaps and bounds.  So I will report back on any interesting gardening tidbits, and in the meantime, “Shhh, be very, very quiet.  I’m hunting rabbits.”  Where is that Elmer Fudd when you need him? 

Happy Summer Solstice to you all!

Book Review Time – “Gone”, by Lisa Gardner

What do you like to read?  Do you like a little mystery?  Suspense?  Maybe a kidnapping?  Or perhaps a homicide or two?  Well, excellent!  I have a recommendation for you. 

I have to admit this is my first Lisa Gardner book.  I picked up “Gone” at a garage sale a year or so ago and just pulled it off my shelf to read a couple of weeks ago.  Let me tell you, I was happy that I did. 

So without telling you too much and giving the story away, “Gone” takes place over a two day span and is about a kidnapping that has more twists and turns than a roller coaster.  Gardner gracefully jumps back and forth between characters, a successful maneuver to keep you turning the page to find out what happens next. 

Along with your dose of suspense in this ever changing plot, she gives you interesting characters with human faults.  Characters that laugh, cry and are a little twisted, and meanwhile slowly feeds you bits and pieces that will leave you vested and hungry to learn more.    She’ll have you wondering if this crime was done by someone the victim knows, or if it could possibly be related to a heinous crime the victim was involved in some time ago.  Then again, could it just be random?

Of course I didn’t realize it at the time, but this book is the fifth in Gardner’s FBI profiler series.   But it didn’t matter one bit.  I never noticed.   If anything, now I want to read more of her books.  Well done, I say.  This book’s officially going on my recommended list.

Quote of the Day

"A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt

Breaking News -- Donna Summer Passes

Those of you who are old enough to remember the disco era from the '70's and 80's will no doubt remember such hits as:  "Bad Girls", "Last Dance", Love to Love You Baby" and many more.  These were songs with an infectious beat.  Admit it, how many of you would hum or sing "Toot toot, ah beep beep".  I particularly remember the lyrics to this song (Bad Girls) from my dance class as a kid.  That's why it was sad to hear of Donna Summer's passing this morning, which was apparently due to a battle with cancer.  Whenever a music icon passes we remember where we were or what we were doing in our lives when we first heard their songs. Sometimes the memories are fond, other times the memories are difficult, but either way music has a way of transporting us back to another time and place.

So do you have a favorite Donna Summer song?  Or perhaps you weren't a fan at all.  But either way, you have to admit that she made an impact on the music industry.  What music transports you back to another time filled with fond memories?   Whatever it may be, I'm sure you'll reminisce about it with a faraway look affixed to your face and a smile threatening to escape your facade.  But for now, I'll leave you humming a little disco melody, "Toot toot, ah beep beep . . . toot toot, ah beep beep . . ."

Quote of the Day

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.
-- Rabindranath Tagore 

Quote of the Day

"Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."
-- Bernard M. Baruch

Birds of a Feather . . .

Ah, Spring.  So far the majority of our “free time” has been occupied with building raised garden beds.  This has had its challenges due to the dry and windy climate here, but I will tell you more about that another time.  

What I really wanted to report to you today is that I think one of things that has amazed me the most about living in the high desert is the amount of birds we are seeing and hearing.  Frankly I didn't know what to expect considering our deficiency of trees.  However, I have been pleasantly surprised.  Each day starting in the early morning, we are being serenaded.  The songs continue throughout the day with an abundance of melodies, and last into the evening as we watch the sun slowly retire behind the mountain range. 

We are noticing a wide variety of birds (new to us), and I was able to identify a few right off the bat, such as the familiar Mourning Doves.  However I needed assistance with others and consulted the Web.  I stumbled upon a helpful website, www.whatbird.com.  You can search by area, habitat, size, color, wing shape and many other identifying markers including listening to their song.  Now I knew that we had Western Meadowlarks, Mourning Doves, Roadrunners (very cool to see these) and confirmed what we suspected were House Finches, but there was a yellow and olive gray colored bird we were unfamiliar with.  So plugging in the criteria, I believe I have identified the Cassin’s Kingbird.  We see these birds throughout the day, but also notice them in the evening flying around our flowering plum trees. 

Now another thing I have noticed is that birds are not unlike humans.  We have two bird’s nests in two of our plum trees.  I am not certain who has inhabited the one closest to the garage (mourning doves nested there last year, see photo below ), but I believe the Kingbirds may be inhabiting one of these this year.  You see, these birds like humans, scoped out the neighborhood first by flying around doing drive-bys and hopping from tree to tree to see if they liked the area for their new home.  Then, once they moved into their new nest, just as humans do, they started redecorating. 

Mourning Doves nesting in flowering plum tree

The first thing I noticed was that they built an addition onto their home with the accumulation of some fresh greenery, a bright green branch of needles from a nearby pine tree.  Then, they acquired some new furniture consisting of some fuzzy type of material which lined the inside of the nest, and now they are happily flying around and just hanging out.  So it appears that Elvis and Priscilla have finally settled in (sorry, but they are Kingbirds after all – get it?  Yeah, yeah, I know.).  Anyway, now I just need to identify those little sandpiper looking birds that hop around on the ground.  We've nicknamed them bandits because of the black band across their eyes. 

It certainly has been interesting seeing the different wildlife here -- found a dead gopher snake this weekend just outside of the fence at the furthest point on the property.  Yes, the bad news is that it was a snake.  The good news however is, that it was a “gopher snake”.  The point thereby being that maybe they will help us with our battle of the pocket gophers!

So rest assured I will continue to update you on our encounters, including a future blog on our little Ornate Tree Liizards, and if one day we happen to see the elusive Javelina, I will be sure to tell you!

Have a great week everyone!

Quote of the Day

"What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make."
-- Jane Goodall

Hail to the Easter Bunny!

Walking through the stores this week, you couldn't help but see rows upon rows of all of the pastel colored candy waiving at you from the aisles.  So this of course made me think back to my own Easter basket which was sometimes filled with such items as jelly beans, foil wrapped gold coins, and chocolate peanut butter and coconut eggs to name just a few. 

So where did the Easter Bunny come from anyway?  Of course he has nothing to do with the true meaning of Easter, but instead represents the more playful side of the Holiday.  A little research quickly revealed that the first documented origin of the Easter Bunny (a/k/a “Oschter Haws”) can be traced back to the 1500’s in Germany, although even earlier accounts mention spring festivals and the symbolism of eggs with fertility and rebirth.

Then in the 1700’s when German immigrants landed in Pennsylvania Dutch country, they brought with them their tradition, and thereafter American Folklore soon developed. Children eagerly waited for the arrival of Oschter Haws with baskets of colored eggs.  Eventually this custom developed into the swapping of the colored eggs for candy or small gifts, similar to the tradition of good old Saint Nick (gotta love my German ancestors!).

Now personally, my fondest Easter Bunny memory hands down has to be that singular solid chocolate bunny wrapped in plastic and tied with a bow, standing center stage in the middle of the basket.  This bunny was revered to such a degree that he was cushioned by a soft pillow of glossy green, yellow or pink grass and surrounded by a bounty of colorful subordinates.  The accompanying marshmallow chicks (while still good) unfortunately could not hold a candle to this confectionary delight.  And as for myself, I had an entire system down in which to savor this little fellow.  It began innocently enough with biting off the tail (a mere tease at this taste of chocolate heaven), then the ears quickly followed.  This of course would be quite enough for the first day, because after all, I couldn’t make him disappear all at once.  Gradually the nose, head, feet and body would soon follow (yes, precisely in that order).   I would relish each delicious chocolate bite to the fullest.  (In hindsight I suppose this is where my chocoholic origins came from.) 

Now I know of some friends who do not actually like chocolate (I shudder at the thought), so I wonder what their favorite treat was from the Easter Basket.  Was it the jelly beans?  The marshmallow Peeps?   Or some other equally sugary treat?  What was yours?  Did you receive a unique treat unlike anything your friends found?  My basket magically appeared in my bedroom sometime in the middle of the night.  Did yours also or did you go downstairs to find it awaiting you in the kitchen? 

So hail to the Easter Bunny for bringing smiles to children across the country, and thank you Germany for sharing your “Oschter Haws” tradition with us.

Wishing you all a safe and enjoyable Easter.

Chris

Good Morning Friends!  I just wanted to let you know that I am in the process of tweaking this blog a little, so if it looked one way yesterday and another way today, that's why.  I'm also adding new gadgets to the site and hopefully will be including pictures soon.  Today, for example, I added a gadget for SocialVibe to help support the American Red Cross (bottom right corner on this blog).  All you need to do is click on the gadget to show your support.  It's free, so why not do what we can to help disaster victims.

Additionally, I am playing around with different backgrounds to this site as well as adding a new welcome message.  And if you like what you see, and want to recommend this blog, you can now push the orange Google +1 button on the top right to recommend me on Google.

Now don't forget to scroll through the blog and keep on the lookout for new changes, and if I am lucky enough to be flagged in your favorites, please remember to refresh my page if you do not see anything new.

Thank you, and if I don't have a chance to post anything additional before the weekend, have a Happy Easter!

Quote of the Day

You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching, love like you'll never be hurt, sing like there's nobody listening, and live like it's heaven on earth.
--William W. Purkey

You Are What You Eat: Pink Slime

Okay so here’s today’s riddle:  what is pink, meaty, contains ammonia, and can be found in your hamburger, your taco, your meatballs, and has been in some of your kids’ lunches for years?  Give up?  It’s called pink slime (a.k.a ground beef).  And no, the word ammonia isn’t a typo. 

Pink slime is the result of scraps of meat your butcher would normally throw away that are being used to make ground beef.  These are parts not meant for human consumption because they may contain salmonella. However they are given to dog food manufacturers to use.  Well not wanting to waste this stuff, someone (Beef Products, Inc.) got the bright idea to use ammonia to kill the bacteria.  So apparently they treat it with an ammonia and water solution, drain it, grind it up, and voila!  Hamburger! Now, don’t go looking for ammonia to be listed on the product’s label of ingredients.  It is not required to be there.  Oh, but not to worry though.  Federal regulators say pink slime is safe for human consumption!

Chef Jamie Oliver brought awareness to this outrageous practice last April and asked the public for help.  If you stomach hasn’t completely turned yet (and even if it has), watch this YouTube video (click here) where he informs a group of children and their parents about what really is in their school lunches.  

So here we are the beef eating public for years unknowingly consuming this ahem, meat at fast food joints, supermarkets, and in our kids’ cafeteria lunches. 

Last year McDonalds discontinued use of this product as a result of public outcry.  You should know however, that federal regulators, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Beef Products, Inc. and others have lashed back trying to dispel some of these “myths”, and have websites such as www.pinkslimeisamyth.com to address your concerns.

But now, after years of eating this stuff, the USDA has announced that it is finally taking steps to eliminate this pink slime product from some school lunches.  However, this won’t take effect until the end of the year due to contract issues.

So maybe in the meantime you might want to pack your kids’ lunches and look for hamburger products at your organic and natural grocers.  But hey, that’s entirely up to you; just remember, as the saying goes, you are what you eat.

For more information, check out this informative article from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html?pagewanted=all

Feel Good Moment - Beached Dolphins Rescued

Here's an interesting video I just caught on Right This Minute.  In Brazil, a group of dolphins came to shore beaching themselves, and a group of people rushed into the water to help them by dragging them back out to sea.  Enjoy this feel good moment!  Here's the link:  http://www.rightthisminute.com/video/30-stranded-dolphins-rescued-brazilian-beach-goers

Chicago: The Windy City?

This week we have had quite a bit of wind in my neck of the woods.   Sitting here at this moment the wind is howling, the tumbleweed is rolling in the fields, and little birds are courageously perching on the birdfeeders holding on tightly as they threaten to swing horizontally in the wind.  Earlier this week, you could add to the scene blankets of dust blowing through the streets and fields.  With this description, one would think this is shaping up to look like an old time movie based on the Wild, Wild West.  And you thought Chicago was the windy city?  However, when the winds calm and the landscape turns silent, the high desert becomes a magnificent sight to behold. 

But speaking of Chicago and its nickname of “the Windy City”, did you know that this nickname has absolutely nothing to do with the weather?  That’s correct.  Instead it was all the big talk, or “wind” that local leading men in 1890 Chicago were blowing about the city’s stature in this country that lead a New York editor to give Chicago its nickname.  I learned of this little known fact several years ago when I read “The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson.  At the time this would not have been a typical book that you would find on my shelf (now I read a wider range of genres).  However, I heard it being discussed on the Dom and Jane show, a morning radio program based in Denver, Colorado, and my interest was sparked.  You will find this book in your bookstore’s history section, and if you are a strict reader of fiction then you may find this read a little difficult to get through.  However, if you stick with it, you will be rewarded with a story about a complex and mysterious villain who terrorized the city during the Chicago World’s Fair.  This man was a serial killer who charmed his unsuspecting victims and for many years, successfully got away with it.  This book also has tons of interesting facts.  You’ll learn of when shredded wheat and Cracker Jack got their start and the humble beginnings of the Ferris Wheel. 

Although my first thought for this particular blog was not to turn it into a book review, I think I will put this selection on my “recommended” list.  History buffs will most likely love it, and fiction lovers may not, but hopefully if they give it a chance they may find themselves intrigued by its redeeming qualities – a well written historical account of Chicago during the World’s Fair and the man who chose to terrorize it.   

Well, that’s all for now.  Happy reading and remember, spring is almost here.