Okay, trigger warning. Spider. And amazing human. And love. Lots of love:
@mainstream_mantids Signs of aging to look for ? #ArbysDiabloDare #jumpingspider #pet #petsoftiktok ♬ Home – Edith Whiskers
Some people just know how to live. Some people build giant snow sculptures, others make wooden penguins:
January 29 2022 115:43a AM ·
My dad has been waiting for the right time, waiting for a good storm, waiting with 99 wooden penguins that he made to put on the town green. This is that time, this is that storm, these are his penguins.❤❄
Several folks sent me this story – Salt Water sent it to me in Pidgen! – it sounds like he had a good life.
Magawa, the famous mine-clearing rat who was awarded a gold medal for his heroism, has died at the age of eight.
In a five-year career, the rodent sniffed out over 100 landmines and other explosives in Cambodia.
Magawa was the most successful rat trained by the Belgian charity Apopo to alert human handlers about the mines so they can be safely removed.
The charity said the African giant pouch rat “passed away peacefully” at the weekend.
It said Magawa was in good health and “spent most of last week playing with his usual enthusiasm”. But by the weekend “he started to slow down, napping more and showing less interest in food in his last days”.
Bred in Tanzania, Magawa underwent a year of training before moving to Cambodia to begin his bomb-sniffing career. There are thought to be up to six million landmines in the South East Asian country.
We got about 7 inches of snow over the last 24 hours and it’s now sub-zero and the ducks are safely tucked away in the bathroom, enjoying bathtub time. They’ll probably be there until Friday morning, when temps will climb into the 30s again. Video of their bathroom adventures is here.
Thanks for all the kindness emails, I may have to jump up to 3 acts of kindness per post if this keeps up. As always, email me your acts of kindness stories…
TaMara
Speaking of a good life – my almost 19 yr old calico is not doing very well, so I will probably not be back to this thread tonight, though I always come back and read all the comments later. Between the ducks and watching over her, my dance card is booked tonight.
NotMax
An animal memoir.
“The Camel and the Coat.” (Should be cued to the meat of the broadcast.)
;)
Kalakal
I love those penguins. How marvellous
NotMax
Oh crap. Fixy fix.
“The Camel and the Coat.” (Should be cued to the meat of the broadcast.)
Rob
I love the penguins too, and the ducks in the tub
zhena gogolia
@NotMax: Hubby is a fan of Tommy Tune, so thanks for the great Zero Mostel clip.
WaterGirl
Love the penguins.
I am now tearing up about a rat I never heard of until a minute ago.
Magawa, the famous mine-clearing rat who was awarded a gold medal for his heroism, has died at the age of eight.
SiubhanDuinne
TaMara, to my species-ist eye the ducks look identical. How do you distinguish them? (I note that one seems to have a slightly thicker neck than the other. Maybe that’s it.)
Sure Lurkalot
My thoughts are with you and your beloved cat.
Jackie
@TaMara: Thoughts are with you and your beloved calico. Hopefully she’ll be feeling better soonest!
CaseyL
@TaMara:Thinking good, healing thoughts for you and Calico.
Oh, those ducks! Such a contrast to the last time they were in the tub, when they were babies, and the tub was a vast pool for them.
@SiubhanDuinne: Nick is a drake, with a curled tail feather. That would be one way to tell them apart.
TaMara
@SiubhanDuinne: They are pretty distinctive, but Nick is significantly bigger and beefier than Nora. He also has a very deep quack, to her very duck-like quack (it’s a male-female distinction).
jnfr
@TaMara:
All best wishes to you both.