Eons is a really good online PBS series about paleontology. In this episode, it explores the domestication of the modern house cat.
It turns out, our pet cats were domesticated twice!
Tag Archives: animals
A visit from a bear family.
Mama bear seems to call to her cubs down on the ground.
I was at a neighbor’s house, and suddenly, we witnessed four black bears emerging from the woods in the back of their yard: a mother and her three adolescent cubs. Black bears are not very large, not terribly aggressive, and will usually avoid humans, although they do have a reputation for living near humans, because of easy access to trashcans and the smell of cooking food. Many homeowners around here chain down the lids of their trashcans or even lock them. Raccoons are also a problem.
Black bears are very common in the western North Carolina mountains, and are especially easy to spot in the fall, since they are out foraging for food before winter sets in. They are not endangered here because many people are so entranced with them, they actually leave out food to attract them.
On this day, my neighbor and I could see them lumbering closer until they finally stopped under a berry tree almost directly under the second floor window we were looking out of. Mama was the first to climb up the tree (the bears’ agility is amazing for their size and shape), and she seemed to “call” to her cubs to come get some berries. The cubs seemed pretty content to graze on the ground looking for berries that had dropped there, although one did attempt to climb up there with Mom, but wasn’t too successful at it.
After the bears ate their fill, they lumbered off across a field into another part of the woods.
I wish the pictures were clearer, but at least we were pretty close!
The three cubs.
Mama (far right) and cubs
Tardigrades.
These little creatures are fascinating and unlike anything else on earth.
Kitten love!
Here are two more pictures of Shadow (renamed from Blackashell, which just doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily). It’s Shadow not only due to his color, but also because he’s very attached to me and follows me around like a…you guessed it…shadow!
Judging by the size of his feet, he’s going to grow into a big boy!
Can you resist that face?
Blackashell.
No, not my state of mind!
Blackashell is the name of my new kitten!
He is an adorable almost 7 week old black kitten, and I think he is going to have long hair. His fur is very fluffy, and though shy with other people, he took to me immediately. My other three cats seem to not mind him either.
I didn’t really want a 4th kitten (usually it’s a firm “no!” whenever anyone asks if I want a new kitten), but my son in law was telling me about him and something told me this kitten was special so I asked if I could see him.
He was named by my son in law’s nephew (my grand nephew?) who is just three. I thought the name was hilarious and seemed to fit him so well I decided to keep the name.
And when I saw Blackashell, I decided to keep him as well.
He’s sleeping at my feet as I write this.
At the dog park.
The weather was pretty today (the first true springlike day we’ve had) and my daughter wanted to take my ex’s dog, Dexter, to the dog park.
As you can see, we’ve had lots and lots of rain. The dog park was basically a mud pit, but it seemed like every dog in town was there, and they were having the time of their lives, especially this hilarious guy digging in a mud puddle and barking at it.
If your pet could text.
This is SO true!
Credit: N/A
The white squirrel of Brevard, NC
Brevard, North Carolina, is just to the southwest of where I live, in Transylvania County.
Transylvania County was named that because of its physical resemblance to the Transylvania area of the Carpathians of Romania. In fact, the movie “Cold Mountain,” which takes place in western North Carolina during the Civil War, was actually filmed in the Transylvanian part of Romania due to the less developed, mountainous terrain which would have resembled western North Carolina during Civil War times (also because it was cheaper to film it there). Even today, the appearance of both areas are strikingly similar, as the below photos show. They also share a similar climate and rural mountain culture.
Transylvania, Carpathians, Romania
Whitewater Falls, Transylvania County, NC in the autumn
It rains a lot in western North Carolina, but nowhere does it rain as much as it does in Transylvania County, which is actually classified as a temperate rainforest. Transylvania is also known for its many waterfalls. Within this temperate rainforest lives a unique creature that lives nowhere else on earth: the white squirrel. It’s not an albino, because its eyes are pigmented, but other than its unusual color, it’s a perfectly normal squirrel. No one is quite sure why the squirrel (also known as the Brevard squirrel) evolved a bright white coat in an area that doesn’t normally get an abundance of snow.
My go-to, one-minute therapy for anxiety and depression.
This is an old video from 2007 showing two cats (they are both female, and both about ten years old at the time this video was made) having a “conversation.”
The cats are not just adorable, but their trilling, purring, and cooing noises and soft little vocalizations are so relaxing I could listen to them on endless loop.
Besides the relaxing effect, I also noticed my mood always improves dramatically after viewing this video (or other ones like it). It’s incredible how something so simple can improve your entire outlook.
I wonder what the cats were talking about. Whatever it was, it’s clear these kitties love each other.
If you want something a little longer that has the same relaxing and soothing effect, I recommend this beautiful video of a mom cat and her adorable, playful kittens.
My new kitten Pocket.
I never posted about this, but last week our eleven month old kitten/almost cat Marley got hit by a car.
I wasn’t going to replace him, but my daughter was heartbroken, so we talked about it and decided to get a new kitten. The new kitty, who she named Pocket, is only about six weeks old (we wouldn’t have taken it so young, but the mother was ill and couldn’t take care of her kittens). He’s extremely playful and friendly and already gets along great with BabyCat (pictured with Pocket) and Sheldon, my tuxedo cat.
We are not sure if Pocket is a boy or girl yet, but I’m thinking it’s a boy (it’s hard to tell when they’re this young). I think this is the cutest picture ever.
Lucky Otters Haven 