The Ice Is Melting!!

 Today (February 27th 2025) is International Polar Bear Day! I hope that we will be able to celebrate next year as well.  And many years to come.  But the poor polar bears might not last that long. 

I did not want to go see a polar bear in person.  (They are awesome but they are also scary.)  So I read a book to celebrate instead.

A Blizzard of Polar Bears by Alice Henderson

Alex Carter has been offered a chance to study polar bears in the Canadian Arctic.  Of course, she has to go.  She loves the research and the potential to help polar bears survive.  But she quickly realizes that not everyone feels the same.  Someone is out to sabotage her research.  And then things get worse.  Will she be able to finish her study?  Will she even survive?

I really liked the way this book started out.  I was learning about polar bears and about what researchers did when they went out to study polar bears.  And there was the promise of a mystery.  I liked the descriptions of the location.  Then things started to happen and things got suspenseful.  And then things never stopped happening.  It was one thing on top of another and it went a little too far for me.  There were so many things happening to this one person in this one place and I felt like I needed a break to let one story develop before another took over, a moment when the life and death struggle stops so I can take a breath.  Then the action stops and there is a wrap up at the end that was all talking about what had already happened.  Being told about action we didn't see was a bit of a let down.  It went from nonstop action to no action within a page.  If you like animals A Blizzard of Polar Bears is fun to read.  It was not my favorite mystery novel I have ever read but I like the inclusion of wildlife and the mystery was good, so it grabbed my interest enough that I will read another in the series.

For Lovers of Wildlife

 Beautiful Serengeti starring Simon Shrimpton-Smith

A documentary about life in the Serengeti.

This documentary has 12 half hour episodes.  I watch a lot of wildlife documentaries but there was footage here of things I had never seen before.  There was a lot of new information for me, which is nice when it seems like all the documentaries now have been done before and are just repeating each other.  The cinematography is beautiful and the narrator does a good job.  I also like how they split the information into categories for each episode.  (ie. The Hunt, Defence, Family and such)  I really enjoyed the series and would recommend it to anyone who likes wildlife.  My only critique is that they use the same footage several times, and not just the footage, the narration is the same too, so you know it is the exact same clip.  I binge watched the series so it was very evident, if you space them out you might not notice as much.  It is still definitely worth a watch.

It is available on Amazon Prime right now.

Man's Best Friend

Today (August 26th) is National Dog Day!  So, take a hike all you cat people.  Personally, I have never been able to choose between the two.  I love them both.  But today is all about dogs.

Hachi: A Dog's Tale starring Richard Gere

A college professor finds an abandoned dog at the train station and takes it home.

If you have ever had a pet that was part of the family, you will love this movie.  And you will probably cry.  If you have a friend who never understood how you could become attached to an animal, have them watch this movie and they might begin to understand.  The movie (that is inspired by a true story) is an ode to the relationship between man and dog.  First of all, Hachi is a beautiful dog, and you want to meet him and cuddle with him.  And you cannot help but to become emotionally involved with both the professor and the dog.  You are anxious at one point because as the audience you know something is coming when the characters don't.  You become completely invested in the story.  I was crying by the end.  As an animal lover I really liked this one.  And I think all animal lovers will feel the same.

Let's all Trumpet for Joy

Today (Aug. 12th) is World Elephant Day!  Because everyone in the world loves elephants!  Well, maybe not everyone.  But a lot of people love elephants.  Because they are awesome.  They are also big, and strong, and wild.  So like with most big, strong, wild animals I tend to keep my distance.  I don't care how 'tame' you say they are.  So, although I like elephants and really do believe they are awesome, I don't think I would want one living in my back yard.

An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo

(from the back of the book) The bombing of Dresden looms ahead and Lizzie's mother, a zookeeper, persuades the zoo director to allow Marlene, a young elephant that has bonded with Lizzie and her younger brother, Karl, to be kept safe in their garden.

Their home is destroyed when bombs are dropped, so the family and Marlene have no choice but to flee with thousands of others in the dead of winter.  Though how can they walk the same route and keep themselves safe from approaching Russian soldiers...with an elephant in tow?

The story is sad, and sweet, and hopeful.  Lizzy, her brother Karli and their mother are trying to live their life with war looming.  Without knowing if their father is dead or alive; without knowing if they will be bombed today or not.  And then there is Marlene, a young elephant they are determined to save.  How do you go on when all that you have ever known is in flames?  The reader comes to love this family (that now includes an elephant) as they pull together to survive.  As they flee from the flames that was once their home, they see how hard times bring out the worst, but also the best in people.  When they meet a young RAF pilot they realize that the enemy is not so different from them.  Although Marlene becomes a focal point for the family that helps them through the war the story is less about the elephant than it is about the family as they struggle to survive and find hope, strength, compassion, love and determination within themselves.   

Everybody Roar!

Today (August 10th) is World Lion Day.  The perfect day to go on safari!  But I'm not going to do that.  For several reasons.  One being that I might actually meet a lion.  And not one of the friendly ones from the following picture books.  And I don't want to be eaten.  So I will get my daily fix of all things lion from books.

Dandelion by Don Freeman

One day Dandelion the lion gets invited to a Tea and Taffy party by his friend, Jennifer Giraffe.  The invitation say to 'come as you are'.  But Dandelion does not follow directions and goes out and buys a new outfit, and gets his hair and nails done.  He wants to look fancy for the party.  But when he shows up he looks so fancy that Jennifer doesn't recognize him and won't let him in.  Dandelion learns that he should not try to be someone he is not.  (Although I hope that if I ever decide to get out of my jeans for a day and wear a dress my friends would still recognize me.  So maybe that says something about Jennifer too.)  It is a cute story about being happy with who you are.  I like the illustrations but the only color in the book is yellow.  I would have liked some more color.  I think kids will get a chuckle out of how Dandelion gets all dressed up but can't get into the party until it is all undone again.  It was first published in 1964 but it has held up well.

Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

There is a lion in the library.  And since there are no rules against lions in the library he is allowed to stay as long as he follows all the rules.  He loves story time and learns to help the librarian in all sorts of ways.  But one day the lion has to break the rules to help his friend.  The illustrations are great.  The lion is very expressive and somehow the softer tones seem to fit the setting.  The story is cute.  At first everyone is a little nervous to have a lion in the library but he soon becomes everyone's friend and a very special helper to the librarian.  Then one day the lion has to break the rules to help his friend, knowing he will never be able to come back if he does.  But his friend is more important and the lion does the right thing, even at a cost to himself.  And people learn that sometimes, if there is a very good reason, rules can be broken.  I loved watching the lion dust shelves with his tail, and lift kids so they could reach high shelves and I felt for him as he sat in the rain looking through the window wishing he could go back in.  He is a very endearing character with a lot of personality even though he never says a word.  I think everyone will fall in love with this library lion.

Do You Dream of Turtles? (Dreaming in Turtle Review)

Today (May 23rd) is World Turtle Day.  

I like turtles.  Who doesn't like turtles?  Of course, some people like them for pets, some for medicine, some for food and some as a source of income.  But everyone likes turtles.

Peter Laufer, Ph.D. decided to write a book about turtles and all the ways humans interact with them and think about them and feel about them.

Dreaming in Turtle by Peter Laufer, Ph.D.

(from the book jacket)

Everyone has a turtle story.  Turtles that disappeared, then reappeared years later.  Turtles used in attempts to cure cancer, impotence, and infertility.  Turtles sought for sage wisdom and to promote longevity.  Investigative journalist Peter Laufer explores the stories we tell about the slow-moving, shelled critters and the facts about their world we need to know - before we destroy these links to dinosaurs.

Laufer travels the world to find turtle stories and expose the plight of these slow moving creatures, but also to show the hope of those who work to save them.  There is a lot of things in here that are hard to read.  People do horrible things to turtles and Laufer tells you about lots of them here.  You hear stories about turtles being butchered alive, kept in boxes piled on top of each other, packed up and sent through the mail or hidden in all sorts of ways to transport them overseas.  Laufer talks to people who hunt turtles, both legally and illegally, sell them, both legally and illegally, eat them, try to save them, use them for medicine and everything else you can think of.  He tries to understand why so many people love turtles and why people are willing to break the law to have or to eat them.  And how people who claim to love or revere turtles can treat them so badly.  You get all sorts of turtle information.  I find it all very interesting from the turtle myths to the interviews with people who smuggle turtles to the conservation efforts.  I especially like the little Fred breaks.  Laufer takes care of a turtle for a while that he names Fred, and every once in a while, he gives the reader an update on what Fred is up to.  I would like to meet Fred.  He sounds like a very interesting guy.  If you have ever stared at the tortoises at the zoo, or sought out the turtles at the aquarium, or have fond memories of a pet turtle you will like this book.

Save the Bees!

Today (May 20th) is World Bee Day.  We need bees.  Well, it's more that plants need bees and we need the plants.  But it amounts to the same thing.  So what can you do to save the bees?

If you want to donate money so other people can save the bees you can go here:

The Karma Honey Project

Project Apis m 

Pollinator Partnership

Bees For Development

Planet Bee Foundation

The Bee Conservancy

If you would like to be a little more hands on there are a few things you can do in your own backyard.

One is to stop using synthetic pesticides and herbicides.  Bees don't like them.

You can also give bees a place to live.  Most bees are solitary and don't live in hives.  Many live underground, so if you can leave a plot of undisturbed earth for them or put up special bee houses.

You can put up a bee bath.  Which is much like a bird bath, but for bees.  You can fill a shallow bird bath or bowl with water and put some stones in that break the surface so the bees have a place to land and get a drink.

And of course you can plant flowers (and trees) that bees like.

For some ideas on some plants for bees look here:

Bees and Blooms

Southern Living 

Gardeners World

Country Living

Garden Design

This is my brother's bee house for his Mason bees.  He takes good care of his Mason bees and makes sure when he mows the lawn that he leaves the clover for them.  (And besides, the clover is actually pretty, so why cut it down?) 

Save the Sharks

In honor of Shark Week I have come up with a list of websites that are trying to save sharks.  Visit them to find out how you can help them help the sharks.


Oceana

Ocean Conservancy

Defenders of Wildlife 

Sea Save

Shark Savers

Bite Back

Shark Trust

Save Our Sharks

Shark Angels

Shark Guardian