Open your eyes! Oscar the Octopus is out to escape. After observing that tank full of the powerful, eight-limbed, graceful Oscar, a mollusc of the order Octopoda, figures out the escape route over and over. He outsmarts the humans. Every time. He may be too intelligent for his own good, yet he can’t pass up a challenge.
The ocean is full of outstanding animals! But the octopus is over the top!
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “rhymes with ale.” Find a word that rhymes with ale, regardless of the spelling, and use it in your post. Enjoy!
It never fails to amuse me how stale everything feels in February. I long to get outside and start my daily walks. I dream of trails exploring the unknown areas.
Birds are setting up nests. We have chickadees and starlings sharing space above our front door. They take turns while standing on the porch rail. It is fun to watch them negotiate that space peacefully, it puts humans to shame!
The chickens wander out yard more freely as spring takes over winter space.
Quail run together in families. They always make me laugh. They have perfectly good wings but think they are more sophisticated than all that. February shows the beginning of new babies. Each family has structure and language. I almost think I understand. There’s a call that sounds like, ‘she’s outside!’ then ‘okay, relax’, then, ‘she’s gone now.’
February seems too early for mowing the hay. It’s interesting to watch the machines bale into cubes or cylinders. But alfalfa is getting ready to sprout.
With my diamond painting, I wonder if there could be a way to make the painting accessible to sight impaired. Might I call it Braille painting? I’ve always wanted to learn that. I can finger spell and have baby level sign language.
Oh, and here’s the finished sea turtles:
Ah, but the Flounder of the day, wouldn’t it be nice for a whale here? Aw, no worries. Please don’t all start wailing!
Streaming along. I haven’t had kale in a long time. Mmm, kale chips sound yummy. I need to make some hummus.
Many of you don’t realize how wonderful it is to have mail delivery. Once or twice a week we drive to the post office. When we didn’t have a vehicle we walked the seven mile round trip. My walking goal is to walk that for fun!
Oh, another issue of February is how pale we’ve all become. Maybe it’s good we have to start slowly. But most of the time now, we don’t have to break thick ice in the outside water pail.
No matter what time of year, but because we’re longing to be outside, we see eagles, hawks, and owls that soar and sail in the sky. They are magnificent if not deadly to outside small furry friends.
Hmm. I think this stream went to the birds. Yep, that hit it on the nail!
Piglet: The Unexpected Story of a Deaf, Blind, Pink Puppy and His Family by Melissa Shapiro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh, my goodness! This book was fun from the very beginning. My eyes have difficulties tracking to read; even since cataract surgery fixed a lot of my issues, tracking remains nearly impossible. I have been an avid reader since I was little. Reading was slow going, but I got through the ten books allotted by the library every three weeks. The heft of the books was unwieldy, but I didn’t ask for help.
So, I began reading this book on my old phone using the Kindle app. It took me quite a while to get through even half the book. Finally, I caught up with the Libby audiobooks I had checked out, and Piglet became my bedtime book. Now, I could use text-to-speech and speed up the reading quite a bit. And give my eyes a rest.
Another reason I got into this book is my own dog, Kali, passed last spring after being nearly blind and having doggy dementia and bad hearing. It was so hard at the end of her life, but we had such a hard time from the beginning trying to learn from each other that the bond for her was strong in the end. I miss her so much and feel the need to help another dog as soon as I can. Meanwhile, Piglet helped me. Now I feel even stronger about getting another dog. I know there is one out there that needs me as much as I need him or her.
I think this book has a couple of other inspirational stories within. Melissa Shapiro is a veterinarian who tells her story of how she and her husband got together. Then, she shares her children’s aspirations with music. She tells of their college experiences.
By the way, one of her daughters and her husband have honest and raving reviews on the Piglet GoodReads page. I was delighted to read these as I felt I knew them from the book.
This book is full of the good feels a person needs these days. I look forward to looking all over the internet to find videos and follow the dogs, Melissa, and her family, and all the good they are doing for disabled people and animals.
When I feel I am floundering, I need to remember the floundering Ms. Shapiro and her husband went through with that one-pound blind, deaf puppy screaming his needs to them. Floundering is how one finds one’s balance. That is what February gives me. Meanwhile, today my turtles got a little more colorful.
This post is part of Linda’s Just Jot it January, and today’s prompt, tenaciousness, is courtesy of Cheryl. Check out her blog here!
Oxford Dictionary says of ‘Tenacious’:
“ending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely.
“tenacious grip”
or
not readily relinquishing a position, principle, or course of action; determined.
“you’re tenacious and you get at the truth”
or
persisting in existence; not easily dispelled.
“a tenacious local legend”
When I am working on something I can seem stubborn. But I would rather think of it as tenacious. Sticking to it until I become better, sticking to it until I have a product to wear, or give to someone else to enjoy. The following are my newest slippers and socks.
But I can’t leave this prompt without this tribute:
I shared a couple of amazing animals on Facebook and here yesterday. I loved them so much, and the response from all of you, SO MUCH, that I continued researching. So here is an amazing YouTube. Amazing first in information, and — How does he talk so fast?
Introducing Marvelous Monday
The Hat Lady and her Animals by Gita V. Reddy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a fun little story with plenty of lessons. A story in kindness. A story of using your talents to help others. A story about yarn skills.
By the way, Darlene only knits in this case. The yarn comes from, and finished products go to Hugger Hats. Those amazing ladies in the group are the ones that collect yarn and distribute the finished toys and hats to the needy. But I understand keeping it simple for the story’s sake.
I have to admit to being more than uncomfortable seeing my name in the story. But once I got used to it, I loved what the author was trying to convey.
Though the toys in the story were not the ones I made, I would love to put patterns in the book for those who wanted to learn. Many children love knitting. I was twelve when I learned to crochet and knit.
The little stuffed animals were adorable. Easy the pup was my favorite. But the cat couple was so sweet. I can’t wait for the Hugger Hats to see this story more about the group than about any one person.
Too often I tell myself I can’t, I’m too young, I’m too old, I’m too female, I’m too tomboy, too something to do a thing. But when I can be of two minds, I can see that perfection is really what’s stopping me.
I wonder if a bird sings for perfect pitch and rhythm. Maybe the mockingbird works towards being the best mimic.
Maybe those birds in Central America that dance work on their beats.
But the cream that rises to the top is the rarity. That raven outside ain’t even trying? Nah. He’s just being a raven.
Two minds means I can work to do my best but be happy with small, sparrow size accomplishments. Those starlings have managed with persistence to make another nest in our attic. We have tried everything to discourage them. They never look at a blueprint and care nothing about zoning laws.
And you should see the pair loving, and arguing. It takes two!
We are still walking. It’s become a part of our daily story. Above is one of the scenes we see. We went this way today.
We went straight until we heard the prompt say it was a mile. Then turned around.
So coming around back towards our street a neighbor came out to talk to us. She was concerned about a dog in a house closer to us. It seemed tangle in chains. They had tried to give the dog water as the chain was keeping the dog standing and unable to reach food or water.
The dog owner had been suffering from a stroke so none of us knew where he was.
We reported it to the sheriff looking for a welfare-check for the dog’s owner. My brother and husband untangled the chain and brought the dog here to chain in our front yard.
Anyway, that walk was short for milage but long on story.
I’ve set up my yWriter7 for my memoirs. CampNano started today. I think my goal is a little too high, 50k. My imagination is good for that. But real life? I can already see it will be a bit of a psychological trip but to get to nuggets to share I need to walk in the mully grubs.
In other news…
Now back to the mully grubbing.
Deer didn’t do it!
While I was in the dentist my husband watched this cute guy cause trouble.
One-liner Wednesday is a fun easy prompt by Linda G. Hill
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 100 books for the 2013 Reading Challenge! 115 of 100 (115%)
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 225 books for the 2012 Reading Challenge! 225 of 225 (100%)
Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 200 books for the 2011 Reading Challenge! 204 of 200 (102%)
Travel | Photography | Food
lifestyle, reality, wellness
Tarot for Insight and Self-Awareness
Hello and welcome! Thank you for visiting! I am glad you chose to take that initial first step towards mental healing! Don't forget to subscribe
"LAUGH A' LITTLE"
Healthy forever
How to get started as an affiliate marketer
Read, Look, Listen
POD Designer and AI Art Enthusiast blogging about my Adventures online
Empowering Your Affiliate Journey: From Strategy to Success
Just a hairstylist helping you to MANEtain your luscious locks in the salon and at home!
Poetry. Art. Photography. Musings.
I suffer from chronic migraine - at The Mindful Migraine blog I share some of the ideas that have helped - I hope they help you too.
Capturing life's moments, one frame at a time
Get Advice About Love Problem Solution by The Astro Tree.
Ensiklopedia Bea Cukai Indonesia
Welcome to my blog. I live, knit, crochet, spin and craft near the Northumbrian Coast (but not too near - the waves won't be splashing my yarn!).There's a story in every stitch, every grain of sand, every blade of grass. I thought I'd blog about it...
Get Dua For Love back - ex Love Back - Husband Back - Wife Back by Powerful Dua. Consult Now and Get Advice.
Darswords 
You must be logged in to post a comment.