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twenty years across the sea

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northern hemisphere babes we made it to the longest night of the year. we made it. for the next 6 months, every day will give us a little more daylight than the last. let's go. take my hand. climb out of the darkness with me

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Oi! My town has a piebald doe they’ve named Betty White. She’s a local celebrity and gets checked on constantly. Here’s some photos (not mine) of her and one of her fawns.

(Photos by Mitchell W. Calhoun 2023)

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BREAKING: Matt Gaetz is threatening that if his sexual misconduct gets revealed, he’ll call out all the other pervert Republicans in Congress.

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Something I miss from the start of the pandemic was being able to watch movie theater releases from home.

I know why they’ve gone back to in theater only releases, but as someone with multiple disabilities and a compromised immune system that makes movie-going hard, it was the first time in years I got to enjoy new releases as they came out.

I didn’t even particularly mind that it was costing me $20 to rent it for a single viewing. To me it was just another disabled tax, but one I was actually happy to pay for the price of finally feeling included in the experience of enjoying new media. (Not to mention actually going to the movie theater costs something closer to $40 these days.)

Factor in that I got to control my environment (not too dark or loud to avoid migraines. No nerve compression from sitting in chairs not designed for my body. Access to food I could eat and bathroom breaks as needed without missing anything.) the sheer joy alone of being able to talk to my friends about movies as they came out was really something I hadn’t realized I was missing until I had it back.

Normally by the time I get to see new media it’s several months later and everyone else has moved on.

It’s alienating.

The whole experience of being disabled alienates you from most of society, but it always tends to be the big things you think about and not the little. And that was one of the little things I missed.

And now there’s a new Superman movie coming out next year that I’m actually so, so excited to see. But barring a miracle of Biblical proportions, I know I’m not going to be able to hobble my butt into the cinema without risking my health.

So, I’ll be watching it months later when the hype has already died down. And my enthusiasm for it won’t be counted in box office figures despite being the type of person who would go see a movie multiple times in the cinema if I enjoyed it.

I dunno, man. It just sucks. I wish they had like, memberships or something you could pay to watch things at home.

And before anyone is like “just pirate it” — that’s not the point of the post. The point is people are excluded from things in ways you don’t even think about and the pandemic made it really clear that there were always ways to accommodate people like me.

People just don’t want to.

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One quiet day on the farm, the Little Red Hen found some wheat seeds and decided to make bread.

"Who will help me plant these seeds?" the Little Red Hen asked.

"I would." said the Horse "But I'm a workhorse, and I'm too busy moving carts around."

And so the Little Red Hen planted the seeds by herself. And they grew into bountiful golden crops.

"Who will help me harvest the wheat?" the Little Red Hen asked.

"I would." said the Dog "But I'm a guarddog, and I'm too busy keeping away burglars and predators."

And so the Little Red Hen harvested the wheat herself and made it into flour.

"Who will help me bake the flour?" the Little Red Hen asked.

"I would." said the Pig "But I'm a mother of 5 newborn piglets, and I'm too busy taking care of my young."

And so the Little Red Hen baked the bread herself into twenty beautiful loaves.

"Who will help me eat the bread?" the Little Red Hen asked.

"We would." said the Farm Animals. "But we're ashamed, for we didn't do anything to make the bread."

"Nonsense!" said the Little Red Hen. "You, Horse, helped move around the stones that built my oven. You, Dog, kept me safe while I worked. And you, Pig, are raising a new generation of Farm Animals, who will too contribute to our Farm one day. You've all helped me so much by simply being you."

"Besides," the Little Red Hen added. "I couldn't possibly eat all the loaves on my own, most of them would go to waste. Come, eat with me."

And so the Little Red Hen and the Farm Animals ate the bread together. And all saw their own, and each other's, worth.

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so, many of you have probably seen news about one of the first recorded severe case of HPAI (avian flu) in humans.

a lot of you who follow me are birders or inatters or adjacent. hence, a lot of you guys have birdfeeders.

from a rehab worker of almost 3 years: Disinfect your goddamn feeders. not only for HPAI but other diseases, such as avian pox, and for the safety of the birds

and of course, heres how!

now here at rehab we use rescue to disinfect, which is a big ol fancy thing that looks like this

for all our stuff. it's about 1-2tbsp rescue per 32oz water. however, most of you guys cant get a hold of it. so, heres some other things suggested by friends & coworkers that will work just as well

-diluted hydrogen peroxide

-bleach (diluted)

etc. in addition, it's best to use the hottest water you can handle in order to kill off more viruses (our industrial washer does up to 200°F, but whatever you can works just as well.)

the most important thing here is to USE GLOVES!!! PLEASE. pair of gloves to wash it and preferably when youre rinsing it use a DIFFERENT pair of gloves so it doesnt get dirty again.

lastly, if youre seeing visibly uninjured dead birds in your yard, lethargic birds at your feeder, red discolouration or growths on exposed skin, blood on your feeder, or anything else you might deem unusual, take down your feeder. the birds will get food elsewhere i promise, just leave it down for two weeks at least and sterilize it using any of the steps above.

also. please dont hand feed birds. yes even ducks. please please ignore what you see on instagram, it only creates more work for rehabbers. this includes trying to camouflage yourself and feed the birds from your hand when they dont know youre a person. it only hurts you and the birds, and yes this includes hummingbirds. do not try and feed birds off of yourself directly. please. thank you

be safe, clean your feeders, and happy birding!

in addition, below is an approximate of the procedure we use at my work to prevent outbreaks in our residents/patients.

changing aprons between birds, esp for personable birds (assimilated to people, like to fly onto you), switch gloves between birds, between touching hoses, etc. spray or dip + scrape shoes into rescue/accel solution before entering enclosures & or buildings.

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Dumb Post About Harris’s Hawks

Intelligent, deadly pack hunters: raptors. 

No, not those girls.

These girls.

Harris’s Hawk is the only raptor (i.e., bird of prey) that hunts together as a pack using teamwork to take down their prey. Most birds of prey are solo hunters, and if they’re social at all, it’s limited to mated pairs getting together to raise their young before going their separate ways.  Even Bald Eagles (the America Bird), who are monogamous and will raise children with the same mate year after year, are pretty much loners most of the time. They get together in the spring, have some chicks, and then fly away like “see you next year, honey.” So while it’s remarkable that they’re able to find their mate again every year and they’re great parents, they’re not really that social. 

(These lovebirds do win the prize for best at long-distance relationships)

Harris’s Hawks, on the other hand, are always together. Living and working together to survive. That’s pretty amazing. Not only are the coordinating hunting together, but they’re also coordinating their attacks from the air. 

(literal wingman) Harris’s Hawks live in South America, Central America, and the South Western US (Arizona and Texas). Since they aren’t that big, they eat a lot of little things, birds, lizards, small mammals, and giant insects. But because they have figured out how to hunt in groups, they can take down larger prey. In fact, in the Northern part of their range (Arizona and Texas), their favorite food is the desert cottontail, which weighs about 1.8 lbs. They’ve also been known to take down prey weighing over 2lbs like jackrabbits (which weigh from 3 to 6 lbs and can run up to 40 miles an hour).

( Run Rabbit, Run Rabbit)  Why is that so impressive? Well, the males only weigh about (1.204 to 1.874 lb), while the adult female average is (2.269 lb). 2lbs max is pretty small. That rabbit they’re chasing weighs about as much as they do or more and is hella fast. Imagine killing something that’s almost the same size as you are or bigger using only your feet. That’s hard. 

They have the tools to do it, bigger powerful beaks and large deadly claws:

(look at the size of its claws compared to the rest of its body)

(just like it’s distant dinosaur ancestors: murder feet) However, as with Jurassic Park’s fictional raptors, what makes these girls dangerous is the power of teamwork. The first Hawk flies right for the prey. It sees the danger, it runs, and that’s when the attack comes, not from the back but from the side and the other raptor it didn’t even know was there. (Wanna see?)

(clever girls) Often called the “Wolves of the Sky,” the Harris Hawk not only hunts in packs like wolves but lives in family groups. The “alpha” hawk as it were (alpha theory of dominance isn’t real) is the big female, or you know mom. 

(Mom raises her babies with the help of her family, in their Sonora-Arizona range they nest in cactus) The babies don’t “leave the nest” as soon as they outgrow their fluffy murder muppet stage. The young from previous years stick around and make up the pack. The hierarchy goes Mom, Dad ( other Dad if she has two male mates) older siblings, and younger siblings.

(They also like to stand on top of each other to form a hawk family tower) 

The pack size ranges from 2 - 7 birds, and this family not only hunts together but takes care of the nest as a team with siblings looking out for their new baby brothers and sisters. While the babies will be ready to fly in about 2 months, they will stay with their parents pack for up to three years before heading out to start families of their own.  Because these hawks are intelligent and social, they have become super popular among falconers. 

(see what I mean about them being small, if the Bald Eagle is the T-Rex of the skies, these really are the raptors) Also, the babies are adorable:

(well I think they’re cute anyway) These hawks are the closest you’ll get to Jurassic Park. Intelligent, pack-hunting raptors. If you’d like to see them in action, you can visit a pack at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, which has flying demonstrations daily in the winter (you know, when the pandemic is over *this post is from 2020*). Just remember: 

They Stack

They Attack 

And most importantly: They Hunt with the Pack

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Wild Green Ecological Fiends in the wild!!

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Pack binding ritual.

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The Exotic Animal Photo Reference Repository is live!

You can find it at: https://www.animal-photo-references.com!

Here's how this repository works: all photos were taken by me, a human, at zoos, aquariums, sanctuaries, and other facilities with animals in human care. There is no AI involved in the photo editing or creation and there never will be. Right now there's 56 species on the site; my catalog has over 300 and I will be uploading the rest of them as fast as I can.

Artists creating derivative or transformative works (without AI) have blanket permission to use these references. Yes, even for work you're going to sell.

All other usage/reproduction requires permission, but assume I'm friendly and please do ask! That's educators, researchers, the media, people who need images for a school presentation, etc. This is just to retain copyright/control in case they're scraped/reused unethically - it doesn't meant I don't want folk to have access! So please do reach out via the contact form on the repository website, I don't bite and I'm most likely going to say yes.

Please don't repost the repository photos to your own blogs: I've created @animalphotorefs as a dedicated blog to share photos from the site, and of course I'll reblog a lot of it here! That again just helps with retaining copyright and sourcing of the images. If you really want to repost some for a specific purpose, please just ask me first!

Also, folks, this project has no funding. It's just me and my camera.

There will never be a paywall on the site - I believe resources like this absolutely must be free for everyone to access. So please, please, please support the repository if you use it. Want sneak peeks at photos, cute videos I take, or to help choose what I photograph and what gets posted first? You can do that through Patreon (and there's a free trial on the most interactive tier!) If you'd like to just drop a tip, I've also set up a Ko-Fi.

I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of the repository.

To whet your thirst for cute photos, here's an Indian rhinoceros contemplating a goose.

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No, actually, I don't think my indoor cat would be happier if he could free-roam. For one thing, the feather-toys inside have never died on him mid-playtime, and I feel like that might be a disappointment

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We are going to bake a rainbow cake!

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a really little animated black cat with giant eyes and no other discernible features