Author Archives: DCG

The Shoebill Stork: A bizarre creature…

I stumbled upon this creature last night on Twitter: The Shoebill Stork.

The Shoebill is a strange-looking bird, kind of prehistoric looking. They live in tropical areas and are largely found in Africa.

This creature is very odd. Some fun facts about Shoebills:

  • They decapitate their prey with the tips of the very sharp beaks.
  • The Shoebill’s feet are like dinasours.
  • They make sounds similar to machine guns.
  • This bird prefers not to fly.
  • The Shoebill cools down using its own poop!

See them in action:

Such a strange bird, right?

DCG

“God is good”: Fort Worth homeless man gets fresh start after generosity from a stranger

Amen!

DCG

What to do with a backyard bunny rabbit nest

Yesterday I saw a post on my local city animal welfare Facebook page advising us to check for bunny nests before we start mowing. Bunny nests look like dead grass piles (see above) yet are the perfect home for their babies!

Rabbits build their baby nests with dead grass and their fur. Read more about these nests here. Or watch this video:

We have LOTS of cottontails in Oklahoma yet I’ve never come across a bunny nest while we’ve lived here. I hope to find one some day!

Now that spring is upon us, it’s a good reminder to check for bunnies before you mow!

DCG

Thursday funnies!

DCG

Owner takes elderly dog to boardwalk one more time via her mobile bed

This is Cocoa, a Chesapeake Bay retriever who recently passed away at the ripe age of 16 years. She’s at the boardwalk with her owner, Tom.

A Facebook account by the name of Carri Copenhaver wrote about this story of Cocoa, who belonged to Lauren and Tom.

“Here is Cocoa, our Chesapeake Bay Retriever, looking out on Rudee’s Inlet at the end of the Virginia Beach Boardwalk. She peacefully went to sleep last Friday. We spent over 16 sweet years together and the last 6 months without her ability to stand brought us even closer. She has left a large void in our heart and our home. She wasn’t able to greet people or dogs anymore on her own, but she loved it when people came up to her. Thank you for stopping to greet her and for sharing her with your friends on Facebook.
Cocoa had not walked since last August, but she still was living a meaningful, quality life with us. She brought us such joy and hopefully we did the same for her. We miss her and will treasure our memories of her forever. She will always be with us in our hearts.”
See the video where Tom spoke of how they came up with the mobile bed for their precious Cocoa here.
Obviously Cocoa was well-loved and had a great life with Lauren and Tom.
RIP Cocoa.

DCG

Do you know American Sign Language? Here’s the ABCs of it…

Do you know the American Sign Language, the language that deaf communities use?

I don’t know anyone who is deaf yet thought it would be interesting to learn the alphabet and some basic words/phrases. Never know when there might be a chance I need to use it!

The alphabet seems pretty easy to memorize; it’s just a different method of learning your ABCs. Here’s the alphabet (no audio in this video):

Here’s a video of some basic signs/phrases in ASL (don’t know why this guy is shirtless in the beginning of the video; I used it because it was the shortest video I could find):

https://youtu.be/toIztzxGY9c

I’m sure it’s much more complicated when people using ASL get to “talking fast.”

Take a look at the videos if you’re interested in ASL. I think I’ll be practicing a little bit this weekend!

DCG

Thursday funnies!

DCG

Stray doggie befriends a unicorn

Happy ending: “Sisu” (the stray dog) finds a forever home and gets to keep the unicorn!

DCG

Sunday funnies!

DCG

Puppy helps save calf’s life!

From the Rumble video description:

“On Valentine’s Day, this calf was born in sub-zero temperatures during a winter storm. She was found near lifeless, so they brought her inside to warm her up. The family puppy started licking her face like her mama would. And then the puppy cuddled up to the calf to warm her up. Soon after, the calf made a full recovery thanks in part to the puppy that helped save her!”

DCG