My 5 simple rules EVERYONE should follow for Peece on Earth
and Goodwill toward Man
Freddie Parker Westerfield, CDT RET
Wishing you a life of treats, back rubs and bowls of plenty.
Frankly,
Freddie Parker Westerfield, Canine Dog Therapist, RET.
They created a Supermouse.
Superman can see the world in infrared. Humans can’t.
Mouse eyes, like human eyes, are limited to seeing “visible light”,
which makes up just a tiny portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
SuperMouse by SuperPeggy
Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China
and the University of Massachusetts Medical School developed an
“ocular nanoparticle” that can detect near-infrared light (NIR).
They injected it directly into the eyes of mice. Their study*
shows that the mice were given “super vision”, allowing them
to see beyond the visible spectrum, without any effects
on their regular vision.
The team ran the mice through a series of water Y-mazes in an effort
to determine whether they could make out visual patterns in infrared
light to find a hidden platform. They trained the mice to associate an
infrared light pattern with the platform and then tested both injected
mice and non-injected mice to see how they fared.Mice that did no
t receive the ocular injections only correctly found the platform 50 percent
of the time, but those with the nanoparticles in their eyes were abl
e to do so around 80 percent of the time even in the dark.
Moreover, the nanoparticles continued to work for up to 10 weeks
without any residual side effects or long-term damage to normal vision.
Because the new technology is compatible with regular vision,
it could provide a new way for mammalian vision enhancement
or even open up new avenues to repair normal vision —
the nanoparticles could be tweaked so they parse different
wavelengths or alter them to deliver drugs into the eye.
Dear Freddie Fans,
I’ve had a lot of time on my paws lately since P&J have not been walking with me because it’s been “raining”. (They are very delicate and don’t like to get their hair get frizzy or their tootsies cold. However, It rarely rains in Southern California. I suspect they turn the lawn sprinklers on.) So I’ve been amusing myself by imagining what the captions SHOULD have been on the pictures they draw.
To get you started, here’s a few from my Canine & Feline Friends (who wish to remain anonymous so their humans don’t know they’ve been on the computer)
#1 Mouse and Mouse
“YOU ate my cheese!” “Prove it.”
Who does your whisker extensions?
#2 Mouse & Eleph
“Try washing it in hot water”
Frankly,
Freddie Parker Westerfield, CCH
Certified Canine Humorist & Roving Reporter
Freddie Parker Westerfield, Published Author
Unlike me who is very paws-on, Phineas prefers to manage his blog, doodlewash and all the affairs of his humans, Charlie & Phillipe behind the scenes. Cleverly, Phineas has assigned Charlie to do all the work and be the front-dog.
Water-color by Charlie
I suspect that Charlie tends to click the “publish button” without Phineas’ editorial approval. Why? Because almost ALL the pictures of Phineas are Charlie’s water-color paintings of him rather than photos.
“Since he was a rescue found growing up on the tough streets of Topeka, Kansas, we assume he must have a very small town view of the world. This, combined with his rather wrinkled brow that makes it seem like he’s always a bit irritated with something and judging you, led to us deciding he’s also an extremely ultra-conservative Republican.”
” . . . this little Basenji has had a wonderfully unique personality from day one. I still remember going to the shelter and seeing a scraggly little dog with hair so coarse it would almost hurt to touch it. I sat down on the floor of his pen to get to know him and within seconds, he leapt into my lap, rolled on his back and stared up at me. If I was at all undecided, it was clear that Phineas had already made the decision for us. I looked down into those mischievous brown eyes that seemed to say, “Dude, let’s get the hell out of here.” And so we did.”
Phineas getting comfortable with Duckie
“His first bit of time spent in his crate, he tore the stuffing out of his bed, which doesn’t seem odd for a dog who is bored. However, after pulling out all of the stuffing, he then re-stuffed it into a different shape, which he found to be more desirable. It felt good knowing I had a dog who was also creative. Though already one and half years old when he arrived, he had the energy, curiosity and enthusiasm of a puppy. It seriously wore me out and made me crazy some days, but I couldn’t fault him as these were also traits we shared.”
Water-color by Charlie
“Phineas has quite a rich and complex life that’s quite easy to overlook while simply watching him snoring on the couch. When we have dinner parties, it’s referred to as Phineas Café, not because he actually cooks anything, but because he thinks he owns this restaurant. And he will go up to each guest and won’t leave until they tell him the dinner was wonderful or at least satisfactory. Indeed, his demeanor seems to say that he owns this house and all of its inhabitants as well. When I published my recent book, we imagine Phineas saying, “Oh, no! I’m an author now! How much can one little dog do?” He takes credit for everything that happens in our lives, and assumes he must be in charge of it in some way.“
Charlie O’Shields, Owned by Phineas
“I’m Charlie O’Shields, and I live in Kansas City, Missouri.I started doodlewash in July 2015 to capture little bits of the world in ink and watercolor. Even though I hadn’t picked up a pen to sketch in over 20 years and I’d only just used watercolor for the first time that day, I got super excited about it, and well, Doodlewash was born. (What’s a doodlewash? Click here!)”
“My posts are actually my art journal. . . paintings . . . all typically created in the precious little hour I’ve carved out for myself on a weekend or weekdays after work and before dinner!”
“You can also log into this site with your chosen social media provider and join the club! Doodlewash Club, to be exact. A totally free to join watercolor community where you can get your own artist profile, share your work in our global watercolor gallery, interact with other watercolor artists around the globe, and much, much, more!”
Freddie Parker Westerfield, Editor-in-Canine, Roving Reporter
Jessica SORTING LIFE’S ISSUES WITH JESS.
She is hosting Dogs of Blogs, of which I am one.
Freddie’s Dogs of Blogs Posts:
Doggone Well Done Dogs – Day 1
Phineas earns his badge of distinction
Dear Freddie Fans,
Freddie’s Dogs of Blogs Posts:
https://wp.me/pLGhj-aT0 – Day 22
Doggone Well Done Dogs – Day 1
Frankly, Freddie
Freddie Parker Westerfield, CDT RET
Jessica SORTING LIFE’S ISSUES WITH JESS.
She is hosting Dogs of Blogs, of which I am one.
model
Dear my Freddie Fans,
It’s hard to get Peggy to show her art (she’s more humble than Judy who seems to relish posting nude humans). Peggy prefers nude animals.
Frankly,
Freddie Parker Westerfield, Roving Reporter
“This is what a group of researchers from the University of Kansas found after taking a close look at some extinct as well as living species . . . analyzing the physiology and evolution of as many as 299 species of aquatic mollusks — including present-day snails and slugs — over last five million years.”
“They delved into the occurrences and extinction of different species over the said period as well as their respective metabolic rates or the amount of energy each of the creature in question needed for survival.”
“Much to everyone’s surprise, the findings of the work revealed that metabolic rates make a reliable factor for predicting the likelihood of extinction of a certain animal species or community of species.”
“We found a difference for mollusk species that have gone extinct over the past 5 million years and ones that are still around today. Those that have gone extinct tend to have higher metabolic rates than those that are still living . . . those that have lower energy maintenance requirements seem more likely to survive than those organisms with higher metabolic rates.”*
judy
*Luke Strotz, lead author of the study
**co-author Bruce Lieberman
Maui Cat
The oil within a catnip plant is what gives kitties the “high” feeling.
“Nepetalactone is a stimulant when sniffed by a cat, producing a “high”that is described as being similar to either marijuana or LSD. (don’t ask us how they figured this out),” veterinarian Jennifer Coates writes in PetMD:
“Control the amount of catnip and let your cats know it’s better to nip responsibly at home rather than on the street and use it only on occasion since frequent use can lead to the loss of a cat’s ability to get “high”.
“Not all cats are affected by catnip. According to Cat Behavior Associates, the “catnip response” is hereditary, and one-third of all cats lack the gene that enables them to feel the high. Even a cat who does have the gene won’t be affected by catnip until they’re at least six months old.”
Frankly,
Freddie Parker Westerfield, B.E.
Blogger Extraordinaire
The Mouse “Knows” by judy
The study, which was published in the science journal Cell, found that temporarily shutting down chronic pain is part of animals’ survival behaviors when searching for food.
According to a press release, approximately 300 neurons are capable of shifting the brain’s focus to hunger, thus eclipsing the effect of chronic pain.
The Penn team also discovered that the neurotransmitter NPY is primarily responsible for selectively suppressing pain responses. This research could potentially be applied in humans to ameliorate chronic pain after injuries and serve as an alternative to opioid medications.
Naked Mole Rat sez: “At your service. We rodents are here to help”.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a tree.(I frequently start my writing with “Once upon a time” as it lends a universal appeal to readers young and old.) Its trunk was crooked and all its bark was peeling. Big roots spread all around the tree, some deep in the earth and some growing above the ground. The Tree lived in a park with other trees of its own kind on the far edge of town. Every day many dogs of differing sizes and persuasions came to claim the tree as their territory.
One day, after years of being claimed,the tree yelled at a big black dog with pointy ears and a black nose sniffing around its roots, “I am NOT your territory!” The big black dog didn’t care what the tree thought, claimed it for its own and walked on looking for more territory.
Within minutes a little white dog with floppy ears and a wet nose sniffed out where the big black dog had been. “I am a tree not a fire hydrant!,” the tree yelled at the little white dog who ignored the tree, claimed it for its own and walked on looking for more territory.
The tree, ever alert for impending indignities, spotted a medium-sized dog with shaggy brown hair and a pink nose approaching. Finally, after many years of being claimed by many dogs, the tree figured out that actions speak louder than words. So it picked up its roots and walked away.
The end of my tail
Freddie Parker Westerfield, CDN Canine Dog Novelist
“These lizards have green insides because their bile carries super high levels of a deadly compound called biliverdin, the product of old red blood cells. People make the same pigment—you can see it when you get a gnarly, green-tinged bruise —but our livers filter it from our blood. Trace amounts of biliverdin cause jaundice, a disease common in infants and adults with liver failure.”
“It’s possible there is no adaptive value,” says biologist Christopher Austin at Louisiana State University, “but it’s hard to imagine.” Over the course of 27 years, Austin, one of the authors of the study, has traveled to New Guinea in search of the bright green creatures. He’s captured hundreds of lizards by clamoring up trees and grabbing the critters. In his fieldwork, he discovered two new species, but he’s sure there are more. “New Guinea is like this black hole for biological discovery,” Austin says. “There’s no field guide.”
Austin’s effort to understand the lizards’ evolutionary history might explain why the heck toxic green blood would evolve in the New Guinea lizards more than once. One theory is that biliverdin could help fight off blood parasites, like malaria or blood-born worms, says Susan Perkins, a parasitologist at the American Museum of Natural History, another of the study’s authors.”
Tasty by judy
Image copyright MARK WILLIAMSON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Cochineal insects, the white dots on this cactus, are found across Latin America
Here are the facts:
“I’d love a mouthful”
Carmine is a very stable and reliable natural food dye that can be used to create a wide range of colours – pinks, oranges, purples, as well as reds.
Click here to read the entire article: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-43786055
Why do pets and livestock tend to have “drooping ears?”
“Wolves, for example, have perky, upright ears. But the ears of many dogs are distinctly floppy. Darwin saw this odd trait in many domesticated species — “cats in China, horses in parts of Russia, sheep in Italy and elsewhere, the guinea-pig in Germany, goats and cattle in India, rabbits, pigs and dogs in all long-civilized countries.”
“A century later, an ambitious (and adorable) experiment in the Soviet Union proved him right. At the time, Vladimir Lenin’s pseudo-scientific dogma had no room for classical genetics. So Russian geneticist Dmitry Belyayev disguised his own research as the study of animal physiology. He retreated to Siberia and attempted to domesticate the silver fox.”
“Belyayev took 130 foxes from fur farms and started a breeding program. He only picked the tamest foxes — those that seemed less jumpy around humans, and less likely to bite — as parents. When their pups were grown, he’d pick the tamest ones to breed again.”
“In just a few dozen generations, Belyayev’s foxes were tame. And, lo and behold, their ears were distinctly floppier. Just as Darwin suspected, the change in behavior had caused an unexpected change in appearance.”
Hot tubing by Peggy
Ozzy & Duffy
Tweeter, Woofer, Meowie, Squeakie & Grunter the Worm
Prisoner of Love
After retiring I have more and more time but, as you’ve noticed, there have been fewer and fewer posts on CURIOUS. I have a “tendency” to accomplish things when faced with deadlines and commitments. My other “tendency” is procrastination when left to my own devises.
Peggy, my co-collaborator on CATNIPblog, has provided both – deadlines & commitment. She sets up the posting schedule and my commitment to her provides the impetus.
Because Curious to the Max is my first love – been posting since 2009 – I’ve asked Peggy to help me schedule more CURIOUS posts. She agreed (without completely knowing what she was getting into) to help, although I have not relinquished editorial control. CURIOUS to the Max will stay true to: “Curious STUFF that makes me love, learn and laugh”
Meowie
The only good thing about Valentine’s day is the candy and I never get any. I sit alone, no valentines, no candy, no romance. The only thing I get is dog food.
___________________________________________________
Freddie Parker Westerfield, Published Poet
Baha’u’llah
Cat ‘n Mouse journaling by Peggy
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Baha’i World Faith
___________________
During the month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day-or-so something related to or inspired by Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
The hashtag is #bahaiblogging.
Earth by God. Woofer by judy
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Baha’i World Faith
During the month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day-or-so something related to or inspired by Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
The hashtag is #bahaiblogging.
‘Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i World Faith
Judgement by Peggy, originally published on Pawsitively Tuesday
(1817-1892)
During the month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day-or-so something related to or inspired by Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
The hashtag is #bahaiblogging.
Baha’u’llah, Baha’i World Faith
http://bahaiteachings.org/bahai-faith
During the month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day (or so) something related to or inspired by Baha’i Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
the hashtag #bahaiblogging
Gandhi
http://bahaiteachings.org/bahai-faith
During the month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day (or so) something related to or inspired by Baha’i Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
the hashtag #bahaiblogging
Baha’u’llah, The Baha’i World Faith,
The Dalai Lama
1 Corinthians 13:13
Sending all of you much love,
judy
During the month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day-or-so something related to or inspired by Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
The hashtag is #bahaiblogging.
Taoism
Courageous Love is the Gift, by Peggy
The Baha’i Faith is the world’s second-most widespread religion after Christianity, spanning the globe and working to unite it. Baha’is have no clergy or churches, gathering together in democratically-led communities and welcoming everyone.
The millions of Baha’is in the world come from every ethnicity, nationality, tribe, age, racial group, religious background and economic and social class. Diverse Baha’i communities exist just about everywhere.
http://bahaiteachings.org/bahai-faith
During the month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day (or so) something related to or inspired by Baha’i Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
the hashtag #bahaiblogging
Baha’u’llah, Baha’i World Faith
Refection, Woofer Sitting Pretty by judy
http://bahaiteachings.org/bahai-faith
During the month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day (or so) something related to or inspired by Baha’i Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
the hashtag #bahaiblogging
Thomas Merton
Antiquated & Outdated by judy
“This unprecedented administrative order, fundamentally different from any other system of religious or political authority, has now become the first functioning system of democratic global governance, vesting power and initiative in the entire body of the believers worldwide.”
During the month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day-or-so something related to or inspired by Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
The hashtag is #bahaiblogging.
Abdu’l-Bahá
Loving Touch by Peggy
During the month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day-or-so something related to or inspired by Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
The hashtag is #bahaiblogging.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, (Baha’i World Faith)
Soul Mates by Peggy & Judy
*During the remaining month of November, Baha’i Blogging is hosting a post-a-day (or so) something related to or inspired by Faith. Because so many of you follow both this blog and CATNIPblog Peggy & I will post our “dailies” here and Sunday “retrospectives” on CATNIPblog.com
The hashtag is #bahaiblogging.
To all Human-beings: It’s time for my Halloween ORANGE-ALERT.
Example of suspicious clothing
Example of humiliation.
No matter how many times I HAVE TOLD HUMANS not to humiliate us because they want to be amused it happens every year. I prefer to think that Humans just aren’t very smart and have no memory retention beyond a few hours rather than the possibility they are simply insensitive creatures with no regard for our feelings.
Frankly,
Freddie Parker Westerfield, PIC&C
Protector of Innocent Creatures & Critters
Fly’n High by Peggy
a judy pome
a peggy picture
Oct 31 Prompt MASK
Posting a drawing a day on Curious to the Max with a once-a-week Sunday-7 Day Retrospective on CATNIPblog for those of you who just want to click- off the dailies!
http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober
Oct 30 Prompt FOUND
Oct 29 Prompt, UNITED
Oct 28 Prompt FALL
Oct 27 Prompt CLIMB
Oct 26 prompt SQUEAK
Oct 25 Prompt SHIP
Oct 24 Prompt BLIND
Oct 23 Prompt JUICY
Strolling by the Stream
Oct 22 Prompt TRAIL
Oct 21 Prompt FURIOUS
Oct 20 Prompt DEEP
Oct 19 Prompt CLOUD
Oct 18 Prompt FILTHY
Oct 17 Prompt GRACEFUL
