Breaking News: Switching Clocks a Thing of the Past!*

Clock 1
Graphic courtesy of Canva.com.

Leave it to the United States to tackle what is really important—ridding themselves of the pesky twice-yearly time change!

Because, don’t ya know, climate change doesn’t exist, plastic is 100% biodegradable, extinction is a bleeding-heart liberal myth, and things like pesticides, deforestation, and fracking/PFAS have zero impact on the environment and wildlife like squirrels.

Angry Squirrel
Squirrel Army Unite! (Photo Courtesy of Canva.com.)

And, of course, women are yearning to be “barefoot and pregnant” in the kitchen yet once again.

Woman Axe
Put me in a room full of sharp instruments, I dare you! (Photo courtesy of Canva.com)

Not to mention the fact that nobody reads books anymore anyway, so who cares that the conservative right is burning books yanking books off library shelves everywhere?

Burning Book
Photo courtesy of Canva.com

Am I right, or am I right?

So, it’s my pleasure to announce, the bill has passed to make Daylight Savings Time permanent! That means, for all you (99.9%) of underpaid minions here in the good ol’ U.S. of A, ya’ll can’t use that handy excuse to explain to your corporate overlord supervisor why you were late.

After all, who actually needs to enjoy a nice sit-down breakfast with your family, anyway?

Certainly not people working triple shifts just to buy a week’s worth of food day’s worth of food for said family!

And those leftist liberals were too preoccupied in trying to protect women’s rights, the rights of nonhuman animals and of nature, the rights of the aforementioned underpaid minions, and anybody else that can cook up a sob story and pass it off as a completely ineffectual petition, that they didn’t notice the rider that was attached to that bill.

I’m talking about the measure that is a one-stop, surefire, bet-your-bottom-dollar (if you don’t even have a “bottom dollar” you’re shit out of luck), solution to the so-called inflation crisis!

Attached to this “Sunshine Protection Act”, destined to go into effect November 5th of this year, is an extra day tacked onto the end of November, extending the month’s previous 30-day allotment.

“We just know the American people will appreciate the addition of November 31 to the calendar,” conservative right spokesperson Mr-Definitely-Not-Gender-Fluid-Sawbucks. “I mean, who wouldn’t benefit from an extra day of Black Friday sales to stock up on all that plastic merchandise for their loved ones? Not only will this extra shopping day be a guaranteed boost to the economy, I’ve heard that the plastic is now so biodegradable you can eat it!”

So, there you have it, folks…not only do we get an extra hour of sunshine, we of the 99.9% U.S. population get an extra day to put food on the table exercise our consumer rights to act as greedy and rapacious as the One-Percenters!

Happy November 31st, everybody!!!!!

(*Oh, and Happy April Fools’ Day! Thanks to the Evil Squirrel Nest for another fun event: The Tenth Annual Contest of Whatever!)

Lottery
Photo courtesy of Canva.com.

Also, in case it still isn’t clear, this post is about as real as my chances of winning the lottery. But there’s always tomorrow!

Pining over Squirrels on National Squirrel Appreciation Day…

Every time I prepare to move to a new place, I get sad that I have to leave all my bird and squirrel friends behind. I worry about how they’re faring without the fully stocked bird feeders I had out for them.

I miss my wildlife friends.

Like this one who came to my apartment porch a few times a day.

IMG_20210125_124059922 (2)

Although, admittedly, Moon Pie was less than thrilled at the glass separating her from her potential lunch.

IMG_20210125_124008561

I’d hoped I’d moved to a place where I could see my wildlife friends return year after year, or stay all year ’round. But even if I were staying, I would lose some of my friends due to the fact that it’s legal here to shoot doves and other like birds. And that’s even more heartbreaking.

I mean, who even still kills birds like that? And why?*

Kansans, apparently. And all the out-of-state hunters they let run amok across the Kansas landscape.

So, given that it’s also National Hugging Day, send out imaginary hugs to all your wildlife friends.

And, please, if you don’t want to hug, them, fine. (It’s not a good idea to actually hug wildlife. Remember, it’s WILD life.)

Just don’t shoot them.

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/january-21-2023-national-hugging-day-squirrel-appreciation-day-national-hyaluronic-acid-day-national-use-your-gift-card-day-national-granola-bar-day-national-fruitcake-toss-day/

*Rhetorical questions, of course.

Eco-Monday is now Eco-Tuesday, apparently . . .

Okay, so I forgot to post up the blog I had planned for yesterday.

Good thing it wasn’t actually an interview post!

I didn’t have anyone lined up, but I got so busy with life and the day job and, to be honest, sucking up every last dreg of the three-day weekend (I don’t celebrate the 4th, but it was nice having that extra day to get caught up on things) that I just forgot.

So, I’m still looking for people to interview for the Eco-Monday-now-Eco-Tuesday feature, so if you’re involved in environmental conservation, including wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, or even if you’re turning your once-turf lawn into a pollinator-friendly haven, reach out to me at croftwillow [at] yahoo [dot] com and we’ll set up a mini-interview!

Stay green!

Mourning a Celebrity Childhood Friend…

 

 

Snooty the manatee has died while in captivity at the South Florida Museum.

I used to go see Snooty as a kid. I always felt sad that he was all alone in his tank at the museum. I used to daydream that I would sneak in afterhours and somehow manage to set him free. It seemed like a stark place to live, and the sounds were disorientating even to my human ears.

As an adult (90s/early 2000s), trying to be more active in animal rights causes, I had mixed feelings about visiting the museum. I had fond memories of the South Florida Museum, but I found it hard to go see Snooty in his lonely little tank.

Around 2012/2013 or so, someone I knew could get me into the museum for free, so I went. I was amazed to see that Snooty was still at the museum. But, this time, he had company. There were two other manatees (they were being rehabilitated, I believe) in the tank with him, so I felt a little better that he wasn’t all by himself.

Then I saw a post on someone’s Facebook page announcing that he had died. I figured old age, not being too knowledgeable on how long manatees lived in captivity.

But then I read the article(s). I’ll let you choose to read them for yourself, just in case you are as sensitive to animals as I am, and maybe have to steel yourself before hearing the news. Or want to avoid it altogether.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/07/24/snooty-the-manatee-dies-in-heartbreaking-accident-days-after-his-69th-birthday/?utm_term=.7abad7a7d5ee

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/23/538900625/snooty-the-manatee-dies-and-a-florida-community-mourns

http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/article163774463.html

I have been in mourning for gentle Snooty over the past week  few days that have felt like a week.

And been thinking a lot.

About the fact that there is less and less room for animals, plants, trees, insects, fish, or any of the other non-human lifeforms that are on this planet as well. Because we humans are taking up so much room. And that, by the time there is no more room for humans on a planet that will become uninhabitable sooner or later, there probably won’t be any non-human lifeforms left.

I read something about micro-living via the National Trust for Historic Preservation. But is it enough? Is anything enough to stop humanity’s destructive drive to fully dominate the planet?

I don’t know. I’m still trying to do everything I can to be more environmentally respectful, as futile as it feels.

I know that I miss Snooty, one of my few (make-believe?) childhood friends. If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I hope he gets to live in a better world, surrounded by freedom and clean ocean water and other manatee friends and family. And I wish the same thing for animals and plants and trees and insects that have to live on the planet with us humans. May better karma be with you in your next life.