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I recently encountered this dragonfly in The Boyfriend’s back yard. Based on my extensive research (two Wikipedia articles and a Google image search), I think it might be a male Azure Hawker. I say “might” because I’m not clear if Azure Hawkers are found only in Scotland, or if Scotland is the only place in […]

Technology aims to replace animal cosmetic testing From KOMO News: Technology is being worked on to do away with “controversial” — not to mention horrific and fatal — testing of cosmetic-related chemicals on animals. A “working prototype” is expected to be available in 2011, and European laws require this type of testing to be eliminated […]

And now, for your viewing pleasure (OK, really for my pleasure): A hovering hummingbird. [thumb:1652:l][thumb:1651:l][thumb:1650:l][thumb:1649:l]

Hummingbirds aren’t the only birds that come to my deck. I also receive occasional* visits from at least three gorgeous, bright-blue birds. They look like this: [thumb:1648:l][thumb:1647:l] I think they’re Western scrub jays. Or Aphelocoma californica as they’re known in Wikipedia. In describing the appearance of these birds, the Wikipedia article (as retrieved on 12/23/08) […]

I love having a hummingbird feeder on my deck. At least 3 hummers dine at Steve’s Hummingbird Café. I frequently try to photograph them … and fail to get good pictures. However, one hummer obliged me a few days ago by hanging out on my windchime hanger/hummingbird perch* for several minutes and remaining fairly still. […]

[thumb:1644:l][thumb:1643:l][thumb:1642:l] Hummingbird on my deck.

[album:261,0:c] The town of Steilacoom, where The Boyfriend (TB) lives, is far enough from big cities and the freeway that it still has some wildlife. Aside from squirrels, which can be found throughout Seattle and other cities and towns in the area, Steilacoom has resident raccoons, possums, and deer. TB even saw a fox recently. […]

You’ve heard of Flexcar, the car-sharing service? Yahoo! News has a story about FlexPetz, a rent-a-dog* service in San Francisco. (*Oh, wait, the owner hates it when you call it that. It’s a “shared pet ownership concept.”) The “petz” part of the business name is not only misspelled, it’s misleading, since the service rents … […]

That is to say, TB adopted kittens. (Either way, better kittens than a cow.) [thumb:1008:c:l=p] Alpha is in back in each of these pictures; Beta is in front. Alpha was so christened because he seemed to be the alpha kitty, hissing whenever TB or another human approached him. When TB told me he had named […]