Insects & other animals just soldier on

Marked by undependable, unseasonable and violent weather, the summer of ’23 was notably un-lovable, with catastrophes taking place seemingly everywhere in the world: fires, merciless heat, extreme storms, earthquakes, dam breaks and floods added to the “usual” crime and virus rates, and (understandably?) continuing mental health issues.    

Howdy Doody in transit

No wonder the media often opted to dwell on oddities and frivolities like the 2,200-pound pet steer being taken for rides in a converted police cruiser, with his colossal horns dominating the windshield area.  https://tinyurl.com/ycyb5zc3  Or the “portrait” of the Mona Lisa painted on the side of a barn. https://tinyurl.com/2b77zn6w   Such pastimes were welcome changes from topics like politics and even weather.

But then, to my great disappointment, there were no takers to my previous-post appeal for creative constructions from cat food cans.  Other cat parents simply must still be emptying those cans and tossing them, without any glowing light bulbs to motivate them toward greatness. 

One huge summer success came earlier this month: the Insect Festival that Mercer County’s master gardeners put on once again.  Despite muggy weather, these committed people – many dressed as butterflies or bumble bees – displayed insects of all kinds (good and bad), staffed stands with information about related topics and were on hand to answer the myriad questions I overheard while wandering around, amazed and appreciative. 

If you didn’t get there this year, please: vow now to be there next September! 

And speaking of sharks (weren’t we?!), here’s an image from the recent exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) that I couldn’t fit in earlier.  Since it’s still summer and some lucky people are still swimming, here’s a humbling comparison for anyone who works out in deep open water.

                                                                                         AMNH imge

An ancient species, sharks are now in decline for a well-known reason: the Anthropocene, of course: the “current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment” – or, more simply: the age of human destruction of virtually all things good and beautiful.  https://tinyurl.com/4vfzmjtb

Another needlessly threatened and declining ancient species is one New Jersey beach-goers know well: the horseshoe crab.  What people don’t commonly know is that for decades these crabs have been “harvested” so their blood can be used for testing injectable medicines and implants for toxins.

Horseshoe crab

And that practice continues today, even though alternative synthetic tests are available.  Sure, it can be hard to change practices long in use, but this one can and should be stopped if for no other reason than respect for horseshoe crabs, who have survived for so long in a world increasingly dangerous for them. https://tinyurl.com/cmfh5we8

It doesn’t stop there either: They're also killed for food in Asia, besides for their blood, as well as used for bait by fishermen and fertilizer by growers.  There it is again: Dominionism, or humans acting on the belief that the world is theirs to use as they wish, to despoil. 

Armadillo

False entitlement!    https://tinyurl.com/3btzcuf7

But take heart! There’s a flip side to all the horror going on now, and our believing that's true could start with reading this column by a stubbornly positive woman who writes so convincingly: 

“I can’t tell you how much delight I take in watching a young animal’s deep pleasure in existence, enjoying the power of its beautiful young body in a beautiful old world. . . 

“The fallen world — peopled by predators and disease and the relentlessness of time, shot through with every kind of suffering — is not the only world.  We also dwell in Eden . . . ." https://tinyurl.com/yk6ucdjk

After reading it, do you agree?  

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