Category Archives: Summer Activities

10

Bears v Bulls: The Great Tug-of-War

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These Photos of Animals Eating Food Will Brighten Your Day

It was time for the annual Everest Financial company picnic. It was a family event, and a highlight of the year. One of the most anticipated events was was the big tug-of-war. Every year, the “big boys” of the firm fought it out for bragging rights. It was always the bulls on one side and the bears on the other. The bulls had been winning for the past few years, but the bears had been practicing.

The bulls were an upbeat bunch. They always looked at the bright side, even when things seemed to go against them. They were optimistic and hopeful for the future. The clients loved them. Oddly, on the years that the bulls won the match, the company usually performed very well.

What Is a Group of Bears Called? | Animals Pickings

On the other hand, the bears were a lot quieter. They had a tendency to try and find the flaws in the bulls’ approach. They were cautious by nature. Some of the customers were afraid of the bears. They thought that the bears were bad luck. In fact, when the bears won the tug-of-war, the company usually performed poorly for some time afterwards.

The big day arrived. It was a beautiful sunny day. The bulls, as usual, were convinced they were going to win.

Herd Bulls | texasminiaturecattle

Jerry: OK, guys! We’re on a winning streak. We have to keep it going.

Louis: I don’t know. I have a weird feeling about today.

Jerry: What do you mean?

Louis: I’ve been hearing rumors.

Jimmy: What kind of rumors?

Louis: That the bears are a lot stronger than last year.

Jimmy: So what? We’re strong too.

Louis: Yeah. But some of the guys haven’t been working out. They’re convinced that we’re going to keep winning forever.

Jerry: Don’t be ridiculous. Of course, we’re going to win.

Angry Bear - JattDiSite.com

The bears came charging onto the field. They did look tough. And mean. Obviously, they meant to win this year.

Barry: Listen up, team. We can do this. Those stupid bulls are way too cocky. It’s time to teach them a lesson.

Theo: Things have been going their way for too long. It’s time for a correction.

Monique: Let’s show them what happens when you get too excited and lose track of common sense.

Meerkat | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants

A huge crowd had gathered. There was a lot of tension in the air. The judges brought out the rope and laid it on the sand. The animals lined up on their respective sides. The main referee, a huge lion, explained the rules.

Lion: You may wrap the line around your body or hold it in your teeth. If you bite through the rope, the other team wins. The first team to pull the entire other team across the middle line wins. No throwing of dirt or bodily fluids. No poking, hitting, or biting. The judges may disqualify a player or an entire team. No eating opponents or spectators. Are you ready?

How the lion lost its strength: big cats' survival at risk as DNA defences dwindle | Wildlife | The Guardian

The bulls and the bears stepped into position and nodded.

Lion: Go!

Both sides dug in and tried to pull the other off balance. At first, there was a lot of grunting and groaning, but not much movement. The crowd was cheering loudly for the bulls. But Louis had been right; some of the bulls had gotten complacent, thinking that things would always be going their way.

So stubborn .. | Animals, Animals beautiful, Bear

The bears dug in hard and refused to budge. Before long, it was obvious that it was only a matter of time before the bulls collapsed. At first, it was just a couple of them losing their footing. Then they were attacked by horse flies. Soon their entire line was falling apart. The bears waited for an opportune moment.

The wind picked up and started blowing the sand around. It seemed to bother the bulls more than the bears. The bears kept up their pressure. Suddenly, the bulls collapsed. With a giant heave, the bears pulled them across the line and won the game.

Some of the crowd congratulated the bears, but mostly they went back to their picnic. The bears winning might be a bad sign, but there was always next year. And they didn’t want to rile up the bears any further. The last time the crowd upset the bears, they rode the bulls back to the office.

Sorted Food — 5 Top Animal / Food Blogs!

Ed. Note: Apologies to anyone who isn’t familiar with the US stock market. Generally speaking, the bulls are the people who think things are going to get better, and the bears are the ones who think they are going to get worse. At the moment, the bears are on top. A “correction” is what happens when the market starts to slow down after it gets too hot.

Of Bears and Bulls: The Irrationality of People | by Anthony Sassano | Medium

Pictures courtesy of Google Images.

16

Cat Games: Beating the Summertime Blues

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On Tuesday morning, at 5:13 am Eastern Daylight Time, it  will  be officially summer. All those long summer days with lots of sun puddles sound great, but some times it’s a little too warm for comfort. So we decided to look around and see if we could find some activities that would help us beat the heat. Note: Most of them involve ice and/or water. If you’re not a fan of wet paws, you may want to just lie in front of a fan or air vent.

Why, Oh Why, do Cats Hate Water? | Cat Care of Vinings

Water Park – This one’s for the real water lovers among us. Have your human put a few inches of lukewarm water in the bathtub. They should also put a couple of places for you to sit in the water where you won’t get wet. (An upside-down pot is one idea.) Have them put in a few toys that will float. (Even ice cubes work.) You can bat the toys around and watch them move in the tub. Perfect toy? Floating battery-operated fish.

Ice Cube Bowl – Don’t like the idea of sitting with water all around you? Have your human fill a bowl with water and put some ice cubes in it. You can bat the ice cubes around from the safety of your favorite seat. If your human really wants to get on your good side, they can make the cubes out of chicken broth or tuna juice. The best way is to use an ice cube tray, fill it part of the way with the broth, and add a piece of a treat (or catnip).

Is It Safe To Put Ice In A Cat's Water? | Purr Craze

Fishing Bowl – Really don’t like the idea of touching cold, icky ice? Have your human put a few floating toys in a bowl. Hollow plastic or cork are the best. Ping pong balls are ideal. Make sure the bowl is big enough for you to actually move the toys around.

Fishing/Bobbing for Treats – Have your human fill a rimmed baking sheet or other low pan with a small amount of water. Then they should put a couple of plastic lids on the water. (There should be enough water that the lids float.) Finally, they need to put treats in the lids. You can either scoop the treats out with your paw or “bob” for them with your mouth. If your human doesn’t want to use lids, they can just freeze some broth or tuna juice into cubes and float them on the water, similar to the Ice Cube Bowl above. Once again, make sure there’s enough water for the items to move around freely.

Cats & Toilet Paper: Why Do They Keep Unrolling It? | Hill's Pet

While we were looking around, we also found a few things that won’t help with the heat, but sound like fun.

Toilet Paper Tube Puzzle – Once you’re finished unrolling all of the toilet paper, give the tube to your human. Tell them to put a few pieces of kibble in the tube, then fold the ends over and seal them. Have them put a couple of small holes in the tube, then put the tube on the floor. You can get the kibble out by rolling the tube around the floor.

Pizza Box Search – Don’t let your human throw away their empty pizza box after you’re done sharing. They can put a small toy in there (Something that rolls around would be good.) They close the box, then cut several small holes in the top. You can put your paw through the holes to move the toy around (and maybe get it out.)

Why Does My Cat Eat With His Paw? - Cat Attitudes

Tube Fishing – Don’t let your human throw away the empty paper towel tubes either. They can cut them into different heights and secure them into a box. They put kibble in the tubes, and you have fun fishing the kibble out of the various tubes. (We have a store-bought version of this game, and we really like it.)

Box Forts – Your human can stack a bunch of old boxes and bags together. They need to cut holes in several places so you can crawl around the whole thing.

Catnip, Catnip plant, Heirloom seeds

Rooting Box – Have your human fill a big box with non-toxic stuff like leaves, sticks, grass, and/or river rocks. You can root around in the stuff looking for treats and toys they have hidden. You can even sleep in there if you want.

Kitty Garden – Ask your human to plant some cat grass, catnip, or other cat-friendly plants where you can explore them. There are few things more cooling than lying in cool grass.

Cat Stroller – It’s a great way to see the neighborhood without being in any danger from traffic. Be sure your human uses a stroller that is safe for kitties. You should be able to see and smell, but not get out accidentally. Note: If you are a shy or tense kitty, you may find a stroller is not really much fun. There are a lot of different noises and smells in the world, and it may be overwhelming.

Iz a stroller-- Get strollin'! http://cheezburger.com/9002086656 | Funny cute cats, Cat stroller, Pets cats

Hopefully, you can find something in this list that you and your human can enjoy together. We’re not really fans of ice or water, but if Mom freezes some tuna juice, we might give it a shot. On the other hand, the rooting box sounds like a lot of fun. Or napping in that sun puddle.

Pictures courtesy of Google Images.

2

Of Chickens and Kazoos

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My husband and I started going to a new church in a small town (village actually) not far from here. It’s a stereotypical small town with a main street full of small shops and extremely nice people. The church itself is 175 years old.

Like many small towns around here, they have a street fair-type thing over the summer. Ours was this past Friday and Saturday. Being the new deacon (yes, it’s true – I’m ordained), I wanted to show I’m a team player.

Gotta be sure to research before making a commitment like that.

Friday was good. I was at the information booth handing out goodies (various noise-makers) and answering any questions people had. The section we were in was beautiful. A little valley next to the river.

Very bucolic. Until we got to the last act on the entertainment schedule. They introduced themselves as a band from a local school district. My expectations weren’t extremely high; just some very generic covers of popular music.

On the positive side, the instrumentals were very good. As was one of the male singers. Unfortunately there were four singers (two male, two female). Who were very loud. And did not enunciate. And did not hit one correct note in some of the songs.

Then they did the unforgivable. I have always been a fan of Eric Clapton. I think some of the work he did with Cream is amazing. The band tried to play Sunshine of Your Love (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwDo0JUeKqM). I don’t know how the instrumentals sounded. They couldn’t be heard over the tortured-banshee singing of the girls. You would not have had to be a fan of 60’s rock to have felt my pain.

The big event for the church came the next morning. The famous chicken barbecue. It was pretty amazing. They build a massive production grill on the front lawn and barbecue halves of 500 chickens in an assembly-line type of thing.

But first the parade. The church is known for the chicken dinner so the float had to be something chicken-esque, right? OK. It’s a flatbed trailer, covered with bales of hay. Church members sit on the hay wearing chicken hats (felt, chicken-shaped) playing kazoos.

Yes, you read that correctly. Anyone who says we take ourselves too seriously needs to come to the parade. We rode around town playing Take Me Out to the Ballgame, When the Saints Come Marching In, and other crowd favorites. We each had a three-foot chicken cut-out (very nicely decorated) that we could make dance along.

When they told me about this, I wasn’t even sure what a kazoo was. I think I may have played one on a boat that used to go up and down the Detroit River when I was little. I could not seem to get the hang of humming the tune into the thing to get the song to come out. It probably had something to do with laughing too hard to get my mouth properly around the kazoo.

I think we might have been the most popular thing in the parade if Paws hadn’t shown up. Paws is the mascot for the Detroit Tigers. Admittedly, Paws is extremely cute. He doesn’t have one of those creepy, over-sized heads. He actually looks like a friendly tiger on two feet. I may be the only chicken who can say she was hugged by a tiger.

We had to give the chickens back at the end, but got to keep the kazoos. Mine is sitting on the table right now. I certainly don’t want to play it, but it seems wasteful to throw it away after only using it once. Maybe I’ll leave it at the church for next year. It’s probably safe from theft.

The barbecue was a bit of a let-down after that. It was very successful, and the chicken was delicious. But I had to go back to being an adult.

A couple of the men told me I needed to learn how to flip the chickens on the barbecue. They have huge racks that probably hold 20 chicken halves. They put a second rack on top and flip it over to cook the other side.

I got on one side and one of the guys got on the other. When we went to flip, my side opened (of course) and I lost a chicken. They told me I had to try again next year. I need to check the budget to make sure there’s insurance to cover loss of chickens.

The next big event is the cookie walk at the beginning of December. Apparently this church is known for food. It’s a huge sale – kind of a build-your-own cookie selection. They had 8 long tables full of cookies to choose from last year.

At least they don’t dress up like elves.