Some Knowledge

It has been reported that a winged cat has been found in China.  The house cat supposedly began growing wings a month ago after being harrassed by female cats looking to mate with it.  The tomcat, named Tom, began growing bumps on its back, and soon, fur-covered wings complete with bones sprouted from its back.

You can see pictures of Tom the winged cat and another cat with wings on The Daily Mail Online website.  Apparently, this condition is not unknown in cats and is explained as a skin condition or as the result of poor grooming.  I’m not sure what to think about this creature.  It looks like a refugee from a cheesy anime cartoon.  Perhaps this is all a hoax cooked up by the owners to get publicity.  I would not be surprised if this was totally fake.  I mean, what are the chances that two additional appendages suddenly sprout from the back of a housecat, complete with bones, in the exact position of wings?

I seem to recall an episode of Kimba the White Lion from many years ago where a mad scientist transplanted wings onto the back of a tiger.  This creature, which he called Flyger, became evil and terrorized the animals of the jungle because he knew he was a freak and would never be the same as the other animals.  Finally, Kimba made the mad scientist remove the wings from Flyger and the tiger went back to being his normal nice self.  I saw no mention in the news reports that the wings affected the cats attitude in any way.  If I read any reports of the winged cat becoming a terrorist I will be sure to pass them along.

Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer claim to have found the body of a bigfoot in Northern Georgia.  There are photos of the creature here.  They have the body in a freezer and have supposedly had DNA tests run on the creature’s tissues for identification.  Whitton and Dyer have scheduled a news conference for friday.

The specifications for this creature seem to indicate that it is a large bipedal anthropoid.  It is claimed that the body weighs 500 pounds and has 16 inch feet.  I don’t know whether this is real or a hoax, but it does seem strange that two bigfoot hunters would actually find what they were looking for.  It is claimed that there were sightings of other bigfoots  in the area where this body was recovered.

If this is true it will mean that a large creature has lived alongside humans for millions of years without any other direct evidence for its existence being discovered until now.  If this turns out to be a hoax, it will be perhaps the most elaborate hoax concocted by people who want to believe in a mythical creature that nobody has ever found before.  Perhaps these two will write a book about their discovery and make millions on the best seller list.  From looking at the pictures, which are not very detailed, I don’t know what to say about this purported evidence for a legendary creature.  Maybe someday somebody will capture one of these things alive and put it in a zoo.  Strange things have happened this week with the chupacabra yesterday and bigfoot today.  Perhaps tomorrow the space aliens will land and surprise us all.

Sequoia National Forest is in California.  It is a beautiful scenic place that protects some of the largest living things on planet earth, the Giant Sequoia trees.  If you get a permit from the forest service you can go camping in the national forests.  It is a wonder of nature to marvel at the beautiful trees and the wildness of the earth in these protected areas.

If you are an illegal alien with ties to the Mexican drug cartels, you might be inclined to grow marijuana in these forests.  The land is owned by the government, so it can not be seized by the drug authorities.  There are many remote areas with easily dammed streams that can supply water to your plants through cheap PVC drip irrigation tubing.  Best of all, you will be bringing billions of dollars of surplus American money into your poor homeland by selling your easily grown and processed plants.

There is only one problem with your farming venture.  American drug squads are currently monitoring the Sequoia National Forest and are ripping up your pretty plants and water systems and arresting your gun-toting family members in their clandestine farming camps.  So far, authorities have eradicated over a billion dollars worth of your crops in eight days.  I’m sure that as the season progresses, more and more of these happy little farms will be rooted out and destroyed by the agents of the American Government.  Perhaps you should have stayed home and grown corn.

One word for cloud in Latin is “nebula.” Nebula means little cloud or mist. In astronomy, a nebula is a cloud of interstellar gas or dust, or, in spiral nebulae, a galaxy of stars.

There are several words from the Latin used by meteorology to describe types of clouds. There are cumulous clouds, which are like cotton balls. There are Nimbus clouds, which bring rain. There are stratus clouds, which form in layers. There are also combinations of clouds, such as nimbostratus, cumulostratus, and nimbocumulous. These words all describe different types of clouds, but the Latin words do not mean cloud.

Several online Latin-English dictionaries seemed to have problems translating this word. I learned it from an astronomy book, so I’m fairly certain that the Latin word for cloud is nebula, even though this might be specific for a little cloud due to the diminutive suffix of “a” on the word.

Birds are a natural addition to your backyard.  If you want to attract a lot of birds to your yard, you will need to give them a reason to come visit you.  For best results attracting birds, you will want to do several things.

The first thing birds need is some structure to perch on.  This usually means a tree of some sort.  Tall trees are not necessarily what you are looking for.  You will want something small to get the birds close to the ground.  A flowering crab or plum is about the perfect tree for this job.  You might also want to plant a dwarf fruit tree, although these are not as hardy as the crab apple.

Once you have a small tree for the birds to perch in, and it is planted close enough to your back window to be easily seen, you will want some kind of feeder.  There are many bird feeders that can be bought at hardware stores that hang directly in the tree.  If your tree is still too small to hang a feeder in, you will want to get a bird feeder that is set on a post.  Bird feeders are not rocket science.  A perfectly good feeder that will last for years can be made of plywood and plastic sheet material like plexiglass.  Be sure there is a place for the birds to perch on your feeder.  If you get a post-mounted feeder it is important to have a shield installed so that squirrels will not raid your feeder.

The kind of seeds you put in your feeder is important.  You will want to use a good mixture, commonly sold as wild bird seed.  Single varieties of seeds, such as sunflower seeds, will attract a less various group of birds.  You want to have something for everyone at your feeding station.  Small birds can be attracted by thistle seeds, but these are very expensive and require a special feeder.  Stick with a general-purpose bird seed and you will have many different birds in your yard.

Certain birds, such as woodpeckers, are very attracted to suet cakes.  These are square cakes of suet fat and bird seeds.  You hang a suet cake in a wire basket, specially made for the purpose.  The feeder is placed on a branch of a tree and the birds will come and feed off it.  Many birds enjoy suet cakes, especially in the cold of winter.

There is no need to advertise your feeder.  Birds will quickly find a source of food.  Once you place the feeders in your yard you will have a never-ending throng of birds visiting you.  In the summer, if you wish to attract hummingbirds, you can get special hummingbird feeders that dispense sugar water.  Just hang these in your tree and the birds will find them.

Birds are very sloppy eaters and will scatter seeds all over the place under your feeders.  Just let the seeds run out for a couple days before you refill and the creatures will pick the seeds right off the ground.  If you have a cat, be sure the feeders are out of reach.  Once your yard is known as a place where food can be easily found, you will have many different birds coming to visit you.