From the video, you can see why they are sometimes called whistle pigs.
Woodchucks got their name from the Algonquins who called them “wuchak” or “digger.” Woodchuck is a corruption of the Algonquin name. These large ground squirrels (Marmota monax) are also known as whistlers, ground pigs, thickwood badgers, and monax. Baby woodchucks are called chucklings.
February 2 is also known as Candlemas and falls 40 days after Christmas. Lots of other ancient holidays and observances take place in the early part of February – probably when everyone is weary of the long, dark nights and has hopes for an early spring.
“Happiness and the absurd are two sons of the same earth,” said Albert Camus. “They are inseparable.” Indeed, absurdity does have a way of instilling happiness in us. Take, for example, Nekozushi, the brainchild of Japanese company Tange & Nakimushi Peanuts (a name that’s equally absurd).
This wonderful collection of sushi cats is from Spoon and Tomago
National Bird Day is an annual holiday in the U.S., with half a million adherents who celebrate through birdwatching, studying birds, smoking birds, bird drinking games including ‘bird date’ and other bird-gang activities. (Wikipedia)
Because it is tattoo Tuesday, here is a tattoo of a black and white warbler on a dedicated birder
Birds Tattoo Contest during the Biggest Week of American birding organized by Black Swamp Bird Observatory. Maumee Bay Lodge and Conference Center, Oakland, Ohio. May 14th 2015.
Because it’s Thanksgiving, we want to take a moment and remind ourselves what we’re truly thankful for: friendship. And one of the most meaningful and important things about friendship is that it can happen between different backgrounds, different ideals, different thinking, different appearances and even different species. Take, for example, the story of Marimo the cat and Fuku the owl, who live in a cafe in Osaka, Japan.
The two met when Marimo was just a few months old and immediately hit it off. They’ve grown older but have remained best friends.
Marimo and Fuku sleep together, play together and hang out together. They’re so close that the inseparable couple were nicknamed FukuMari. They’ve become quite a popular tourist attraction too, resulting in overwhelming visitors to the Hukulou Coffee shop in Osaka where they live.
You can go to see them in person but the shop owner is careful to not let Fuku get too tired, especially since a coffee shop is not it’s natural habitat. If you can’t make it to Osaka, FukuMari has a photobook coming out on December 24, 2015 and it’s going to be available through Amazon.
FukuMari are one of the more adorable reminders that we can all get along despite our differences. Happy Thanksgiving!
Anna Mo knits with chunky spools of wool, utilizing giant needles to produces the three-inch stitches that comprise her blankets, wraps, and now tiny pet beds. The animal-focused textiles mimic the appearance of her human accessories, crafted in bright blue, pink, and orange encasements that are perfect for the upcoming winter. Due to the round shape of the beds they even begin to look like spools of yarn themselves, hollowed out to perfectly snuggle your pooch or kitty.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 