Pet Monologues

How to tell if you are mom’s favorite.

Note: PG-13…

Ever had one of those days?

Kobe Bryant’s popularity extends even to the animal kingdom. From a database of more than 465,000 pet insured animals including dogs, cats, birds, and exotic domesticated animals, 359 are named “Kobe,” making it the 189th most popular name of 65,536 pet names across the nation. Read the rest of this entry »

CipCip is a coloured enameled ceramic birdhouse. It is ready to be hung up outdoors, to provide a warm winter shelter for small birds and a safe nest for large hatches. Thanks to its natural materials, such as hemp rope and unleaded enamels, CipCip is a unique long-lasting object to be used in your garden.

http://www.designdot.it
Designer: Alberto Caramello (Italy)
Manufacturer: DOT (Italy)

Super Kingdom is a development of new animal habitats within King’s Wood, England. These luxury homes are modeled on the imperious palaces of Stalin, Ceauscescu, and Mussolini and offer nesting and over-winter sites to native and migrant species.






london fieldworks (bruce gilchrist & jo joelson) is an art duo fittingly based in london. their newly commissioned work ’super kingdom’ is based on research of animal hibernation patterns in england’s king’s wood forest. the artists will be presenting a series of site specific show homes in the forest beginning on september 21st. the homes are not only for the exhibit but will also serve as the subject for a video/animation work to be shot over the winter. the show is a direct comment on the human population in the forest’s surrounding region, drawing parallels to the animal kingdom. you can visit super kingdom from september 21 at stour valley arts in kent.

via designboom london fieldworks stour valley arts

J.R.

richard

ralph

lifegoods

(Top three) Modern Birdhouses’ Case Study Masters Series honors the architectural pioneers who participated in the Case Study Houses Program. The Case Study Houses Program was established in 1945 by John Entenza, the progressive editor and publisher of Arts and Architecture magazine. Entenza commissioned architects to design simple and innovative modern homes for a growing post-war housing market. The resulting homes took full advantage of industrialized building processes and continue to broadly influence modern architecture. Participants included such icons as Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen.

Named after Case Study participants J.R. Davidson, Richard Neutra, and Ralph Rapson — feature simple lines, modern detailing, and durable materials. They are hand-made from sustainably harvested teak that has been certified with the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program (www.smartwood.org). The wood is finished with an oil that protects against water, mildew, and UV rays. The roofs are constructed of sandblasted 1/4″ thick aluminum plate and aluminum dowels. Stainless steel fasteners prevent rust and corrosion. The opening is 1-3/8″ in diameter, which will accomodate common cavity-nesting birds such as chickadees, bluebirds, wrens, and swallows.

The birdhouses ship pre-assembled, except for the mounting bracket, which can be attached with two provided stainless steel screws. A keyhole slot on the back of the mounting bracket allow the birdhouse to be hung on a single screw. The floor is easily removable for cleaning.

via modern birdhouses life goods swiss miss

PM has not had pet products posted for quite a while.

For the chicken-lovin golfer in your family — or the golfer who won’t drive it across the water hazzard, the perfect gift(s)

inspiration from speedcat hollydale and rennyBA

After many years of having a variety of pets—mammals, birds, reptiles, fish—we realize that a remedy is determined by your particular need at the time. Right now we have a 19-year-old blind cat who howls. We realize that we can bring in no new mammal playmate for our kitty.

For us, vet costs are higher as our cat has been on meds for his thyroid for three years. Let’s talk about the vet bills and how to keep them as low as possible.

We just read that in 1973 a vet opened a rural Kansas office and charged $6 for a visit. Things change: last year Americans spent more than $10 billion on veterinary care, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.

A single visit to a vet cost an average of $135 for a dog owner as of 2006, the last time the veterinary group took a survey of those costs. That’s up 83 percent from 10 years earlier. Inflation played a major role—the costs of office space, staff salaries, equipment and supplies have all shot up.

Pet owners also are demanding a higher level of care. “Years ago, if an animal had a serious cancer,” Gregory Hammer, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, said, “someone would say to put him to sleep. Now they want to be referred to an oncologist.” Read the rest of this entry »

HELLO. S.E.X. Chirp. Mature post!

The birds are certainly chirping in our hood these past few weeks. Maybe it is just Spring in the air. Maybe it’s just romance. Let’s fall in love.

Sex and single bird.

Written by researchers around the world, highlights new discoveries in the sciences and what they mean for your outlook.

hawks do it

macaws do it

peacocks do it

ostriches do it

flamingos do it

A parakeet does it

THE BIG IDEA: Every summer, male songbirds called lark buntings shed their dull winter plumage and fly north from Mexico and Texas to build ground nests on the short-grass prairie of the Pawnee National Grassland, northeast of Denver. By the time female birds arrive two weeks later, the males are brightly adorned, often with glossy black feathers and white wing patches that flash as they zoom skyward and float back to the ground, singing all the while. These fancy traits and aerial displays may ward off other males, and they also send a come-hither signal to females. Scientists have always assumed that female birds, looking for good fathers, consistently choose males that exhibit the same exaggerated sexual traits. But my research shows that their preferences change from year to year. Sometimes females even select partners that look completely different from the previous season’s mates. Read the rest of this entry »

swine n. , pl. swine . Any of various omnivorous, even-toed ungulates of the family Suidae, including pigs, hogs, and boars, having a stout body.

nellie, a hampshire from indiana is a clone

clone “offspring” pork chop from indiana

acorn-fed iberico pig in eastern spain

a proper carving jamonero with hoof properly up

chow time

Top two photos from Wired magazine [wired 15.11] discussing cloning. “The other other white meat”—it looks the same, it cooks the same, it tastes the same. but this pig, a Hampshire from Indiana name Nelly, is a clone. And cloned bacon? It may already be at your supermarket. The second photo deck copy reads “My fist-size chop is glazed in a sugary, thick-as-molasses marinade. It tastes better than anything I’ve had at a restaurant—moist, succulent, and wonderfully tender.” Read the rest of this entry »