Friday, January 3, 2014

Beautiful Weather, Dog Study, Football

Yesterday was, and today is supposed to be, gorgeous.  A crisp morning, followed by a nice warm afternoon.  Yesterday, we reached a high of 57 degrees, with calm winds, blue skies and plenty of sunshine; today, the forecasters say we might reach 60, or slightly above.  However, tomorrow we'll have snow  and a high of less than 30 - such is weather in the Colorado Rockies.  Currently, my kits are outside, enjoying the sunshine and playing with the local squirrels.  I've given the squirrels mixed nuts for the past two days, today, and have enough for tomorrow - and they are ecstatic...  Brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans, cashews, hazel nuts, and peanuts; they have gotten spoiled, so they are leaving the peanuts for their last choice of eats.  It's very funny.
   I laughed myself silly yesterday - I don't know who funded this study, but it was done...  The Czech University of Life Sciences and the University of Duisberg-Essen have spent two years watching 70 dogs relieve themselves.  The 70 dogs studied consisted of 37 different breeds (no mutts?)  and the dogs were watched defecating and urinating while off leash.  If the magnetic fields of the earth were stable, and not in flux, then the dogs lined up in a north-south position to relive themselves.  Now, the earth's magnetic fields are steady for only about 20% of daylight hours...  so I'm wondering if this study actually proves anything;  but a bunch of professors believe that this indicates that canines can "tune into" the earth's magnetic forces. But to what use will the results of this study be put?  Does this mean more dogs and cats and rabbits with electrodes stuck into their brains for experiments?  I certainly hope not!
  I thoroughly enjoyed the live, full coverage of the Rose Parade from Pasadena on Home and Garden TV - to be able to see the parade, in it's entirety, without cuts for commercials is fantastic.  I watch to find out what the floats are made with - all the organic materials used, to see all of the equestrian units, and to see the youngsters that have worked so hard to be able to travel and appear in the Parade.  (Even  though, once I again, I laughed, when the band from Japan was playing and marching to "Tequila!") At least the commentators this year did not stumble over the names of the horses breeds, nor make jokes about them.  A few of the Spanish names threw the commentators off track, but they recovered pretty well.  I was impressed, over all.
  And I got to watch Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks from the University of South Carolina defeat the Wisconsin Badgers.  I fell in love, all over again, with Conner Shaw, the senior quarterback; with Jadeveon Clowney, the incredibly fast defensive back; with Bruce Ellington and Shaw Roland, for their incredible hands and concentration on receiving the ball; and with Sam Davis, who ran his heart out, despite injury. Thank you, Gamecocks, for an wonderful year of football!  (And then the Oklahoma Sooners beat Alabama - my, oh my....)

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