hannahcharnley

International Seal Day

It’s International Seal Day! (according to whatisyourspiritanimal.com) Here are some Facts about Seals

Seals are pinnipeds – sea mammals closely related to sea lions and walruses. There are 33 species of pinnipeds, 19 of which are seals including the Elephant Seal, Leopard Seal, Gray Seal and Hawaiian Monk Seal.

Seals can be found all over the globe on land and sea, spending about 20% of their time on land to give birth and molt. Some species of Seal mate on land, others mate under water.

Male Seals are called Bulls, Females are called Cows and Babies are called Pups.

The Elephant Seal is the largest of all the seals, with males growing up to 20 feet in length. The smallest of the Seals is the Harbor Seal, growing up to 6 feet long. Each Harbor Seal has a distinct patch of spots on it’s body, unique to itself. The most well-known Seal is the Gray Seal, living on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. Males can grow to 10 feet long and are usually twice the size of females, ranging in colour from a medium brown to a dark grey.

Seals eat mainly fish but will eat any meat they can get if sources are low, including squid, octopus and shellfish. They need to eat 5% of their body weight per day. If supplies are low their bodies begin to breakdown their internal Blubber for them to feed on but this can not last long as they need the Blubber to keep their body at the correct temperature.

Seals use their ears, if they have them, to hear prey and predators and can do over long distances. They use their whiskers to help find food both by day and by night, as they can sense vibrations in the water.

Here are some clips from the wonderful David Attenborough series of documentaries with the BBC:

Life In The Freezer, Elephant Seals fighting over territory and females:

Life In The Freezer, Baby Seals Playing:

Blue Planet, Leopard Seal Kills Emperor Penguin:

For more Animal Facts, take a look here.

Thank you to the BBC and the internet for the photos and films

National Poultry Day

Today is National Poultry Day (according to awarenessdays.com) so let’s celebrate all those wonderful birds who give us their eggs, meat and feathers without being asked.

For more lovely lists, have a look here.

Thank you to the internet for all the photos

International Panda Day

Today is International Panda Day and I’ve got a couple of Interviews about Pandas to share with you. The first is a scientific study looking at why Pandas are Black and White, and the second is an interview with Craig Hilton-Taylor about how China have brought Giant Pandas back from extinction and what we can do to help save the Gorillas.

For more Interviews and Reviews, have a look here.

Adopt A Rescued Guinea Pig

March is Adopt A Rescued Guinea Pig Month, and we certainly did just that.

Our last set of re-homed Guinea Pigs came from a wonderful lady in Blackpool who rescues and re-homes Guinea Pigs (check out her Facebook Page for more information and to donate – she always needs donations of bedding, food and money!). We re-homed three Guinea Pigs from her last time, two girls and a boy, and this time we ended up re-homing two girls.

Here they are! Morse and Lestrade. Morse is an Abyssinian aged 7 Months and Lestrade is a Peruvian aged 1 year.

Unfortunately the boy we re-homed last time passed away last month so we are now down to five girls. Mia, Holmes, Columbo, Morse and Lestrade. There’s a detective theme…

Here come the girls!!

Why don’t you find your nearest rescue and re-home shelter and Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig into a happy home?

To find out more about getting a guinea pig for the first time, see my post on Getting Started with Guinea Pigs or Rabbits to make sure you have everything you need.

To follow more of My Story, have a read here.

Wildlife Week

The second week of March is Wildlife Week – a chance to learn about and enjoy some of nature’s Wildlife that we don’t often think about day to day. There is usually something going on around where you live so have a look for information on events near you. Here are a few that I’ve chosen:

The Wildlife Trusts is having a Seabird Theme this year, starting on 28th May at 10:00am. Location TBA.

The National Wildlife Federation has some good ideas about how to encourage your school to connect with Wildlife, including learning about Wildlife, researching threatened Wildlife and making an action plan, and symbolically Adopting Wildlife.

The List have a selection of 17 Wildlife Events happening across the U.K. throughout the year, including Exploring Glasgow’s Wildlife at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow in March, a Butterfly and Moth 9 Week Course at Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve in Coventry in October, and a Bouncing Bunnies Wildlife Afternoon for children aged up to 7 at Belfairs Woodland Centre in Leigh on Sea in April.

The National Trust are having a Wildlife Week in May to help build bug homes and bird feeders at Ormesby Hall.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation are having their Wildlife Week in April. Check out their page for more up to date information.

Eungella National Park in Australia are having their Wildlife Week in September, to include a farm tour, a paddock-to-plate lunch, a visit to Finch Hatton Gorge and bird Documentary Screenings, as well as much, much more.

The RSPB has a list of events happening throughout the year, including Wildlife Close To Home with David North in Norfolk on March 12th, Bird Identification Workshop in Kent on March 13th, and Mid Week Walk in Whitwell Wood in Derbyshire on March 14th.

For more events and news, have a look here.

15 Cute Baby Animals

Everyone loves Babies. Everyone loves Animals. You can’t beat Cute Baby Animals. Here’s 15 of the Cutest.

For more Pictures and Videos, look here.

10 Facts About Pigs

Today is National Pig Day, according to AVMA.org so here are 10 Facts about Pigs

1. Pigs have 44 teeth

2. Pigs have 4 toes but only use the 2 larger front ones to walk

3. Not all Pigs have curly tails

4. Pigs are remarkably clean and never poop where they eat or sleep

5. Pigs have a terrific sense of smell and are used to locate truffles

6. Piglets know their name by 20 days old

7. Pigs communicate with each other through grunts

8. Pigs are not too different from humans genetically and research is underway as to whether we can use Pig organs safely for human organ transplants (Here is a recent article by the Independent from 2017)

9. A shrieking Pig can scare an Elephant, and War Pigs were used against War Elephants from around 250BC

10. Pigs learn tricks faster than dogs

For more Animal Facts, take a look over here.

12 Invasive Species

This week, February 26th, is Invasive Species Awareness Week according to AVMA.org. Invasive Species are Plants and Animals, both Native and Non-Native, that have become over-populated, resulting in damage to the environment and wildlife. Some species become over-populated but don’t cause any harm so are not classed as invasive.

Below is a list of a few of the most Invasive Animal Species from across the globe.

Grey Squirrels were introduced to Britain in 1876 and wiped out the general population of Red Squirrels due to a virus.

American Minks were introduced to Britain in 1929 and have since reduced the number of Water Voles by 94%, using them for predation.

Muntjac Deer were introduced in 1831 and have impacted on woodlands by grazing and preventing tree regeneration, affecting birds and other wildlife.

Signal Crayfish, introduced in 1979, have nearly wiped out all White Clawed Crayfish due to competition and transmission of a plague.

– Discover Wildlife A very comprehensive Identification Sheet can be found at nonnativespecies.org.

Europe

Asian Hornet, first recorded in 2005, decimates entire beehives and can impact on insect biodiversity and pollination.

Raccoon, introduced in the first half of the 20th century, preys on native species and is a carrier of many parasites and diseases dangerous to both wildlife and humans.

Chinese Mitten Crab, introduced in the early 1900s, causes economical and ecological damage to riverbanks and flood defences through burrowing, and competes with and preys on native species.

North American Bullfrog outcompetes and displaces native species through spreading of lethal diseases, it’s size, breeding capacity and ferocious appetite.

–European Commission Environment

USA

Brown Tree Snake, introduced in 1950, preys on native lizards and birds and causes power outages by climbing on wires.

Wild Boar, introduced in 1500s, damages plants and crops and compete with native animal species.

Giant African Snail, introduced in 1966, causes extensive damage to plants and the environment.

Asian Longhorned Beetle, introduced in 1996, is a destructive wood boring insect, destroying other wildlife’s habitats.

– Invasivespeciesinfo.gov

-Photographs are from multiple sources on the Web, I take no credit.

For more Lovely Lists, have a look here

Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day

That’s right, February 23rd is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day! According to AVMA.org.

It’s hard to find a Dog Biscuit Review, but there seems to be a trend towards ethical and healthy ‘Treats’ these days, so here is a round-up of the Web’s top Dog Treats.

A Dog Biscuit Review by The Independent recommends 9 Gourmet Dog Treats, ranging from £1.79 for Pet Munchies 100% Natural Salmon Bites to a £45 Doggie Fruit and Veg Box, with their Winner being Beautiful Joe’s Ethical Dog Treats for £4 where you can buy a retro tobacco tin for £2.50. For every pack sold, they donate a pack to a shelter dog – win win situation right there.

Reviews.com rattled it down to 26 finalists, after removing Products with Artificial Preservatives and Dyes, Products containing By-product or Meat Meal, Products using Corn, Wheat or Soy as Fillers, and Products with Added Sweeteners (all of which can be seen in detail on their site). This leaves very healthy, almost organic, and ethical treats for your dog.

Their 26 Finalists included Blue Buffalo Health Bars Baked with Banana and Yoghurt Dog Treats, Dogswell Super Boost Squares Chicken with Cranberry Treats, Fruitables Crispy Bacon Apple, The Honest Kitchen Beams Talls, and Weruva Blue Water Whitefish. Runners up were Plato’s Hundur’s Crunch and Dr. Harvey’s Coconut Smiles.

Reviews.com’s winners were:

Best Baked Dog Treat: Canidae Grain Free PURE Heaven Dog Biscuits with Salmon and Sweet Potato
Best Jerky-Style Dog Treat: ZiwiPeak Venison Good Dog Treats
Best Semi-Moist Treat: Zuke’s Mini Naturals Fresh Peanut Butter Formula Dog Treats
Best Overall: Stella& Chewy’s Carnivore Crunch Beef Recipe

Top Dog Tips share their Top 9 Dog Treats and show pros and cons of each based on their customer reviews so this site is definitely worth a look. In addition, Top Dog Tips made this Top 5 Best Healthy Dog Treats Under $25

My personal choice is always Winalot Shapes – they’ve been around since the 1930’s and although they may not be the healthiest treat around, I don’t know a dog who doesn’t like them.

For more Reviews, take a look and join in the discussion here

Learning to Knit

Since I got all excited about Sewing again, I went online and got a little excited – I wanted to Sew, Knit, Crochet, Woodwork, Needlefelt, Paint…. But I told myself I had to behave and concentrate on things I could do with materials that I already had, which was my Sewing fabric. However… I wanted to knit. SO!! For Christmas my boyfriend got me a Learning to Knit kit and I must say I’m loving it.

I’ll be honest, the kit itself is a tad rubbish. I won’t name any names but on the front it says ‘All You Need to Start Knitting’ but on the inside it says ‘You also need a Darning Needle and a Cable Needle’ – I didn’t have these or know what they were.

Anyway, I persevered and opened the leaflet that teaches knitting skills. The first step said ‘Make a Slipknot’ – accompanied by a picture of a completed Slipknot. What is a Slipknot? How do I make a completed one? My boyfriend tried to teach me but couldn’t work out how to show me properly from the other-way-around so I had to Google that.

Secondly, it taught ‘Casting On’. A section of seven pictures and some terribly complicated wording. I got to picture 3 with both of my needles and that was the end – picture 4 was never to be. After about half an hour I took to Google again and found a ridiculously simple 1 needle Casting On method – probably not great for the seasoned knitter but perfect to get me going.

Ok, we’ve got a Slipknot and a row of Cast Ons on one needle. Next step? According to this leaflet it was Yarn Over, which showed a picture of 2 needles, both with an amount of knitting on them. No mention of how to get any knitting on to my needles.

Safe to say I swiftly gave up and turned to YouTube which has been my Godsend.

Learning to Knit — First bit of Knitting

What do we think – Any good?

To follow more of My Story and see What’s Going On With Me, take a look here