If wishes were skunks ...

I'd have gotten mine this morning. Of course, at the time, I really wished that I hadn't hit it (this was before I contemplated the idea that the skunk might double as a wish). There is also the possibility that I didn't actually hit it, but just skeered it so bad that it poofed on the undercarriage of my car. Either way, it was unavoidable, as Pepe was moving at a pretty fast clip, it was 5:30 AM, and I was only on my first couple of sips of coffee. In fact, I didn't really even know WHAT it was that I'd gone over at the time, as at that hour and under those circumstances it looked a lot like this:

But when I arrived at my destination - 30 miles later - it was quite obvious that it was indeed, to quote my nephew, a 'stunk'. So I apologize to all those other morning gym-goers who had to walk through the parking lot and get a whiff of my car's offputting aroma, believe me, it was unavoidable.

But it'll all be worth it if I get that wish ...

Maybe people need gestation crates ...

One of these things is ... almost exactly like the other.



I just read an article on Slate about a new study that has come out. The study was performed in respose to the growing movement toward parents 'co-sleeping' with their babies. The 'Aye' vote says this practice makes breast-feeding more successful, promotes mother/child bonding, etc. And you know, I can't say that I DON'T agree with that. If you have a perfect angel child, sleeping in the same bed as your babe might seem like a beautiful thing. But this new study confirms that the risks involved with having your infant in your bed are NOT worth the potential benefits. Take, for instance, what the author calls 'overlying'. This is when an adult in the bed rolls over onto the child while asleep, and suffocates the tyke. So, the study strongly urges the parents to keep their new person separate while sleeping.

Now, I don't mean to over simplify things here, but I cannot ignore the fact that this article could just as easily been written about our porcine population. Yep, guess what? Farrowing crates are used for PRECISELY this purpose. The sow is able to have her pigs and hang out with them, the piglets are able to nurse when they want to, and the piglets can sleep separately from the sow - preventing them from being laid on and smothered. Which, I can tell you from my own Been There/Done That, happens frequently without a crate.

Now, granted, new human moms don't have the same indescribable urge to eat their young that sows sometimes do. (Well, MOST human moms, that is. I do wonder about some women, though!) So, let's add to the fact that farrowing crates allow the new piglets to not only escape being smothered - but also escape being eaten!

All I'm saying is that here we, human beings, are, telling our new moms and dads to NOT sleep in the same bed as our newly-minted family member, because it's dangerous. Essentially, we're telling new parents to employ a more sophisticated version of a farrowing crate. Just because we put a fuzzy blanket and a soft pillow in our baby's crate, it's still not that far removed from what a farrowing crate is designed to do. If we ourselves are utilizing these practices, there are just as many - no, more - reasons to help the animal world to raise their young as well. It's just good, responsible animal husbandry.

A 2009 Double-Dog Dare

No one can resist a good dare, right? I mean, I once dared a guy to make a naked snow angel, and he did it without a second thought. Don't worry, this one ain't nearly that shocking. (heh)

In this age of ever-increasing environmental awareness, we are all urgently drawn to look for ways to continue life while at the same time preserving the best parts of it for our next generations.

In 2009, I am daring you to dig into that same bucket of responsibility, and find out about your food.

Yeah, I dare you. I even double-dog dare. We care so much about what we put into the environment at large, but I'm asking you to activate a little micro-awareness here. What do YOU put in YOUR body? What do you feed YOUR family? And I'm not just talking about 'beef' or 'carrots' or 'natural' or 'organic'. I'm talking about 'what country do my potatoes come from?' and 'where is this company located?' and 'what does a company in Zimbabwe/Argentina/etc. know about producing healthy x?' and 'who owns the beef/carrot/potato/chicken farm?' and 'does this company care about its produce/animals/workers/etc.?' Beware, though, because in some cases, you might not like what you find.

Get intimate with your personal fuel supply. Or better yet, get involved in the food supply. Better still, grow some of your own food. Or, the Holy of Holies, spend some time on a real, live, working farm and experience what it's like to have a hand in growing absolutely everything that is on your dinner plate just one time. Weed the carrot bed. Carry the feed/water to the chickens/cattle/hogs/sheep. Pick the spinach. Literally get your hands dirty in our nation's largest employment industry: agriculture.

Try it, just one time. Or, let it hook you, and do it all the time! I double-dog dare ya.