When I am at work, I work. I rarely take a full 15-minute break or any kind of a lunch period away from my desk. It is my choice. I guess I am afraid if I slowed down it would be too difficult to get myself revved up again. After all, at nearly 60, I am a senior citizen. Nevertheless, once in a while I do play Solitaire or check in on one of my Facebook accounts.
A week or so ago, I was doing a bit of scanning through my personal Facebook postings and caught sight of a darling photo of a very small weasel riding on the back of a rather large woodpecker. Thinking it was probably a phony picture that had been Photoshopped, I checked it out on Snopes.com. To my surprise, the folks at Snopes claim that the photo was real and untouched. Looking further into the matter, I discovered that the photograph, although precious at first glance, was actually, according to the NYDailynews.com, “An amazing image that captures a ferocious mid-air tussle between an unwavering woodpecker and a preying weasel.”
Once I discovered the sad truth, I immediately removed the photo as my desktop wallpaper and replaced it with the family photo that had preceded it. Darn it. I wonder what else in nature looks nice but really isn’t what it appears. How about a Venus flytrap?
Speaking of birds, my friend Debbie King sent me a blurb about crows that I thought you would enjoy. Thanks, Deb.
Researchers for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA) recently found over 200 dead crows near greater Boston, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu. Bird pathologists examined the remains of all the crows, and, to everyone’s relief, confirmed the problem was definitely not Avian Flu. The cause of death appeared to be vehicular impacts. However, during the detailed analysis it was noted that varying colors of paints appeared on the bird’s beaks and claws. By analyzing these paint residues, it was determined that 98 percent of the crows had been killed by impacts with trucks, while only 2 percent were killed by colliding with a car. MTA then hired an ornithological behaviorist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of truck kills versus car kills. He very quickly concluded the cause: When crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger. They discovered that while all the look-out crows could call-out “cah,” not a single one could shout “truck.”
