Giant Penguins and Floating Daschunds

Penguins are shrinking. It is little informational tidbits like this one, that make the world so interesting to me. They aren’t shrinking very fast albeit. They found old bones at Seymour Island (that’s down Antarctica way). Those bones indicate that penguins were thugs. They stood at a formidable 6 feet tall and weighed 250 pounds. But all of that happened about 40 million years ago. That’s a heap of penguin if you ask me.

I can remember the first time I heard that beavers can weigh up to 70 pounds. I’d hate to run into a 70 pound beaver down near the creek. Big Dang Beavers. They carry big sticks, I bet.

Nature gives us some of the greatest wonders. Take the Gecko. Geckos are found on every continent except Antarctica, those lizards. But here is the thing. They can climb all over stuff because of their sticky feet. Geckos can turn the stickiness of their feet on and off at will. Sticky-on. Sticky-off. If I had this particular feature, I am certain I would use it all the time. See me on the ceiling.

This next fact isn’t really about nature. But, in a way. It’s animal and vegetable. So. According to a poll of 11,000 Americans — 84 percent of vegetarians and vegans will return to eating meat. That’s a bunch. I don’t eat much, but I’m a meat eater. By default. I bet that is the reason so many people return to eating meat. It is dialed in that way, I think.

Speaking of eating.
Let’s talk about anti-eating. That would be “Peeps.” In 1953, it took 27 hours to create one PEEPS Marshmallow Chick. That some Patient Peep Making. The same process takes six minutes today. You see? The world is improving. Or. Is. It?

I think that probably happens a lot in the candy-making world. The executives are always looking for more profit through better production. Take Hershey. The first Hershey’s chocolate bars with almonds were produced in 1908. They did this because they were cheaper to make. Milk chocolate was way more expensive than almonds. This meant Hershey’s could keep the price of the candy at a nickel a bar. I don’t know how much a Hershey bar is now. But I’d bet it is more than a nickel. (See Profits Comment).

Finally, let’s talk about dogs. One of my favorite animals in the whole world. We have two dogs. Blessings. Blessings. I love them. One of them is named Louis. When some people meet him, they break out in the song, “Louie Louie.” They get the first words out and then it is a jumbled-singing-mess. Well. They aren’t alone. The FBI investigated the song “Louie Louie” because people thought the lyrics were dirty, way back when. After three months, the FBI gave up the investigation because it couldn’t make out the words. Most people don’t.

Finally, dogs and that grand old Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Dogs are in the walking part of the parade. They are sometimes the floats, like Wonder Dog. Historically, too. In 1929, there was a gigantic dachshund balloon. Rather than store it, parade officials released it into the air at the conclusion of the parade. Somewhere out there, is a gargantuan Wiener dog.

Yes. This world is very good sometimes in the things it offers us. It is kind of like going to a party, where the snacks are sitting out on the table. Sometimes, there is a tray of celery sticks and raw broccoli. And other times, there is Cheese Fondue with big crusty rye bread chunks.

Bring on the dip sticks baby. Bring ‘em on.
Or I’ll have to dip rye bread with my sticky Gecko feet.

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“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

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“Our task must be to free ourselves… by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and it’s beauty.”
― Albert Einstein

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“Not just beautiful, though–the stars are like the trees in the forest, alive and breathing. And they’re watching me.”
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

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