Categories
Animals

Berserk

Today’s cuppa recognizes a new bit of info I learned yesterday. There’s such a thing as Berserk Llama Syndrome.

Berserk Llama Syndrome happens when a juvenile (typically male; it’s rare with females) llama imprints on humans and starts to consider them to be llamas. Upon maturity, the llama then tries to assert its dominance over the humans (other llamas, from the llama’s point of view) through aggression; biting, chest-ramming, charging, even sneaking up from behind and attacking.

Juvenile llamas typically imprint on humans when they interact with them through bottle feeding or because they are isolated from other llamas. Berserk Llama Syndrome isn’t common, and it’s not something that happens in the wild. It’s a rare, unhappy outcome of human-llama interaction.

The term Berserk Llama Syndrome is good for a chuckle; it conjures up images of llamas gone wild. But the sad reality is that the syndrome is a response to an unnatural situation, a reaction to circumstances the llama cannot control. The llama is just doing its llama thing.

Additionally sobering is the fact that there is no cure for Berserk Llama Syndrome. In severe cases, llamas exhibiting this behavior are euthanized due to the danger they pose to their human handlers.

Llamas are becoming more common on farms and ranches, joining other livestock such as sheep and horses due to the usefulness of their fur and their ability to serve as transport animals. It’s important, then, to understand llama behavior and use that information to guide the way llamas are raised and managed. A practical solution; better for llamas, better for humans.

After all, going berserk is an indication that something is off-kilter, out of whack. Prevent or eliminate the problem, and the more likely outcome is happy success. A “win-win,” as they say, for everyone and everything involved.


Categories
Food

Bombs

There’s a new trend these days: hot cocoa bombs.

A hot cocoa bomb is hot cocoa mix inside a sphere of chocolate. You put the chocolate sphere into a cuppa, pour hot milk over it, and the outside chocolate melts, releasing the cocoa mix into the milk. Sometimes, the hot cocoa bombs also contain marshmallows, or peppermint bits, or other tasty treats to add to the cocoa experience.

I find them enchanting, and not just because I’m a chocoholic.

“Bomb” is an ugly word, a destructive word associated with pain and terror, normally. So, the association of the word “bomb” with chocolate and warmth, comfort and sweetness, is a nice turn. It doesn’t eradicate the other definition, but it does add a new layer, a happy alternative.

Perhaps one day, these delightful treats will be the first – or even the only – thing we think of when we hear the word “bomb.” We aren’t there yet and likely won’t be for a long time. But it’s World Kindness Day, so it’s a good day to celebrate our potential for changing the narrative, to recognize our ability to shift the focus from destruction to deliciousness, from hatred and horror to sweet, warm hope.

Categories
Pets

Bald

We have a long-haired cat, Bandit, who got himself closely involved with some weeds and brambles, subsequently developing a mass of mats in his fur.

After unsuccessfully trying to brush and cut them out, I took him to the vet yesterday for what they call a “strip and clip.” He is now bald, with only the fur on his face and a little pom-pom on the tip of his tail remaining.

I tell myself that his fur will grow back, probably more soft and luxurious than before. The vet said that we did the right thing, that had we not shaved him, the mats would have dug into his skin, ultimately creating sores and causing him pain. Still, I feel guilty about subjecting him to that experience.

It’s also a bit unnerving to see him without fur. His white and black coloring, where his fur patterns will grow back in, is evident, giving him the look of an exotic animal. The white patches have a pink undertone, an indication of the skin beneath, now covered only by a thin layer of soft transparency. He also somehow seems heavier in his bald state. He’s a large cat, solid and chonky, and he feels even more so right now. Perhaps it’s because his fur creates a pillowy effect, a cloud-like feeling that is missing at the moment.

Today’s cuppa is for our (temporarily) bald Bandit. Hang in there, buddy. You’ll be back to your old, fluffy self soon. Just be sure to stay out of the weeds.

Categories
Life Neato

Dot

Happy birthday, Carl Sagan.

I watch this video at least once a year. It makes me think, makes me cry, and makes me smile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F2NeH_-f34

Here’s to our lives together on this tiny, blue dot.

Categories
Life People

Daughters

I have sons but no daughters.

I am, however, a daughter myself, and I have several nieces. I also have a mother, a sister, aunts, grandmothers. I have friends who have daughters, who are also sisters, aunts, grandmothers.

In other words, I may not have the experience of mothering a daughter, but I do understand the daughter experience.

Yesterday, the daughter experience had a First. Yesterday, a woman – a daughter – did something that took 200+ years and the combined hopes, dreams, blood, sweat, and tears of countless other daughters to achieve.

I know that not everybody is as happy with these circumstances as I am. Not everybody agrees with the positions and perspective that this woman, this newly-elected Vice President, holds. Even those who voted for her may have reservations. That is true in every election; there is no perfect candidate, and there are no perfect outcomes, even for the winning side.

I also know that history is full of diverse opinions and different views. Yet, the tales of history are influenced by the storytellers. Now, we are poised for the history books to include the voices of women – of daughters – in a new way.

This event doesn’t have to diminish what came before. Nor does it mean that my hopes and dreams for my sons – and for all sons – have disappeared. As always, I want them to be able to achieve their goals and to be recognized for their accomplishments.

I also want them to know, however, that there is room for more. There is space for beyond what used to be. They don’t become “less than” simply because of change; instead, change makes new opportunities possible. Instead of either/or, the world can be full of and.

I saw this floating around social media yesterday:

Be sure to wear your shoes, ladies. There’s a lot of glass on the floor in here.

Daughters- and sons – everywhere…let’s celebrate.

Categories
People

Unnamed

There’s an army of people who arrived at polling places in the wee hours of this morning. They’re not there to vote (although it’s likely that every single one of them has already or will at some point before the day ends). They’re there to make voting possible for the rest of us.

Today, they’ll answer questions, fix problems, complete paperwork, give directions, and keep order. They’ll do it regardless of what’s happening elsewhere, in the news or in the neighborhoods. Many of them have been doing these things for days already, supporting the early voting process. They’ve given up time with family and friends and put themselves at greater risk during a pandemic because they know how much it matters, this process of choosing our nation’s future.

Here’s to the poll workers. You’re the unnamed patriots, making sure the rest of us are able to make our voices heard. Thank you for being there. We couldn’t do it without you.

Categories
Family Holidays

Different

Halloween Past was something like this:

Costumes (of course), most purchased but some homemade. When they were young, my boys had simple requests – Ninjas, superheroes, knights in shining armor – options that could be found at the store and required minimal effort. As they got older, they became more creative, adding their own details to the purchased supplies.The last few years that he went trick-or-treating, my youngest son insisted on creating his own costume inventions with cardboard boxes and paint and wires. The results didn’t always turn out exactly as he envisioned, but they were still impressive.

Parties, at home and elsewhere. Many years ago, my husband and I hosted a party at our house far out in the country, set back in the woods. We were concerned that people wouldn’t want to make the drive, but the house ended up full. We had fun eating and drinking, talking and dancing among the ghosts and spiderwebs and skeletons.

Contests to determine the best pumpkin carvings, the best costumes, the best decorations. One of my favorite work memories is from the year the movie Twister came out, and we decorated our work space accordingly. It was quite elaborate, with fans blowing and papers flapping. We even crafted Christmas ornaments to resemble the data-collecting balls that the Twister team risked their lives to activate. When the contest judges came through, we acted out our characters, hanging on to the our chairs and desks, pretending to be blowing in the wind.

Trick-or-treaters, sometimes in groups of ten or 15 at a time, a constant stream of costumed kiddos knocking on the door, holding out their bags, saying the magical words. We used to have neighbors a few houses down the street who’d put out an elaborate display of crazy clowns and other creepy stuff. They called it the Psycho Circus, and it drew people from miles around. After they were done checking it out, parents would shepherd their kids to the other houses on the block to gather candy. Those neighbors moved a few years ago, taking the Psycho Circus with them, and the Halloween crowds as well. But we continue to get good numbers of trick-or-treaters every year, not as many as before, but enough that it is always wisest to stock up on candy.

Halloween Present is very different.

My sons are grown, too old for trick-or-treating, not interested in costumes. Parties are an unwise choice right now. Work-related festivities vanished with remote requirements and furloughs and job losses.

Still…we will have fun. Our front yard now contains a spooky battle scene, complete with a large dragon, skeletons, and swords. We’ll do our best to facilitate socially-distanced candy distribution, wearing masks and using hand sanitizer each time we replenish the bowl on the table at the end of our driveway, just in case anybody stops by. We’ll watch scary movies and eat popcorn and enjoy being together, grateful for what we have – our health, our home, our family.

Different can still be good.

Categories
Family

Year

“The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.” – Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler

Categories
Life

Synchronicity

Perhaps it’s because yesterday, I was reading about the horrible fires on the West Coast and in Colorado; thousands of acres burned, numerous deaths and injuries, countless homes and businesses destroyed.

Or maybe it’s because I watched a weather report last night describing the anticipated path of Hurricane Zeta, the seventh? eighth? – I’ve lost count – hurricane affecting the U.S. Gulf Coast this year.

Or, it could be because COVID-19 is constantly on my mind, as it is for the millions of others whose lives have been turned upside-down by the medical and financial and logistical nightmare of this illness.

Whatever the reason, this morning’s earworm was Synchroncity II by The Police. I woke up with Sting inside my head, singing about patterns and parallels and a shadow on the door of a cottage by the shore of a dark Scottish lake.

Categories
Animals

Puggle

Yesterday, I learned that a baby Spiny Anteater is called a “puggle.”

To me, “puggle” conjurs up images of cuddly, snuggly creatures, perhaps with some downy feathers or soft fur. This is not the case with a Spiny Anteater puggle.

Spiny Anteater puggles look a little like an elephant, grey with a long snout. They have short, stubby legs, webbed feet, a round belly, and round eyes. They have smooth skin; their fur and spines grow in as they age.

Puggles are not classically cute animals. Nevertheless, they are cute in their own baby way.

How could anything called a puggle not be adorable?