Blackfish

The way they should be: free

I love hummus.  I'm eating so much of it, that I think I need to start making my own.  The main ingredients are garbanzo beans, olive oil, and lemon.  Currently, the best price I can buy it for is $3 a pound.  It would be cheaper for me to make it.  I need a food processor.
My new diet is going well.  My favorite thing to eat now is carrot sticks dipped in hummus.  That's why I like hummus so much.  I doubt I'd be eating carrots without it.  I've even dipped cabbage into it.  I don't like many veggies, but when they've been dipped into hummus, it's a different story.  Also, once I start making  my own, I can put very healthy veggies into it like celery and parsley.
I've fed some more whole walnuts to my squirrel neighbors.  I love them.  I really enjoy feeding them completely natural food.
I saw the movie Blackfish.  It was very interesting and disturbing.  SPOILER ALERT!  It certainly reinforced my belief that animals should not be confined in zoos, aquariums, and places like Sea World.  It seems like one of the killer whales at the Orlando, FL Sea World has had a hand in killing 3 people.  Obviously, it's not the whale's fault.  There have been plenty of incidents in which orcas have injured people in captivity, but, apparently, a killer whale has never attacked a human in the wild.  They can swim hundreds of miles a day when they're free, but in places like Sea World, they are confined to small tanks.  Killer whales in captivity have been seen to float in the same position for hours at a time.  They should be free.  But I think that every animal deserves to be free.  Of course, I realize that's pretty much an impossibility.  But I will not participate in anything that takes away animals' freedom.  I'm a vegan, so I don't support the confinement of animals like cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys.  I wouldn't go to a zoo either.  The last time I went to one, it was very depressing.  I saw a leopard that paced back and forth from the exact same spots over and over again.  The leopard didn't have much room.  I saw a rhino who was behaving very oddly.  It seemed like she was moving in a very obsessive way that likely had something to do with her unnatural confinement.  It's a bunch of crap when people say that the animals are in the zoo for their own protection.  I have an offer for anyone who would say something like that.  Hey, since you believe in confinement for protection, I'll put you in a cage for the rest of your life where you'll be safe.  You'll have no freedom, you'll be a prisoner, but you'll be safe in your cage.      

Thank Godness for Squirrels and Libraries

Cute Dog

Squirrels and Libraries can save your life.  They can make you so happy.
Today, I fed squirrels.  I had some whole walnuts that I had bought for them.  I saw them out there in the freezing rain.  Their job is to look for food, and they do it 7 days a week: every week.  I distributed several walnuts to my squirrel neighbors today.  At least one of them is very smart.  I came out of my building armed with walnuts.  I saw a squirrel foraging on the grass.  I threw it in front of her.  She saw it immediately and chased and seized it.  That made me laugh.  It gave me a lot of pleasure to help that squirrel.  The fire dept. in Holley, which is near Rochester, NY, had an event last year in which they encouraged people to shoot squirrels.  That disgusted me: especially when I heard that animal rights activists showed up to protest and the hunters goaded them with the bodies of the squirrels they killed.  I knew I couldn't go to that event to protest, because I might have had to beat the shit out of someone who killed a squirrel.
Anyway, the squirrel who grabbed the walnut I tossed to her is smart.  Her back was to me when I threw it to her.  It sailed over her shoulder; then she got it.  However, the next time she saw me, she hopped toward me.  She figured out that I threw that walnut to her, even though she didn't see me do it.  Of course I gave her another walnut.  I had about 8 walnuts, and I distributed all of them to my squirrel neighbors.
I've taken out so many books, movies, and music from libraries that I don't know what I would have done without them.  Good entertainment is very important.  It can save your life.  Sometimes you really need to watch a good comedy and laugh.       

Taking the Plunge

Groundhogs are hibernating.

It's time.  Over and over again now I've read, seen, and heard that a diet that contains no alcohol, processed foods, refined sugars, lactose, caffeine, and GMO foods is the way to go for physical, mental, and emotional well being.  I currently have some processed foods in my home.  That's fine.  I will finish them.  I think it's wrong to waste food.  The plan is to not purchase or acquire anymore.  I plan to not buy anymore sugar, coffee, chips, bread, etc.  So what does that leave?  All vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains.  Although I also plan to do without wheat and gluten.
This decision has been reinforced by what I've been watching lately on PBS.  I usually don't watch these sorts of programs, but I watched 3 self-help/diet shows.  I forget the name of one of the guys, but the other 2 were hosted by Deepak Chopra and Joel Fuhrman.  What all 3 men had in common was they recommended a diet rich in unprocessed, whole foods like veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and beans.  I was most impressed by Dr. Fuhrman's presentation.  I plan to read at least one of his books: especially the one that contains a lot of whole foods recipes in it.
I went out for a walk yesterday.  As soon as I left my building, I noticed a squirrel foraging in the snow behind a bush that some sparrows live in (year round).  My neighbors have made a habit of putting food there for the animals.  I suppose that's why the squirrel was foraging there.  They forage on the grass.  What do they do when it's covered with snow?  I went back upstairs and got a whole, still-in-the-shell walnut.  I tossed it behind the bush.  Unfortunately, we got about 5 inches of snow last night.  I hope a squirrel will get that nut.  I don't know anything about nuts freezing.  Even if it did freeze, I can picture a smart squirrel lying on top of it to defrost it.
Also, while out walking yesterday, a man offered to give me a ride in his car.  It was cold out, and it was snowing.  I was very close to home, so there was no chance I would accept his offer.  I said "no thanks."  Almost immediately, I thought, this guy is probably a good Samaritan, but, it's also possible that he's a serial killer.  Even for a full-grown male, like me, getting into a car with someone you don't know could be a fatal mistake.  Crazier things have happened.  Of course, it didn't help that I had just recently watched the movie version of The Lovely Bones, which involves a girl trusting a man that she shouldn't have.      

I Still Love Squirrels

I love all of them.

I've seen so many squirrels in my lifetime, and, in my way, I've loved them all.  I still watch them.  They are not boring to me.  They are cute.
I tried to feed a squirrel that had climbed up a telephone pole.  She was hanging out there, ready to shimmy across the wire to the other side, when I jiggled the bag that held whole walnuts, which, of course, I bought for my squirrel neighbors.  She hesitated.  She seemed to be quite interested in what was going on, but she remained on her lofty perch.  I decided to toss a walnut toward the pole.  I thought she might come down and get it.  She didn't, though.  Instead, she shimmied across the wire toward the east.  I picked up the nut and tossed it onto the grass in front of my windows, hoping I'd see a squirrel get it.  I didn't, though.  The next day, I went out for a job interview, and, when I returned, the nut was gone.  I'm 99.9% sure a squirrel got it, and that's all that matters.
I used to spoil the squirrels around here with whole nuts.  I think either they've forgotten me doing this, or these are some new squirrels on the block.  When I jiggle the nut bag, they don't come hopping towards me like they used to.  On the contrary, the noise seems to scare them away.
Anyway, I had my chance with another squirrel.  She was tens of feet away.  I figured I'd toss the nut in front of her, she'd notice it, then she'd get it.  I threw it badly, though.  Instead of going as far as I wanted it to, it went high.  Give me a break, I was thinking.  Odds are, it would land on the grass.  There's more grass than sidewalk in that area.  Just my luck, it landed on the sidewalk with a loud sound.  The squirrel jumped at the noise, but she recovered quickly.  I think it took at most a second, if not less than one, for her to grab a piece of the nut after it had shattered on the sidewalk.  Then she took off.  She knew she had a rare treat, and she'd better go eat or bury it before another squirrel tried to take it away from her.