On 5 February 2019, the Chinese New Year begins. It is prefaced by preparations beginning on January 28th, and launches the Spring Festival, which runs until 19 February.
There is also a Lantern Festival which is held on 19 February. For more information, please click on the link below.
I find both Chinese Astrology and Western Astrology fascinating, and have had my full natal (birth) chart according to Western Astrology mapped out (which I paid Lubomir Dimitrov for) which revealed I am a “quadruple Virgo” ( i.e. 4 planets including the Sun were in Virgo when I was born ),
You can find your Chinese Year Animal from entering your day, month and year of birth at the page below, or looking at the chart below.
Palomino Mare and Foal 2007 Wikipedia Creative Commons
Since 2005, Save a Forgotten Equine (SAFE) in Washington, U.S.A. has been rescuing and rehabilitating horses that have been starved, neglected, abused or are unwanted. S.A.FE. has formal agreements in place with Animal Control agencies in King, Pierce and Skagit counties to support their fight to protect horses in this region. Please visit their wonderful website and do what you can to help horses.
Flowering
plants are a type of plant that produce flowers in order to reproduce.
Flowering plants produce seeds within a fruit. The scientific name for
flowering plants is angiosperms.
Flowering plants are usually bisexual, with the flower having a male part and a female part.
The
stamens in the middle of a flower, surrounded by the green supporting
sepals and by the beautiful coloured petals, are the male part of the
flower. Each stamen is made up of a filament or thin structure that is
tipped at the top by the anther.
Pollen
is a fine to coarse powdery substance comprising pollen grains which
are male microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce male gametes
(sperm cells)
The anther connects to the filament with lobes which holds sacs containing pollen.
The
female part of the flower, the pistil, consists of a long slender tube,
called the style, with the stigma at the top, which leads down to the
rounded base which is the ovule-filled ovary, or carpel.
Flowering plants rely on wind or winged and other creatures for pollination, i.e. for carrying pollen from the anthers to the stigma of a flower. Having both male and female parts within the same flower makes it handy for a plant — an insect, bird, or moth can easily pick up and deposit pollen on the same flower or a different flower of the same plant, in the same visit.
Throughout history, in war and in peacetime, animals and mankind have
worked alongside each other. As beasts of burden, messengers,
protectors, mascots, and friends, the war animals have demonstrated true
valour and an enduring partnership with humans. The bond is
unbreakable, their sacrifice great – we honour the animals of war.
The initial aim of the Australian War Animal Memorial is to promote
the establishment of War Animal plaques at Parks, RSLs or local and
Federal government sites.
The main aim is to establish a permanent War Animal Monument for all
Queenslanders to view in Brisbane city. This will act as a focal point
for all Queenslanders to honour the contributions animals have made to
our Nation.
It is a volunteer none-profit organization made up of community members from diverse backgrounds that have the like minded aim to recognize the deeds of animals during Australian military service and to educate generations to follow of the sacrifices of four legged diggers have made.
Lest we forget the animals that were roped into “service” during war.
“An exclusively indoor ragdoll cat known more for her placid nature than her hunting skills has defied remarkable odds — surviving five months in the Adelaide Plains after she was reported missing by her distraught Perth owner. “
You may have heard about the Incredible Journey (2 dogs and a cat return home). Now we have the amazing Ragdoll cat, Luna. Her owners had taken her with them on a road trip and in Melbourne, even though Luna was in a harness attached to a barrier, she managed to break free off and got outside through a small gap in the window.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way, when it comes to cats.
Poor Luna ended up starving and dehydrated and ended up in Adelaide, 12 kilometers from where she got out of the car. She was noticed by people at the Dublin Cricket Club in South Australia and someone recognized her as the lost cat, of which “Missing” posters had been put up.
Luna was taken to the Adelaide University’s Companion Animal Health Centre, where she was identified through her microchip.
“I’m very surprised she survived,” said a spokeswoman for the Centre, Diane Whatling.
“Although cats are scavengers, these ragdolls are a very sensitive breed — she may not have even known how to hunt.” Ms Whatling said.
I am so happy that Luna survived and is now reunited with her family, whom I don’t think will be taking her in their car any more. This tale also reminds cat owners to micro-chip their cats, so they can be returned home to be looked after.
Other References: click on links below to see copyrighted photos of Luna
If you live in Australia, you may remember the chocolate Yowies. A wonderful new series is now available in Australia, featuring wild-life. Yowie confectionery is a character-moulded, 28 grms / 1 ounce chocolate inclusion product. The Yowie Group gives more information.
Not only do you get a sweet treat of chocolate but each Yowie includes a plastic container with a character in it. Check out the Wildlife range which comes with leaflets giving conservation and other information about the animals.
I count myself very lucky, being someone whom respects all animals, and meeting the cutest special little pup ever this week!
Introducing Sidney Swain (or Sidney for short), a gorgeous soft cuddly beautiful amazing Brussels Griffon puppy. Sidney is the younger brother of the wonderful handsome, sweet and adorable Erik the Brave.
A baby bilby boy has been born in time for Christmas at the Ipswich Nature Centre in Queens Park, Queensland. The Bilby is a symbol of Hope in Australia.
The Bilby and its struggle for survival is symbolic of the plight of many of Australia’s small native animals. It has been suggested that Australia adopt the Bilby as the wildlife symbol of Easter in Australia. Hence chocolate Bilbies are around at Easter time. See this link here.
The World Wildlife Fund says:
The bilby is an important ecosystem engineer. It’s an excellent digger and so many other species reap the rewards of its hard work. When bilbies aren’t living in their complex burrows, which can be up to three metres long and two metres deep, other animals like insects, reptiles, birds and small mammals take up residence. The burrows provide vital shelter from predators and high summer temperatures.
Bilbies might be small but they punch well above their weight. They can shift more than 1.5 tonnes of soil per kilogram of body mass in a single year as they construct and maintain their subterranean homes.
For more information and photos of this Bilby (who is yet to be named) please go to the Ipswich Nature Centre website.
Bilbies, or rabbit-bandicoots, are desert-dwelling marsupial omnivores; they are members of the order Peramelemorphia. At the time of European colonisation of Australia, there were two species. Bilbies now occupy only about 15% of Australia’s landmass. There were originally two species but the Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is now commonly referred to simply as ‘the Bilby’ as the Lesser Bilby (Macrotis leucura) is thought to have become extinct in the early 1950s.
Class: Mammalia
Order: Peramelemorphia
Family: Thylacomyidae; Bensley, 1903
Genus: Macrotis
Species: lagotis
Did you know: Previously more widespread, the bilby is now only found in remote parts of western Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. savethebilbyfund.com
Good information about Bilbies can be found at the webpage below.
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Star Wise
