Gary and Lois stand in one of their backyard garden boxes, surrounded by 12-foot-tall Burpee Mammoth Sunflowers.
Some of you have been writing and asking where my wife Lois and I get the seeds to grow the 12-foot-tall sunflowers we’ve been growing in our Benicia, Calif., garden. Since you asked:
Dear Gary:
My husband Jim would like to know what kind of sunflower seeds you buy that grow to 12 feet tall with a stalk of 3-4 inches in diameter and where to purchase them. Sharon Beckerich, Oakley, Calif. Read the rest of this entry »
Fleas photo by Flickr user Megadeth’s Girl used under a Creative Commons License
On the bottom front page of today’s (March 18) “Morning Report” section for Bay Area News Group newspapers (in San Francisco Bay Area), is a story headlined, “Flea and tick products linked to pet deaths.” (If you don’t subscribe to one of our newspapers, I’m sure there’s a similar story in yours.)
The first paragraph of the story reads: “WASHINGTON — Products intended to treat cats and dogs for fleas and ticks kill hundreds of pets each year and injure tens of thousands, the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday as it outlined plans to make the products safer.”
Photo by Flickr user brownpau used under a Creative Commons License
Help save California’s black bears!
From Big Wildlife, Los Padres Forest Watch, and The Humane Society of the United States:
“In January, the California Department of Fish and Game unveiled proposed changes to bear hunting regulations that would: allow an unlimited number of bears to be killed across California during the trophy hunting season; permit the use of high-tech global positioning equipment and “tip switches” on hound collars to make it easy to locate and kill a bear; open the first-ever bear hunting season in San Luis Obispo County and expand the trophy hunts in Modoc and Lassen counties; and significantly expand the hound training season, allowing hounds to harass bears nearly all year long.” Read the rest of this entry »
California tiger salamander (Brian Murphy/Walnut Creek, CA)
I received the following information from the Center for Biological Diversity’s weekly e-newsletter for March 11:
On March 3 … “the California Fish and Game Commission voted 3-2 to protect the imperiled California tiger salamander under the state’s Endangered Species Act.
“The sensitive salamander depends on seasonal ponds, or vernal pools, for breeding — but these pools have proven ephemeral in more ways than one. In recent decades, 95 percent of California’s vernal pools has been lost to development — as has at least 75 percent of the species’ habitat across the state. Read the rest of this entry »
Lab photo by Flickr user kevin rodriguez ortiz used under a Creative Commons License
ASPCA Reminds Pet Parents: Protect Your Pet from Perilous Poisons
It’s National Poison Prevention Week and The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) reminds us that there are a LOT of poisons that our pets can encounter around the house while going about their everyday activities during the week. Please keep that in mind and read the following information carefully. You might even want to print it out and post it on your refrigerator door. It couldn’t hurt. /Gary
From the ASPCA:
Has your dog ever chomped on chocolate? Does your kitty like to snack on plants? In observance of National Poison Prevention Week (March 14 to March 20), the ASPCA sheds light on the most common dangers pets may encounter, and offers helpful advice for poison-proofing your home. Read the rest of this entry »
Mama Goose is nesting on the roof of the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek, California. You can watch her incubating her eggs, preening, carefully turning her eggs and enjoying life as she waits for her eggs to hatch.
By Gary Bogue
Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 6:00 am in dogs 1 Comment
Fletcher’s beautiful feet. Photo by Heather Y. Heaton, Lafayette, CA
Dear Gary:
My grandaughter, Heather Y. Heaton, is having much fun taking walks in the woods with Fletcher. Cell phone cameras are one of the wonders of the world. Bob Heaton, Lafayette
A Canada goose we call “Mother Goose” started nesting on our rooftop here at the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek, CA, five years ago and she has returned every spring since then to raise a new family of goslings.
Pythons. Photo by Flickr user wildxplorer used under a Creative Commons License
Pythons, boas, anacondas, monitor lizards, iguanas and other exotic invasive species have become a serious problem in the South Florida everglades. Thousands of these creatures thrive and reproduce in the state’s tropical climate and are competing with the state’s native wild species.
Monday was the first day of the state of Florida’s hunting season for all of the above mentioned exotic animals. All you need to do is buy a hunting license and a special $26 permit for the “privilege” of hunting and killing these non-native creatures. Read the rest of this entry »
By Gary Bogue
Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 6:49 am in Bears No Comments
Montana Pole Dancing
When you finish enjoying this great little Montana Pole Dancing episode, check out our Mother Goose Cam and watch the Canada goose that nests on our Times’ rooftop every spring as she incubates her eggs: http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_14491539
