ENIGMA (by peach-moon)

I miss my camera, this is still the most reflective self-portrait I’ve ever taken. July 2010.

(by vanessakowalski)

(by peach-moon)

I’m not religious at all, but as I was driving to Illinois I saw this sign and had to pull over. I found it kind of awesome because this church is literally two blocks from a penitentiary. 

hammerito:

A few months ago, a female cardinal crashed into the window in my dining room. The window faces the tree pictured here and has claimed a dozen or so birds over the last 21 years, all of them presumably having mistaken the reflection for another tree.

But this cardinal didn’t die. It got up, went back to its tree, and did it all over again. And again. And again. And again. For the last several months, this female cardinal has gotten up at daybreak and spent all day flying headlong into the dining room window. When sunset comes, she retreats to her nest.

While it’s normal behavior for female birds to be territorial close to their nests, there is obviously something wrong with this bird. As a psych major, I’ve done more than enough classical conditioning to know that eventually, most creatures will stop doing things that hurt them.

Now, what has been most unusual is her partner. The bright red male cardinal with whom she shares her nest has taken care of her for the duration of this episode. Since she rarely pauses, he takes it upon himself to find food for her so she can eat, delaying his own meals in the process.

Naturally, this whole story lends itself to allegory. How heartwarming that her partner has kept her from starving for months now while she continues to attack something she thinks she sees. On another level, I feel bad for the male cardinal. Whether she ever laid eggs or not, I know they have no babies now. Maybe they starved while she was off trying to protect them, maybe she never had them in the first place.

Animal behavior inevitably makes us consider human behavior. It’s easy to see shades of people we know in stories like this. It’s certainly heartwarming that some people will continue to take care of those who can’t or won’t take care of themselves. But it’s even more heartbreaking that some will spend their lives doing what hurts them most, all because they think they see something that just isn’t there.

____________________________

Now back to our regularly scheduled kittens and beer.

Last one I swear. I had to throw this one in because..I mean, look. He’s such a little fucker. I can’t even. 

In all honesty, I think most cat owners who see this picture will just wonder why their cat isn’t this great. 

Martin Joseph Evans (by Lee Crutchley)