I Did It!

I can't believe it, Folks, but I actually canceled my account on Facebook! Why? You may ask. It's a terrific tool for networking, for finding long lost friends, and for keeping in touch. So what was the problem? I was addicted, for one. I felt compelled to check it often throughout the day, when my time would have been better spent doing things that I really should have been doing. However, when I began to feel the urge to check the site while waiting in traffic, I knew it was time to let go. Yes, I admit it. I was a Facebook junkie!

So, now that I have pulled the plug, it will be interesting to see how well I fill my time, and how well I keep in touch with those I care about - which include all of my Facebook Friends. Let's hope that I can restructure and re-prioritize so that I may slow my pace just a bit and get on with the business of living instead of frantically trying to keep up with the daily doings on FB. Oh boy! I can feel the jitters already! :-) I'm hoping my FB friends will not forget me and will tune into my blog regularly.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Check out My Favorite Links!

Please take a moment to check out my favorite links at the bottom of this page.

My friend Sue is an expert camper and has started an incredible new site called How In Tents! She also has a blog called The Snow Leopard. I'm sure you will enjoy her short stories and anecdotes.

If you have a favorite site that you think readers may be interested in, please include it in the comments of this posting.

Thanks!

To Continue.....

As some of you may know, I stopped contributing to my blog due to a disagreement with Adsense. So there will be no more ads on this blog for the time being.

I have been asked by a number of you to continue my blog, and so for now, I think I will do that. It is fun, and I hope that you all get something out of it as well. Please feel free to continue commenting and making suggestions. My goal is to post items that not only interest my readers, but also involve them and perhaps in some way, will be of help. Let's see what we can do with this!

And a big THANK YOU to my loyal followers whoever you are!

Want To Sell Your Handmade Crafts?

Just now I was surfing the net and came across this site. It is a venue in which you can advertise your handmade crafts. I don't know how it works, but I know some of you out there are very talented and just need a place to sell your wares. Check it out, and don't forget to let us know how it works out for you!

www.madeitmyself.com

New Information

Hello, and thank you once again for visiting my site! I have noticed that the ads on my main page do not seem to have changed. However, should you click on a particular story, the ads change to something more in line with what has been written.

Each day, I try to add something new and interesting. Note the new addition at the bottom of my page, called Favorite Links. Also, please comment and contribute whenever you can. I love exchanging ideas!

Thanks again, and have a beautiful day!

Make Your Own Bird Suet Cakes

I found this recipe on the internet and it not only sounded good, but easy to make.

Sharon Smith's Sure-Fire Suet Mix Jan28, 1997

This is SOOOOOO easy to make, and my birds love it...from woodpeckers to chickadees to thrashers to sparrows.

1 part peanut butter (I use crunchy)
1 part shortening
1 part flour
3 parts cornmeal
1 part cracked corn
I also add black oil sunflower seeds and/or mixed seed

As I say, it's very easy to make and quite a popular item. (Last year I was given some store-bought suet cakes, and my birds refused to eat them! I finally broke them apart and combined with the above recipe!)

Interested in Wolves?

The International Wolf Center in Ely Minnesota is a terrific resource for all things "wolf". I have pasted a story here that I thought might be of interest. At the bottom of this web page there is a link to their site, which I'm sure you will enjoy visiting over and over again! Especially fascinating are the web cams!

Wolf Populations Double in the Northern Rockies, Alaska, and the Midwest Reports the International Wolf Center

May 7, 2009

Just when wolves have been removed from the federal endangered species list, the entire wolf population in the western Great Lakes states, and the northern Rockies has suddenly doubled. Similarly in Alaska, where coincidentally wolf control has just wound down, wolf numbers have also doubled. Rarely recognized, but as certain as spring, this doubling of wolf numbers has occurred in ground burrows, rock caves, abandoned beaver lodges, and various other secluded spots where each pack's breeding female gives birth to a new generation of offspring. This news may be reassuring to individuals and organizations worried about the survival of wolf populations.

Wolves typically live in packs averaging six adults. Spring litters in these packs average six pups, thereby doubling the population. For example, the Great Lakes states' overwinter population was about 4,000 animals, but after about May 1 those states can claim 8,000 wolves. Likewise, Montana estimated about 500 resident wolves during this past winter. Today the actual number is near 1,000. Traditionally, state and federal population estimates have been calculated when wolf numbers are at their annual low point, normally in winter. Although all wildlife populations experience these annual fluctuations, the more meaningful number is the rate at which a population is increasing or decreasing.

What happens to all these recently born wolf pups? Studies from Alaska to the Great Lakes states tell us that some pups die from disease, predation, accidents, and even starvation. In spite of high pup mortality and the fact that many states' population estimates do not account for dispersing juvenile animals, the yearly trend for wolves across North America has been to increase, and that annual increase has usually been at the rate of 4 percent to 30 percent. As you read this, in hundreds of hidden seclusions, a new generation of wolves is being born, and many of them are destined to live long enough to add to this growing population.

Wolves have needed sound science and public policy to recover to this point where their own reproductive rate can offset natural and human-caused losses. That recovery has been a landmark conservation achievement. The wolf's future, however, will rely on sound management and the preservation of vast areas of wildlands and the prey that thrive there.

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ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER- The International Wolf Center, founded in 1985, is known worldwide as the nation's premier source for wolf education. The mission of the Center is to advance the survival of wolf populations by teaching about the wolf's life, its relationship to wildlands and the human role in its future. The Center educates through its Web site, www.wolf.org, its ambassador wolves, museum exhibits, on-site adventure and outreach programs and International Wolf magazine. Its flagship educational facility in Ely, MN, 1396 Highway 169, Ely, MN 55731. (Phone: 218-365-4695) is the future home for the new pups. The Center's administrative and outreach offices are at 3410 Winnetka Ave North, Minneapolis, MN 55427.