Ick

Rattlesnakes Show Strong Family Bonds, Study Says

James Owen
for National Geographic News
February 23, 2004

Solitary, aggressive, and dangerous to know—that's how most people see rattlesnakes. Yet scientists are beginning to reveal a seemingly caring, family-loving side to these deadly reptiles. This reappraisal is highlighted by a new study of timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) in the eastern United States. Researchers suggest that, as adults, the rattlesnakes can recognize their siblings, even after being separated at birth. The finding marks the first time kin recognition has been observed in snakes.

Tipping the Scales with Warm-N-Fuzzy I think
It appears that the ties that bind are not limited among mammals and a few less threatening reptiles like iguanas, but now, rattlesnakes, of all creatures, may have a soft side. It's not that they really love each other...or do they? In this article, mother snakes and sister snakes continuously engage in some kind of warm and fuzzy homemaking like mass coiling to keep the family together. In contrast, dad and brother snakes just want to have sex, period. When they're done having sex, they want to be left alone. Hmm, sound familiar?

One of my interests is watching and examining the social behavior of animals and contrasting it
with human behavior specifically. We humans believe we are much more refined in our behavior than our animal friends; we have developed the concept of morality, we exchange goods and services, we develop technologies to make our lives easier and more entertaining. We cry when we are happy and we cry when we are sad. We fall in love. But are snakes capable of love?

The scientific community says one distinguishing factor between us and the animals is that we are capable of emotion while animals are not, that we have a sense of self and they do not.
I can't say I totally agree with the scientific community. For many animals, it's all about them,
even those in a social hierarchy. Despite what science says, they are self-absorbed because that is conducive to survival. So how can they not have a sense of self at some level? And if you have a sense of self, you get emotional about things. Scott, who owns the place where I keep my horses is well aware of the emotional and intellectual capabilities of horses. "they're just like two year olds...you have to treat 'em like you would a two year old kid." Most everyone knows how emotional and self-absorbed two year olds are! And I agree, however anthropomorphic that sounds it's a pretty accurate comparison.

It is well documented that within the social structure of horses, the herd, a tight bonding takes place between individual members, and if you observe them as they engage in a mutual grooming session, you can see the absolute ecstasy experienced in this ultra-sensual act, which no doubt releases endorphines--the same ones that are released when you get a particularly good massage. I think it's common knowledge, at least in the medical and behavioral fields, that emotions and things like endorphins are inextricably linked. So I can say that writhing and coiling up with your not so warm and fuzzy viper family could have its emotional response as well, but probably only those which snakes can appreciate.

I have been online for 5 days straight. A new record. Pat told me the horses called this morning to ask if i was ever going to come out. Well?

LOok WhAt tHe nEt bRoUghT iN

all of these are from the HCBB
Built for speed...
She should have the head of a princess, the butt of a fry cook and a walk like a hooker.
-D. Wayne Lucas, on buying yearling fillies

I can see this on my tombstone...
If my particular passion ever kills me, it won't be because I was on a horse's back. It will be because I was gaping out my car window at some horse standing innocently in a field or backyard when I was supposed to be paying attention to the road.
~except from Dark Horses and Black Beauties

Talk about Natural Horsemanship! So much more than I ever wanted to know...
OK, this diagram of stallion anatomy is slightly better, even though at first it looks really confusing. Just focus on the area at the bottom left where it says "Glans Penis." That term is pointing at where you'll find the bean. But the penis is telescopic... the rest of it is up inside his body (see the label "Shaft of Penis"). The actual tip of the penis, where you will find the bean, is covered by flabby-textured skin that would be somewhere around the MIDDLE of his penis if he relaxed ("dropped") it.

Just lube your hand up real well and slide your fingers inside that opening. Once there, you'll feel the tip of his penis and can go hunting for the bean. You'll also feel a whole BUNCH more smegma that lives up inside that second "cavern" ... you'll have to reach really far to get it all.

Don't forget to clean ALL THE WAY around the back of that cavern.

They paved paradise....

This is from the bb discussion I have been following at:
http://forums.horsecity.com
Bulletin Board: ranchers or cowboy forums?? about the downsizing of ranches into "ranchett's."
One lady discusses her parents 500,000 acre spread:
"We are to date the largest contiguous ranch in the state. Not for long if the Federal Land Swap Deal makes it through Congress. Which I have an idea it probably will, then my dad will have the original ranchhouse and the property he keeps there, and becomes a developer in his old age in the parcels they are offering to swap. I hope he and mom have a grand time and spend it all!!!"

And this guy writes:Everything around me is getting developed , and many ranches and dairies around have been turned into asphalt and steel . I would rather have a nice big , operational ranch , than see it turn into houses or be taken over by government . One of the best things I have heard was in a cattle meeting , and one of the guys said "

Rumplestilskin went to sleep in the early '80's , and woke up in 2050 . There were guys out in the middle of the street with jack hammers & picks chipping away at the concrete & asphalt . Rumplestilskin walked up to them and asked what they were doing , they said mining , he asked what they were mining for . They said , dirt .."

found this on the horse city BB

HorseCity.com's Bulletin Board: Horse's View of the World

Melva O'Shields wrote:

Arena: Place where humans can take the fun out of forward motion.
Bit: Means by which a rider's every motion is transmitted to the sensitive tissues of the mouth.
Bucking: Counterirritant
CrossTies: Gymnastic apparatus.
Dressage: Process by which some riders can eventually be taught to respect the bit.
Fence: Barrier that protects good grazing.
Grain: Sole virtue of domestication.
Hitching rail: Means by which to test one's strength.
Horse trailer: Mobile cave/bear den.
Hotwalker: The lesser of two evils.
Jump: An opportunity for self-expression.
Latch: Type of puzzle.
Lunging: Procedure for keeping a prospective rider at bay.
Owner: Human assigned responsibility for one's feeding.
Rider: Owner overstepping its bounds.
Farrier: Disposable surrogate owner; useful for acting out aggression without compromising food supply.
Trainer: Owner with mob connections.
Veterinarian: Flightless albino vulture

Biohazard lurks in bathrooms: Shower curtains awash with potentially harmful bacteria.

Biohazard lurks in bathrooms: Shower curtains awash with potentially harmful bacteria.

"When you cough, belch or fart, you're putting a lot of organic chemistry in there"
Norman Pace
University of Colorado

Oh, the weather....

I haven't stepped out today to see what it's really like. So far I just opened the door to let the dog in and out. I think it's supposed to be 57 F today, but it is ugly and grey. Ugly, grey, horses, mud. Should I go out there? It's almost an hour drive to and back from the barn.

My horses don't know about this long drive. They know about cars and trucks and trailers, and roads and trails that go somewhere, but have no concept of how long it takes to get there. Their time is so different than ours, it is so broadly defined, marked by night and day, seasons. Their daytime is measured by the boundaries and territories they establish as they move along the pasture and graze. If you watch them every day, they have a pattern. What determines it? They are not turned out 24/7 but on days when they are turned out, they usually form their hierarchical groups and will start grazing at the same spot they started the morning before. Through the day they work their way all around the pasture and it seems fairly consistent as to the direction they travel. Do they follow the sun, even when it's obscured by a day like today? the atmosphere? The pattern they establish is not just the territory they cover while grazing; within the pattern of movement, there is time to nap (usually sometime in the morning and about 3pm they get a little drowsy,too), take their turn at the water trough, play, flirt.

There are variables: natural causes like the weather, a spook that gets them running, or the artificial causes of human intervention--whether or not flakes of hay have been thrown down. Still, they strive for consistency in their habits. Atmosphere appears to be a variable. They are aware of barometric pressure changes and adjust accordingly, but it doesn't alter the general pattern of the day.

I wonder what my pattern looks like to them? Even though I'm not always consistent, do they know a pattern I keep over time that I'm not aware of? I imagine they interpret me in their life as one of the variables. Like dogs, they know the sound of my van and I know they know at some point that I'm coming down the road, but how far away am I before they know this? These are the interesting questions that lead the animal behaviorists to develop and test hypothesies. "Pet Psychics" exploit the results. A pet psychic could say " they know you are coming the first second you think about them as you are driving along." I know this has been tested with dogs, and results have not been all that remarkable, but a true scientist would say, "we don't really know for sure when or how they know, but there is probably a logical explaination, some event or change within the environment that is remarkable to them but undetectable through our overly evolved human senses," something to that effect anyway.

I know this much, they don't plan their day around whether or not I'm coming, and some days they could care less. Other days they seem extremely happy to see me. I haven't really learned what it is that always determines this, but sometimes it's because I can do something for them that they can't do themselves, and they have been thinking about wanting to do this through the day, like let them out of their stalls when they have to stay in, and here I come, Finally!! "Let us out, let us out!"

Why Blog?

I had to ask myself...Why Blog? I suppose it's because in all the bulletin boards I post to people hate to see my handle come up. I never really get to the point until the seventh or so paragraph. When I do get to the point, I've either already figured out the answer myself, or just made whatever I had to say redundant. There you go--Why Blog?--because you can!