If you're interested in raising chickens, the Community Food Bank is offering two events this month to help you out.

At Manzo Elementary by guest author Patricia Foreman (author of Chicken Tractor, City Chicks) all workshops are free and open to the public, her latest book "City Chicks" will be available for sale.

Tues, Dec 13, 9:00-10:00 and 10:00-11:00am, two basic chicken care and "chicken whispering" workshops. A student group would be present for each, and both will be also open to the public.

Tues, Dec 13th 5:30-7:00pm Chicken care and how to integrate chickens into other home food production and sustainable living practices.

Manzo Elementary is located at 855 North Melrose Avenue.

For more information: Leona 882-3295, [email protected]

No, seriously. That's exactly what happens in this YouTube clip. Bob Ross, of "happy little cloud" fame, bottle-feeds a squirrel. Just when you think you've seen it all, then there's this.

[Buzzfeed]

Related to absolutely nothing other than my general love for adorable things, here's a video of blue penguins being released on a New Zealand beach. These penguins were lucky to survive the Rena oil spill last month, were cleaned and treated, and should be heading back to their home on Rabbit Island.

Good luck, penguins. Sorry about the oil.

[Mother Jones]

• Nina

It's shopping —er holiday season again. With all the stuff you can buy, why not help animals at the same time? There are plenty of local rescues that need your support. But if you want your gift to have an international flair, check out www.animalsasia.org. Gift giving for a good cause.

Animals Asia Foundation is devoted to the welfare of wild and urban animals in Asia. Their three main programs are End Bear Farming, Cat and Dog Welfare and Action Against Cruelty. The foundation has gifts for sale to help endangered moon bears. Here's more info from a press release:

As many as 15,000 bears, mostly endangered moon bears, are farmed for their bile in Asia. The bile is used in traditional Chinese medicine despite the availability of over 54 inexpensive herbal and synthetic alternatives. In China, the bears can spend more than 30 years in tiny cages and are milked regularly for their bile through crude catheters or permanently open holes in their abdomens.

Animals Asia aims to bring the barbaric practice of bear farming and the bile trade to an end and rescues bears from bile farms through agreements with both the Chinese and Vietnamese governments. The bears are brought to Animals Asia’s Moon Bear Rescue Centers—placid sanctuaries where they may live out the rest of their lives in peace and safety.

Animals Asia is pleased to present a bounty of gift items to help make the world a better place for these sweet and sensitive endangered animals.

Those who purchase holiday gifts that benefit the bears will receive a special card with a picture and information about how their generosity has enriched the lives of the bears—cards may be gifted to others in place of a conventional present. For the shopper with something more traditional in mind for their human companions—Animals Asia offers gifts including plush toys for little ones, clothing, jewelry, and a calendar featuring stunning photography of our resident bears, the proceeds of which benefit the organization’s work.

All items are available for purchase through the Animals Asia website: here.

Beautiful Cocoa, a 2-year-old shepard mix, needs a loving home to show her that there is nothing to be afraid of anymore. Found near the highway and rescued by a kind person, Cocoa is still a little apprehensive in new situations but is blossoming with the help of her new friends. Thanks to her valuable lessons in Canine College, Cocoa has already learned sit, down, shake, watch me, heel, wait and come. Now all Cocoa needs to learn is the incredible feeling of finding a family. Won’t you help her? Please visit this affectionate and mild-mannered sweetheart today at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona!

As a sponsored pet in the Humane Society of Southern Arizona’s Home for the Holidays program, Cocoa’s adoption fee is only $50.

Cocoa is currently living at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd. The Humane Society is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Their phone number is 327-6088.

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Two things I learned today:

1. Glass windows are no match for a deer on a taco hunt.
2. There is at least one taco restaurant in Alpharetta, Georgia.

[HT: The Awl]

Smudge, a black and white cat who has seen some hard times lately, could use a new home.

Smudge's bio from the Humane Society:

Meet Super Smudge! Found clinging to life after being hit by a car, Smudge was rushed to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona by a Good Samaritan. X-rays revealed that Smudge had suffered minor trauma to his lungs but miraculously managed to survive the incident in one piece. After receiving intensive care, a steady supply of fluids, countless bandages and loads of kisses, Smudge is recovering and ready to start a new chapter in his life. Despite all that’s happened to him, Smudge is a fearless cat who only believes the best about people. He’s always happy to curl up in your lap and serenade you with his deep purr. Won’t you give sweet Smudge the perfect home he needs to feel like a million bucks?

Come meet Smudge! He's currently living at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd. The Humane Society is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The phone number is 327-6088.

The birds are getting bigger, and I suspect they're probably going to be pissed about the spicy chicken sandwich I like to eat for lunch sometimes.

Birds are getting bigger in central California, and that was a big surprise for Rae Goodman and her colleagues. Goodman uncovered the trend while working as a graduate student for Associate Professor of Biology Gretchen LeBuhn, analyzing data from thousands of birds caught and released each year at two sites near San Francisco Bay and Point Reyes National Seashore.

The SF State scientists found that birds' wings have grown longer and birds are increasing in mass over the last 27 to 40 years.

What's making the birds bigger? The researchers think that the trend is due to climate change, but their findings put a twist in the usual thinking about climate change and body size. A well-known ecological rule, called Bergmann's Rule, states that animals tend to be larger at higher latitudes. One reason for this rule might be that larger animals conserve body heat better, allowing them to thrive in the generally colder climate of higher latitudes.

Under this reasoning, some scientists have predicted that animals would get smaller as Earth has warmed up over the past 100 years. But the study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, suggests that the connection may not be so simple.

The classic example of a curious cat, Bess, a 9-year-old domestic long hair female, minds everyone else's business for them. This sweet and sassy extra large bundle of joy loves snuggling, playing with toys and amusing her many admirers with spirited tumbles to solicit chin scratches. Please get to know this delightful kitty soon at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona’s main shelter.

Bess is currently living at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd. The Humane Society is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Their phone number is 327-6088.