Be nice, people!

Today's post is simply about what we all know we should be doing anyway, and indeed what a lot of people already do....and that is..... just be nice! To each other, to ourselves, to our planet, and to animals. Ghandi said "A nation's greatness and moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals" and I really feel that a lot of us realize this, and are doing as much as we can to live in harmony with nature as much as possible, but more can be done. I feel sad when I read some of the stories on the internet; animal abuse, poverty, pollution....but I also feel heartened by all the positive stories out there too; how people are speaking up for the vulnerable, and showing kindness in all sorts of ways, big and small. We need to keep doing this as often and as much as we can, the rewards will be truly worth it. Just look at this photo; not mine sadly, I only wish it was. This is Marco Queral, who has been taking photos of whales and other sea creatures for the last 20 or so years. What an experience to be so close to this whale- I am willing to bet it was emotional! I hope you enjoy this photo...

Hooray for the Fashion Police!

The Fashion Police have been working hard, so it would seem..... spotted on the bus again but doing MUCH better this time....the nice young man who always wore his socks with his sandals and offended my sense of style greatly; but now just look! Hooray! Follow this link to see what I am talking about.....
http://busadventuresinalaska.blogspot.com/2013/06/good-moringi.html

Stomach Brain!!!!

Wow, they say you learn something new every day..... and today I have learnt that we humans have a kind of mini brain in our stomachs similar in size to a cat's brain!!
Honestly, it's true.
There are over 100 million brain cells in your gut, (as many as there are in a cat's head) and these are busy digesting our food, plus keeping in close contact with its bigger friend, the head brain.
A good example of this communication is when you get that whole "butterflies in the tummy" kind of feeling; this is when the blood gets diverted from your gut to your muscles when you are scared or nervous, and the weird feeling is your stomach brain protesting to your head brain!
Of course there are probably many other conversations that go on between the two, and we can only imagine what they might be..... last night's tv for example, or politics, or whether in fact the Loch Ness Monster is real, and if there is life on other planets...... I like to think that my stomach brain and head brain have such interesting discussions....particularly when I've had a glass of wine or two...
So today's photo is of my beloved Tiger, sadly no longer with us.... maybe my stomach brain and his little cat brain are still in touch on some level......

It's 4th July!

It's July 4th today. In America, this is also known as Independence Day, the day when in 1776 America declared its independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. As a Brit who has been living in Alaska (for those that didn't realise it, Alaska is part of the USA, even though it isn't joined on to the Lower 48 and tends to get treated somewhat like a leper colony) for the last two years, I have mixed feelings about this. My heart is British, and I love my country and am proud to be British, and unless you are in my head, you have absolutely no idea just how much I miss my home. But, when you live far from home in a new place, you have to be respectful of other's cultures and traditions. You are a guest in their country, and like all guests, must be polite and a good representative of your own country. So although I joke to Perfect Husband who is American, that we should observe July 4th by arguing and fighting with each other all day long, I respect this day as a day special to all Americans, and I say to you all "Happy 4th July!"
I have a photo for today, but in my own fiercely patriotic way it is not an American Flag adorning my fingernails. It is my own joyously cheerful Union Jack. I mean no disrespect to anyone, in any country, so please don't be offended. This is just my way of saying, this is who I am in my heart, and I am proud. I hope everyone the world over feels the same individual sentiment, and I wish you all the best day.

No, Old Man, no!!

I have nothing against male genitalia. In fact I would go so far as to say I'm rather fond of Perfect Husband's.
I do have a slight problem with the genitalia of a random stranger being displayed in public though, and this is exactly what happened this morning. I was walking to the bus stop as usual, and I passed an old man sitting on his doorstep having a cigarette while wearing a dressing gown. The problem was that the dressing gown needed to be pulled down slightly, only a couple of inches, and that would have avoided the slightly awkward sight that met my startled gaze as I looked across to smile and say good morning. I honestly don't believe this old guy was aware of his transgression, a simple mistake I'm sure, but that didn't stop me from feeling that maybe as soon as I arrived at work I should perhaps gouge my eyes out with a spoon.........
There is no photo to illustrate. You're welcome.

Moose!!

This morning I was walking to the bus stop as usual and I walked past the neighbour's house. They usually have a large, sad looking dog tied up outside their house, but this morning there were two. They had really big ears and were watching me solemnly as I walked past...oh. They weren't dogs at all, they were two baby moose (mooses?) lying in the grass. Which meant that somewhere in the vicinity was a large and almost certainly extremely protective mother moose. Ah.
Of course I stopped long enough to take a photo, after first looking around furtively to make sure I wasn't about to get my head stomped on (this is apparently a moose's favourite way of dealing with threats to their young) then I hurried on to catch my bus. I wonder what happened to the neighbour's dog? Perhaps the mother moose fed it to her babies...... we may never know......

Here's to Bonny Scotland!

Perfect Husband and I went to the Alaska Scottish Highland Games on Saturday; slightly strange seeing men in kilts and sporrans etc, playing the bagpipe, then opening their mouths and speaking with American accents! Of course, some of these people are just interested in all things Scottish, but some have Scottish ancestry; past generations of their kin who bravely left the Wintry wilds of Scotland for....... the even more Wintery and wild Alaska!!
Ah well, at least they tried!
I am English, and we have a long history of fighting with Scotland; in fact we have a long history of fighting with a lot of people! But no country or nation is perfect, and I personally love to immerse my self in as many different cultures as I can...it's so interesting to see how different people are, what they eat, what they believe, how they dress, how they live..... it would be so boring if we were all the same, as if made from the same blueprint. How terribly dull.
There was a band playing; called Celtica Pipes Rock, which was comprised of Scottish, American and Austrian people, mixing traditional bagpipe music with heavy rock guitar- it actually really worked well, and as one of my facebook friends commented on this photo;
"God, I love a man in a kilt!" I have to agree, and am currently searching online for a suitable kilt for Perfect Husband.......... ;)