Great Blue Heron

Arnold Arboretum, fall 2006












copyright 2006 M. Kazmierczak

Toygers

A breed of house cat is being bred to look like tigers. They'll be beautiful, I'm sure, but I'm in the camp that questions the ethics of breeding "designer" pets that will cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Millions of cats and dogs are put down in shelters every year for lack of homes. Purebreds are also subject to diseases resulting from inbreeding.

People have always bred for desired characteristics, whether in livestock or crops, but this is a far cry from breeding good mousers or even good pets. Designer pets are just another toy for the rich. I like my kitties far too much to just consider them accessories.

First post

The roses:

Rosa canina, the dog rose. A European wild rose. I've read two explanations of the name - that the plant was used as a treatment for the bite of a mad dog, or that it's a contraction of "dagger rose," so called because of its sharp thorns. The image is from a Polish postage stamp; "dzika roza" means wild rose. It's pronounced JEE-ka ROO-zha.

My blogging name, Rugosa, comes from another rose, R. rugosa. It's also a wild rose, with very pretty and fragrant flowers and lots of sharp thorns. R. rugosa is called beach rose because it thrives in the salt air by the sea.