Sunday, April 7, 2019

Before and After Wolves


Restoring wolves to Yellowstone after a 70-year absence as a top predator – especially of elk – set off a cascade of changes that is restoring the park’s habitat as well.

Yellowstone Without Wolves (1926-1995)

Elk over browsed the streamside willows, cottonwoods, and shrubs that prevent erosion. Birds lost nesting space. Habitat for fish and other aquatic species declined as waters became broader and shallower and without shade from streamside vegetation, warmer.

Aspen trees in Yellowstone’s northern valleys, where elk winter, were seldom able to reach full height. Elk ate nearly all the new sprouts.

Coyote numbers climbed. Though they often kill elk calves, they prey mainly on small mammals like ground squirrels and voles, reducing the food available for foxes, badgers, and raptors.

Yellowstone With Wolves (1995 – present)

Elk population has been halved. Severe winters early in the reintroduction and drought contributed to the decline. A healthy fear of wolves also keeps elk from lingering at stream sides, where it can be harder to escape attack.

Regarding aspens the number of new sprouts eaten by elk has dropped dramatically. New groves in some areas now reach 10 to 15 feet tall.

Concerning coyotes, wolf predation has reduced their numbers. Fewer coyote attacks may be a factor in the resurgence of the park’s pronghorn.

Willows, cottonwoods, and other riparian vegetation have begun to stabilize stream banks, helping restore natural water flow. Overhanging branches again shade the water and welcome birds.

Beaver colonies in north Yellowstone have risen from one to 12, now that some stream banks are lush with vegetation, especially willows (a key beaver food). Beaver dams create ponds and marshes, supporting fish, amphibians, birds, small mammals, and a rich insect population to feed them.

Regarding Carrion, wolves don’t cover their kill, so they’ve boosted the food supply for scavengers, notably bald and golden eagles, coyotes, ravens, magpies, and bears.

Note: Hunters were upset because of the lessened number of elk which depicts a long history of the battle over resources including food sources.

Source: Chadwick, D. Wolf Wars: Once Protected, Now Hunted. (March 2010 issue of National Geographic).


Buddy's Day at the Garage Sale




It was a chilly morning in May. I was preparing our garage for a garage sale to start the sale. Of course, there were early arrivals. I was rushing to put up the signs and open the doors. I hid the money in one of the boxes I placed bags in and retrieved it. I was ready to go. Buddy, our neighbor’s cat, who lived across the road from us was making his way to me. Excited that I was outside and hopeful I would pay attention to him.

He was a rather large orange tabby with a friendly personality. His guardians were at work and they told us at an earlier time that Buddy would run between their legs to get outside so he would not be trapped inside their home while they were at work. Buddy ended up being a neighborhood cat. Most of the people in our neighborhood knew Buddy. Buddy liked to hang out with our dogs in our front yard. He would bring us dead birds as his way of thanking us for being his friends.

I had a small card table set up to complete sale transactions and I was sitting on a chair near that table. Buddy walked over to me and I picked him up. He was a purring machine. Loved getting attention. Buddy ended up greeting lots of the people who came to my sale. People would pet him and say what a nice cat he was. One man asked me if he wanted my cat removed from the clothing. I asked if he would. I was busy taking care of a customer.

We had a bunch of ski’s for sale, cross country and down hill ski’s. Some were very old and were donated to us some time ago. One couple decided they wanted to buy most of them. They loaded up their SUV with the ski’s and were on their way. Shortly after they left, they returned. They said they happened to look at the back seat and Buddy was sitting on the seat.

“We are returning your cat. He decided to go for a ride with us,” said the woman.

“Not my cat. He’s the neighbor’s cat. Thanks for returning him,” I replied.

I shook my head and gave Buddy a stern look and told him not to do that anymore. my

Buddy continued to sit on my lap when possible and greet customers. Everyone thought it was great to be greeted by such a character.

We have our own cats who are strictly inside cats. Buddy has just made himself at home with us. I guess animals can spot animal lovers a mile away.

The sale was very successful. I managed to get rid of a lot of stuff and made some money doing so. I loaded up one of our SUVs with the remaining items from the sale and my husband delivered the items to Good Will. 

I headed inside our home and Buddy followed suit. First time he has entered our home. My arms were full so I couldn’t stop him. He was exhausted because cats are not usually on the go for as long as Buddy was that day. He jumped on our bed and fell fast asleep next to our cats. They were none the wiser. After he woke up, he was shoed outside. That concludes Buddy’s day at the garage sale.


Alien Abductions




We are being watched by aliens from other planets and sometimes they take us to their spaceships or possibly planets to examine us to find out how we are different or similar to them. Many individuals filed reports about alien abductions. Some of the humans have not been returned to Earth. They have disappeared forever. Some have given detailed accounts about their abductions and others do not remember any details. Various testimonies derailed the idea that we are alone in this universe. Other life forces exist.

            “George wake up. Someone is in our home,” wailed Alexia.

            “I don’t hear anything,” replied George.

            “George, can you take your gun and flashlight and check things out?” asked Alexia.

            “Yes, Alexia,” said George begrudgingly.

            George grabbed his handgun out of his nightstand and the flashlight that was laying next to the gun and walked out into the hallway outside of their upstairs bedroom. He heard nothing.  He almost tripped over their cat, Sammy. Cursing because he stubbed his toe, he continued to look in the other bedrooms and bathroom that shared the same floor as their bedroom. He saw nothing out of the ordinary.

            He walked downstairs and entered the kitchen. He found nothing out of the ordinary. George was starting to get frustrated because this was the second time in two weeks that he has been woken out of a sound sleep by Alexia because she thought she heard something.

            Alexia screamed, which startled George. He ran upstairs. Alexia was nowhere to be found. The door to the terrace from of their bedroom was open. He ran outside just in time to see a strange spaceship.  The spaceship was round and blue lights lined the perimeter.

George could not believe his eyes. He grabbed onto the railing and yelled at the spaceship to bring back his wife.  

            What do I do? She’s gone and it looks like aliens took her. Do I call the police? What do I do? I have to call someone. George was beside himself. He decided to call the police. He could not deal with this on his own.

            “Hello, my name is George Castice. I am reporting that my wife was just abducted by aliens.”

            “Slow down. It sounded like you said your wife was abducted by aliens,” replied Sandy the responder from the 911 call center.

            “Yes, that is what I said.”

            “Give me your address and I will send a car over there immediately,” replied Sandy. She has heard a lot of strange things since she started her job a couple of years ago, but never did anyone report an alien abduction. She placed the call with a couple of police officers that were in the area after George gave her his home address.

            Lights were flashing brightly from the police car as the police entered the driveway of George’s home during the wee hours of the morning. The neighborhood was quiet.

            “I am so glad you are here. My wife heard something and woke me up to check things out. I was downstairs when I heard her scream. The door to the terrace was wide open. They were locked when we went to bed and when I ran onto the terrace, I saw a strange alien spaceship,” George said. He was out of breath because he was talking so fast and he was a nervous wreck.

            The officers looked at him strangely and suspiciously.

            “Have you been drinking, sir?” asked one of the officers.

            “No, I was sound asleep and like I said my wife woke me to check things out. I was downstairs after checking all the rooms upstairs when I heard her scream.”

            “Did you see anything out of the ordinary when you checked out the house?” asked the officer.

            “You mean besides the spaceship?” asked George who was starting to feel like he was not being taken seriously.  He was concerned about his wife and knew the police officers could not help him.

            “Have you and your wife been getting along?” asked one of the police officers.

            “What are you suggesting? I love my wife. We were going on vacation in a couple of days. I would never do anything to hurt her,” said George. He was starting to feel sorry that he called 911. George’s face was turning redder as he stared at the police officers.

            “Settle down. We are not accusing you of anything yet.”

            George asked the police officers to leave. They reluctantly left.

            “Let’s us know if you hear from your wife.”

            “I will.”



            A couple of days went by and there was no sign of Alexia. George was getting more and more worried.

            He went to bed and tried falling asleep. He saw flashing blue lights outside their bedroom window. He opened the doors to the terrace and found Alexia. She was in a daze. He guided her to their bed and helped her lay down. Her nightgown was torn and dirty which George thought was odd. It was like she was running through the woods with bare feet. Her feet were covered in mud. How odd that she appeared like she did.

            “Are you okay my love?”

            Alexia did not respond. She lay staring at him with blank eyes. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Dark circles were under her eyes and her eyes were bloodshot. George lay down beside her and held her in his arms. She fell fast asleep and did not wake up until 8:00 a.m. in the morning. She shook George who was sound asleep next to her. He was startled and woke up to see her looking down at him.

            “I’m hungry, George.”

            “What do you want to eat?”

            “Anything. I haven’t eaten in days.”

            George stared at her for a little while and then got out of bed to retrieve food for her. He made her a turkey sandwich on rye and peeled and orange for her. He poured her a glass of milk and walked upstairs to bring the food to Alexia. She was in the shower. George set the tray down on the nightstand and walked into the bathroom.

            Alexia finished showering and started drying off. George didn’t realize how much he missed her until he saw her in front of him. She was covered in small bruises and winced when she dried over part of the bruised area on her body.

            She ate heartily after she put on another nightgown.

            George waited until she finished eating and drinking the milk and then asked her, “Can you tell me what happened to you?”

            “I was taken by these strange greenish people. They didn’t talk but probed me a lot. They inspected my whole body. We landed, I think on Earth. It looked like Earth and they had me run through the woods as fast as I could. They placed that thought into my head. There was no talking. I had to run for what seemed like hours and I was given short breaks. I think they wanted to see how strong I was.”

            “Did they hurt you?”

            “They were pinching me with these devices. That hurt.”

            “What did the devices look like?”

            “They looked like large narrow tongs with red lights running down the sides. The red lights were hot,” said Alexia.

            Alexia matter of factly added, “I was told that I was taken as a child when I was six and they wanted to see how I have grown and to check my strength.”

            George was surprised to hear about her fist abduction.

            “I don’t remember being abducted when I was six. They told me they erased the memories of my abduction from me and my family’s memories.”

            “Why are you able to remember you were abducted this time?”

            “They said they are not concerned with hiding their appearance on this planet. There are a lot of aliens on Earth at this time. The aliens are concerned with what we are doing with our planet.”

            “Interesting.”

            “We do things like recycle and use energy efficient appliances. We also grow our own food when possible, but many people do not take any steps to save our planet,” said Alexia.

            “Are you okay?” asked George.

            “They were more careful with me than they were with some of the others because I am pregnant.”

            “You’re pregnant,” said George. He was astounded to hear the news. They gave up trying to have a baby a few years ago because of George’s low sperm count. They adopted a dog and a cat to fill the void and volunteer at the local animal shelter when time permits. They thought they lived fulfilling and happy lives for the most part.

            George hugged his wife and patted her belly.

            “Are you going to be left alone from now on by the aliens?”

            “I don’t know. They dropped me off and said nothing to me about any future visits,” said Alexia.

            George did not know what to make of the whole ordeal. He called the police and the same police visited their home again. They met with Alexia to get her side to things and left feeling like they were just told the biggest lie. The police officers looked at each other with disbelief but could not openly disagree with Alexia about what she reported. They told her that they were glad she was home safe and sound.



********



            Jack woke up in his bed in a small community in Vermont. He was terrified about the dream he just had. He dreamed he was taken by aliens to another planet. He was shackled, probed and ordered to run for great distances. The man that was running next to him fell to the ground and it looked like he was dead. There was no heart beat or pulse. He was alone running for what he thought was for his life. He was fully awake so he looked at his alarm clock. The luminated numbers told him it was 5:00 a.m. so he got out of bed to get ready for work. He worked at the hospital for the maintenance department.

            He arrived at work and John, a lab tech, asked him if he was feeling better.

            “What do you mean?” asked Jack.

            “You were out for a few days,” responded John.

            “What day is it?” asked Jack.

            John looked at him queerly and responded, “It’s Sunday.”

            Jack realized he missed a couple of days. He lost them completely. He thought it was Thursday. Where did Thursday, Friday and Saturday go. Jack scratched his head.

            Jack looked at John and told him he was feeling better and he thanked him for his concern.

            Jack did not know what to think about what was going on. He went about his business and explained that he had a terrible bug and he was immobilized for what he thought was only a day or two and was very sorry he did not call in. Jack was a model employee so they did not question what he said. They took his word concerning his three-day absence. There were a few bugs going around. It was that time of year, midwinter.

           

*********



            Leon was strapped to a long table. A bright light was hanging above his head. He did not know where he was. He was groggy and stunned to realize he was in a strange place.

            Tall people who happened to be a greenish color were staring down at him.

            They were planting thoughts in his head or he was reading their minds. They were planning on examining his brain. They wanted to find out why he was so intelligent. More so than the other humans they picked up from Earth.

            Leon was a scientist on Earth. He was working in a laboratory trying to come up with a cure for cancer. The aliens were exploring the possibility that he may be a human hybrid. They knew he was more intelligent than most of the humans they have examined. They wanted to find out how intelligent he was and where his intelligence came from. Some of the aliens that visited Earth were in competition with the other aliens.  Most of the aliens were from advanced civilizations and they surpassed the capacity of the typical human brains.

            Leon was given a multitude of virtual tests to measure his intelligence. The aliens were impressed with his aptitude. Leon was getting sleepy so they studied his brain while they let him sleep. They continued for days until they reached a point of discovery that Leon must be a hybrid human. The origin was further explored by running a series of complex DNA studies. They made the determination that Leon was derived from a combination of donors. One of the donors was from the planet Nibiru, their sister planet. They learned that at an earlier time period their Anunnaki brothers and sisters were experimenting with their own DNA to make more intelligent humans. It appeared to them that they were successful with their human hybrid experiment.

            Leon woke up from his induced sleep to find them probing his heart and lungs. He was in pain from all the probing that was being done to him. He looked down at his arms and saw puncture wounds.

            “I want to go home,” demanded Leon.

            Aliens have been known to be able to decipher any language from any planet they visit and respond by planting thoughts in the beings’ minds. They replied that he will go home soon by planting that thought in his head. Leon settled down and tried to block from his mind the things they were doing to his body. He fell to sleep naturally and woke up in his own bed not remembering a thing that happened to him the past couple of days.



********

           
            Alexia was having a nightmare one night and George turned on the light on his end table. He saw Alexia standing facing him on the bed. Her face was contorted. She looked like she had seen a ghost. George carefully helped her lay down. He held her in his arms. She was crying and trembling.

            “I don’t want to go back with those aliens. They haunt me constantly. Half the time I have trouble deciding what is real and what is not.”

            “I am so sorry honey. I wish I could ease your mind.”

            “I know you are doing the best you can.”

            “The baby kicked. Feel it.”

            George placed his hand on his wife’s belly. She appeared to be getting big with this pregnancy faster than George expected. George was hopeful everything was going to be okay. Alexia’s doctor’s appointment was tomorrow and they could check on the progress of the baby. The doctor was going to conduct an ultrasound.

            The next day they are at the doctor’s office and he running the scope on Alexia’s swollen belly. George is anxiously awaiting the results.

            The doctor points out what looks like a dark blob on the screen.

            “It looks like a healthy baby. Look there is a second fetus hidden behind the first,” the doctor said.

            George and Alexia look at each other to share in the surprise together. George squeezes her hand.

            “The fetus that is behind the other fetus appears to be smaller. You may be having a boy and a girl.”           
            “That will be okay,” said George elated about the news. Twins did not run in any of their families as much as he was aware but the news of the babies being healthy and of possibly two sexes sounded okay to George. He held Alexia’s hand.

           

********

           

            Jack discovered that he was even more forgetful. He forgot to set his alarm and was late for work. He forgot to pack his lunch so he wandered down to the cafeteria.

            He paid for his food and sat by himself. John sat next to him.

            “I think I am still under the weather. I am not myself.”

            “Is there anything I can do for you?” asked John.

            “No, I think I just need to let it work out of my system.”

            The truth was he felt okay but his mind did not seem to work as well as before he was abducted. He was wondering what the aliens did to him.

            “Do you mind if I join you?” asked Mary, another lab tech.

            John pointed to the seat by him.

            “What’s wrong with your friend?” asked Mary quietly.

            “I think he’s still feeling like he’s under the weather. He was recently sick.”

            Mary smiled at Jack to reassure him.

            At home later that evening Jack tried to play along with jeopardy and realized that he couldn’t answer any of the questions that were being presented. He closed his eyes and thought about a time when he could not answer the questions and could not come with a time when his mind was as blank as it was now. He was getting concerned. He had to write lists to accomplish any of the everyday things he used to do in the past such as turning on his alarm clock. He developed a daily checklist so he wouldn’t forget to do anything. He couldn’t afford to be late for work anymore. He felt he was being watched at work. Jack went from being a model employee to one who was being watched. This was unsettling to him.

            When the aliens abducted Jack they realized that he was of average intelligence, not a remarkable human specimen. They were not careful when they erased part of his memories from the abduction. Some of his previous memories before the abduction were also erased.

            Leon, on the other hand, was treated with the utmost care when they erased part of the memories from his abduction. As part of their experiment, they injected some of their brain cells, which enhanced his intelligence. He was making progress with his research concerning finding a cure for cancer in leaps and bounds.



********

                       
            It was time for Alexia to give birth. They were both nervous but faced the future bundles of joy with happy anticipation. Alexia’s mother was arriving at their home that evening to help with the twins. She was able to stay for a month or two. George was very happy about that. His mother died years ago so he was glad that Alexia still had her mother in her life.

            Alexia was in a lot of pain and was given a shot to ease the pain.

            The time had come. The first head of one of the babies was crowning. It was a girl, a healthy baby girl.

Alexia started pushing again and the second baby’s head was crowning. This baby was considerably larger so she needed to be cut more to allow the baby’s head to come out.

            Everybody was waiting. Alexia’s sister and her husband and George’s father were in the waiting room.

            George asked, “Is the baby okay?”

            “The baby is fine, just larger,” replied the doctor.

            The baby was finally born. The baby’s skin had a sparkly glow to it. Everyone in the delivery room thought it may be the lighting. The baby was a boy. He cried loudly as he was being cleaned after the delivery.

            Alexia was being stitched and given additional pain medicine because of the difficulty of the second delivery.