~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
January 21, 2012

Post updated here: 1/21/2013

★~  Today’s Quote: 

There’s something in a simple hug
That always warms the heart,
It welcomes us back home
And makes it easier to part….
~Johnny Ray Ryder, Jr., “A Simple Hug”

★~ International Hug Day:

According to University of North Carolina researchers, one extra 20-second hug can make a huge difference in how happy and relaxed we feel. When we are hugged with love, oxytocin is released in our brain. At the same time, stress hormones such as cortisol are decreased with touch and we feel better.

I remember reading a long time ago something along the lines of that when parents hug their children, especially their teens, they are physically giving them a message that translates into “I am loveable; I am valuable.” We all know how stressful adolescents can be, and hugs and nurturing can decrease stress and can automatically make your teenager feel better.

Over the years I have noticed that people have very different hugging styles. Some people hug like an air kiss, some people hug you like you are saving them from drowning, while others hug you like they are afraid you will escape…and then there is the never-ending hug, which leaves me wondering when the appropriate time is to disengage. Yes, I have given this subject a lot of thought. I like a nice bear hug—firm, heartfelt, and short—from people I know, and a handshake from people I don’t. I do not want to hug the butcher, baker, and candlestick maker. Fortunately, Cole loves giving and getting hugs, so that has never been an issue between us.

Whatever your hugging style happens to be, today is the day to reach out and give your family and friends a hug that says…You matter, just the way you are.

★~ Squirrel Appreciation Day:

Let’s face it—appreciating a squirrel is hard work. Maybe not as hard as appreciating a pigeon, but still it isn’t easy. Sure, there no shortages of interesting tales showing squirrels at their best—the adorable and spunky squirrel who fought off crows to defend his fallen friend, or the cat that raised a baby squirrel and taught it to purr—but those stories are just propaganda to keep us in denial about what we already know: Squirrels are never up to anything good.

In fact, a scientific study has shown that squirrels are very sneaky.

Dr. Michael Steele, a researcher at Pennsylvania’s Wilkes University, and several colleagues performed a study on grey squirrel behavior. They placed acorns near squirrels and watched what the animals did with them.

You’re probably aware that squirrels hoard their food. What you might not have known is that squirrels don’t keep all their nuts in one place, but make various holes and hiding places for their food stash. Apparently, they’re also paranoid. Squirrels not only make a large number of real hiding places for their nuts, they also make fake ones. If you see a squirrel digging a hiding place, there is actually a more than 20 percent chance that it’s a fake.

There are squirrel lovers that will defend this behavior and tell you that it just proves squirrels are smart. But they don’t know the whole story. It turns out that the squirrels do this because the other squirrels are dirty thieves.

The study found that squirrels are far more likely to make fake holes when they know they’re being watched by other squirrels. To the researchers, this suggests that the squirrels are aware of other squirrels’ intention to steal.

So there you have it: Squirrels are deceptive when they hide their food because they know that other squirrels are thieves that are not to be trusted. And if a squirrel can’t trust another squirrel, then it would be nuts for us to appreciate them.

For more evidence, click the following links and visit a blogger who knows the truth about Dem Dam Squirrels.

Do You think they’ll hold a parade? 

The Damnsquirrel Chronicles Go Coastal

★~ New England Clam Chowder Day:

Pronounced “chow-dah” by the experts or “om nom nom slurp” to those presently enjoying a bowl of the creamy soup. Chowders originated in fishing villages on the coast of France in the 16th century. Back then, any kind of fish chowder was considered a poor man’s dish. Most recipes called for salt pork and biscuits, which were both part of a standard sailor’s ration. Today, we’ve substituted the biscuits (also known as hardtack) for salty crackers!

There are many different varieties of clam chowder, including New England, Manhattan, Rhode Island, Down East, and Outer Banks. New England clam chowder is made with milk or cream, and the use of tomatoes is frowned upon. In fact, in 1939 the state of Maine made it illegal to put tomatoes in clam chowder!

Every year Newport, Rhode Island hosts a chowder cook-off, awarding cash prizes to the skilled chefs, and feeding thousands of hungry chowdah lovahs. We can join this culinary tradition by enjoying a bowl of delicious chowder in honor of New England Clam Chowder Day.

★~ Today in History: 

♥~ 1916 ~ U.S.A. Censorship : National Board of Censorship made up of film fans representing movie studios that served as an industry watchdog to help studios avoid government censorship, says it will not accept nudity in films.

♥~ 1925 – Nome, Alaska alerted the world by radio to a diphtheria epidemic that threatened to wipe out its entire population. The famous Iditarod race is run each year to commemorate the emergency delivery of diphtheria antitoxin that saved the people of Nome.

♥~ 1959 – The Kingston Trio (Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds and Dave Guard) received a gold record for Tom Dooley

♥~ 1993 – Workers from two bakeries and WKLL Radio set a world record in Utica, New York, by baking history’s largest jelly doughnut: 3,739 pounds, 16 feet in diameter.

♥~ 2004 – The recording industry sued 532 computer users it said were illegally distributing songs over the Internet.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1922 – Telly (Aristotle) Savalas Emmy Award-winning actor: Kojak [1973-’74]; The Dirty Dozen, Birdman of Alcatraz, Battle of the Bulge, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Kelly’s Heroes; died Jan 22, 1994

♥~ 1942 – Mac (Scott) Davis singer: Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me; Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife; actor: North Dallas Forty; host: The Mac Davis Show; songwriter: In the Ghetto, Memories; ACM Entertainer of the Year [1975]

♥~ 1947 – Jill Eikenberry actress: L.A. Law, Arthur, The Manhattan Project

♥~ 1956 – Geena Davis Academy Award-winning supporting actress: The Accidental Tourist [1988]; Beetlejuice, Fletch, The Fly, Tootsie, Thelma and Louise, Buffalo Bill,The Long Kiss Goodnight, Commander in Chief

★~ Did You Know: 

♥~ Squirrels can jump a distance of up to 20 feet. They have long, muscular hind legs and short front legs that work together to aid in leaping.

♥~ The hind legs of squirrels are double-jointed. This helps them run up and down trees quickly.

♥~  A male squirrel can smell a female in heat up to a mile away. Mating season is February through May with a 44-day gestation period. Typically 2-4 young are born per liter.

♥~ They can run 20 miles an hour.

♥~ Squirrels have 5 toes on their back feet and 4 toes on their front. Their front toes are very sharp and help in gripping tree bark for climbing.

♥~ In addition to residing in the Eastern US, Eastern Gray Squirrels can be found in many Western states, Great Britain, Ireland and South Africa.

♥~ Squirrels in general are found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia.

♥~ Squirrels can eat their own body weight (approximately 1.5 pounds) every week.

♥~ Squirrels can fall up to 100 feet without hurting themselves. They’ll use their tail both for balance and as a parachute.

♥~ The hibernating arctic ground squirrel is the only warm-blooded mammal able to withstand body temperatures below freezing.

♥~ Squirrels eyes are positioned in such a way that they can see some things behind them.

♥~ Their teeth never stop growing. Gnawing keeps squirrels’ teeth from growing into their necks.

♥~ The word “squirrel” means “shadow tail” in Greek.

♥~  Gray squirrels are called “living fossils” because they haven’t changed much in 37 million years.

#

Hope your Saturday is not squirrely!

We had big snow in Chicago yesterday so no telling what our day will be like but I am sure it will include hot chocolate and mini marshmallows.

What kind of hugger you? Odd Loves Company.

{{{{{ Big Hug}}}}}