It's a Jungle Out There

Still painfully new to the world of blogs, I decided to take a random look at what others have to offer. It was both enlightening and entertaining.

First, I started with the musings of a long-time friend. I saw the same entry from back on November third and the dude really needs to update. He’s way too witty to let it sit. Anyway, in the spirit of research I hit the “next blog>>>” button. Then I did it again, and again, and again.

I briefly scanned each page before moving on. Usually I like to leave a kind comment out of respect but the hour was getting late. Besides, I can always go back through my view history another day. Right?

What struck me as interesting was the common thread that quickly emerged. There is a consistent ode to animals from one blog to the next. Wild, domestic, marine life, insects, they were all represented in my sampling. First there were my friend’s stories about his wife’s cat. You can find Mike’s blog "The Ends Justifies the Means" under my blog listing to the right. It's worth checking out.

On the very next page I found beautiful big cats of Africa photographed for the BBC. Following that I discovered a gentleman from England who commented on the large number of birds referenced in pub names. His sidebar included three wonderful animal photos. On another blog I read poetry honoring the virtues of domestic life beneath a darling image of kittens mixing cookie dough for the holidays. Upon scrolling down I discovered that her husband is an avid and talented photographer of butterflies and birds.

In just minutes I saw seals, horses, dragonflies, and everything in-between. But by far the biggest contributors to my random treasure hunt have been the birders. A particularly interesting one featured birds from Norway. As a lover of language, the sprinkling of Norwegian terms made the stunning avian images even more intriguing.

The experiment turned into a virtual bag of potato chips as I couldn’t seem to stop. The last one before bed was by a fabric designer from the Netherlands. Guess what she specializes in? Did you guess birds? You’re right.

It’s somehow comforting that so many blogs are dedicated to honoring the animal kingdom. Perhaps I’ll take another random peek tonight. Who knows what I might find next?