The air we breathe contains a balance of many gases.  Life is dependent upon balance.   Without air, which consists of ~ 21% oxygen, we will not survive for more than a few minutes.  Without the proper balance of oxygen (minimum 17%) in the air we breathe, we die in seconds.

Current thinking about climate change and air pollution mostly points to carbon dioxide as the problem.  The NASA Global Climate Change webpage states: “Humans have increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by 47% since the Industrial Revolution began.”  The impact of carbon dioxide, however, is minor compared to nitrous oxide.  The damage done by nitrous oxide ought to be at the forefront of the discussion.   Several recent scientific journals report on a peer reviewed research study that finds that: “The impact of one pound of N2O [nitrous oxide] on warming the atmosphere is 300 times that of one pound of carbon dioxide.”

Where is most of this nitrous oxide coming from?  For the answer, look no further than most people’s breakfast, lunch and dinner plates.  If the plates are laden with meat, eggs and dairy products, then look to modern large scale commercial agricultural practices as the main cuplrit.

Carbon dioxide gets too much blame for climate change.  Nitrous oxide doesn’t get nearly enough blame.

In the 1700s-1800s Native peoples were living peacefully on the land, in balance with Nature, harvesting only what they needed to feed, clothe and house their families.

Now the global farming industry commercially produces livestock on a vast scale, by the millions, much to the dismay of planet Earth and her inhabitants, who find themselves suffering in a state of imbalance.

A vast amount of land is being used for large scale commercial livestock farming, including the destruction of tropical rainforests and the production of harmful greenhouse gases.

Only 29% of the Earth’s surface is land, 71% of which is habitable.  Of that 50% is used for agriculture.  Of that 77% is used for meat and dairy farming.  https://ourworldindata.org/land-use

The planet needs balance.  The people need balance.  The vegan lifestyle strikes such a balance.  The meat/eggs/dairy lifestyle does not.

The U.N. says that raising animals for food is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” The most powerful step that we can take as individuals to halt climate change is to stop eating meat, eggs, and dairy “products”, which is “probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth.” https://www.livekindly.co/global-land-use-beef-vegan/

Or, as PETA quite simply observes:

“If you’re serious about protecting the environment, the most important thing that you can do is stop eating meat, eggs, and dairy products” [emphasis added].

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/global-warming/

As the iconic character Mr. Miyagi said in the movie “Karate Kid”: We “need balance in life”.  We all make choices, many times every day.  Let us make the best choices.  You can start by choosing your next meal: will it be vegan or meat?

Follow NatureMan on this journey, as we strive to thrive, not just survive.

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The Red Fox is a mammal.  It is a member of the canine family.  It is related to dogs, coyotes and wolves. The Red Fox depends on its keen senses of sight, hearing and especially smell to find food.  It is a very sly creature.

Imagine that you are a Daddy Red Fox.  You have a luxurious reddish- brown coat of long fur that keeps you warm in the cold winter months.  You have a pointed snout and rounded but also pointy ears.  Your long thick white-tipped tail follows you wherever you go.  Your slender legs have black “stockings”.  Your paws have sharp claws.  You have sharp teeth.  You look like you’re really smart … because you are!

You are sleek in appearance.  You are stealthy and graceful in your movements.  As you wander about, your senses are all attuned to every sight, the softest sound, the faintest smell, and the slightest movement.  You are at your cautious best.  You have to be.  You are searching for food.

Suddenly you spot a red pine squirrel.  You know that the squirrel is smart, attentive and quick.  If he runs up a tree he will be out of your reach.  And so you use all your wily skills to sneak up on the squirrel and you corner him.  After a few minutes of “cat and mouse” you pounce and the squirrel is yours!  You carry him home, delicately but firmly grasping him with your teeth, as you proudly return to your den to feed your family.

When Mommy Red Fox sees you she starts to wag her bushy tail and then she gives you a quick sharp little bark.  That’s her way of saying: “Welcome home!  Good job honey!”.  You proudly lay the squirrel at her feet for her approval.  She nuzzles you, as a show of affection and appreciation.  She picks up the squirrel and calls the pups to come out of the den to feed.  Once they’ve eaten the pups will come out of the den to play and frolic in the sun.  When they get tired they will lie down with Mommy and Daddy to curl up together and have a snooze in the warm sunshine.

Red Foxes are quite sociable.  NatureMan has been lucky to have several Red Foxes become his friends over the years.  They are not afraid of NatureMan because they have become accustomed to seeing him and have learned that he will not harm them.

NatureMan was inspired to write this story by two of his beautiful granddaughters: Winslowe and Berkeley.  Even though they live in the Toronto area, they are lucky enough to have a family of Red Foxes in their neighbourhood.  Red Foxes are quite adaptable to rural, semi-rural, urban fringe and even urban environments.  The Toronto area has lots of ravines and woodlots that a Red Fox family (and other creatures) can and does call home.  People can easily learn to live in harmony with wildlife if we respect their needs.

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The Ruffed Grouse is a wild chicken-like game bird that inhabits the boreal forest in Northern Ontario, and wooded parts of Central, Southwestern and Southeastern Ontario. An adult Ruffed Grouse weighs about 500 – 750 grams and stands about 40 – 45 cm tall. It feeds primarily on seeds, buds, leaves, nuts, worms and insects.

When startled, the Ruffed Grouse takes off suddenly, with a noticeable and easily recognized powerful rapid whirring of wings. It sounds like a big long Ffffffffrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!! This is intended to cause a potential predator to “freeze” for just an instant: long enough for the wily bird to escape.

Ruffed Grouse spend most of their time on the ground, foraging for food. When they do fly it is usually up into a tree, either to get away from danger, or to rest or get a different perspective on things. They also roost in trees at night, so that they can sleep safely, generally out of harm’s way. But they will equally fly to another place on the ground, to continue feeding or to search for a mate. They peck at sand or gravel each evening to help them grind and digest their food.

Ruffed Grouse are beautiful birds. Their plumage is a work of art. But they are not that easy to spot in the woods that they inhabit, as their feathers provide excellent camouflage. They are also canny get-away artists, as many a Nature observer will attest.

In winter, when it gets extremely cold, Ruffed Grouse have been known to dive into a fresh snowbank and stay there, under the snow, overnight, for warmth. When doing so, they will sometimes fall prey to a Canada Lynx, or a Fisher, who can sniff them out and dig for them.

Ruffed Grouse grow extra feathers on their feet in winter. These make-shift “snowshoes” help them to walk on top of freshly fallen snow, enabling them to better forage for food.

In the Spring the male Ruffed Grouse struts around a lot to show off, and also beats his wings, all to attract and impress a female. He gets up on a stump or rock to put on this display. He beats his wings rapidly, while standing upright in place. This is called “drumming”. The drumming starts slowly, picking up speed and intensity. If you have ever heard the sound, you will never forget it. Some people have described it as being like a chainsaw in the distance starting up and running for a short time. Then it slows down gradually until it stops. It lasts several seconds.

Some folks think that the drumming sound is created by the wings beating together in front of the male’s chest. In fact, the sound is caused by air rushing into the vacuum created by the wings beating down, as they rise up again for the next beat.

Ruffed Grouse breed in the early Spring. The female will lay anywhere from half a dozen to more than a dozen eggs in a ground nest. She will guard the nest and, together with the male, will raise on average 5 – 15 chicks. It is quite a sight to see when Mamma Ruffed Grouse leads a string of chicks, with Pappa Ruffed Grouse proudly bringing up the rear for security.

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The Canada Moose is a mammal. It is the largest member of the deer family. It roams the boreal forest in Northern Ontario. The male is called a “Bull”. The female is a “Cow”, while the young of the year is called a “Calf”.

Imagine that you are a young Bull Moose. You are 4 ½ years old. You are mostly full grown, which means that you stand 6 feet tall at your shoulder hump, 7 ½ feet at the top of your head, and almost 9 feet at the top of your large palmated antlers. You already weigh well over one thousand pounds (450 kilos). Your antlers have a span of over 4 feet, with 18 points (tines) rising above your thick main beams. You are a very impressive creature, even in Summer when your antlers are still cloaked in “velvet”.

You love to feed on aquatic plants all Summer long. You wade into the shallow pond waters and stick your whole head below the water. You come back up with a mouthful of delicious lily pads and other vegetation. This stuff is rich in nutrients and minerals that you will need to grow your antlers and to help you survive the cold Winter weather ahead. Standing in the water is also a good way for you to get away from the pesky mosquitos and black flies that bite you all Summer long.

In the late Fall, and through the Winter, and into the early part of Spring, you change your eating habits. You feed mostly on leaves and twigs and branches of birch, poplar, willow and alder trees.

Winter is not a problem for you. You have a thick coat of long fur to keep you warm. Each strand of your Winter coat fur is hollow, trapping air as an insulator to keep you even warmer. You have long strong legs to power you through even the deepest snow.

You roam around a lot, walking down paths and logging roads when you can, or straight through a swamp or a marsh if need be, or even plowing through a stand of balsam fir trees with ease due to your size and strength. You can go where you want to go.

In the Fall the mating season starts. You suddenly change your daily habits and start searching for a Cow Moose to be your mate. You may have to fight off a larger older stronger Bull Moose with bigger antlers. Your first attempt does not succeed but eventually you will be the Bull that the Cow accepts. In the middle of the following Spring the Cow Moose will have a Calf Moose (sometimes two, and rarely three calves may be born).

You know that your antlers will be bigger next year. Each year in late Fall / early Winter, you drop your antlers and start to grow new ones in the following Spring. The next set is always bigger and better shaped than the previous one (although that changes when you get old). Its really awkward when your antlers fall off, because they never both fall off at the same time! Imagine having two large heavy antlers, weighing say 50 pounds each, one on the right and one on the left. Then one of them falls off! Can you imagine trying to maintain your balance with a 50 pound antler on the left side of your head, and no antler on the other side? Holy Cow! Or should we say “Holy Bull Moose!”? Eventually, within a few days the other antler falls off, and then you can go back to walking normally. What a weight off your shoulders!!!

That’s all right. You know that Spring is coming. Meanwhile you take care to watch out for Timber Wolves. A pack of wolves is not a match for a mature healthy Bull Moose, but they might try it anyway, so you are always on the lookout. Your large ears and excellent sense of smell help you to know when they are around.

As you stride majestically through your true north domain you can’t help but feel strong and free! Oh Canada Moose!

_____

NatureMan dedicates this story to Enzo, who lives in Quebec. Enzo is a guest of natureman.ca. You can see a post from Enzo in the “All for Fun” category in the “Pun Fun” section – click on link: https://natureman.ca/guestpunfun/.

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Nature’s most playful creature
… and …
One of Nature’s best swimmers

The River Otter is a mammal. It is technically a member of the weasel family. Unlike its fellow weasels though, the otter has webbed hind feet and spends much of its time in, on or under the water.

Imagine that you are a young river otter. How would you spend your day?

Well, you do have to eat to stay strong and healthy. As an otter, you are a powerful and graceful swimmer. This helps you to catch your main food: small fish. You also love to eat clams and crayfish. Frogs are also on your daily menu.

How do you catch all these creatures? By swimming and chasing them in the water. The webbing between the toes of your hind feet help you to swim very well. Your webbed feet act like a scuba diver’s or snorkeler’s flippers. Your flippers and your thick strong tail propel you swiftly through the water.

As an otter, you hunt for food, usually next to, or in or under the surface of the water. You do this even in winter, finding holes in the ice, diving down into the chilly water below, and coming back up again with your dinner.
You eat your catch after you return to the surface, where you are able to breathe again. Sometimes you eat your catch lying on your back while still in the water. Or you can eat it after climbing back up onto the ice (in winter) or onto shore on nearby land (in spring, summer and fall).

But that’s not all that you do. Once you’ve eaten its play time! Otters are well known for being playful, and you are no exception. You love to slide down creek banks. You slide on mud in the summer, down into the open waters, with a big splash. Or down the snowbanks onto the frozen creek in the winter, probably singing otter talk for “Wheeeeeeeeeee!!!!!” all the way down the snowbank and across the ice, doing “donuts” until you come to a stop.

Lucky otter that you are, you can swim and play all year long, even in the cold winter months, because you have a luxurious fur coat that is essentially waterproof. But you have to keep it that way.

So, after eating and playtime comes grooming time. You naturally know that you have to take care of your shiny sleek short dark brown fur coat so that it stays waterproof and keeps you warm and dry. To do that you carefully lick your fur dry and clean with your tongue after every series of dives. Kind of like what a cat does every day to keep itself clean and looking nice. This takes time but it is important for you to do every day.

NatureMan has a story for all of you otters out there.

One time, in the month of October, after a big early snowfall, while he was out in the boreal forest up in Northern Ontario, not far from where NatureMan was born and raised, NatureMan was treated to an amazing display: the sights and sounds of a family of 7 otters playing in the snow, sliding down the banks into a nearby stream. They made all sorts of happy sounds, as they kept climbing back up and sliding back down, over and over again. They had so much fun! The show went on for two hours! NatureMan had as much fun watching as the otters did playing.

NatureMan was inspired to write this story by one of his beautiful granddaughters. Her name, fittingly, is River.

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The pine marten is a small carnivore, a meat eater. Today, on a lovely summer day, a male pine marten is just waking up. He is hoping to find a red pine squirrel or, better yet, a spruce grouse, for breakfast.
He sits in a tall jack pine tree, planning his search. His short reddish brown fur glistens in the early morning sun.
The wind is gentle. It carries a familiar scent that the marten recognizes: his favourite meal. He sees it! A spruce grouse roosted in a nearby black spruce tree is just waking up.
The marten looks around carefully to ensure that there are no predators nearby that might be after him. His short but sharp claws cling tightly to the branch as he starts to move forward. His bushy tail helps him to keep his balance.
His eyes and his nose tell him that breakfast is about to be served. He starts to get excited. Then he begins to creep forward along the branch, slowly and carefully, so as not to alert the grouse to his presence.
The marten moves stealthily from branch to branch, tree to tree, making no sound whatsoever. He has great balance, so manouvering through the trees comes as second nature to him. His pointed face is concentrating on his target. His ears are cupped forward.
Finally, the pine marten is so close to the grouse that he can almost taste it. He tenses up his hind legs for the assault. He leaps forward in one smooth elegant motion and strikes his target like a bolt of lightning. After a brief struggle, the grouse is his!
Happily, the marten consumes some of the grouse, then buries the rest in a carefully chosen spot, where he can find it for his next meal.
The satisfied marten will spend the rest of the day sunning himself, and possibly looking for a mate. He is usually solitary, but when he finds a friendly female they will mate. She will have anywhere from one to five little ones in the spring. Together they will raise their young in the hollow of a tree.

Copyright – 2020 – All Rights Reserved – NatureMan

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