SNN (ScrollingNetworkNews) ✿ ✿ Our Mel and Sydney returned to their nesting box with plenty of bonding occurring..but after 2.5 months of Sydney in the box from Dec 2013 to mid Feb 2014, the lack of prey gifts from Mel ( perhaps due to the severe and historic drought underway in California)and they have forgone the nesting process this year as many other raptors ✿ Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, Barn Owls consume more rodents – often regarded as pests by humans – than possibly any other creature. ✿ We remind viewers that sometimes owlets may not survive - the parents will dispose of things in "The Owl Way" -viewer discretion is advised, this is nature and the "Owl way". ✿ ~ ✿ “Animals, like us, are living souls. They are not things. They are not objects. Neither are they human. Yet they mourn. They love. They dance. They suffer. They know the peaks and chasms of being.” ― Gary Kowalski, The Souls of Animals ✿ Each species is a masterpiece, a creation assembled with extreme care and genius." ~ E.O. Wilson

Monday, October 31, 2011

5 Worst Halloween "Treats"

There are two really important holidays on a kid's calendar: Christmas and Halloween. Sure, you might argue that Fourth of July should be on there (you get to blow stuff up), but no one really looks forward to it all year the same way.
But those days can easily be ruined. On Christmas, all it takes is to open a package of socks and underwear. On Halloween, there are always neighbors who offer up some awful treats.
Can candy truly be awful? Yeah. Unfortunately it can. And it's usually a matter of people deciding to go cheap. While Old Mrs. Fenstermacher might save a couple bucks buying hard candy rather than chocolate bars, it does nothing for her neighborhood cred. And it just wrecks Halloween for everyone else.
So whether you're in the mood to reflect on your own youthful trick-or-treating or just want some candy pointers to avoid ending up on the trick side of the equation this year, let's unwrap the five worst Halloween treats.
5. Smarties-Who thought these up? Smarties are those multicolored round candies that are packaged in a roll. You pull both ends of the cellophane wrapper and the fruit-flavored candies fall out.
Oh, yeah, and they have the texture of baby aspirin.
(I love smarties)
4. Circus peanuts-Circus Peanuts are the red headed step-cousins of the Easter favorite, Peeps. But while Peeps can get away with it (they are dipped in sparkly, pastel sugar) Circus Peanuts are a harder sell.

While Circus Peanuts are a disappointment, they aren't without their redemption -- in the 1960s, General Mills discovered that by modifying the recipe a bit, they could be added to breakfast cereal, giving the world to Lucky Charms.
3. Apples-Apples are bad giveaways for a couple of reasons: First, they aren't candy.
Sure, you can argue that people give out apples because they are healthy and won't rot your teeth. 
Second, it's really just a waste, because no one eats the apple!
2. Raisins- As if apples weren't insulting enough, some people even have the guts to give out raisins. Let that sink in for a minute: Raisins ... and in those little, tiny, hard to access boxes to boot.
You want kids to be healthy, and that's great -- just not tonight on Halloween. 
The point is this: Raisins are horrible. Let the parents worry about their kids rotting teeth.



And the number 1 worst Halloween treat is..
So you think you know? 
Have you guessed? 
Click on read more to find out
1. Pennies- At least the preceding two entries (apples and raisins) are arguably still treats. They can be eaten. They still are terrible Halloween treats, but it's better than  No. 1: Pennies.
It would be different if kids were given bags willed with five dollars in pennies, but instead these Halloween treat offenders tape together five pennies and send us on our way. A whole nickel, huh? Gee, thanks.
We can't think of a faster way to get your house egged back to the Stone Age. At least the Halloween community largely ignores the people who turn off their porch light and don't recognize the holiday.
But when you give out pennies, well that's just an insult. Rather than take the pennies that you dug out of the couch or dumped from the change jar in your bedroom, why not take that money to the grocery store and buy a bag or two of Milky Ways? It's just safer for your yard.
What were your worst treats as a kid?