Mar 10 2023 - Squirrels at Play

 

I can imagine that the subject of play in animals is controversial among biologists and ethologists.  How dare animals have fun in adulthood.  Humans have way less fun as we become adults.  Therefore given we are at the top of the life chain, especially of intelligence, it makes sense that this is an issue - squirrels should not be playing.  Especially now in early spring out front in the garden. Scientifically in the past, play in adult animals was considered a functionless behaviour unworthy of study. “Behavioural fat” as Dietland Müller-Schwarze and colleagues described it in their study on play behaviour in deer fawns...the old mantra that animals never play for the sake of it, that there’s always an underlying biological imperative at work, is increasingly difficult to reconcile the more we observe other species, including squirrels." They delve into possible reasons HERE with video footage. One reason given is a parasite that causes itching (yuk!) - so explains the jumping and wiggling. Most of these articles are anywhere from 5 to 10 years old.  I recently heard a CBC interview where play was clearly observed in various animals and now being acknowledged. What about how World Guinness Records views squirrels? Here's a non-Guinness record: it could only be from the US -  Mountain Musings: "Garth T. McGillicuddy and Henry A. (Bubba) Jablonski were deer hunting on Maryland's Eastern Shore on Bubba's farm last Thursday when they were attacked by "the biggest dang squirrel I ever seen in my life" according to Mr. McGillicuddy. The animal has been identified by a biologist from the MD Department of Natural Resources as a Delmarva Colossus Squirrel. These large tree dwellers had not been seen in over a hundred years and were presumed to be extinct. The biologist also stated that the hunters were lucky to be carrying deer rifles as these squirrels had been known to attack humans and carry off dogs and small children. As this is the only known specimen of the Delmarva Colossus Squirrel, it is likely that the world record trophy will never be broken. When asked what he planned to do with the animal, Mr. Jablonski replied "That baby's going on the wall. I don't know of nobody who's got a giant squirrel on the wall." He further stated that he might be willing to loan it to the Bass Pro Shops or Cabelas outdoor stores for a touring show "if they throw in a bass boat." Remembering Squirrel House Garden, now known as Martin House.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Jan 1 2021 - Recess Please

 

Recess and dismissal arrived in my mental inbox.  A recess is a period in which a group of people are temporarily dismissed from their duties.  It is interesting that this term about a group of people would have been used for children.  And that recess is common in two areas:  primary school and parliament/government breaks.  There is much written about the need for small children to have breaks or recesses - playtime, social time, physical activity.  The results of studies show that "The best way to improve children's performance in the classroom may be to take them out of it." But there is very little written about adults having recess.  A coffee break is the closest thing - and that wasn't playtime.  A bit of minor exercise. Maybe we were supposed to have recess at lunch.  But lunch turned into eating at one's desk as the decades rolled on.  Lots of work and little play during our day. My observation of adult "play" is that it is comprised of rigid sports games and social activities.  Everything has a lot of rules.  Adults reveal in difficult and harsh activities.  Lots of combat and competition. Consider this: there is no Olympic moment for swinging on a swing or sliding down a slide.   Imagine skipping.  These are not action-packed, combative and competitive activities that make for adult worlds records.  We laugh these off as simple and silly.  As an example, even my dog Millie can slide down a slide. I became aware of the fun of childrens'play activities in the high intensity interval training class at my Y.  It includes rope skipping, medicine ball throwing and rope ladder hopscotching.  I realized I hadn't done any of these things since I was a child.  They are fun to do. When and how did we stop... It may be that we rejuvenate recess for adults ass we make our way through the Pandemic.   Things like Red rover, hide-and-seek, musical chairs, leap frog, kickball, dodgeball, Simon says.  That would be an excellent New Year's Resolution: More play, less work to keep Jack on track. Between Sea and Sky - this is the seahorse at the Winterthur Pond in poised in that magic space between water and sky.

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Feb 22 2020 - China Work or Play

How do we know people are working if we can't 'watch them'? That's the remote work question, isn't it?   I know that we can easily measure employee output these days.   We've  been doing it with great vigour for more than 20 years - and even longer if you consider Total Quality Management started in the early 1920s.  We're experts at it now. But in China, there is great worry over productivity because of the coronavirus.  I found the most hysterical quote in the front page of the business section of the Globe and Mail yesterday.  Here's an excerpt: "Some Chinese executives and managers, though, have taken a dim view of their ability to get things done with workers at home. In a country that prizes long hours at the office, companies are keeping close track of how much is getting done by employees far from the gaze of superiors who worry they can’t trust their underlings to be productive on their own. With so many working remotely, ”there’s no way for us to supervise what people are doing. We don’t know if our employees are writing code or just playing with their cats,” said Cheng Zheng, founder of DDD Online, an augmented reality company. “It’s just the opposite of the traditional Chinese work style.” The article reports that productivity levels are varying. Solitary coders are fine, but those positions requiring communications had low productivity while working remotely.   It makes me wonder how they had been working and how efficient they actually were. They couldn't have been using teleconferencing or videoconferencing to meet in groups prior to this.  Or maybe they required employees to 'check in' with managers all the time to find out how things are going - judging on time spent rather than results. And that seems to be what the article says.  The Chinese are resistant to offsite work:  the Globe reports that there have been studies that prove remote work is more productive than on site work. The crisis is showing that remote work is as productive as on site work - a surprise to the Chinese managers.   And what is this about playing with their cats.  It turns out that there are more than 67 million pet cats in China and the cat owner population are generally millennials.  So the worry is there:  these millennial employees could be playing with their pets and making videos at home right now. (Don't read the other articles about cats and dogs - makes me sadly aware of my bubblesome existence). We are enjoying some daisies today.

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Work and Play and Boomerang!

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"   Boomerang from Instagram. This is an app that "makes everyday moments fun and unexpected.  Create captivating mini videos that loop back and forth, then share them with your..."  We're working on the Fantasy of Trees and one of the Museum staff  just found this app, something that might get attention to the upcoming event - our little version is HERE. This 'all work and no play' phrase is centuries old, so there are a number of quotes that reference it. I've included the ones that are thought-provoking and come from interesting and notable people.   All work and no play makes Jack a dully boy - and Jill a wealthy widow. ~Evan Esar, 1899 - 1995, American humorist, author of 20,000 Quips & Quotes All work and no play makes jack.  With enough jack, Jack needn't be a dull boy. ~Malcom Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine As if a man's soul were not too small to begin with, they have dwarfed and narrowed theirs by a life of all work and no play:  until here they are at forty, with a listless attention, a mind vacant of all material of amusement, and not one thought to rub again another, while they wait for the train.  ~Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850 - 1894, British novelist, poet, essayist, musician and travel writer of Treasure Island You may try your experiment for a week and see how you like it.  I think by Saturday night you will find that all play and no work is as bad as all work and no play ~Louisa May Alcott, American novelist and poet, Little Women (1868) All work and no play may make Jim a dull boy, but no work and all play makes Jim all kinds of a jackass. ~William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper publisher, partial inspiration for the movie Citizen Kane We have two pictures today of play and then of work.

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Garden Etiquette # 4 - Playing with Henry Moore Sculpture

This might appear to be Garden Etiquette # 4 - don't play on the sculptures by famous artists.  The Henry Moore sculpture in front of the Art Gallery of Ontario gets a lot of wear and tear, and takes it well. Children were playing on it last week when I was there. A close-up view of the sculpture reveals the detailed textures that form the skin of what seems to be such a smooth surface.  And with some processing, the variation of colour really shows.  It is the reflections of the signs on Dundas street along with the sky.