“The birds will eat it.”

When I was little girl, I was told never to litter.  Whenever we had something unwanted in the car, we either put it in the garbage bag or if it was food, sometimes we would throw it out the window.  My mom would say “the birds will eat it” if it was something like a cracker or apple.  Gum was garbage, because birds/animals wouldn’t eat it and of course anything else that was inedible was garbage.  So, my thoughts are that if the wildlife can’t eat it, it shouldn’t be thrown out the car window.

Considering this, and the fact that I consider myself environmentally concerned, it bothers me a lot when I see people throwing trash out the car window.  Usually it is the occasional jerk that doesn’t care and throws a candy wrapper out or a receipt.  But there is one thing I see almost daily and that is people throwing cigarettes out the car window.  They flick them out (almost always lit) as if it’s not littering.  Do birds eat cigarettes?  Do they not count as litter?

Rock Climbing

I figured I’d write about something I know for this next post…rock climbing!  I have been climbing for about a little over 10 years (but took 5 off in the middle) and I’m really getting back into it, hopefully hardcore!  I love climbing outside, but for now I climb at gyms like this one:

North Summit Climbing Gym                                           

www.northsummitclimbing.com

 Climbing inside is much different than climbing outdoors, but it can be great exercise and a challenge.  Climbing routes (or problems) are ranked on a scale called the Yosemite Decimal System.  This is a way to challenge yourself to climb harder routes and learn difficult moves, but climbing is about patience, so it may take months or years of practice to become a skilled climber.

Climbing is great for kids too!  I have taken my daughter, who is almost 5 and she loves  just climbing and not paying attention to the marked routes.  Anyone can climb and it is not as scary as you may think.  You can boulder, which is just free climbing up to 6′ and this is great practice for skill and strength-building.  If you want to climb to the top, you get harnessed in and a person controls the other end of the rope.  This person is “on belay” and they will take up the slack in the rope as you climb up and if you fall, the almost pulley-like system assures that you don’t fall. 

Here are some great links to learn more about climbing:

 http://www.rockclimbing.com/

http://www.doylestownrockgym.com/

http://www.philarockgym.com/

Puppy Mill Awareness

Image via Wikipedia

In May of 2008, I started a group to educate people in my area about puppy mills.  It is now a 501 (c)(3) charity and we have a website:

www.lvpmwatch.org

I will be posting more about puppy mills and the website will also have more soon…if anyone has questions about puppy mills, please visit the site or ask me!