God Save The King!
And his kingdom!
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"Until the lion tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." - Zimbabwean proverbHelp tell the lion's side! ^_^ Kevin and his team have been making the lion's side heard far and wide, but you can make it heard even further by telling your friends and sharing Kevin's posts and videos.
"An optimist is someone who gets treed by a lion but enjoys the scenery." - Walter Winchell
Finally figured out that now dryer sheets and olive oil make my eyes swell and affect my ability to breathe. I'll keep my window closed when the neighbor is drying laundry, and olive oil is too expensive anyway. No big deal, but these stupid allergies have made me miss so much of summer! And seriously affect my ability to get things done. Spent much of the year sensitive to light and drained - makes everything a struggle. When I miss pages, I just wasn't able to - not for lack of interest. ^_~
Managed to ride out to the reservoir a couple times recently and finally got to see a couple of the turtles - and a bear! ^_^ That was awesome. If you haven't been out there, you should check it out. There's always a skittish blue heron there, a gaggle of geese (they're not skittish ^^), 2 territorial woodpeckers, lots of dragonflies, and three times I've seen a doe with two fawns (they're growing up great ^_^). There have even been ducks with a drake who liked to get out of the water and bully the red-winged blackbirds on shore. ^,^'
I used to try to get photos, but I don't have a real camera anymore and the phone camera sucks. With a glare-filled screen, you have to just point in the animal's direction and hope it comes out. I got a lot of empty frames and animal butts. ^,^ And the quality (even the highest setting) sucks, too - only good for close-ups, not nature. Would have loved a photo of the bear. He ran across the road in front of me (remember I'm on a bike ^^), but was gone too quick for me to even think of trying to get a photo. Haven't seen one in years, so that was a treat, even if I can't share it. ^_^
Well, it's Friday the 13th - I should have known! ^,^;
Today, I got accused of passing off counterfeit money.
^o^; It's so absurd I have to laugh, but it was by people who ought to know me better than that and kinda' hurt my feelings. ;_; They seriously believe I gave them fake money yesterday. I am not a counterfeiter! ^,^; (Aw, and they probably yelled at the cashier who took them. - Well, don't worry about it, you did nothing wrong!)
My mom had some of these colorized coins, and they really don't hold any interest for me (they weren't well done and were chipped even MIP!), so I decided to use them. Coin dealers and "official" collectors view things like this as damaged goods. Companies sucker people into buying these for outrageous prices, but in reality they're only worth the coin they painted - in this case 25 cents. (I believe someone gave these to my mom - she wouldn't have bought them. I've seen companies selling them at up to $6 per quarter! Don't fall for it! If you want some because they're neat, pay what that's worth to you. They're just a novelty and have no investment value.)
So, anyway, THEY ARE REAL QUARTERS - they've just been painted. I spent some yesterday, and today, when I went back for some salt, I was told by the manager that they'd "looked those coins up and they aren't real money. The Mint doesn't make them and won't accept them." What the Mint says is they "don't make colorized coins" - they just make the regular coins, which companies buy and paint and resell on their own. They do NOT say that colorized coins are fake money! This store didn't want to hear that they're real coins. It doesn't make any sense to me: When stores run a marker across large bills (like this store does), that doesn't render the bills fake because they've been "colorized". When coins get really tarnished or dirty, they aren't rendered fake because they're a different color. 9_9 Geesh. Sometimes, being told "your money's no good here" isn't a good thing. ;_; I had thought it would brighten people's days to get one of these coins in their change. Ah, well. I took the rest to the bank and exchanged them. They thought it was all kinda' silly, too.
Happy Friday the 13th! ^.^
forgot! ~ page 25 fits this, too! ^_~
Global Climate Strike is this friday, Sept 20, followed by a Week of Action of various events and gatherings and an Earth Strike on Sept 27. People, young and old, all around the world will be joining together to get our governments to listen and take protecting the Earth seriously. (Some are gathering in Perry Square the 20th. If you know of other places nearby: Spread the word! ^_^) ~ UN Climate Action Summit is Sept 23.
...U.S. ~ Africa ~ Australia ~ UK London ~ Canada ~ Japan... and more!
Making informed choices on our own, educating ourselves and others, supporting environmentally friendly companies, not littering, being conservative, planting trees, using non-chemical herbicides and fertilizers, peacefully co-existing with nature, many many little things that add up which we can do on our own make a difference - especially when society as a whole works together.
We don't need our governments' permissions to save the planet, but it would be extremely helpful if they didn't work so hard against us.
September 22 is World Rhino Day
and National Elephant Appreciation Day...I blame this on the flu... ^_~
Millions marched on Sept20: The Guardian ~ Climate Change News ~ CNBC ~ Inside Climate News... Earth Strike is this friday, Sept 27.
Forgot my thought from last year! "We're all Earthlings; and without the Earth, we're all just lings: Left In No Good State." - would have been perfect! ^_~
On the lighter side for lions, I just found: Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve in SA used to offer cub petting but has now changed its policy....I'm quiet - not a marcher or shouter (this site is my way of raising awareness), but I was inspired with a bunch of sayings for signs. "God save the King and his kingdom!" was obvious: Without the Earth, there is no habitat at all, no kingdom. When I looked online for a few more ideas to round out the page, I saw that obvious ones like SOS and Respect Your Mother are used by many others, too. ^_^ There's some really good ones out there (even Dr. Seuss' Lorax was in Greece and other places) - and some naughty ones! ^,^ - Now, now, let's focus on not just mouthing off, but on accountability and action toward sustainable living and peaceful co-existence. ^,~
I noticed Rainforest Alliance had some of their people holding up cardboard trees, and I thought what a visual impact that would be to see a forest milling in the street. There is some creativity out there - use it! ^_~
What really hits home is seeing pregnant women in the marches. When those babies are ten years old, what will life be like? I'm glad parents care, and I'm glad so many young people are speaking out; because they are the ones who need to be out there, putting their faces up front and center so that politicians, and corporations, see the people they are hurting the most. They need to see these children's faces and know that it's not bad policy - it's abuse. It's neglect and reckless endangerment. It's denial of quality of life. People in authority need to stop claiming it's "perfectly fine", because it's not.
The UN Climate Summit seems to have been disappointing - The Washington Post ~ MSN ~ NYTimes ~ Inside Climate News... - with smaller Countries making the most genuine effort while large Countries who should be leading the way dropped the ball; but there are changes already happening and big changes coming in the next year. If they won't step up, others will step up in their place. ~ Also check out Covering Climate Now.
Many years ago, I was told that my voice doesn't matter. God told me different. I might not have the strength to fight injustice, but I have the faith to stand. Even if the whole World turns its back on me, I'm not going to turn my back on God just to have fair-weather-friends who don't believe in me.
Some people are alone because there hasn't been anyone strong enough to stand with them.
There's a lot I can't do on my own, but I'll keep doing what I can until I can't.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
If you're ever confused as to who has "best interests" at heart, just consider the source: Which one is spreading hate, and which one advocates compassion. Which one simply seeks to tear down others, and which one strives to lift others up. Which one is all drama, and which one is genuine. What do they concentrate their time, energy and resources on?
Millions participated in gatherings and events throughout the week of the UN Climate Summit with more mass marches on the 27th. ~ BBC ~ USA Today ~ and other good news from News24 ~ Be the Change.
Gonna' be late this week, so I'll post this photo to tide you over. ^_^
A cloudbow over NE on saturday. First one I've seen in person. Awesome!
No rain, just the lowering sun hitting the moisture of these clouds just right.
Of course, the colors were more impressive live, but I'm happy the photo came out well enough to share. ^_^
Painted dogs, or "African wild dogs", are a good example of what not to try to get for a pet. Yeah, I actually came across some place selling them, with other exotic animals. You really need to think about WHY you are getting a pet before you go down the exotic "pet" road. Animals like this are most certainly NOT "pets". Such animals are often not people friendly, they have very special needs for food and housing, and many are often cute, or cool, but deadly dangerous, making them effectively just wildlife confined to cages with none of the "pet" benefits, no enrichment for either the animal or the human, just there for status quo of having it. Not to mention the much more expensive vet care exotics cost. Many are abandoned after the novelty wears off. People with Kevin's level of care and dedication are rare, and his lions are rescues - not pets. He didn't set off to own them: He took up that responsibility to keep them out of the canned lion industry.
Like lions, African wild dogs should stay wild, and they need wild habitat to stay wild in. They share that habitat with lions, so helping lions will help the painted dogs. ~ Kevin is speaking at Painted Dog Conservation Inc's fundraisers in Australia this month.
10 points of interest from Africa Geographic ~ facts and figures from African Wildlife Foundation ~ info from NatGeo's Photo Ark ~ and What's in a Name? from Africa Geographic ~
If "sphinx" doesn't look intimidating enough to people newly learning the word, I noticed the dictionary has: Sphinx - "pronounced sfihngks"... I was like, "Well, that clears that up." ^o^ ...that looks more like a sneeze... ^.^
Statues and depictions of the sphinx varied in detail, but all had the body of a lion. When you need powerful features for a creature, lions are one of the first things thought of, from their muscular bodies to their formidable claws and even their distinct tails. ~ Did you know? Lions have a barb in the tip of their tail. Some call it a claw, but it's probably most accurately called a "spine" as it's part of the tail, which is part of the spine. No one's sure, yet, what the purpose of it is, but it is pretty nifty to know about. I believe Kevin even mentioned it in one of his posts or videos, but I can't recall where. I wonder if it's what inspired the spiny tail of the manticore.
Ancient cave paintings show people have always found lions quite impressive, even before they started making statues of them and using them on coats of arms to inspire bravery and nobility. In modern times, lions still inspire the World to great things; but their real value is to the ecosystem, and they mean more to the economy alive than dead.
International Snow Leopard Day is Oct23
I was reminded of this after posting the cloudbow photo: I seem to see more shades of colors than some, especially the oranges and purples.
I've never heard much about it, but people do see in different color spectrums. Where some just see yellow, you may see orange. Where some see pink or a blue, you see lavender or purple. Some are even color blind, unable to see certain colors at all. I went to school with someone who said almost everything was browns to him. Some of it is probably just personal interpretation, but people don't all have the same color receptors in their eyes - especially in the case of being colorblind. The more color receptors your eyes have in them, the more shades of colors you'll see. Humans normally have three but can have four, or less, and animals usually have just 2. (Having less doesn't give one bad vision, just less colors - think of black and white photos.)
So, most animals, like lions, don't see as many colors as humans do. I learned in hunting terms that deer can't see orange, so wearing orange camou while hunting doesn't stick out to them and makes hunters safer among each other. Recently, though, I learned how that applies to tigers. Deer see in greens and blues, and the orange of tigers, which you might think would stick out, actually is a shade of green to deer. So, tigers' bright orange actually helps them blend into the greenery and be more stealthy. Pretty cool.
(PBS Nature had a good piece about it in Natural Born Rebels ep1 Hunger Wars, but I couldn't find a clip of it. There is mention of it in this synopsis, though.)
(I had trouble deciding what to do for blue and purple... ;p)
"Lions don't have to roar. There is power in silence, confidence and persistence." - Les Brown
...painted rocks update..: Yay! I was finally able to get sealer. ^_^ ...of course, now it is snowing, so it will be awhile before I can get to the more distant places to share... Ah, won't be able to get more rocks for a bit, either, so what I have on hand is it for now. I'll just have to content myself with trickling a few out here and there in my walking area for now, about a two or three mile radius around town. ^_~
Here's a page to go with Kevin's "Scents & Sense Abilities" series. ^_^ ...Well, our smart aleck trio's version... ^,^ You better check out Kevin's Sanctuary site and his posts and videos to get the real lowdown on how lions see, hear, smell, taste and feel. There's references to all the lions' senses scattered throughout old posts, but here's links to Kevin's current vids that are focusing on how lions perceive their surroundings: lion Part 1 ~ lion Part 2 ~ hyena ~ ...
Oh, and, um, educational about lions... Lions know the difference between real poo and rocks. ^_~ They each have distinct scents, as well as different presences. Scents on a rock may attract them, however, but they won't be fooled.
I've seen posts of people making / finding oval rocks painted in rainbow colors and labeled "unicorn poop", which is fun all by itself ^,^, but my characters leaped forth and put their own mischievous spin on it... As for the part about where rainbows come from... I have a young niece who painted a cloud "puking out" a rainbow, so I don't think my bit is too naughty; but if you think it is setting a bad example, I'll claim she was the bad influence on me. ;p
(Of course, I had to paint it on a couple of rocks, too... ^_~)
Have a fun Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for people who nurture and advocate for wildlife, aren't you? ^_^
Lions will rub heads as a peaceful exchange, with a meaning from like a handshake to a warm hug. Yet, it's not just about physical contact: Scent is involved, too, and a lot can be communicated through something that seems simple. ~ This sketch was based on one of my favorite photos of Meg and Amy.
Unicorns can't get passports, but if you can: Here's a great opportunity for you to get to experience African wildlife in person and even meet Kevin and our favorite spokeslions. Donating gets you multiple entries. Good luck! ^_^
I painted a lion racecar on a rock for a young relative and sketched it first... Then, since it came out so cool, I turned the sketch into a coloring page to share here. ^_^ VROAR! VROAR!
...it was between "liornament" , "lionament" , and "lionbulb", and I decided lionbulb flowed best... ^_~
...and a word scramble activity...
Here's a new Christmas card: Sorry, I didn't get it done sooner! ^.^ - check out the previous ones here.
Forgot to mention: I sometimes take a route that passes by a holiday lawn decoration that is a unicorn with a peppermint red and white striped horn. Makes me smile. ^_^ There's a couple other unicorns around, too. I try not to have a big head about it. ^o^
Have a Merry Christmas! ^_^
Had to sketch this moving scene Kevin caught of Amy and Meg roaring in the rain. Very timely and touching. (full vid about Amy) Love and prayers.
Let's roar in the New Year for lions.
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Be a steward of the Earth.
~ * ~ Coloring pages: 2019 Jan-Mar ~ * ~ 2019 Apr-May ~ * ~ ~ * ~ 2019 Jun-Aug ~ * ~ 2019 Sept-Dec ~ * ~
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Coloring pages may be printed from here and made copies of for non-profit, free-of-charge use only. ~ Don't have a printer? Out of ink? Libraries are typically happy to print things like this out for you. Some may charge a small fee, others will print a page or two at no charge. ~ Please do not hotlink to or use my images on other websites. Simply direct people to my homepage: godsavetheking.neocities.org , thanks! Plant seeds!
[I'm not a professional and have limited resources/access; so the image quality isn't very 'clean' on some - has smudging from erasing, but they print/copy fine. I make the printable images to be around 8x11 inches to fill a sheet of regular letter-size paper.]
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