Cait and Me Archives - Page 11 of 16

Respecting the Emotional Lives of Animals

October 24, 2007 / Cait and Me, Nature / By Karen Shanley / 3 Comments

Whales-online.org offers this podcast with Marc Bekoff, Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado and Fellow of the Animal Behavior Society. The interviewer and Marc discuss his new book Animals Matter: A Biologist Explains Why We Should Treat Animals with Compassion and Respect. Marc’s book considers the full spectrum of topics relating to animals in the human world including animal sentience and animal emotions.

From the Whales-online.org site: “Marc explains that the difference between … Read More

Take It From the Top

October 23, 2007 / Cait and Me, Nature / By Karen Shanley / 10 Comments

This is the view from the top of Owl’s Head, one of Lake Placid’s shorter hikes — just over 2 miles up and back.

Cait and I were heading back after a long weekend at my mother’s (Andrew stayed home to get in the last of some golfing, while watching the dogs). Just as we were about to pass the road that led to the trail head, we looked at each other.

“Mom?” Cait nodded to the entrance.

“Sure,” I … Read More

A Chill in the Air

October 19, 2007 / Cait and Me, My Dogs and Me / By Karen Shanley / 9 Comments

A cup of tea shared in front of the fire, with animals near (Finnegan is keeping my spot warm on the chair next to Graidy). With the late October chill in the air, the woodstove’s rosy glow draws us all closer, helping to get us ready for winter’s simpler pleasures.

Got It

August 15, 2007 / Cait and Me, Funnies / By Karen Shanley / 12 Comments

For the last few years, whenever Cait’s been in the car with me, I’ve looked for opportunities to teach her about safe driving. I figure if I can slide in little tips and warnings over time, they’ll stick better and become automatic for her when she’s driving. It’s my chance to start her driver’s education early.

On a recent night, it was foggy and raining, which gave me the chance to explain why low beams work better under these driving … Read More

The Happy Box

July 31, 2007 / Cait and Me, My Favorites / By Karen Shanley / 17 Comments

“Mom I can’t get to sleep,” Cait yells from her bedroom. She’s been in bed for almost an hour.

“What’s the problem?” I yell back from my study.

“I’m having bad thoughts. I’m worried I’m going to have a nightmare.”

Since birth, my daughter has been inordinately sensitive to her environment. She takes things in that others hardly notice. The upside is that she’s very compassionate and caring. The downside is that any images, especially from TV, that are at … Read More

Doesn’t Get Any Better

July 18, 2007 / Cait and Me / By Karen Shanley / 3 Comments

Leaves of Three – Let Them Be

July 10, 2007 / Cait and Me, Nature / By Karen Shanley / 16 Comments

I thought I was immune, but I guess I’m not anymore… For the first time in decades, I’ve got Poison Ivy. I got it pulling some vines off my trees. My hands are a blistered mess, which makes typing interesting. In others words, this’ll be a short post. Just a quick refresher for those who might have forgotten what Poison Ivy looks like.

This is what’s left of the vine that I foolishly grabbed with my bare hands.

Poison Ivy … Read More

Like Mom, Almost Like Daughter

July 3, 2007 / Cait and Me / By Karen Shanley / 11 Comments

Don’t all parents try to pass on their passions to their children? I know I try to at least share with Cait all the activities I love. Of course, the ulterior motive is to see if she’ll pick any of them up as interests, so that we can have things we enjoy doing together.

Naturally, some activities have clicked better than others; hiking, biking, going to the ballet, water color painting, and playing the piano. Most of my other interests … Read More