IS THERE AN EARTHQUAKE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD?

I have written about earthquakes a couple of times before, and back in 2010, when there was that big earthquake in Haiti, I wrote a really brilliant blog entry about what makes earthquakes happen.  You probably remember from your reading that there are these things in the earth's crust called tectonic plates, and the plates are all the time rubbing against each other and making rumbly, shaky stuff happen up on the surface, where we live.  But...

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GENERAL: A CIVIL WAR DOG

A smooth St. Bernard, 1919.I think General the Civil War dogmight have looked sort of like this.This story starts out with a human, Bryan Grimes, who was born on a plantation called Grimesland in North Carolina.  The plantation was very prosperous, so young Master Grimes was able to attend some very good schools while he was growing up.  At the age of 15, he went to the University of North Carolina. After he graduated in 1848, he returned...

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ADOPT-A-SENIOR-PET MONTH

November is the official Adopt-a-Senior Pet Month, but I sort of forgot to mention that fact, and now the month is almost over.  But not to panic!  There is still one whole week left in November.  And besides that, you can adopt a senior pet during ANY MONTH, and it will still count as a very good thing to do!So anyway, here are some poor, homeless, senior dogs and cats who live at the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City, where Mom...

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ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON

15th Century paintingby a Georgian artistHere are the questions we need to answer today:1.  Who was St. George?2.  What made him saintly?3.  How can you recognize him if you see him?4.  What was going on with that pesky dragon?Back in the really old days, nobody kept good records or gave out birth certificates, but we think St. George was probably born sometime between the years 275 and 281. George's father was a Greek named...

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A BULLDOG NAMED PIPER

Photo ©Jessica StoneToday I'm going to tell you about a one-eyed bulldog who lives in Austin, Texas, which is where Aunt Cheryl also lives.  This bulldog is named Piper, just like me, and she paints pictures and sells them online to help make money for rescue groups.  I know that this does not seem like it could be a true story, but it is, and now I will explain how it all happened.There is this artist living in Austin, and her name is...

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WANT TO BUY A MOTEL?

There's an old motel in Kansas City, Kansas that Mom drives by a lot on her way to the shelter to play with the poor, homeless dogs and cats.  Ever since Mom started driving by this motel, which was several years ago, she noticed that it was for sale, but nobody has ever bought it.  Mom says the motel is "quaint" and "interesting," but I think words like "run-down" and "ugly" are better.  At least Mom and I agree that we would not...

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WORDS!

KUMMERSPECKThis is actually a German word, but it is a very useful word, and it's a shame we don't have a word in English that means the same thing.  If you are sad or upset about something, you might eat a bunch of yummy food to make yourself feel better.  Except that all the extra eating makes you gain weight, and that is called kummerspeck.  If you translate kummerspeck literally, it means "grief bacon."Of course, if dogs get stressed,...

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