The Curious Incident of the Toad in the Nighttime

All credit for the rip off title goes to Mark Haddon.
Last night we went looking for owls. We arrived at McCallum pond as the sun was setting. We played the calls of great horned owls and barn owls from my aunt's ipod. We got some responses from a barn owl and saw it fly a little bit. We walked a little around the pond and saw two barn owls perching in a palm tree. They were a little obscured by palm fronds, but we got some really good glimpses of them! There were bats fluttering over our heads and nighthawks swooping down to the pond to drink. We got really good light from the moon. It's getting close to full.
On our way back to the car, we saw a western toad! It was sitting stunned by our flashlights under a bush. It had gold eyes with horizontal slit pupils, milky green skin, and lumpy skin.
Most western toads also have light stripes down their backs, which I probably didn't see by the flashlight. They have pale bellies with dark blotches. The bumps on their backs are reddish with rings of black around them.
Western toads live in western North America. They love moisture, and live in ponds and springs, burrowing in hot, dry weather. They lay eggs in standing water, and eat mostly insects and water-dwelling invertebrates. Birds and mammals eat the toads.
It was really cool to see one.
On a random note, on the preserve and even near my aunt's house, there are lots of stars visible. It's so beautiful. Since there are so many houses, I was shocked at first by the amount. They're more spread out, and there are large open spaces, so I'm guessing that's why it's so different from the city sky.

Composting Toilets

Just what you all wanted to know about!
Composting toilets are an eco-friendly style of toilet. In many countries they are used as conventional toilets, but in the United States they're mostly used as alternatives to pit latrines at campgrounds and hiking areas.
The benefits of composting toilets are environmental and financial. They obviously compost the waste in them, killing the harmful bacteria through decomposition, so, if managed right, once it's finished it can be used as normal compost. If it's done correctly, it's completely sanitary. Unlike pit latrines, they don't have to be pumped out, and, unlike normal toilets, they don't need any water to flush. With them, there's no need for sewage service, and it saves energy used for purifying and processing. Also, if they're used right, they won't stink at all.
Some homes and businesses have them.

Goats Gone Ballistic!

Yesterday we went to the Riverside County museum, which had a lot of taxidermied animals from all over North America. There were a lot of mammals and reptiles, including bears, lots of deer, moose, coyotes, beavers, bobcat, leopard, wolves, and tons of ungulates.
Native to the West Coast, from Alaska to the Rocky Mountains, mountain goats live on mountains with steep, rocky slopes with steep surfaces and impenetrable cliffs. They have specially adapted hoofs, cloven with grippy soles to make walking on steep rocks easier. They can perch on little ledges and leap 12 feet!
Their white fur is thick and shaggy to keep them warm in the harsh mountain winter, and in the summer they shed some to keep cooler. They have pointed, backwards-facing horns that are dark brown in color and used in conflicts. Males and females have horns in this species, and all have small beards.
Mountain goats aren't actually even goats. They're really "goat-antelopes."
They are herbivores, and live in herds. Males live alone. They live 12-15 years.
Wolves and cougars eat them when they can get at the goats, and eagles will eat the babies.
They are really awesome animals!

Ethical Shopping

Another book I've been reading is The Rough Guide to Shopping with a Conscience. It's just what the title implies. It contains all sorts of advice about "ethical shopping," and identifies and explains the pros and cons of types of ways to make a difference through your shopping habits. It's about protecting humans, animals, and the earth through awareness of what you're buying and careful consideration. It's really really interesting. I've learned a ton of things.
There's a long chapter on fair trade and working concerns and arguments about outsourcing to developing countries. It is cheaper to have manufacturing done elsewhere, but working conditions can be very bad. Companies also try to cover up the work being done for them in sweatshops or establishments with tiny wages and child labor. Some companies have gotten better after much public outcry.
In making deals with rich countries, farmers get the bad end of a deal, making very little profit off of their wares. Fair Trade has a series of regulations to ensure that both parties have a satisfactory profit, and requires certain working conditions and minimum wages for farm workers. When a company wants its product to be certified as Fair Trade, it has to have yearly inspections to make sure the requirements are being held up. Fair Trade mostly deals with agriculture, but it's expanding to other products.
To encourage this good system, you can buy Fair Trade items. These have stickers so you can tell they're genuine. It's really a good thing!
Another scary issue the book deals with is Genetic Engineering of food. Scientists have modified crops like soybeans and corn to be herbicide and pest resistant.There are a lot of arguments about it. Some people believe it's dangerous and crazy, and others think it's an amazing breakthrough and will make the future. But it seems that most people in the U.S. want to at least know if what they're buying is genetically engineered. In a poll, 93% of the people in the US said they wanted GE food to have a label. In the European Union it's already a requirement, but here, the legislation has been repeatedly knocked away.
A huge amount of the GE food grown here is used to feed animals for the meat industry, but it also can cross-pollinate with normal crops and contaminate the fields. It's really hard for any food to remain uncontaminated.
If you want to avoid GM food, you can buy organic. One of the requirements for organic food is that it isn't genetically altered, so at least for now it's "clean."

Vegetarian!

Besides working on the preserve and researching animals, I have also been exploring vegetarian cooking with the guidance of my aunt. I also have been reading a book about vegetarianism that has been really enlightening. I'm going to discuss some of the things I learned from the book, called Vegetarian Beginner's Guide, and some things I've learned from my aunt. I hope you find it interesting!
When I stopped eating red meat, I was a little worried that I wouldn't be getting some nutrients or vitamins, especially iron. The book said that actually, vegetarians don't lack iron more than anyone else, as iron comes from leafy green vegetables. Protein, also, doesn't only come from meat. Anyone can get it from a variety of sources, like tofu, beans, tempeh (a food with similar uses to tofu), nuts, whole grains, and more.
It also said that being a vegetarian is actually healthier than eating a meat-filled diet. A vegetarian diet gives you all the nutrients you need, and is low in cholesterol and saturated fat.
Vegetarian diets aren't always good for you. If you survive off of macaroni and cheese and kool-aid, obviously that's no better than a meat-eating diet. But if you eat a variety of foods, then the nutrients you get will be well balanced. Even without looking at labels, my aunt told me that getting a variety of colors can show you that you have different minerals and vitamins.
And being a vegetarian doesn't mean eating lettuce and zucchini all the time. There are many different grains and fruits and leafy things to choose from, not to mention all of the imitation meat out there. Some can be gross, but if you find the right kinds, they can be good. For example, we had some vegetarian tacos with soy ground "beef." They tasted great! We also tried Tofurkey lunch meat, which was also really good. You just have to find the right brands.

People have many reasons for going vegetarian. Some people do it to protest the treatment of animals. Others do it for health, and still others for environmental reasons. Even though I'm not completely vegetarian, (yet) my reason for not eating red meat was the horrible ecological impacts of raising animals. I believe cows are the worst, because massive tracts of rainforest are cleared for space to raise these animals, and the amount of waste from the farms is enormous! They also graze and trample tons of land pretty much to death. The raising of other meat isn't good either. According to Vegetarian Beginner's Guide, two thirds of the agricultural land in the United States is used to feed animals raised for meat. Many animals are also treated cruelly and given horrible living conditions.I won't go into that here. You can see many sites about that online, or finds books on it.
Free-range meat is better, but the animals still use up a lot of feed and space. The transport of meat also burns a huge amount of fossil fuel. It's true that crop transport also uses a lot, but fossil fuel is needed to supply the animals with feed, bring them to the slaughterhouse, process the meat, refrigerate it, and ship it to the destined location. The combination of the water each animal drinks, and the amount required to grow the feed, adds up to a lot more than is used for just growing food.
A large section of the book is donated to health. many studies have been done that show that vegetarians are less at risk to contract cancer, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

If you'd like to learn more about vegetarianism, even if you don't want to be a vegetarian, you really should read the book. It's in a reader-friendly style, and isn't boring! (Some informative books can be)
Also a warning to my parents: This end of this trip will bring me and my newly vegetarianed mind back home. And I'm coming armed with cookbooks and knowledge. :)
(And another P.S.: There are a few new pictures on older posts if you want to see them!)

Bobcats (Bonus issue: Aquarium Update included!)

The bobcat is a North American feline, mostly ranging the United States, but also living in upper Mexico and southern Canada. They are very successful animals, and live in a wide range of habitats, from mountains to brushland to desert. They are small for wildcats, and a little larger than most domestic cats. They have a grayish or tan coat with dark brown spots and a white underbelly. Like other lynxes, they have tufts on the tops of their ears, making them appear long and tapered. The bobcat gets its name from its tail, which is short and tipped in black.
They eat hares and rabbits, but also sometimes eat other small mammals. Bobcats are solitary animals and highly territorial, and move about in the dusky hours. They are not endangered, and are highly hunted.
Bobcats are also sold as pets, but I am NOT advising you to buy one by saying that. Many wild animals that are kept as pets become more wild or vicious as they become adults. I'm not trying to tell you whether it's right or wrong, so have one if you want, but I am trying to say that I'm not offering approval or disapproval. :)
So, the picture is one of a bobcat that was lying under a tree at Thousand Palms oasis.
AQUARIUM UPDATE:
You may not want to hear it, but I must talk about my aquarium. Today I picked out some crayfish to live here. When I turned my back the larger crayfish completely devoured a smaller one. I picked out a new one, but scolded the larger ones. They, of course, are pains, although cute. I planted a sample from McCallun, and within a minute of entering the tank, the crayfish ripped it up. I also planted bulbs of onion and waterlily in there, and they pulled those out every time I replanted and munched them. I've been reprimanding them, but of course they don't listen. They pinch me. But I still love them.
Even though I spotted 25 adorable tiny baby fish in the tank yesterday, I brought another platy home because she's huge! I just couldn't bear the thought of her being frozen. I named her Voldemort. Of course, Sauron's mad because she isn't the biggest fish any more. The crayfish are voracious eaters, so I have to keep a sharp eye out for more baby fish.

Burrowing Owls

The reason for the topic animal is that we tried to band burrowing owls yesterday. We were checking to see if a pair had chicks, but no owls came into the traps, so we left without banding anything.
Despite that, I have seen one here out in an open space. He flew out of his burrow onto a post. They really are fascinating. Burrowing owls are one of the smallest owls in North America. They're around 9-10 inches tall, colored brown with white spots. They have lighter bellies and eyebrows and yellow eyes.
The burrowing owl is named so because it nests in burrows. They normally choose burrows on flat land with low, scrubby bushes and plants. Kind of typical desert habitat. They range over North and South America. They eat mostly insects, but also eat rodents, amphibians, small birds, and reptiles. Burrowing owls are eaten by larger owls and birds of prey, coyotes, badgers, and dogs.
The burrowing owls are endangered in some places in their range, in others listed as a species of special concern. The reason for this is habitat loss from development of their homes, and pesticides poisoning them.

Today we went looking for lizards in the morning. We actually caught two zebra-tailed lizards, a male and a female, and a desert iguana. The male zebra-tailed lizard was beautifully colored. His tail, like all zebra-tails was striped with black, but his sides were yellow and orange, and the sides of his belly were blue and green. The desert iguana was really strong, and it was very, very cool.