LMAC turned 50 this week! A very young 50, with a bright future ahead. I enlisted some gophers and prairie dogs to help the community celebrate.
Gophers and Prairie Dogs
One reason to write about gophers and prairies is, I get to look at a lot of cute animal pictures. And I get to share these pictures with my readers. Here's a picture of prairie dogs kissing.
Yes, they actually do kiss, and cuddle.
Image credit: Brocken Inaglory (Photograph edited by Vassil). CC 3.0 license
Here's a great shot of a gopher coming out of its burrow.
Image credit: Leonardo Weiss. CC 3.0 license
These pictures illustrate a major difference between gophers and prairie dogs. Gophers are solitary animals and prairie dogs are social. As a matter of fact, you're not likely to find a prairie dog alone, and you're not likely to find a gopher in the company of other gophers.
Oh Dear, Prairie Dog Infanticide
While prairie dogs are excellent parents...the mother cares for the pups and the father protects the burrow...apparently they cannot be trusted with the pups of others in their community. Infanticide by males and females of others' pups apparently does occur. This usually is done to give a competitive advantage to one's own offspring.
Image credit: USFWS Mountain-Prairie. Licensing on this mentions both CC 2.0 and public domain (?).These pups are playing outside a burrow. One is apparently practicing 'jump yipping'.
A Youtube video of prairie dogs jump yipping:
When one prairie dog starts jump yipping, others in nearby and far away burrows will join in. One researcher suggests this is a kind of roll call, but no one knows for sure why prairie dogs do this. One thing is certain: prairie dogs are great talkers and have a complex system of communicating through different kinds of vocalizations.
Gophers Protect Their Territory and Their Young Ferociously
As solitary creatures that spend most of their lives underground, gophers are not easy to spot. However, their burrows may extend great distances in underground tunnels.
They come together to breed and then the mother raises the young on her own. According to Live Science, the mother stays with her pups for a few weeks and then the pups go off to build their own burrows.
Youtube of a gopher digging a burrow:
Image credit: Kim Flotlin, US Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain.
This is a Mazama Pocket Gopher and in certain parts of Washington State (USA) the gopher is considered endangered. This is true, even though some people consider the gopher to be a pest. Its massive network of tunnels can actually make the ground unstable to walk on (remember Caddyshack?). According to Wikipedia, gophers are such voracious plant consumers that they sometimes can leave an area "denuded of soil".
However, the gopher has its supporters. According to Wikipedia, the gopher's tunneling and stashing of material can lead to "deep fertilization of soil".
Enough about gophers and prairie dogs, cute though they may be. I want to write about #LMAC. This is a party, after all.
LMAC
I'm a very mature lady. Some may be surprised to read this because of my very fanciful collages. LMAC is like a virtual Salon with no admission requirement. Everyone is welcome.
@shaka created the community. He does all the work. I don't know how he manages everything.
We have a school now. Notice, please, how I say 'we'. That's because @shaka has created more than a contest. Each of us has a role. That role isn't just to create collages. It's to support others who create. Some of the contestants are artists, and some are rank amateurs--like me. The doors are open to all. Everyone has a shot at winning a prize. Of course, the real prize is participating.
The rules for the contest and this week's entries may be found on @shaka's blog. Please check it out.
Happy Birthday LMAC. Happy Birthday @shaka. Thank you for what you have created. You can see from my birthday collage today that my imagination is unrestrained. Isn't that a wonderful thing for a very mature lady?
My Collage
I saw the stripped land in the foreground and thought of prairie dogs and gophers.
@shaka's Picture, the Template From Which We Were to Make Our Collages
I could imagine burrows under the ground, with little animals scurry hither and thither. These critters were going to help us celebrate LMAC's 50th birthday.
Elements
Gopher in the foreground: Unsplash
Lollipop: Paint 3D
Prairie dog with balloons: Pixabay
Balloons: Paint 3D
Three prairie dogs on the right, wearing hats: Pixabay
Prairie dog on the motorcycle: Paint 3D
Motorcycle: Unsplash
Parachuting prairie dogs: Paint 3D
Parachutes: Pixabay
Ribbons, presents, hats, birthday cake, trianHappy Birthday sign: Paint 3D
🎈🎉I love this agmoore ❤️. Such cute creatures- and what an artistic creation! 🎉🎈
You are so kind, @icmore. I guess it's obvious I had fun making this. Wonderful when that fun is enjoyed by others.
Maybe someday you will join in.
Thanks again :)
Dear AG,
That's an absolutely worthy collage to celebrate the 50th anniversary of LMAC. 🎈 How cute the parachuting prairie dogs with their funny hats are or the fellow on the motorbike hurrying to the celebration for the best contest far and wide. The candles are burning, let's start the party. Cheers to the next 50 issues of LMAC!
You can tell that you enjoyed this work a lot! With great respect for your great work, which gives us so much joy every week.
Affectionately,
Anna
Dear Anna,
It seems I did not upvote your comment. I feel as I would if I'd come to your house and forgot to bring cake :) An embarrassing oversight, but a reminder that I am fallible (not that I need more reminders). I just saw your new post. Am just getting into the day here. Finishing breakfast/lunch (for me it is one meal). Peeking at the Internet but not yet ready to engage. Not all my cylinders are running yet. One more cup of coffee :))
Have a great day.
Your forgetful friend from New York,
AG
Dear AG,
There is absolutely no reason to apologize. A comment from you always makes me happy, no matter if with or without upvote. I also experience these days when you don't really get going. But then mostly a cup of coffee helps. 🍮
Have a nice day!
Anna
🍰 🌷 🌷
🌞 🌞 🌞
Very cute animals. :-)
I have two Mongolian hamsters.
This is Wool. hehe
I love wool.
Now I will confess to you something I never told anyone on Hive: I once had 23 white mice. I kept them for as long as they lived. It happened this way: My daughter adopted two mice. And then there were 12. And then there were 23. That's a lot of mice :)) My daughter went to college and I was left with the mice.
Enjoy your little hamsters. I hope to see more pictures of them.
23 ! .... hehe . I do the cleaning that would be too much for me. :-(
I have 2 females because the place they live is not enough for more. :(
But this ones live by the day and I can play with them. :-)
23 is definitely too many 😂
🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁
This is great AG, A marvellous collage to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the contest.💞 I love the prairie dog riding the motorbike.
Thank you! I chuckled as I arranged some of these critters. Am I allowed to have this much fun??:)
Thank you for the reblog. Very generous.
Most welcome AG @agmoore. Yours is a cheery fun collage. Laughter is the best medicine.😀. The cute prairie dogs remind me of the squirrels but much larger.
🐾 🐹 🐾
I was just curious, so ... I hope I have not offended you :D
I'll call you AG then, it's sound much cool! And you are too the few kindest person that I have met on hive so far.
Have a great day! :)
Dear @razeiv,
People with good intentions can never offend me. That is one of the benefits of age you can look forward to (at least in my case it's true). I love your honesty and your generous spirit, toward me and others. I enjoy my dialogue here with people from all over the world. And when I meet nice people, it's a special treat.
Be well. Be peaceful. You are definitely one of my Hive friends.
Warm regards,
AG
That's so kind of you AG, also an honour to me :) @agmoore
Many congrats to you too on this very special occasion 👻
Omg! The collage is funny, the way the prairie dogs (I guess 🤔) is riding a bike, that makes me laugh 😆
Never had read so much about these two creatures. Awesome! @agmoore
And today I came to knew that you are a Mam. I thought you to be a Sir 😬
You are kind. It delights me that you cannot perceive my gender from my activity on the blockchain. When I first started working, many years ago I insisted that my employers disregard my gender. I did so when I signed contracts as a married woman. I think gender really has little to do with what we achieve and what we aspire to. So, call me mam, call me sir. I'm still AG :)
I'm glad my collage amused you. It was great fun dressing up those little critters in birthday hats :))
Hello friend @agmoore how nice that parachute with the animals. Animals have a function in the environment, if they disappear due to hunting by man, the most probable thing is that they cause some damage to the environment. Here in my country Venezuela is called gopher to the ear of corn that is inside. Excellent celebration of @shaka's 50th anniversary.
Thank you friend, @cetb2008! I really do feel this is a celebration for all of us who participate in LMAC. I hope the enthusiasm is contagious and others join in. It's like a family: more is better ;)
As for those parachuting gophers--they didn't want to jump but I told them cake would be served at the party, so they did :))
Good luck tonight with your lively collage.
Thanks friend. With the cake as payment that is very motivating. Regards
:))
I love this celebration, it even makes you want to eat cake.
A big hug my dear.
Hello @agmoore. What a great celebration!
Like you, I think
Yes! He has had a very special vision of greatness. Spiritual greatness, artistic greatness, monetary greatness, human greatness, greatness to share.
I have met people like @shaka but I had not found someone like him on this platform.
I have a lot of admiration for his work. I also have admiration for those who make its collages and present its style. LMAC has been an amazing school.
It's really a great celebration. Cheers!
Thank you for coming by, @marcybetancourt. I'm so glad you like my celebration. I just let the child in me have fun. Because I really am happy to see LMAC thrive. Opportunity for so many. I believe in open doors and @shaka has opened the door to everyone.
So, it's happy birthday and let there be many more.
Cheers, friend.
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Dear Anna,
You are so encouraging. I look at some of the sophisticated collages and think, "What am I doing here?" But the secret to being peaceful I think is not to compare myself to others but to do what I can. This was fun. The yipping prairie dog in one of my pictures kind of captured my spirit as I made this one.
Thank you for coming by and for your wonderful comment. Makes me see my effort in a better light.
Be peaceful and well friend.
Affectionately, from a relatively peaceful New York,
AG
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Thank you!
You're welcome @agmoore👍🙂 Thanks for participating at the event!
Support us back and vote for our witness.
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I use @lemouth as my proxy. He is far more savvy about the blockchain than I am, and I believe he has the good of the community in mind when he casts his votes. I do like the buzz generated by hivebuzz, though.
hmm I understand. Maybe you want to ask him about his opinion and if he would like to support our project then, so we can keep up the good work 🙂