From Canada’s province of Manitoba comes the story of how dozens of volunteers succeeded when presented with a mammoth logistical challenge: giving away 12 million pounds of potatoes. There are bumper crops, and then there’s whatever happened on Isaiah Hofer’s Manitoba farm last year. Potatoes were coming out of the ground in such numbers that […] The post A Manitoba Farmer Had Millions of Surplus Potatoes and Worked Overtime to Give Them All Away appeared first on Good News Network.

The post Good Eaters: Why a Cat’s Big Appetite Can Mean a Big Problem by Dr. Lauren Demos DVM (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Hi, I’m Dr. Lauren! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my two adventurous cats, Pancake and Tiller. Pancake may be the queen of eating, but that’s generally always been the case. Cheese, roast chicken, dry food, treats, wet food, you name it. She’s not as bad as some cats I’ve met in my years of feline veterinary work- such as those who steal entire cucumbers or chow loaves of bread from the counter. I’ve even written about one of my favorites in a prior article, who was known to literally cat burgle the neighborhood, stealing bags of instant rice or even slices of pizza from the neighbors (much to the dismay of the husband that got the blame for losing the rice!) However, be warned that being a good eater, or having a hearty appetite in a cat, isn’t always a normal thing. Let me explain. Grazers vs Scarfers Cats often seem to have developed eating preferences early in life. I tend to see two main types: grazers, and scarfers. Grazers are those that will pick at a bowl of food throughout the day; scarfers are the Pancakes- happy to eat any and everything you offer (and to steal it even when you don’t!). Normally, these appetites don’t tend to change much throughout their life. A grazer doesn’t generally become a scarfer, and vice versa. And this is a key piece of information for any cat owner to know. Pancake is always a big eater, though her faster sister Tiller (right) sometimes wins out. Changes In Your Cat’s Appetite One of the most frequent questions I ask when taking histories from clients, is how their cat’s appetite is. This is even more important in older cats. I want them to characterize the appetite, and often try to go into detail on the specifics. In turn, I expect people to respond with: it’s good, and maybe share some of the current eating habits of their cat. When they eat, how much, have they been eating the same food for a long time, etc. What really piques my interest, however, is when an owner says something like, “He’s a great eater! There’s nothing wrong with him! Yesterday, he tried to steal the food off my plate, and that was after two extra cans of food for dinner the night before!” You see, many diseases in cats can lead to changes in a cat’s appetite. However, what many people don’t know is that disease can cause both a decrease, or an increase in a cat’s appetite. Instead, most people tend to think of disease only leading to a drop in appetite, and poor eating, or becoming very picky about food. Conversely, various diseases can also lead to the false observation that a cat has a good appetite, or is eating really well. In these instances, the disease is driving the appearance of a good appetite, but in reality, it can be extremely unhealthy for the cat. Conditions That May Cause Increased Appetite in Cats Examples of diseases that can cause increased appetites in cats: Conditions That Can Cause Increased Appetite: Hyperthyroidism Diabetes mellitus Gastrointestinal parasites Iron deficiency (commonly seen as pica, or the eating of inappropriate objects, commonly clay litter) Eating normally is a good sign. What To Do If Your Cat’s Appetite Suddenly Increases If you do see an increased appetite in a cat, the steps to take include the following: Contact your vet, and schedule an appointment. Beforehand, try to document the brand and flavors of foods that your cat is eating, as well as the amount that they eat on any given day. Include treats, as well, in this assessment. If you have an accurate scale at home (e.g., a human baby scale), consider weighing your cat, and comparing this to their prior weights. This can help indicate if weight loss is present, as many diseases that cause polyphagia (increased appetite) also cause weight loss. If your cat has lost a significant amount of weight, this can add urgency to how quickly you want your cat to be seen. In the end, it’s always desirable for your cat to have a healthy appetite, but don’t rely on a suddenly great appetite to equate to a necessarily healthy one. Pancake would concur, but I’m pretty sure she’s either eating her fourth meal of the day, or sleeping it off! The post Good Eaters: Why a Cat’s Big Appetite Can Mean a Big Problem by Dr. Lauren Demos DVM (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

Books weather Seven SFF Stories About Weird Weather From sinister mist and creepy clouds to the strangest rain storms, these stories about weird weather will have you watching the skies a little more closely… By Lorna Wallace | Published on May 22, 2024 Photo by Max LaRochelle [via Unsplash] Comment 0 Share New Share Photo by Max LaRochelle [via Unsplash] Experiencing all kinds of weird weather is pretty much ubiquitous—unless you live in an underground bunker like in Hugh Howey’s Wool (2012)—so it’s no wonder that it often materializes in fiction. There are many SFF stories that use weather to great effect—just think of the raging snow storm at the end of Stephen King’s The Shining (1977) or the catastrophic climate change in Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower (1993). Below are seven stories where weather is not only the driving force of the narrative, but is also decidedly strange in some way—think along the lines of the suspiciously motionless fluffy cloud in Jordan Peele’s Nope (2022). Prepare to get swept away by these novellas and short stories that center on bizarre clouds, fog, rain, and tornadoes. “The Long Rain” (1950) and “All Summer in a Day” (1954) by Ray Bradbury These two Bradbury short stories are standalones, but they’re both set on a version of Venus where it rains nearly endlessly, so in my mind they feel connected. In “The Long Rain” a group of four men have crash landed in a Venusian jungle. They know that their only hope of survival is to make it to one of the Sun Domes—warm and dry buildings that are filled with provisions—and so they set off on a soggy and miserable trek. The story is bleak (but in the best way!), with the lack of respite from the rain driving the men to madness in various horrifying ways. “All Summer in a Day” is one of Bradbury’s most well-known short stories, and for good reason. In this tale the sun only appears for two hours every seven years. A class of nine-year-old children have no memory of the last time the sun came out, except for Margot, who moved from Earth five years earlier. You might think that this is going to be a joyful story about children enjoying some rays, and it sort of is… but just remember that kids can be incredibly cruel. The Mist (1980) by Stephen King The Mist starts with a fierce thunderstorm besieging a small Maine town. The next morning, David takes his young son, Billy, and next-door neighbor, Brent, to the grocery store for supplies, but while there a strangely thick mist begins envelopes the building. Although eerie, at first it seems that the only issue with the mist is poor visibility for driving. But then the shoppers and workers realize that there are dangerous otherworldly monsters hidden within the murky white vapor. Alongside these strange creatures, The Mist also offers a fascinating examination of how people react and behave—both individually and as a group—in stressful situations.  I also highly recommend Frank Darabont’s 2007 film adaptation. The visuals are terrifying and it features a brilliant cast, with Thomas Jane in the lead role and numerous actors who went on to star in The Walking Dead (Darabont was the series’ first showrunner) making appearances. Plus, the darker ending is an improvement on the novella’s meandering closing pages—even King himself agrees, calling Darabont’s ending “terrific” and “anti-Hollywood.” “The Water That Falls on You From Nowhere” (2013) by John Chu A few weeks prior to the beginning of Chu’s short story, a strange worldwide weather phenomenon has started happening: whenever someone lies, water falls on them. Small lies result in just a gentle misting, while big lies bring forth a torrential soaking. This development makes life rather challenging for Matt, who hasn’t told his traditional Chinese value-holding parents that he’s in a relationship with a man. As well as delving into the mechanics of how this strange lie-induced water works—like what happens when someone is dishonest sarcastically or unintentionally—the story is also a poignant portrayal of the emotional complexities of coming out. “Nimbus” (1993) by Peter Watts Throughout the ages humanity has spent a long time gazing up at the clouds, but what if the clouds were gazing back at us? That’s essentially what’s happening in “Nimbus,” with the clouds seeming to have become sentient—and definitely having become apocalyptically destructive. The story flips back and forth in the life of a father and his daughter as they try to make sense of what exactly these strange storm clouds are and how they’ve changed their lives. Perhaps not every cloud has a silver lining.  We Need to Do Something (2020) by Max Booth III A tornado warning kicks off We Need to Do Something, forcing teenager Mel and her family—which consists of an alcoholic dad, a stifled mom, and an annoying little brother—to take shelter in their bathroom. The entire novella takes place within those walls thanks to a fallen tree trapping them inside, which gives the story an inescapably claustrophobic feeling.     While the family wait for help (surely someone will come… right?), they begin to fracture under the pressures of surviving in the tiny space without food and with no idea of what’s happening outside. Things start to get surreal and it seems that the storm might not have just been a regular tornado, but then again, maybe it’s all in their stress-addled minds… If you prefer to listen to your books, Booth uploaded the entire audiobook for free on his podcast. “For a Foggy Night” (1968) by Larry Niven A man sits in a bar across from his hotel thinking about the dense fog that has rolled in. A stranger then sits down next to him and tells him that he shouldn’t venture out until the weather has cleared, declaring that the hotel might not be out there anymore. According to this stranger, the fog allows different realties to converge, meaning that anyone who walks through the opaque haze will likely find themselves in a timeline that isn’t their own. It’s sure not a risk I’d be willing to take, but then I’m not the protagonist in a sci-fi story (thankfully!). If you have any recommendations for stories about weird weather (I’ll note that this list is severely lacking in full-length novels!), please feel free to share them in the comments below. Be it sci-fi, fantasy, or horror, if it concerns rain or shine, wind or mist, I’d love to add it to my TBR.[end-mark] The post Seven SFF Stories About Weird Weather appeared first on Reactor.

Bidenomics Is The Beginning Of The End For The U.S. Economy

Biden Drains Entire Northeast Gasoline Reserve In Bid To Lower Gas Prices As He Trails Trump By Double Digits

Thrift Store Preppers: Save Money with Second-Hand Survival Supplies

Free Gardening Journal Templates (Printable)

The 7 Prepping Essentials (What You Need to Know)

Health Care Hack Is Getting Worse.

9 Poison Ivy Remedies That Really Work