Touching Animal Souls

For dreams and wishes, fears and failures, thank you For spirit movers and dull intruders, thank you For joyful breezes and stifling still, thank you For life in colour and end in spite, thank you. As I walk the gentle path, toward a now that is the spark, I miss the fill that you provide So trash the mill that is my mind. You create and so do I When I attach you push me to fly into oblivion until I find That grace is here, not in my mind I search for magic like an obsessed seeker You twist my drama you grim reaper The miracles are here for all The gifts unlimited, life and more There is no need for nought but grace And gratitude in Wirikuta space Thank you for the steps I walk And every moment I don't talk Thanks for all the time I be And for when I see and see Thanks for touch and when they hold And let me return the gifts of gold The fortress that surrounds my heart Is fragile when I sense Your art And thankfully erodes in time When oneness...

Merry Christmas from Promises  Dear PenguinPromises The eggs have hatched and there are now two beautiful baby penguins for Promises to take care of. Hatching out of the egg is hard work for the chicks. In children's cartoons the eggs just pop open and out jumps the chick, but it is not like that in real life for penguins. It takes many hours for a penguin chick to fight its way out of the egg. Penguins are heavy birds, so to prevent the eggs from breaking under the weight of Promises lying over them, the egg shell has to be strong and hard to break. That is good for stopping the eggs from breaking, but it is bad news for the chick inside trying to get out. The chick is also squeezed inside the egg and hardly has any space to move around. However the chick has been provided with a special tool that can help it escape. Inside the egg the chick has grown a little spike on the upper tip of its beak, which is called the 'Egg Tooth'. This spike has just one purpose; to make a h...

> > Dear PenguinPromises > > The penguins began arriving back in the colony in early October. The male > penguins arrive about 10 days before the females, and gather on the beach > waiting for the females to arrive. The pairs become separated during the > winter migration, and this is how they meet up again. It is a reunion in > which it is okay for the female to arrive late, but not the male. > > There are more male eggs laid than female eggs, so there are always more > male penguins than females in the population. If the male looses his > partner, it is more difficult for him to find another unattached female. It > is therefore important for the male to be ready and waiting when his partner > returns to the colony, in order to avoid loosing her to a competitor, of > which there are many. > > By contrast, not only is it easier for the female to find a replacement > partner, but she is also running ag...

>> >> Dear PenguinPromises >> >> The penguins have left Brazil and Promises will now be swimming back home towards >> the colony. After weeks in Brazil, Promises will arrive home a lot plumper than >> when leaving the colony earlier this year, skinny after the annual moult. Just >> as well because the penguins will arrive home to begin a new season of raising >> chicks, so they need to be in good condition. >> >> The penguins remain in sight of the coast as they swim home, and even use the >> coastline to guide them. When the coastline is on the right-hand side Promises >> can be sure of swimming in the right direction, which is always south. It is >> an interesting coastline with lovely sandy beaches, amazing cliffs, a few large >> cities, and lots and lots of lighthouses. >> >> Many of these lighthouses are built on remote islands away from the coast, or >...

> > Dear PenguinPromises > > The penguins have reached the coast of Brazil and will be having a great time. > The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and the water is crystal clear. Catching > fish is easy for Promises with such good sunshine and clear water. > > When Promises is home in the colony raising chicks, just one type of fish makes > up 90% of the diet. The common name for those fish is Sprats, and the scientific > name is "Sprattus fuegensis". The reason that the penguins almost exclusively > catch sprats here in the south is because they are very common in Patagonia, > and live in large groups, called shoals. > > Because sprats live in shoals, the penguins are able to catch them quickly once > they have located the shoal. The penguins swim around the shoal eating one fish > after another, and can quickly catch enough to take back to the nest. Of course > the shoals have millions of fish...