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Did you know that Harry Potter and his creator share the same birthday?Author J.K. Rowling was born on July 31st, 1965 near Bristol, England. And though Rowling imagined Harry and his world of magic on a train on an unknown date in 1990, she decided to give the young wizard her own birthday.
Fans of the novels and movies have lots of reasons to celebrate with the author and the fictional character this weekend:
The much anticipated play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opens at London's West End theater on July 30.
On July 31, the script will be published in book form. (But no, this is not the 8th novel in the Potter series, nor is it a prequel, according to Rowling's Twitter feed.)
If you get the channel Freeform (formerly known as ABC Family), you can watch a marathon of Potter movies starting this Friday. See the full schedule here.
And though we still have a while to wait for Rowling's "new era of magic", check out the jaw-dropping early trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, released at last weekend's International Comic-Con:
Even for the world's most famous wizard and his creator, that's a pretty full birthday weekend.
No, I'm not talking about Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 thriller that made people all around the world fear birds for, really, no good reason. I'm talking about the little doves that nest up in the eaves of my house and make my life miserable.
Now, you know I love all animals and all wildlife, but when I can't cross my patio without stepping in bird droppings...that's when it comes down to a "me or them" situation. I'd never, ever hurt them, but I'm encouraging them to build their messy nests in trees. Where they belong, thank you very much.
While searching out resources on how to harmlessly remove the winged critters, I came across literally hundreds of other people with the same problem. So I thought I'd share what I learned and what works — or doesn't.
First, never remove an active nest. If you find eggs or baby birds, let the parents raise the babies there. But the minute they fly the nest, spring into action and get rid of it. You can do it yourself, but it's a nasty job that includes rubber gloves, long sleeves and even breathing protection. The clean-up afterward is even worse. I strongly recommend hiring a professional.
Next, you have to keep them from coming back 'their' home. It might take a couple of tries to figure out what works for you in your situation, but here's what I found:
Rubber snakes: People have hit-and-miss luck with this method. It seems to work for a while, but then the birds figure out the snake isn't real and just build around it.
Fake predator birds: Statues ofowls, falcons, eagles will scare away smaller birds almost every time. This is working pretty well for me and my doves.
Mirrors: When a bird sees its reflection, it assumes another bird has moved into its nesting place. This method works well with smaller, non-aggressive birds (especially pigeons). But birds like cardinals might attack the mirror trying to drive out the competition, which can be dangerous for the bird (and for you) if the mirror breaks.
Before you start, don't forget to look up local and state laws that protect certain species — especially migratory birds. Often the Fish and Wildlife Service will relocate a nest for you at no charge, so that's a great place to start. You can have a bird-friendly back yard without all the hassle of letting them build their nests around your house. But it might take a couple of tries to figure it out.
I love good news and I love butterflies. So when I heard that the Monarch Butterfly is making a comeback, well, that made my day! This photo shows branches just dripping with the insects over a whopping 10 acres of woodland fields in the central Mexico mountains.
Every year the Monarchs travel over 3,000 miles to winter in Mexico and then travel back to summer in the United States. Their numbers had been declining drastically until about two years ago when they started to make a small comeback, covering a little over an acre and a half. This year, their comeback got a lot bigger, but there's a long way to go to get to 1996 levels when the pollinators covered 44 acres of land. (It's impossible to count all of them, so scientists measure their numbers in acres covered.)
North America, including the U.S., Canada and Mexico, is committed to helping the Monarch recover by reintroducing milkweed plants and banning pesticide use along their migration route and getting tough on illegal logging. Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is encouraged by the "beginning of success", and plans to keep building on it year by year by year.
I haven't noticed an increase in my garden yet, but I'll be on the lookout. And if you want to help, you can plant some milkweed in your backyard and cut down on pesticides during migration season. It's a small price to pay to see these beautiful, royally-named insects gather in your garden.
One person turning 100 years old is remarkable, but when three close friends, born within months of each other in 1916 turned 100, it was time to celebrate!
Bernice Grimes Underwood, Gladys Ware Butler and Ruth Chatman Hammett met in church when they were just kids. That very church — the Zion Baptist Church in Washington D.C. — hosted their centenarian celebration, which was attended by a D.C. congresswoman, the city's mayor and their family, which included several great-great-grandchildren. Even Oprah Winfrey sent birthday greetings to the trio.
All three still speak to each other almost daily. And Ms. Underwood still loves to dance, "sometimes by myself," she said. Watch her do the "Electric Slide" in this video.
The three offered bits of wisdom to the younger generation: “Don’t talk back,” said Ms. Hammett. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” Ms. Underwood advised. But Ms. Barnes had only one word for youngsters: “Respect."
I have a confession to make: I spend way too much time watching cute cat videos on the Internet. And puppy videos, too. But this one is the cutest of the cute and worth watching more than once. Or, as in my case, more than about 10 times!
Seems a kitten in a pet store in Taiwan was lonesome all by itself. So it escaped its enclosure to go play with the puppy next door. Really. I didn't make this up. Watch for yourself:
The video posted by the JoLinn Pet House went viral in minutes. The last time I looked, the video had about 2.5 million views. I guess I'm not the only one who can't resist cute cat and dog videos!
