December 12, 2013

• Geminid Crickets...

  I've been having odd animal encounters lately

  Tuesday it was the little falcon

  Yesterday when I opened the back door to the office I found a black cricket belly up on the threshold

  

  although I'm not terribly superstitious,

  I've always considered it bad luck to kill a cricket.

  I picked it up, it was still wigglin around a bit but one of his back legs wasn't attached correctly anymore,

  brought it in and put it on my desk where he moved about pretty good for the rest of the work day.

  It was dead this morning...

  It made me kinda sad though and I wondered if crickets felt pain and had I only made the poor thing miserable in it's final hours.

  so I googled it

  http://cricket-breeding.com/do-crickets-feel-pain/

   It may be unlikely that crickets feel pain, but there is really no way to know for sure without becoming a cricket.  It only makes sense to do our best to treat these feeder insects with respect and consideration.

  When your reptile pet gobbles up a cricket, the cricket most likely dies instantly as its body is crushed in the reptile’s mouth.  That is just a natural part of the life cycle.  Unnecessary cruelty, on the other hand, should not be encouraged or excused.

  =/

  so was I respectful or cruel?

  I don't know, maybe a bit of both.

  Anyway according to Earth Sky

   there should be Geminid meteors shootin around the heavens

  

  there is a bright waxing gibbous moon lighting up the peak nights of the annual Geminid meteor shower. Tonight (night of December 12-13) and tomorrow night should present a decent number of meteors. Which night is better? The forecast calls for tomorrow night (December 13-14) to be the peak night, but the moon will set earlier tonight, giving you more dark time before dawn for meteor-watching. You might see some meteors in the bright moonlight. But also take advantage of the dark predawn sky windows on Friday and Saturday mornings!

  Click here for custom sunrise/set calendar. Check boxes for moonrise/set times.

  In the Northern Hemisphere, this meteor shower often rates as one of the best – if not the best – shower of the year on a dark, moonless night. You can often see up to 50 or more meteors per hour in a moonless sky.

  Although the Geminids favor the Northern Hemisphere, this shower is also visible from the tropical and subtropical parts of the Southern Hemisphere. At temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, the meteor numbers tend to be lower.

  

   

  I figure if I was respectful I'll wake up early and have clear skies

  if not.....

  ilym

  • 2:45 pm
  • 16 Comments