Is that so?

Spring is coming. This was taken on March 22 last year.
(Picture doesn't relate to post. Just wanted to post a picture that didn't have snow in it.)

I learn new things every day, so I thought I would do a post about some of the random things I've learned recently. However, when I was trying to write this post, my mind was blank. Apparently, I learn new things every day, but I don't remember many of them. :) So here is a short list of new-to-me things I have recently discovered.

1. A Lamia is a sea monster who ate children. She was daughter of Poseidon. This was an answer to a crossword puzzle clue that I had to look up. Greek mythology is so interesting.

2. We can't put hinged plastic containers into our recycling. I was cleaning out a drawer and found literature about our recycling pickup and read this in the latest handout. It seems that what is accepted and what is not changes frequently, so I need to pay more attention. Sometimes a piece of dirty recycling or a wrong kind of object can ruin an entire load. I don't want that to happen.

3. Rice does not do well in a garbage disposal. Wally was chatting with the maintenance man who was unstopping his sink and learned this. During the maintenance man's work throughout the apartment complex, he has found that most calls for stopped up sinks are caused by a clogged garbage disposal and many times, it is rice that is clogging it. Apparently rice is too small for the disposal to grind effectively.

4, 5, 6, 7. The Maryland State Library has a piece of cuneiform dating back to 5 hundred-something BC, counter depth refrigerators cost more than standard depth, you can't make more than $65,000 to take the saver's credit on your taxes (married filing jointly), and basil can be substituted for tarragon in a pinch. 

Well, my new knowledge is not exactly going to go viral because it is so interesting, but there you have it. What did you learn new today?

Finally!

or You Can Teach an Old Cat New Tricks

A couple of months ago, I did a post about learning styles using my cats as examples. I discussed how they learned to get kibble out of a cup by using their paw as a tool.   When I say they, I mean that all of them learned how to do it except Lucy. She just couldn't seem to catch on despite years of watching the others.

Well, that all changed this week. Instead of trying to stick her head into the cup for food, Lucy actually put her paw in and drug out a piece.  Hooray! You can teach an old cat new tricks. Or at least an old cat can do something when she decides it's time.

Learning

Some of us learn by doing. Some of us learn by watching, and some of us never learn. This is as true for cats as it is for humans. Case in point. I leave kibble in a cup for the cats when they are begging for food, but it's not quite time for them to eat. First, it keeps them quiet. (and yes, I know that that's a bad precedent) and two, it's an enrichment activity for them as they manipulate the kibble to get it out.

Lucy watching Annie effortlessly get kibble from the cup.

We'll start with Annie. She instantly understood that her head was too big to eat from the cup, so she tried putting her paw in the cup. She was able to drag out pieces to eat. 
Learns by doing

Lucky getting a snack.

Next we have Lucky. He wasn't quite sure what to do with the cup, but after watching Annie, he too put his paw in and drug out food to eat. Learns by watching

Lucy investigates the cup after Annie and Lucky leave.

Then we have Lucy.  Like Lucky she wasn't quite sure how to get the food out of the cup. 

Lucy gets her head stuck in the cup.

But after watching Annie and Lucky drag pieces out with their paws, Lucy still uses her unsuccessful head-in-the-cup method.  Never learns.










Now it may seem as if I am picking on Lucy, but I'm just being observant. If it will make you feel better, I will divulge something I have never learned. Right from left. But that's another story.