Merry Christmas from Chloe!

Hello, it's Chloe here . . .
I know you're busy preparing for Christmas, so I won't chat for long.  But I did want to share something with you.

I want you to meet a very adventurous cat named Rosie.

Just click here, and you'll see what I mean.

Rosie was much in my mind the other morning, when my Mum and I took our friend, Ian, for a walk in Richmond Park.

The sun was shining and it was very, very cold.
As I led the way along the path my paws slid on the ice . . . I even got frost on my whiskers.

Just purr-fect for a Snow Bengal Cat!

But the big surprise came when we reached the pond.  Do you know what we found?


The water wasn't water any more . . . it had frozen into solid ice!
And the ducks and moorhens . . . well, they were sliding and skating everywhere, positively dancing on the ice!

"Just like 'Swan Lake'," said my Mum, "only it's 'Duck Lake'!"

If Rosie and her friends had been there I know they wouldn't have hesitated . . . they'd have gone skating too.
And, believe you me, I was eager to follow in Rosie's pawsteps.

But would my Mum let me?
Not on your life!
It was all very frustrating being stuck out there on the bridge.

Humans seem to feel the cold more than cats, so, after our walk, we went to a nearby hotel to get warm.

 Whilst my Mum and Ian had their lunch, I entertained the hotel staff and gave them my opinion of their Christmas decorations.


True, it was all very enjoyable,  and I must say that it's always gratifying to be admired . . .  but I couldn't help feeling that it wasn't half as enjoyable as skating with those ducks would have been!

Now you're busy and I must go . . .  there are squirrels waiting to be chased in the garden, and I'd hate to disappoint the squirrels at Christmas time.

I'm sending you lots of festive purrs . . . have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas . . .  see you in the New Year!

Going . . . going . . . gone . . . ?

Tell me, what decorations do you plan to put up at Christmas?
Will they include holly and mistletoe?

If the answer to that question is 'yes', might I suggest you make the most of them . . . it's possible they won't be here for much longer.

There is one vital necessity for the production of holly berries and mistletoe . . . that's right, it's insects.
Insects pollinate our gardens, fields and orchards.  Without them there would be no flowers, no berries . . . without them we would have no food.  And insects are critically endangered.

A disturbing report published recently states that flying insects worldwide, including honey-bees and butterflies, have seen a seventy-five per cent decline in the past twenty-five years.


The study's co-author, Prof. Dave Goulson of the University of Sussex, didn't pull his punches, "we appear," he wrote,  "to be on course for an ecological Armageddon."

Wouldn't you agree that, although the human race may be at the peak of the natural pyramid, this position brings with it a responsibility that we haven't fully absorbed?

Those at the peak, if they're to remain safe and secure, are totally dependent on the  strength and support of those at the bottom.  We act as though we don't need that supportive base.
Even worse, we seem to have decided that we can dispense with it.

This fact was endorsed by another disturbing report earlier in the year, it was published by the UN who revealed stark news about our behaviour.
"Pesticides," it stated, "which are aggressively promoted by chemical industries, have catastrophic impacts on the environment, human health and society as a whole."

Has no-one told the investors in those chemical industries that, when the soil is finally sterile, no nourishment will be found in their share certificates?

The recent television series, 'Blue Planet II', has been spell-binding . . . click here to see what I mean.
More than anything, it's brought home to us the intelligence in our oceans.

A small fish drags a coconut shell across the sea-bed to provide its mate with a suitable place to lay her eggs.  Dolphins delight in the joy of play.  The ingenuity of a female octopus enables her to outwit the plans of a predatory shark.
The series shows, in all its complexity and beauty, the highly intelligent, perfectly balanced world of the ocean.  This same intelligence and balance was once demonstrated on dry land . . . no longer.

Just think about it for a moment . . . when did you last see a fly in your home?  Yet it wasn't so long ago that fly covers were an essential component of every kitchen.

What's more, in bringing about the near-extinction of flies we've also unthinkingly brought about the near-extinction of the Flycatcher.   Along with many other fast-vanishing, insect-eating birds, it has done nothing to deserve the cavalier removal of its daily diet.

It seems incredible that our species, who can fly to the moon and create artificial intelligence, lacks the wisdom to recognise its total inter-dependence with the natural world.

To hold the view that we can pick and choose what we'd like to exterminate, and that we've the right to do so, is both arrogant and ignorant.

It could even involve us in the same mass extinction . . . something that we alone would deserve.

So, appreciate the holly berries, kiss beneath the mistletoe and enjoy all that Christmas has to offer .

But, if you happen to see a house-fly, and I haven't seen one for quite a while, don't swat it . . . just recognise that we're in this together, and wish it a happy and healthy New Year.

As for a New Year resolution, what about vowing to reject all pesticides?

And if we need to be reminded of what we're in danger of losing, . . . quite apart from our daily bread . . .  then let's watch this ....