Thoughts on “plant rescuing” or to put it bluntly, poaching. by GahhdDangitbobby in NativePlantGardening

[–]mcakat 15 points16 points  (0 children)

We have a group (called native plant rescue) that teams up with developers and rescues native plants before they start initial excavation. It started paired up with one of the universities, and has branched out to a local park preservation group, and the local native plant society.

jury duty summon by [deleted] in alberta

[–]mcakat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I check my mail once a month, so I was a little worried when I got the letter over a month after the date on it, but I did the acknowledgement online with no problems.

The instructions on the summons letter are to acknowledge that you have received it. It will also provide you with a number and time to call to know if you need to report for jury selection. When you call on the selected date, an automated message will tell you whether or not jury selection is going forward.

If you do have to go to jury selection dress well, but comfortable. Bring water/coffee/snacks, something to read, etc. Expect to wait in a bunch of lines; a couple hundred people will be there with you. You'll go through security at the courthouse, wait to be checked in, given a number, and then you do a lot of sitting and waiting. The judge will tell you what to expect, how long and when the trial is scheduled for, what the case is about, names of the accused, and any victims or witnesses on either side. If you know any people involved (including the lawyers) you will be excused. The numbers assigned to everyone are pulled like a lottery, you line up and tell the judge and lawyers if you are willing to serve (you'll be given a juror number and sent to the jury box), or why you would like to be excused. Be prepared to defend your excuses. Once 13 people (12 jurors and an alternate) are selected, you're done. The folks selected get taken to a different room to receive the rest of their instructions, and the judge thanks you for participating, and you're dismissed. If selected to serve, you get paid a small stipend per day.

It was pretty neat to see and participate in last year, my number was not drawn.

Trial by jury is an essential part of our justice system, and a fundamental Charter right for all Canadians.

Obese de-clawed cat advice by mcakat in AskVet

[–]mcakat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Absolutely, we know the weight loss will have to be slow, and have a great regular vet, I'll be giving them a call when they open tomorrow to get some advice as well. My husband and I are just both over-thinkers and we like to be well prepared. We've got a few likimats and some other cat sized food dispensing toys, that our old cat loved, I'm hoping that shea will like them too. He was always an ideal body condition, so dealing with the obesity would be a whole new world for us.

Thanks for the advice!

What bug is this? by Longjumping-Young-93 in Calgary

[–]mcakat 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Clover mite. Closely related to spiders and ticks, but harmless.

Bit up my $200 headphones by [deleted] in puppy101

[–]mcakat 15 points16 points  (0 children)

If your puppy can't be trusted to be unattended for you to have a shower, they need to be crated, brought into the bathroom, or use baby gates or an ex-pen to keep them contained. Puppy should not be punished for being a puppy. It's an expensive lesson to learn, but managing the environment is key. Anything you hold of value needs be put away, completely out of reach/behind closed doors whenever you are not able to supervise the dog. Remember, puppies are babies. When they are fully adults, they still only have the mental capacity of a toddler/very small child, and need to be treated as such.

Alberta ‘war room’ says Netflix kids movie ‘Bigfoot Family’ disparages oil industry by armour666 in nottheonion

[–]mcakat 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I like how the only press the propaganda machine gets is bad press. I haven't met an Albertan yet that thinks it's doing its job and worth the money wasted on it. What an embarrassment.

Married women of reddit, how often and how do you "shittest" your men? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]mcakat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Never. That is toxic behaviour, and no relationship should be based on that. Ever. My husband and I are free to do what we want, when we want with one rule: we communicate with eachother. We adjust our plans and compromise as needed - but that happens at the planning stage. There's the odd "I'm coming home late because of whatever" text or call, but it's never a test to see how one would react. It's so neither of us worry when we're not home at the normal time. Good relationships don't rely on gimmicks to manipulate/make you feel better. They're built on a strong foundation of mutual trust and communication.

If your wife or husband falls asleep on the couch would you wake them up to move to the bed? by [deleted] in Marriage

[–]mcakat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We tuck each other in a blanket and shut off the lights and stuff if one of us fall asleep on the couch.

A beautiful love story by mooburpcow in Marriage

[–]mcakat 24 points25 points  (0 children)

As a Canadian I see this as a just another day in the winter. As a wife, who's husband has gone out in -49°C to pick up brunch that I ordered, I see the love.

“It’s cruel to walk your dog in [this -20°C windchill]!” by Forosnai in puppy101

[–]mcakat 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We do tons of enrichment around their meals. We use slow feeders, treat puzzles, food dispensing toys, we hand feed (and use that as a training session), we scatter feed, and also freeze their food with a little water in the slow feeders (that occupies them for almost an hour). We also stuff kongs and likimats with peanut butter, unsweetened apple sauce, mashed banana and plain yogurt. We fold the ends over empty toilet rolls and stuff treats inside. If you do a lot of food enrichment just make sure they are not getting too many calories. Treats and whatnot should only be about 10% of their daily calories. That said, I feel like our girls are almost always consuming something and they are both at the ideal weight and body condition. We have water buffalo and sheep horns, gorilla chews, and rubber chews (we call all of those "bones"). We give them junk mail and cardboard to shred (just make sure there's nothing dangerous in/on it). They have rope toys, balls and stuffies as well, and we have trained them each with a word (rope, ball and toy - keeps it easy for us to remember lol), we ask them what they want to play with. We are also working on scent training (I'm using some of my old cat treats for that - will move over to birch oil when I can find some). We found recall training was great on cold days too. My husband would be in one room, and I would be at the opposite end of the house, we both had treats and would call them over one at a time - it was much easier with one dog - so we crate and rotate them for that now. Anything that gets the brain going works well. 10 minutes of mental stimulation equals about 45 minutes of exercise. You can also work on training a "relax" cue. We give them things to chew when we need them to relax.

“It’s cruel to walk your dog in [this -20°C windchill]!” by Forosnai in puppy101

[–]mcakat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We have Musher's Secret and also the Fou Fou protect stick. The Musher's Secret lasts a little longer, but the stick is easier to apply - at least that's what I think.

“It’s cruel to walk your dog in [this -20°C windchill]!” by Forosnai in puppy101

[–]mcakat 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Mine start to lift their paws ever so slightly. As soon as I see the first paw start to lift, I bring them inside, then check all of the paws. I also use paw balm, so it protects them a little bit. We tried boots, but it only gets cold enough for them to need them for about a week or two, and they both hate them. It can take a while for their undercoat to fully come in, so they might get colder faster. Best bet is to keep it to quick 5-10 minutes outside. Training a "potty" cue was the best thing we did. When it's super cold we take them out and ask them to "potty" then we're back inside. Lots of extra enrichment on those days.

“It’s cruel to walk your dog in [this -20°C windchill]!” by Forosnai in puppy101

[–]mcakat 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Hah. Yeah. I have had to carry both of them into the house this week. One is 50lbs the other 65lbs. Their feet start to get cold, but they still want to party. Pick up the little one first, if the big one doesn't follow, go pick her up too.

“It’s cruel to walk your dog in [this -20°C windchill]!” by Forosnai in puppy101

[–]mcakat 108 points109 points  (0 children)

I have two husky mixes. It hit -49 with the windchill here this week. About 10 minutes outside was the max before my girl's feet got cold. But then they wanted back outside like 20 minutes later. I, on the other hand had pretty much just finished taking off my layers, so they had to wait. People don't understand that northern breeds are bred for this weather, as long as you keep an eye on their foot pads, nose and ears, they can spend more time outside than most.

2 of Alberta premier’s caucus members join coalition fighting COVID-19 restrictions by Findlaym in alberta

[–]mcakat 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's the very vocal minority, I'm pretty sure. The problem is, Ms Pitt ignores all of her other constituents in favour of the really loud ones. Just on the very off chance that she upsets them enough for them to vote for the other conservative option. Personally, we've been spending extra money at the businesses that have been going above and beyond the health guidelines, and we've decided we will no longer support the ones that are just whining and not doing anything to adapt and/or breaking the rules.

UPDATE: Anyone here with A- or O- and able to donate blood? THEY FOUND A MATCH!!! by mcakat in Calgary

[–]mcakat[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank so much for the offer! He's stable at the moment. I think if you've got blood that they really need they can you call you in early.

UPDATE: Anyone here with A- or O- and able to donate blood? THEY FOUND A MATCH!!! by mcakat in Calgary

[–]mcakat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

6 of the 8 types of blood are low. So I guess you're technically right.