Western Gray Whales, Elephants, Rhinos, Derailment, Oscars.

I do wish we humans would stop polluting the earth and diminishing the wonderful animal resources we were given to take care of. Right now, World Wildlife Fund is pleading for help saving Western Gray Whales of which there are only 130 left. All they are asking us to do is to send an email – all you have to do is sign your name in a petition. Watch this little video. http://youtu.be/8mEgMt6zn74 We have already seen what can happen with oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico in 2011, do we want to do the same in the Arctic. This is a picture of a gray whale, I’m not sure if the picture is the endangered whale; it says on the video, pictures of this animal are very rare.

These are not the only animals in trouble, in recent months 200 African elephants were killed in order to obtain ivory. The Sumatran elephant is critically endangered due to its loss of habitat. Rhinos are being killed willy nilly because Asians still believe the horn has some aphrodisiac and medical properties. There is big money in these markets and until we can convince the purchasers that their beliefs are untrue, the killers will still be out there to make their big bucks. If you find these pictures shocking, horrifying or offensive, I hope you will take action and do what you can to stop such pictures ever being taken again because there won’t be such things to photograph. Because we are the dominant species, although we are predators, the world has been left in our care and we are fast depleting its wonders. We are dreadful stewards of this beautiful place. The peoples of the world should band together to stop these disgraceful activities. This is something I feel so strongly about and wish I was in a position to do more.

There was a Via rail train derailment yesterday in the Burlington area. Three people killed and some severely injured. They don’t really say what caused it, no doubt there will be an investigation. Pretty scary thing to happen, one sees it done on movies but when it really happens, it is worrying. I used to travel by train in the UK when I lived in Kent and worked in London, otherwise I haven’t been on a train in years. I have a friend who travels from this area to Toronto, I am guessing on this line, don’t know though. I’m glad for her that it didn’t happen tomorrow.

I wasn’t going to watch the Oscars last night but Matt turned them on and I ended up watching with him. He went to bed before it finished. Much to my surprise, Meryl Streep got the Oscar for best actress, everyone though the actress in The Help would do so. I am so pleased for Meryl Streep, I thought she did a brilliant job as Maggie Thatcher even if I am still not sure I enjoyed the movie itself. The best actor and the best movie went to The Artist, the silent, black and white movie starring Jean Dujardin, the best directing went to the same movie. A lot of awards were won by Hugo which I had never heard of before and will have to look out for, seemed like a movie right up my street.

I am dying with either allergies or a cold. I tend to think the former, but Matt doesn’t believe in them. I mentioned we bought some furniture from an estate sale and it appears that the lounger I got for me was actually the cat’s chair. I have never been allergic to cats, but I am thinking that this could well be what’s wrong at the moment, it certainly feels like allergies rather than a cold.

This is the sort of thing I don’t make, seems very North American to me, however, I thought they looked so delicious, I might well try them out.

Corn and Basil Cakes

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Try these savory corn-and-basil pancakes as a side dish with barbecued chicken or grilled steak.

Servings: 5

Yield:5 servings, 2 cakes each

Recipe Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour
2. 1/2 cup low-fat milk
3. 2 large eggs
4. 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
5. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt
7. 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8. 2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 2 large ears) or frozen
9. 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Recipe Steps:

1. Whisk flour, milk, eggs, 1 tablespoon oil, baking powder, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until smooth. Stir in corn and basil.
2. Brush a large nonstick skillet lightly with some of the remaining 1 tablespoon oil; heat over medium heat until hot (but not smoking). Cook 4 cakes at a time, using about 1/4 cup batter for each, making them about 3 inches wide. Cook until the edges are dry, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, 1 to 3 minutes more. Repeat with the remaining oil and batter, making 10 cakes total. Reduce the heat as necessary to prevent burning.

Have a great day