Fennec Fox

First up there is a new post  over here:

http://jamfn.blogspot.com/2024/12/goodbye-2024.html

Hi everyone, how many of you have heard of the fennec fox?

I had noy heard of it till I was researching foxes for these posts. 

The fennec fox is a small fox native to the deserts of North Africa, ranging from Western Sahara and Mauritania to the Sinai Peninsula. Its most distinctive feature is its unusually large ears, which serve to dissipate heat and listen for underground prey.

The fennec is the smallest fox species, standing about 20cms or 8 inches tall and weighing up to 1.3kgs or 3 pounds.

In the wild, fennec foxes eat insects—particularly grasshoppers and locusts—as well as small rodents, lizards, birds and their eggs. They will also consume roots, fruits and leaves, which help them to hydrate.

In captivity should consist of a mix of meat and vegetables, and include supplements to ensure they get enough taurine, they should be eating 90% meat and insects, such as waxworms, morioworms, locusts and such. The meat should be low in retinol (vitamin A) and contain enough calcium and taurine. 

The other 10% should be vegetables and fruit, such as diced melons, berries, and leafy greens. Avoid fruits and vegetables that are high in carbohydrates or belong to the nightshade family, such as tomatoes and aubergines.

They can live up to 14 years in captivity and about 10 years in the wild. 

They typically give birth to one litter of pups per year, with between two and five young in a litter.

The female does not allow the male to interact with the kits until they are 5 to 6 weeks old. Parent-raised offspring are weaned by 8 to 10 weeks of age. Carrying, grooming, and nursing of the young continue until this time. Wild fennec foxes stay with their family until they are at least 1 year old.

In general, male fennec foxes tend to be slightly larger and heavier than females.

The primary threat to fennec foxes is human interference. They are commonly trapped for exhibition or sale to tourists, and there have been limited instances of human settlements encroaching on fennec populations. Native populations in the Sahara region also hunt fennec foxes. They are preyed upon by the Pharaoh eagle-owl; both adults and pups may possibly fall prey to jackals and striped hyenas.

They are currently listed as a species of least concern, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. While there are no major threats to the desert-dwelling wild populations, habitat loss still occurs in their native range.

 

 

 

Countries and Continents

 

Hi everyone before starting this year’s countries to learn about I thought we would star with some basic information most people may know but many will not.

Like there are seven continents on this planet, a continent is one of Earth's seven main divisions of land. The continents are, from largest to smallest: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.

According to the United Nations, there are 195 countries in the world, with 193 being part of the United Nations and two not being members, those two are the Holy See (Vatican City) and the State of Palestine.

However, other organizations may list a different number of countries. For example, the CIA lists 237 countries. Many other nations also consider themselves to be fully-fledged nations. 

There are 54 countries in Africa, 44 in Europe, 48 in Asia, 23 in North America, 12 in South America, 14 in Oceania including Australia which is also considered a continent on its own and then there is Antarctica which of course has no countries.

Now you may be like me and think Oceania what the hell I wasn’t taught about this continent, I thought Australia was the sixth continent.

Well for some reason, those wise folks in geography academia decided we needed another way to identify them. And now we have Oceania. Oceania covers the whole area: All of Australia, all of New Zealand, PLUS the myriad of islands in the region that were orphaned without a continent home.

Also, Oceania is not considered a continent if you are using a geographical definition of continent. However, when dividing the world into 7 regions the islands of the Pacific are usually grouped with Australia and called Oceania, and sometimes these regions are called continents even though this is not technically correct.

When you think about it that makes sense since generally most people would say there is only one country in the continent of Australia. However, some say differently listing the following countries as part of the continent, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua and New Guinea, Samoa, Solomons, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Australia is one country. There are no other sovereign nations in the Australian mainland.

I find all that confusing and now have a headache.

 

Week 52 of 2024

 

I had a good night, up dressed and looking forward to the day. It is a nice 20 degrees and my BGL was 6.1

I haven’t felt like doing much today and do not feel like dealing with people.

Tim cooked a nice meal for our lunch.

Steps: 5,138

JONATHON’S BIRTHDAY

I had a good night, although when I got up at 5am I was having trouble keeping my eyes open so went back to bed for only 25 minutes after which I felt fine.

It is a nice morning at 18 degrees we are expecting a top of 29 degrees, my BGL was 5.0 so that’s good.

The temp got up to 30 degrees, Tim had training this morning and said when he got home that he is now off till Friday.

Steps: 4,278

I had a good night, slept straight through the night, woke to a much cooler morning, in fact it is supposed to be a much cooler day.

The temp is 14 degrees and my BGL is 5.1

Received my grocery shopping and a lot was missing so rang straight away and the woman I spoke to rang the store who rang the driver who came back with the extra 3 bags of stuff.

This afternoon while he was using his grinder it slipped and cut his thumb, he said maybe he should go to hospital and have it stitched but he couldn’t be bothered, so he cleaned it and applied band aids.

CHRISTMAS DAY

I had a good night, woke only once, it is currently 15 degrees, my BGL was 5.0. it is supposed to be a stinking hot day

Sue came and picked me up to go see mum & dad, I left a Christmas card for them on their headstone.

Tim is cooking a baked lunch for us as well as Tasha, Blain and his girlfriend. Although they took their sweet time coming down, but it was good when they arrived.

I was starting to feel unwell so had to turn the air con in the bedrooms on to try and reduce the heat in the house which helped how I was feeling.

 

I have been feeling sad this afternoon but not sure why.

So, at 4.50pm I was walking to the toilet and fell over my left elbow hit the linen press door putting a small hole in the door. I managed to get myself off the floor and it gave me a headache.

My left elbow and knee are very sore but not even bruised.

Steps are low today didn’t do much only 2,105

BOXING DAY

I had a good night, woke only once, it is currently 15 degrees, my BGL was 5.0. it is supposed to be a stinking hot day. At the moment it is 16 degrees and my BGL was 5.0.

While watching telly we heard a strange sound like the dishwasher running, Tim went to find out what the issue was, it was a blocked toilet. He has rang and reported it and someone should be out within 2hrs.

After that we went to Kathy’s for lunch Michael made his awesome burgers which I really like. It was 34 degrees outside Kathy’s house inside it was ok as she had the air con going.

We arrived home at 2.20pm and here it is 28 degrees thankfully Tim turned the air con on before we left to go out.

I had a good night, didn’t wake at all till the alarm went off at 5am. I feel good and happy this morning.

For a while this morning it didn’t look like it was going to warm up much but by 1pm I had turn the air con on.

Sam came over and is in her room this is the second time this week after no coming over for a few months.

The plumber arrived at 5.30pm, checked the drains and toilet and said it looks like the blockage cleared itself, both Tim and I knew that but stilled wanted it checked out.

Seps: 5,088

 

 

 

 

Gifts I received

Today I am sharing some photos of gifts  I received 

This lot is from Kathy's family.

    

This next ones are from Sue

This last one was from my nephew Dawson

Merry Christmas

 

 

Siblings Lunch at Dave's

 Today I am sharing photos taken on Saturday at the siblings Christmas lunch

Just photos of my house decorations

 I am kicking off the week with some photos of the decorations around my house, I don't do much but I do more the others in the family.