1 . When it comes to adopting a dog from a shelter, senior dogs are often overlooked favor of puppies. And while younger animals are often seen as cute, older pets have great charm, too—and they still have a lot of love to give!

In order to help get its elderly residents the attention they deserve, Florida-based Flagler Humane Society came up with a funny idea-dressing the older dogs in senior citizen clothes. The scarf dressed up their senior dogs as if they’re senior citizens for an adorable photoshoot. They worked together with their adoption specialist, who is a photographer, and carried out the great adoption promotion, to find a warm home for the senior dogs.

The final photos showed the adorable residents dressed in hats, wigs, and glasses. One dog, named Bambi, wore a wig, a beautiful scarf, and a purse. “She was so scared when she first came to us. It didn’t take her too long to get used to the staff, and we’d love to get her into a loving home as soon as possible,” said the Flagler Humane Society. “Don’t let her age impede you. Bambi is ready for walks, play, hug, and rolling in the grass wherever you are!” There’s also Kale, who was styled in a hat, glasses, and a baby blue sweater. “This sweet senior boy is looking for a second chance at the life he deserves,” said the shelter. “While he has some limits to his vision, it doesn’t stop him from being right next to his people and asking for all the love and affection he can get!”

All in all, the photoshoot was a success! All but three of the senior dogs have already been adopted.

Last week I visited a small village to see the brown bears, what come to the villages at night to look at food. I waited with some tourist. As it grew dark, we see the huge black shapes of the bears. Those clever bears knew where to go for its dinner: the rubbish where there was lots of food people have thrown away. Although it’s wonderful to see the bears in the village, but it can only mean one thing: their habitat is disappearing. They would prefer to stay hiding in the mountain forests, but the trees have cut down for firewood. However, they cannot find enough food any more.

4 . A man named Randy liked to look for big trees and old trees. He made maps to show where these trees were. He did not want to cut them down. He wanted people to take care of them.

Randy was told that there was a very tall tree on Vancouver Island. The tree was said to be 314 feet tall. That would make it the tallest tree in Canada. Randy started to find the tree.

But someone else found it first. It was found by a logger (伐木工). Loggers wanted to cut down Canada’s tallest tree and all the trees around it.

Randy made a path in the forest so people could see the tallest tree. The tree was so big and beautiful that it would bring them enjoyment. More and more people wanted to save that forest. Thanks to these people, that forest is now a park. Canada’s tallest tree is still there.

5 . Since 2012, Korean American farmer Kristyn Leach has been growing plants on her own land. Her two-acre farm, called Choi and Daughters, is in Winters, California. Leach’s farm provides vegetables and herbs native to Korea and East Asia.

Leach was born in Daegu, South Korea, and then adopted into a family in New York. As a child, she was drawn toward her grandmother’s big garden. Her interest in farming continued into adulthood. In Bolinas, California, Leach met her mentor (导 师), farmer Dennis Dierks. The two bonded over their admiration for Korean natural farming. Asian American farmers are a key part of the history of farming in America. Leach’s farm is seen as a recent addition to this long history.

Ten years ago, Leach received her first order for perilla, a leafy green herb with a sharp taste which is popular in Southeast Asia. Soon, Leach wanted to try producing her own Korean seed varieties. Leach struck up a partnership with the seed company Kitazawa and produced some Korean chili pepper seeds for them. The seeds were a success. Today, she continues to add new seeds for Kitazawa to sell.

Leach’s perilla experiments introduced new foods to her area. Soon, Asian American restaurants began to partner her farm.She started sharing her vegetables and greens with local kitchens. Despite her successes, Kristyn Leach found 2020 to be a challenge for the farm. News of the disease shook up the produce orders. Many local restaurants she worked with struggled to stay open.

Now, demand was growing for her seeds. Leach discovered that people found in her seeds a way of getting meaning from their food. Home gardening allowed people to work with her seeds on their own time. This made Leach ensure that her work mattered. Leach enjoys growing seeds that connect people with their families and histories. For her, sustainable farming practices and seed preservation are key to her success.

6 . It’s 4:30 am in a forest where a small group of scarlet macaws (金刚鹦鹉) are waiting for Montoya Santiago.

“Twice a day, I give them rice with beans. When I can, I buy bird food. I do it with lots of love because they are like my children,” says Montoya, who lives in a small village called Mabita, where most of the villagers protect these colorfully feathered birds and the rest of the wildlife surrounding them.

Years ago, Montoya made extra money by selling macaw eggs and babies as pets — not realizing that it would have a detrimental impact on the bird population. When she learned the number of macaws was rapidly declining, Montoya decided to become a protector of the birds. She tried to convince the other villagers to follow in her footsteps.

“They threatened me at first, but I convinced everyone to stop selling the chicks,” says Montoya. “Before 1990, the hunting and sale of wild species was legal in my country and thousands of macaws were killed. In 2010, the population dropped to 100, compared to 500 in 2005.”

Montoya’s work drew the attention of One Earth Conservation based in New York, which decided to provide funds to monitor and strengthen the macaw population with the support of the local villagers. They were paid about $10 per day to take care of the macaws and Montoya was hired to serve as the community’s project director.

“We have similar projects all over the Americas, but the Mabita project is the most successful one because of Montoya’s commitment,” says LoraKim Joyner, founder of One Earth Conservation. “Despite having her own family to feed, including six children and other young relatives, she shared her precious crops with the birds. Not everyone can do that.”

Since the project began, the scarlet macaw population has grown from 100 to 800. However, there is concern that the progress made so far will be rolled back: funding for the community involvement will end the next year.

8 . After a tiring day at the office, you find it hard not to smile when you’re greeted by an exciting and joyful dog. But it’s not just the happy shouting and wriggling (扭动) tail that strike our heartstrings. A new study shows that dogs’eyes filled with tears when reunited with their owners cause effect that brings out our love. The findings appear in Current Biology.

Takefumi Kikusui watched with interest when his dog was feeding her puppies, her face became so cute. Kikusui, a professor of veterinary(兽医) medicine at Azabu University in Japan, realized that his lovely mama dog had tears in her eyes. That possible connection between unbearable cuteness and tears sent him to the lab.

In the test, he and his team first measured the baseline tear volumes when dogs were together with the owner in their house. Then quickly, the owner would leave and stay hidden away from it for five or six hours. When the owner came back, they measured tear volume again. And found that the reunion with the owner raised tear volume. But it only worked with the dog’s owner. If reunited with the familiar caretaker in the dog care center, there was no increase in tears.

The researchers doubted that the tearful reaction was caused by oxytocin, a hormone(荷尔蒙) linked with social bonding. So they applied oxytocin to the dogs’ eyes. And, the dogs grew weepy. But why? To find out the reason for this easy-crying behavior, they showed volunteers a couple of dog head pictures. One was a normal dog face. And the other was a teary dog face in which they added man-made tears. The volunteers were more likely to want to hug and care for the one with big, wet puppy-dog eyes.

Dogs turn on the waterworks and their owners roll over. Now, that’s quite a clever trick!

9 . One afternoon in 2022, something on the Internet caught my eye：a tiny hedgehog (刺猬) held by a big hand. The post read: “HELP! My hedgehog abandoned (抛弃) her two babies, and I cannot raise both of them because I have to go to school full­time. Good home with experience needed as soon as possible!”

I had no experience with baby hedgehogs. I was an animal person through and through and had raised cats, dogs, birds, and guinea pigs. But this tiny animal was new to me, and it touched me that he was abandoned, that maybe I could love him and be the best mom for him.

I wrote the most heartfelt email I could. That was how I found my Louie. True to my word, he was my baby. Louie didn’t know he was a hedgehog. He never curled (蜷缩) into a ball, and he liked my two cats, no fear. The cats, however, were afraid of him, as he often moved into the room, running after the cats and blocking my way.

By the time he reached old age, Louie had only three feet. However, he still managed to climb the stairs to visit other animals. He helped me realize my dream of hedgehog photography, a hobby that began during childhood with cats and dollhouses. I love showing off his modeling.

Life has meaning because of the purpose we have. Louie needed a good home and mom, and in return, I got to be a good mother and be needed. Hedgehogs require great amounts of patience, trust, and knowledge—but the payoff (回报) is pretty great.

10 . Neither of us has ever been to a cat cafe although I’ve heard of cat cafes in Japan. So when we saw The Cat Brothers Cafe near our hotel in Chiang Mai, we knew we had to stop by.     1    

Generally speaking, the biggest complaint about cat cafes is that the cats are uninterested in visitors. Instead, what they prefer to do is spend their time away from the coffee-drinking customers, who were usually cat lovers as well.     2     It is home to roughly 20 cats who were all full of energy. During our visit, we had 4-5 cats hanging around our table at any given time. They seemed to welcome, or at least enjoyed being petted. They were far more friendly than we expected. There are a number of baskets and cat houses spreading around the room.     3     Even the sleeping cats could be made for great photos. So if you are a photographer lover, you will find many surprises here.

    4     The first floor is cat-free. And it is especially perfect if you’re looking to get some work done. Some writers and white-collar workers like to choose this floor.

The second floor is where the interaction is. Be prepared for lots of cat-action, especially if you buy the cat food downstairs.     5     When you run out of food, grab one of the many toys laying around and have some fun with the playful cats. If you, or the cats, are tired of playing, just sit back and catch some interesting shots of cute cats and taste some delicious coffee.