A Florida grandmother has been ‘bribing’ squirrels with peanuts to pose for a series of hilarious photographs.
Retired postwoman Kathy Pruyn set up the scenes by strategically placing peanuts and peanut butter on her grandchildren’s toys.
Mrs Pruyn, from Tampa, Florida, then photographed the squirrels riding a skateboard, playing a piano, and even pushing a wheelchair.
One comical shot shows a squirrel apparently ‘singing’ into a microphone while another shoots a game of pool.
She said: “I fed the squirrels after they fell out of a nest and when I released them they still came back to my garden for food.”
“One day I was going through the old toys that needed throwing out and I just thought it would be funny to see the squirrels with them.”
“I thought the idea of seeing what the squirrels might do with the Barbie hand-me-downs, scented with peanut butter, might be kind of interesting.”
“Since they are really wild animals and live in the trees I have to hope they have a taste of hunger for peanuts or peanut butter that day.”
“Sometimes they eat too fast and I can’t get the picture, other times they run off with the toy and leave it in the tree.”
SOURCE: web.orange.co.uk
Pregnant woman by night...scavenger by day
Artist and taxidermist Alison Brierley has found herself craving feasts of road kill as a result of her pregnancy.
The 42-year-old has been eating an array of animals killed along her local roads in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
Brierley often used her road kill to make jewellery from their hides, but now the mum-to-be has gone full throttle with her new diet. “Usually I eat really healthily but now I’m pregnant I get strong cravings for road kill,” explained Brierley. “It’s more gamey than other meat and I love the taste. I also don’t have to feel guilty about eating it because I know it’s had a completely free range and natural life.”
Ms Brierley has eaten hare, deer, pigeon, rabbit and owls, with pheasant being the most prevalent of her dishes.
“I would like to try fox and badger but they’re never in good enough condition to eat; although I have used them for my artwork.” said Brierley.
The 42-year-old admitted she has even hosted road kill dinner parties for friends.
“They trust me and they know I’m a good cook so I think they love it. I get the best meat from friends who ring me up to tell me about a kill they’ve spotted on their way to work,” she added.
Eating fresh road kill is something close to Brierley’s heart as she believes in an alternative food lifestyle.
SOURCE: metro.co.uk
Gigantic leg continues growing!
Battling Mandy Sellars had one of her gigantic legs amputated when doctors warned her that the limb would kill her.
But 22 months after the op, it is growing back at an alarming rate.
Mandy, 36, suffers from a rare disease meaning she has a normal sized body but massive feet and legs. Her left leg, which had weighed about five stone, led to serious infections.
When she developed septicaemia in the limb her worried doctors said: “It’s you or the leg.”
But after the op it began ballooning again. It now weighs three stone and has a circumference of one metre.
Mandy said: “I hoped the amputation would stabilise my condition but I think I knew in my heart that it would start growing again.
“Almost straight away the stump began increasing in circumference and I was finding it harder to fit it into my prosthetic leg.
“Then the stump got so heavy that it broke the prosthetic leg.”
The ex-RSPCA voluntary worker suffers from a condition similar to Proteus syndrome, the illness that is thought to have affected Elephant Man Joseph Merrick in the 19th century.
Mandy, of Accrington, Lancs, is hopeful that a cure can be found and said: “I will not let this thing beat me. I’m determined to stay as mobile as possible and fight for my independence. I just have to live day to day, week to week.
“I have got a life and I have to live it as best as I can. There are people far worse off than me.”
SOURCE: mirror.co.uk
Living like a lady bird!
A transvestite bird that disguises itself as a female to avoid being bullied by rivals in the breeding season has been discovered by scientists.
Forty per cent of male marsh harriers were seen displaying “feminine” brown plumage rather than their traditional grey-brown during a study.
They were far less aggressive and drew fewer attacks from rival males.
Experts say “sexual mimicry” among species has been seen before — but only the harrier and a wading bird called the ruff do it permanently.
Researchers from the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain studied nests in central western France last year.
Dr Audrey Sternalski said: “Female mimicry may allow female-like males to access key breeding resources that could be too costly if they had to fight other males. Permanent mimicry may be beneficial and viewed as a ‘non-aggression pact’.”
Source: thesun.co.uk
Crazy fan chose band over husband
Fans were in tears when Westlife announced they were splitting, especially Jane Holmes — who knows a thing or two about break-ups. Obsessed Jane, 44, ditched her second husband when he issued her with an ultimatum: “Choose Westlife or me.”
Jane’s skin has become a shrine to the chart toppers. She has eight tattoos of the group and has screamed her way through 60 of their concerts, spending £30,000 (Rs4,140,600) following them around the country.
The pub cleaner says she warned hubby Norman Holmes, 46, that the Irish lads would always be her biggest passion.
She says: “I think he thought I was joking but he soon realised I wasn’t. Westlife are a really big part of my life. I’m completely devoted to them and the tattoos are my way of showing my loyalty. I like to think I am their biggest fan. Jane, who split from Norman last November after a year of marriage, has not had a holiday for seven years because her spare cash goes on her love of Westlife.
The mum-of-two, of Nottingham, became a fan shortly after they formed in 1998. She said: “When I heard they were splitting I was devastated. I threw my phone down and cried. I love them for the music — and they are quite hunky.”
Tattoos of the group — Shane Filan, 32, Mark Feehily, 31, Nicky Byrne, 33, and Kian Egan, 31 — take pride of place on Jane’s legs.
She also has two Westlife logos on her left arm and all the boys’ names on the inside of one forearm. The inkings cost £1,100 (Rs151,800).
SOURCE: mirror.co.uk
Crazy bike
A Chinese man made a bicycle with the front wheel more than five feet high “just for fun”.
Zhang Lianjun, of Tangshan, Hebei Province, spent about £1,800 (Rs248,400) creating the unusual bike.
It also features a huge lamp, a loud horn and four tiny rear wheels.
The original plan was to use a seven feet high tractor wheel but it was too high and heavy to ride.
So he decided instead to build it with a slightly smaller front wheel which he got from a shovel loader.
“Although the tyres vary greatly in size, it’s actually very safe and comfortable to ride,” claimed Zhang.
SOURCE: web.orange.co.uk
British ‘dead man’ caught in Australia
A British man who allegedly faked his own death and made off with the life insurance payout has been arrested in Australia.
Hugo Jose Sanchez, 47, also known as Alfredo, was taken into Australian Federal Police custody overnight in Sydney, ending a six-year manhunt.
Ecuadorian-born Sanchez’s wife Sophie was sentenced to two years in jail last year over the scam, in which the couple allegedly faked his death to claim more than one million pounds ($1.6 million) (Rs 2,208,000,000) in life insurance in 2005.
She was arrested after returning to Britain for her sister’s wedding last September, with their plot reportedly unravelling after Sanchez’s fingerprints were found on his own death certificate.
Police refused to comment on media reports that Sanchez was facing extradition to Britain to face fraud charges, saying it was now a matter for Sydney’s Central Local Court, where he was due to appear. AFP
Did Puss wear boots?
When Sheree Gale moved from Berry Springs, Australia to Ungarra she brought her cat Jessie with her, but a few weeks later Jessie bolted. More than a year later, Gale’s former neighbors spotted Jessie in her old haunts, 1,865 miles from her new home. “I can’t explain it. She hates getting into cars, so I think she has walked,” says Gale. Gale identified Jessie from pictures but let an old neighbor adopt her, since she seems pretty determined to stay in her first home.
SOURCE: gawker.com
Dummy police officer no fool
In an effort to reduce bad driving a dummy police officer holding a camera has been erected at the side of the road.
The fake police officer can be seen standing on the Zhengjiang Section of the Funing Highway between Shanghai and Nanjing in China.
It is hoped that its presence will deter people from driving unsafely.
If it doesn’t, while the police officer may be fake the camera isn’t and it records all the cars that pass the section of the road.
SOURCE: web.orange.co.uk
Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th, 2011.
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