Knit a Penguin a Sweater

No, we are not kidding. Look how people are helping the penguins affected by an oil spill off New Zealand. Thank you to Lori for tweeting a link to the story this afternoon. We're rushing so text below is directly from the etsy blog:

A recent oil spill on New Zealand’s coast has left the environment and wildlife in shambles — including the local blue penguin population. While volunteers are working hard to rescue and clean the animals in the region, they require a little bit of crafty help: tiny sweaters, or penguin pajamas, for the rescued birds. These woolen sweaters keep oil-soaked birds warm until they’re well enough to be cleaned and prevent them from ingesting oil from their feathers.

If you’re interested in donating a penguin sweater, New Zealand yarn store Skeinz has provided a handy how-to and is organizing the donation efforts.

ciao-meow/GGCM

(photograph by Leila Nargi)

Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf

We posted last June on young artist Olivia Bouler's inspiring project to save birds on the Gulf Coast during & in the aftermath of the BP oil spill disaster. On the year anniversary, much remains to be done; frankly, things are just a mess. Read about Olivia's new book here. Starting today, read the Audubon Society's one-year update on conditions in the Gulf. You can sign a petition there to urge Congress to act on Gulf Restoration now.

ciao-meow/GG Central

(image via Barnes & Noble)

Olivia's Help the Gulf Wildlife Project

From the National Audubon Society's blog The Perch (by Julie Leibach)

After hearing about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, 11-year-old (as of this Friday) Olivia Bouler was devastated—and determined to act. She and her parents brainstormed ways to help, and it dawned on her: “I have a little artistic talent,” she says modestly. So she began sending original bird illustrations to donors who contribute to oil spill relief efforts.(rest of article)

Please help Olivia & the National Audubon Society help the birds of the Gulf. Go here to see more of Olivia's paintings . What wonderful girl (& talented artist).

GG & her editor

[Plover, tern by Olivia Bouler. Brown pelican, by Olivia Bouler. The original is hanging in the National Audubon Society's headquarters in New York City. All rights reserved.]

Tales of the Islander

A Prairie Home Companion on 22 May 2010. As she sang, we bet we were not alone in thinking of the ongoing BP-Gulf disaster. The David Byrne-directed video is terrific & interspersed with more Anderson images & information about him, a true eccentric & treasure.

We hope you will visit your favorite music site & download Caroline's music. Here's her website; the songs change two at a time so you can sample them. If you need further recommendation, GG is a huge fan & cat-gallops to the source upon hearing the opening of Tales of the Islander. (She really does.)

ciao-sniff-meow/GG's editor

(Horn Island by Walter Anderson via Smithsonian American Art Museum; roseate spoonbills in flight by Kerri Oddeni via From the Bay to the Bayou; Caroline Herring by Jeffrey Fasano (on CH website)