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Trichotillomania. What does the name mean to you? How about trich, TTM, or a trichster? Well, this photo is about Trichotillomania.
Trichotillomania is a Hair Pulling Disorder. It is classified as an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). A ‘trichster’ is a person who feels the urge to pull his or her hair. If you are having hard time imaging the behaviour of Trichotillomania, then think about it as nail biting or finger cracking kind of habit. Trichsters usually don’t just pull out all their hair, rather they do it systematically one hair at a time; just like nail biting: one nail at a time.
Majority of people start pulling their hair around the age of 13 or 14, and for most they never stop. As you have probably guessed, there aren’t any chemical medications that can cure this disorder. I think there are some behavioural treatments, etc., but I can’t say much about the treatments for trich since I am not familiar with any of them. A trichster may pull one’s hair knowingly or do it automatically without giving it much thought. It is also has been noted that trichotillomania could be hereditary.
When I was around 13 years of age, that was back home (in Iraq), I went to the barber to get a hair cut. That barber was someone I knew from the neighbourhood and he was a very talented hair stylist. He was actually a very good artist who displayed his pencil drawings in his barber shop, and I used to love going through his drawings books. When I came home I looked in the mirror and saw few hairs on top of my forehead that were dangling down like it usually happens after a routine haircut and before taking a shower. I decided that they were out of place and I pulled them out—I think they were 3 to 5 hairs—and I never stopped pulling my hair until today.
You are probably wondering: that’s it? That’s how it started? Yep. And I haven’t been able to break free from it for over a dozen of years now, or had relief from it, because it is always there in one way or another.
As it turned out that both my dad and mom’s families pull their hair in a way or another. And as it happened it has almost affected the men only.
Living with trich is not fun, just like living with any addiction, or anything for that matter that controls you. And living with trich in an eastern country is even worse.
I don’t know why I took this photo or talking about trich because I have never talked to anybody about it in a personal way. Yes, family members and close people know that I pull my hair, but I had never actually talked about it to anyone except my best friend, Jesus Christ. And believe me He is more than enough. I think I took it for all the people who have trich out there and want to hear about it from others. Hearing about others’ experiences is good because we know we are not alone in what we are facing.
I’ve never talked to anybody about it for many reasons: 1) I don’t have anybody that close to me to open up to them. 2) The people that are close to me are either not interested in hearing about it, or don’t share my beliefs (at all). 3) People are scared when you talk to them about things they don’t know…and yes sadly, we, Christians more so than others.
Jesus touched the poor, the beggars, the sick, and the homeless; we, on the other hand, simply run away from them, or give them a shower before we touch them. With hearts like ours no wonder we are scared to get dirty, because our hearts are already dirty. When our Lord Jesus Christ touched the unclean He did not become unclean, but the unclean became clean. Also when Jesus healed people He made them stand up, not vice versa. (It was the demons who threw people down.) Sometimes I think I don’t deserve the title “follower of Jesus Christ”. Yes, obeying Him is very important to me, and yes I strive to live for Him and to be confirmed to His likeness. But to follow in His footsteps is a whole new level of spiritual maturity, and understanding of who He is in a much deeper and personal way. Let me ask you a quick question: how did you picture this next spiritual level, a higher step on a ladder? Well, it is not. It is stooping down to washing the feet of one person, where there is nobody else other than the two of you, on the most isolated place on earth—a person who you don’t agree with on anything.
Let me give you some little stories about trich and me. Early on when I got trich I used to mainly pull the hair of my scalp, and so one day when I went to high school a class mate (that is still back home) saw the missing hair batches and commented (not in a sarcastic, or unfriendly way, he just made a comment) saying, “You need to change your barber.” I quickly responded, “It is not his fault; I pull my hair out.” Now why is this incident important? Because my response is pretty much my attitude toward trich: it is nobody’s fault, and I have never blamed anybody for it. This is very important, because as destructive as an addictive habit can get, its negative effects won’t be even comparable to bitterness, unforgiveness, and hostility.
On of the saddest incidents with trich happened when I carried the little boy of a relative and he started crying as babies usually do with people they are not familiar with. His mom quickly came and took him from me saying in an angry voice, “Of course he will cry when you look like this without eyebrows or eyelashes!” I was shocked when she said that—shocked that someone can say something like that. I quietly went upstairs to my room, and sat down thinking about what she said. Then I thanked God that I had trich, because I realized that if I didn’t have trich then I could’ve very easily one day say something like this to some one suffering from trich. I’d rather be wronged by others than be the one who wrongs others. I realized I am a human like her, and if she could say something like this, I can say it too.
Almost all of my extended family has settled in another country many years ago except one close family who were living back home as us. The mother of that close family used to always mention to me that I pull my hair. She didn’t have bad motives or anything, but she didn’t pass an opportunity without reminding me that I pull my hair out. (Believe me if someone has trich you don’t need to remind them, because mirrors do a very good job at it.) Years passed by and my family and hers left the country and went to settle in different parts of the world. They joined their son, who they haven’t seen for many years, in a European country. However, last year she came to visit us and we were very happy to see her because she was like a second mother to us back home. I was waiting for her to mention that I pull my hair, but for the first few days she didn’t say anything. And somehow I felt she didn’t say anything for reasons other than just being thoughtful towards me. After few days she said, “You know, my son pulls his eyebrows too.” When she said that I had a very strange feeling, may be because I had hoped inside that she was not mentioning that I pull my hair because she finally realized I have feelings.
There are other little experiences I’ve had with trich but I won’t share them because some are really personal to me, and also I don’t want to make the description extremely long. However, there are few things I would like to share with you to may be help you understand people with Trichotillomania better:
1) People who pull their hair are not insane. The get education, they make friends, they work and they get married, etc.
2) People who pull their hair know that, so please don’t remind them.
3) People who pull their hair don’t need you to “fix them”, that position is for Jesus only by the power of the Holy Spirit.
4) People who pull their hair are very sensitive about their looks, so don’t force them to take photos, or put them on stage, etc.
5) If God has not told you personally that He will heal that person don’t just go marching to them promising them something God has not promised.
6) Trichotillomania is not a transmittable disease, and it doesn’t make a person dirty and slothful.
7) It is ok to touch or play with someone’s hair if they have Trichotillomania: nothing will break, fall, or explode! But make sure you know the person very well, and are close to them, and ask permission first!
8) If you don’t know what to say, don’t say anything. And certainly don’t give this advice, “Just stop doing it”. As if the person has not thought or tried to do so! It is like telling a person who is struggling with addiction to drugs, “Just stop taking it.” And also don’t give this advice, “You shouldn’t pull your hair out.” Sometimes it seems a piece of advice is the cheapest thing people can give.
(Here I would like to give people the benefit of the doubt. I believe that people rarely say things with the motives of hurting others, and if that's their motive they are rarely aware of it. But you see people who are struggling with trich, overweight, low self-esteem, etc, are very sensitive in regard to those issues. So even a seemingly innocent comment can be very hurtful and be received as thoughtless. I myself am guilty of saying more thoughtless things than anybody else I know, and that’s not ok. And let's not forget that people hurt others because they are hurt. People who put others down are usually covering their own hurt of being made to feel “not good enough” by lowering some else’s self-esteem. Let’s not forget that the God who loves us and is helping us also loves those who hurt us and is so yearning to help them out of their spiritual and emotional graves just like He did and is doing in us.)
9) Don’t tell a trichster that Trichotillomania is a sin against God and one’s body and that he or she is living in deliberate disobedience, unless: 1-You can heal them. 2-God told you that trich is a sin and that He sent you to convict them of their sin.
(I know Trich makes one’s life less than ideal from human perspective, but I also know that people through out the scripture struggled with long term sickness, pain, lose, depression, life long enemies, deportation and unjustifiable trials. None of these make a life ideal from a human perspective, but God has allowed them. God didn’t promise us a Rose Garden—He actually told us to carry our cross and follow Him, and a sword, if we choose to follow Him, between us and our closest family members—but He did promise, grace, peace, and strength through trials. I don’t know where this “Christian” mindset in North America came from that says God has promised us: paid houses, two cars for each family, a promotion every six months, and a healthy family for life, and if that’s not the case then as soon as we pray God answers our prayers exactly as we asked and no matter what we asked! He is our Father indeed, but let’s not forget that He is still God of Gods and Lord of Lords. He is the one in absolute control, not us. He is the one who knows what is best for us, not us—and that’s what makes Him our Perfect Father.)
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
10) Whatever you do, don’t make fun of a person with trichotillomania.
Of course those may not apply to everyone, but I would say generally they hold true.
If you tell me that I have the power now to heal myself from trich with all of its effects, would I do it? Well, if I have that power I would give it back to Jesus where it belongs and let Him decide when He sees fit. Mind you that does not mean I love wearing a baseball hat to everywhere I go, or that I like not having a decent photo with my nephew or niece whom I adore, or I enjoy the fact that taking a photograph for a passport, or driving licence, etc, is a dreadful experience to me—but no matter how hard it is, God has allowed it, and He has His purposes and I am not going to oppose His work in my life, whether I understand it or not.
Actually the only photo of me that I like, other than my baby pictures, is the one I took right before I had trich. As I mentioned earlier, I think I was 12 or 13 at the time. I might upload it to my flickr account, I don’t know, I will see. I used to like it before because it was the Before Trich part of my life, and now I am living in the After Trich part. But thanks to Jesus all lives are divided by either Before Christ or After Christ. And I am so glad that I have chosen the After Christ life :)
Of course, I could go on and on about trich and its effect on a person, but I think any website about trich will give you a better description of what a person goes through. I could probably write a book about the last dozen years of trich and me!
I would like to add that when I count my blessings, trich is actually nothing. After all hair grows back! And even if it doesn’t, this body is only my home for some years, not like the body Jesus has prepared for me that I will be living in for countless years. There are people who have lost limbs, paralyzed, lost sight, or loved ones—what is the lose of hair in comparison to losing someone you truly cherish?
So no, trichotillomania is not the most painful thing ever happened to me, but God has used it to draw me closer to Him. To teach me to be sensitive to other people’s needs, and to sense when someone is hurt, broken-hearted, needs someone to talk to. God has used it to help me watch over the words of my mouth, and to be kind and gentle (still a long way to go in this area). God has taught me what it means to be comforted, and I hope that I can comfort others too.
If you are wondering why I have not tried any treatment…well this is kind of a confusing point for most but let me explain as best as I know. Trich is a spiritual blessing. You see through it God has been confirming me to the likeness of His Son more and more. So I would rather it stay and I change to be more like Jesus than it goes and I stop growing in my character. Does it make sense? Yes, no? Believe me, trials and pain are the most effective tools to shape us for eternity—and God is like a skilled surgeon who knows how to use them, when, and how much to apply.
I am not saying that God sends pains on purpose to make us hurt, but He does test our faith and sends us through trials. (Please do not confuse trials with temptations, because God absolutely hates sin and will never tempt us to do so.) And if we are going through something that was not His perfect will for us, He still would have had to allow it to happen, and so He knows about and we can ask Him and allow Him to work in us to shape us through whatever we are going through.
Also the way humans heal does not build our faith, however when God heals we know it is Him and so our faith grows, He gets the credit and the honour and the glory, and hopefully others will witness and believe in Him.
Will God ever heal me while I am on earth? I don’t know. Do I care? Yes, I do. Will it stop me from following Him, or trusting Him? No, it won’t. Do I want to be healed from it? I want His will whatever it is.
2 Corinthians 1:
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
I just want to add this one thing. Recently I have been having this feeling that even though God desires to make us more like Jesus through our sicknesses and trials, He sometimes just wants to heal us because He is good. I mean, patience is good, so is also growing our character in Christ, and being more humble. Yet, I am wondering if we use those as excuses to cover up our little faith in His goodness and desire to heal us. I am just feeling that God sometimes doesn’t want to teach us more than the fact He loves us, and wants to take away our sicknesses because He is a merciful and compassionate Father. And to come to this understanding of His goodness and to see Him as a loving heavenly Father seems even a bigger spiritual step than trying to figure out what His other spiritual purposes are behind our sicknesses. Just something to think about.
PS: I really love the English language, however it is not my language of origin, and so I am always striving to master it more and more. So if you find any spelling mistakes, wrong use of words, wrong grammar, etc, feel free to let me know :) Any feedback will be much appreciated :)
(Toronto, ON; winter 2008.)
This day included a WTF moment.
Covidiots were out in high drama at Memorial Park by White Rock’s museum building.
Definition of Covidiots:
Someone who ignores the warnings regarding public health or safety.
Basically, a covidiot doesn’t take COVID-19 and the risks of the virus seriously, despite what government officials and the global health community say.
At the same time, they may also engage in selfish behavior that doesn’t look out for the greater good when it comes to slowing down and stopping the spread of the coronavirus.
A list of Covidiot symptoms:
* Extraordinary sense of self importance - ego on steroids, oh yeh.
* Generally low I.Q. - who added this trait, but - - -
* Naturally attracted to toilet paper - in large quantities.
* Predominant diet of pasta - more selfish hoarding behaviour.
* Has no idea of personal space - and do you smell bad, back off.
Treatment: No effective anti-idiot drug currently available.
Enough frivolity.
Here we are, a year and counting, with COVID-19 “D” variant slithering down our air passageway and these dam idiots come along and spew their shit. Give your head a shake you blockheads.
Remember, on social media, myths spreed deeper and faster than truth. Even small exposure to falsehoods make people less likely to want a COVID-19 vaccine shot.
Apparently two thirds of unvaccinated adults believe at least one vaccine lie. The outcomes of believing in pseudo-science, deception, bogus health-care claims, scams, misinformation and fake doctors can be catastrophic.
The poor dears are so tired of covering their mouths and noses. We hear this constantly.
Infringing on their rights, get real, how about my right to be protected from you. You selfish shitheads. If you don't like the mask, you definitely won't like the ventilator.
It’s time for governments (politicians) to grow a spine and get tough. There needs to be consequences for not getting vaccinated.
To make one thing clear, vaccinated people are not as likely to get and spread the coronavirus as unvaccinated people. Vaccines work remarkably well.
I pity the heath care workers, emergency responders and business employees who already face enough risks on the job without having to worry about these imbeciles they have to deal with on a daily basis.
Give these people a break you dickheads, just put on a damn mask when required and go get vaccinated, immediately.
Poor babies. These malcontents are God Dam lucky they weren't living during the 1918 flu pandemic.
It is estimated one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States.
Mortality was high in people younger than 5 years old, 20-40 years old, and 65 years plus. The high mortality in healthy people, including the 20-40 year age group, was a unique feature of this pandemic.
With no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants, and limitations of public gatherings.
And here we are today with a proven, effective vaccine defence and yet too many “intelligent” (?) assholes are ignoring the plea to get vaccinated or wear masks.
It’s good a shift by companies & some governments are taking the lead on requiring employees be vaccinated before returning to the office environment.
It’s high time for a national vaccine immunization certificate.
If they or any of the loved ones of this bunch of malcontents wind up in hospital with COVID-19, just maybe they’ll figure out what assholes holes they are. Oh yes, they will expect and receive the best of public health care regardless.
OK, if you have a legitimate medial exemption (a hand written note from your veterinary doesn’t qualify) as to why you can not be vaccinated, you are absolved.
We are in a race against the clock to vaccinate enough people to avoid a fourth wave of the pandemic - come on go get vaccinated!!
Guess what, the latest US figures from CDC show 99% of current USA COVID deaths are people unvaccinated, Canada’s statistics are not much different.
You super spreading dummies, go get a vaccine. The pandemic has become a pandemic of the unvaccinated.
Jesus H Christ, don’t get me started.
And do not forget, COVID variant “L” is waiting in the wings to surge into a variant of concern and we are only a few variants away that will evade existing vaccines.
“It sounds like you're fearful of the possible side effects of the vaccine. And that makes sense.".
Not on your life but let’s humour you anyway.
"It seems like you don't trust the pharmaceutical companies that are producing the vaccines. I understand that"
"You're worried that we don't have long-term data on the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines. I get that."
“It sounds like you and I want people to be both healthy and free from coercion. And this virus is sort of pitting those values against each other, and I'm coming down more strongly on the side of health, and you appear to value freedom more.
I hear your concerns about your health. And actually, I'm in favor of vaccination because I think it will give us all more freedom."
Go get yourself vaccinated.
Vancouver Sun 19 August 2021:
By Pete McMartin:
Enough is enough. I'm done with all of the COVID-19 skeptics
Opinion: I’m done with those whose ignorance of science is so profound and intractable that, rather than heeding the advice of scientists, doctors and virologists, they put their trust in celebrities, politicians and quacks.
Pete McMartin is done with those who are so mentally lazy that they refuse to trust in anything beyond hearsay, urban legend, apocrypha, conservative wing-nut provocateurs and the whole digital witch-doctor network of chat rooms, Facebook forums and the first hit that pops up on their Google searches that are designed to reaffirm their ignorance rather than challenge it.
Enough.
I’m done.
I’m done with those whose fear of vaccinations arises from studies that were long ago peer-disproved and retracted.
I’m done with those whose ignorance of science is so profound and intractable that, rather than heeding the advice of scientists, doctors and virologists, they put their trust in celebrities, politicians and quacks who, unable to tell the difference between their outsized egos and reality, and who in the face of reason and the damage they leave in their wake, continue to spout self-aggrandizing bullshit in the dangerous belief that their notoriety somehow gives them a platform from which to spout lies to a credulous public.
I’m done with those who are so mentally lazy that they refuse to trust in anything beyond hearsay, urban legend, apocrypha, conservative wing-nut provocateurs and the whole digital witch-doctor network of chat rooms, Facebook forums and the first hit that pops up on their Google searches that are designed to reaffirm their ignorance rather than challenge it.
I’m done with those who believe political beliefs are the same thing as incontrovertible facts.
I’m done with those who demonize science and scientists.
I’m done with those who are so fuelled by their sense of resentment that they see the ongoing pandemic as a manifestation of class war rather than a war against reason, which they themselves have prosecuted.
I’m done with those who believe we all have our version of reality, because no, we don’t all have our own version of reality. Singular undeniable realities exist. The earth is round. COVID-19 has killed millions. There are no microchips in vaccines. Vaccines are not designed by governments, Bill Gates or the Illuminati to harvest your DNA, track your movements or enslave you. There is no conspiracy here other than the one designed to save your miserable, undeserving life. That is reality. Deal with it.
I’m done with conspiracies and those who believe in them. You think the world believes you are important enough to conspire against? Believe me, it doesn’t.
I’m done with those whose fear of vaccinations is so rigid and unthinking that, as an unintended consequence of their ignorance, they would drag us back into the Third World by helping to resuscitate polio and whooping cough and mumps and measles — all those diseases that used to kill and maim children by the hundreds of thousands not three generations ago. They do this even though they had been vaccinated in their youth for those very things, and they would do this while the citizens of the Third World, begging for vaccines, are dying by the thousands.
I’m done with any person, government or business that would coddle anti-vaxxers, or who, like desperate parents trying to entice a spoiled child to eat his vegetables, would offer them tax breaks, lottery tickets or beer as rewards for getting vaccinated.
I’m done with rewarding dangerous, antisocial behaviour rather than punishing it.
I’m done with governments that can’t stay on message, that speak in euphemism rather than plain, honest language, that quail at the thought of mandates, that change health protocols without any seeming rationale, and that take their cues from the Chamber of Commerce rather than public health agencies — all while acting as if we can massage ourselves out of this endless loop of economic disruption, misery and death we have been trapped in for the past two years by applying the old tried and true political manipulations, in which the greatest sin is to do anything that might cause you to be voted out of office.
I’m done with anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers who, while literally weaponizing themselves by refusing to get vaccinated and putting other lives in danger as surely as if they were carrying a loaded gun, see themselves as brave freedom fighters protecting their constitutional freedoms, not because they believe in equality, but because they believe exactly the opposite, that their rights are preeminent over all others.
I’m done with anyone who characterizes people who wear masks, social-distance and get vaccinated as “sheeple.”
I’m done with those who complain about wearing masks, as if having to wear a piece of fabric designed to stop the inhalation of a deadly virus was akin to torture. I’m especially done with the puerile idiots who compare wearing a mask to Jews having to wear a Star of David during the Holocaust. It isn’t a mask these fools should be wearing, but a muzzle.
I’m done with those who, after a visit to the intensive care unit and death’s door, experience their moment of revelation that, yes, they are so sorry that they didn’t get vaccinated because — with the usual egocentricity and selfishness that characterizes anti-vaxxer sentiment — they could have died rather than, you know, the untold number of people their stupidity put at risk.
Other than those with legitimate health concerns or compromised immune systems, I’m done with trying to understand, accommodate or politely tolerate anti-vaxxers, or those who are just too stupid, tuned out or unconcerned with the health and safety of others to get vaccinated.
I’m done with living life in limbo, with the hundreds of thousands of needless deaths and the hundreds of thousands more to come, with the travel bans, with the slow-motion unravelling of the economy, with the dispiriting and seemingly endless pattern of peak, trough and peak, and with the only variance in life coming with the arrival of the virus’s latest reincarnation.
I’m done because all of this terrible nightmare we are trapped in could have been avoided.
mcmartincharles@gmail.com
Pete McMartin is a former Vancouver Sun columnist.
too much accomplishes little
1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band.
2. www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.
3. www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
link to original: flickr.com/photos/31747118@N08/3287611673/in/set-72157613...
This guy has a very special reproductive behaviour. After she has selected the cockroach of its choice. The wasp would then surgically and strategically stings this baby to paralyse and turning it into a host for her offspring to feed on.
size : 20mm
No wonder these folks always hang around dustbins and rubbish dumps where there is a plentiful supply of their prey.
Looks like she is dressed in a shiny green body armour.
@bt panjag, sg
Lately have came to know the cockroach has just revealed another secret to the researchers. Its amazing reproductive rate suggest that they ought to be great fuckers, making love all the time. But in reality, the truth is far from it. In fact the female only mate once in its entire life. Its possess a very special ability to store and maintain healthy sperm in its body. This unique behaviour allows the female to fertilize the eggs herself without the need to seek the help of a mate. Thus allowing the reproductive cycle to takes place anytime anywhere anyhow.
No wonder they just simply can't be eliminated. Their hardiness is another major contributing factor to their survival.
Not only they are able to withstand the most extreme weather condition they are also able to withstand extremely high level of harmful radiation which most living things can't.
These fuckers is probably the only creature to emerge unscathed after a nuclear holocaust broke out on earth where all humans and along with the plants and animals that we are associated with are completely wipe out.
Hmmm...that makes me wonder if one day we are able to make them surrender their blueprint of their unique properties we might be able to survive a little bit longer here on mother earth.
One thing for sure I won't adapt from them if I'm a female is their sexual behaviour kind of boring.....
Photographed at one of my two woodland feeding stations in the Scottish Highlands.
If you'd like to join me for a photography session here please check www.karenmillerphotography.co.uk/Crested-Tit-Photography-... for details.
used my Mind the Scrap May kit to create this grid style page for todays LOAD prompt.
Used photos of my daughter on stage with Nutty Noah and told the story of how she was better than expected and did exactly as she was told even when he didnt want her too lol
The breezy conditions made catching any fish difficult, but at least there was no shortage of insects for these Common Terns to feed on.
The strangest aspect of hamerkop behaviour is the huge nest, sometimes more than 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) across, comprising perhaps 10,000 sticks and strong enough to support a man's weight. The birds decorate the outside with any bright-coloured objects they can find. When possible, they build the nest in the fork of a tree, often over water, but if necessary they build on a bank, a cliff, a human-built wall or dam, or on the ground. A pair starts by making a platform of sticks held together with mud, then builds walls and a domed roof. A mud-plastered entrance 13–18 centimetres (5.1–7.1 in) wide in the bottom leads through a tunnel up to 60 centimetres (24 in) long to a nesting chamber big enough for the parents and young.
These birds are compulsive nest builders, constructing three to five nests per year whether they are breeding or not.
'Fencing Match!". Interesting behaviour, watching these these two Magpies 'having a barney'! ...Two for joy? 😊 West Yorkshire.
Many thanks for visiting my Flickr pages ...Your visits, interest, comments and kindness to 'fave' my photos is very much appreciated, Steve.
Magpie
Magpie numbers in Britain and Ireland have quadrupled in the last 35 years.
The increase has been particularly noticeable in suburban areas.
During the winter the magpie’s diet is largely vegetarian, and in the summer predominately ground invertebrates.
Only during the spring, when feeding its young, does it become a major predator, raiding the nests of songbirds for eggs and young.
Opinions differ widely on the impact of magpies on nesting birds. Most studies suggest that their impact is minimal, but where magpies have been removed, breeding success of songbirds has improved.
One of the explanations for the magpie’s booming population is thought to be the amount of carrion from road kills available today, providing a year-round food source.
Magpies can be caught legally in Larsen traps, a live-capture trap that uses a decoy bird to lure others into the trap. Many thousands are caught and killed in this way every year.
A male magpie, attracted to a female decoy, will attempt to court and mate with her unless his mate accompanies him, in which case their joint response is aggressive.
Magpies have always been surrounded by superstition, and there are many versions of the poem that begins: One for sorrow, two for joy...
There was an old rural tradition of raising one’s hat to a magpie; now few people wear hats, the tradition has largely died out.
A magpie looks much bigger than it is: the tail makes up half the bird’s length. Its average weight is only about half that of a wood pigeon’s.
They can be found throughout almost all of mainland Europe, from southern Spain and Greece north to Lapland, but are absent from many offshore islands, including Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearics and Iceland.
Pairs usually remain within their territories, but non-breeding birds wander more widely in small gangs or bands.
They are non-migratory, and it’s rare for one to ever travel more than 10km from where it was hatched.
Though most nests are built in trees, where there are no suitable trees they will build on the ground.
A typical nest incorporates a roof, and may have two entrances, but some populations build open nests.
Long-eared owls often adopt old magpie nests.
The date of the first egg being laid is largely the same throughout Europe, with the peak period mid to late April.
In southern Spain great spotted cuckoos often lay their eggs in magpie nests.
In Britain magpies have relatively few enemies apart from man, but in some parts of Europe they are the favourite prey of goshawks.
Communal winter roosts may hold as many as 200 birds.
The roosting birds have usually departed before sunrise. Living with Birds Notes.
Fabulous encounter with a wonderful, totally relaxed mountain hare in the Scottish Highlands, July 2019.
One of those shots where you think did I get that, of course a quicker shutter speed and clean background would have been better but sometimes you get what you get with bird and wildlife photography.
Another behaviour shot of the aquatic springtail Sminthurides aquaticus. This female (about 1mm long) is on a piece of bark that is floating on the surface of our garden pond.
These springtails produce a globule of fluid and then roll it around their body with their legs, to clean themselves. Fascinating to watch, but difficult to photograph. This individual was only about 1mm long. A composite of two images, blended in Photoshop.
Models: Horace Silver and Michelle Lee
Controlling behaviour goes hand in hand with domestic violence .. a common trait for controlling men to exhibit is to stop 'their' women from wearing makeup. They can be manipulative about how they achieve their end result: it can appear as if he is meaning well by saying things such as 'you don't REALLY need that stuff on your face, you're pretty enough...' to 'I prefer my women more natural,' to sulking when he doesn't get his way to even using physical force. However, though he may use sweet and persuasive words at first, he is being driven by his own insecurity and jealousy, and whatever he says, it's really nothing to do with his personal sexual tastes. (Think about it ... he's actually contradicting himself as most women met their man and attracted him in the first place when they were dressed up really nicely and were wearing make up). So it's all (in his mind) about making you less attractive to other men, ebbing away at your personal confidence and power, so you're less likely to leave HIM, meaning you'll put up with more and more of his crap, ultimately meaning you become under his control in every area of your life.