Grrrawr

For the longest time I thought I was born in the Year of the Rabbit because all the standard charts, like the ones you see in Chinese restaurants, show my birth year under the Rabbit. About ten years ago I delved a little deeper into Chinese astrology signs and found that, because I was born in January -- today, the 9th, as a matter of fact! -- I was actually born under the Year of the Tiger.  

Find Your Chinese Sign has the usual chart with those standardized years but it also has a sign-finder with this additional explanation: Please note: The Chinese year ends on the first new moon of the following year. For those of you born in January and February please take care when determining your sign. We recommend using our Chinese Sign Finder below for the most accuracy.

Michael had Friday off from work and attended to car repair issues on my old 1991 Dodge Shadow America that we intend to drive unto its death, which is imminent by months maybe a few years. Part of the work entailed returning it to a local shop for them to tweak some work they did on it last month (no charge, as expected), leaving us a bit of time to walk around downtown Silverton. I brought my camera to get a shot of the front window of our town's most popular shop -- per a recent poll -- Stone Buddha. The shop had these wonderful tigers in its window display a couple of holiday seasons ago, not 2009, and when I saw the sign up close I realized it was because they were saving them to welcome in 2010, the Year of the Tiger. I was so excited that this is a Tiger year.

At breakfast Friday morning, before I knew we'd have the opportunity to visit Stone Buddha later in the day, I snipped a small article about the birth of five white tiger cubs from the newspaper to mention if-and-when I got some shots of the tigers downtown.

(AP)  SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - January 7, 2010 -- The Chilean National Zoo is celebrating the birth of a rare litter of five white tigers.

Zoo director Mauricio Fabry said Thursday that the zoo will build a special habitat to accommodate the tigers born on Dec. 28.

He said that the new enclosure will include a large expanse of grass and waterfalls and will be without bars.

On Wednesday, zoo officials implanted subcutaneous chips in the cubs to identify them.

The tigers' father is Pampa, who arrived from Argentina in 2007. The mother is Luna, who arrived at the zoo from Mexico in 2004.

The couple produced a litter of three white tigers in December 2007, but the zoo hasn't seen a litter of five in 82 years.

The tigers' white fur is the result of a rare gene mutation.

Fabry says there are only 200 such tigers on the planet.

Because the article didn't show a photo I searched online and found a cool website called ZooBorns, with an article about the cubs and the most amazing photos of them. The shots are copyrighted by Reuters and the Associated Press and I can't show them here, but trust me........seeing these white tiger cubs is worth the CLICK.

Now, I am seriously practicing getting to bed earlier and rising in the mornings -- and have actually done quite well this whole week -- but it's kinda difficult to settle down right now because I have a gift from Michael (who is now asleep) and some from my sis, plus birthday cards from both of them and my brother, and one from the pets, all waiting in the living room. But I'll be good and save them until the real morning time after we are both up with cups of coffee. After all, I already had the joy of opening the package that my dear friend Francessa in Vienna sent. Oh, it is the most beautiful Swarovski silver necklace! Its gorgeous luster shines like our friendship.......and like this poem.....

The Tyger

 ~William Blake (1757-1827)

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire in thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, and what art?
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand, and what dread feet?

What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb, make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?


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