an ode to the cows of the sea

as we all know i like dugongs. a lot. so the first thing i did when i picked up a copy of Altruistic Armadillos, Zenlike Zebras:understanding the world's most intriguing animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson was to check if my darlings had made the cut. and they had!
just after lobsters and before meerkats, dugongs (they were listed under 'manatees and dugongs'. i know they are very similar- this book says that they really only differ in the shape of skull and tail- and i guess it doesn't really matter but i would have preferred if they were under 'dugongs and manatees' instead) got a whole page and a half. and what a page! i know i sound flippant again but there were just so many exciting snippets of information. there were also some very tragic snippets. did you know that dugongs (and manatees) have almost no predators apart from us? they are so big they can bop any other animal that tries anything shifty (except maybe killer whales and really big sharks), but if we come at them trying to eat them what can they do? it makes me very sad. dugongs are listed as vulnerable now, and manatees are one of the most endangered aquatic animals in the world. the florida manatees (which are still being eaten. crazy floridians) are protected by u.s law, but move so slowly they often have fatal encounters with outboard motors on boats. i want to get really rich, buy some sea and then make a dugong/manatee sanctuary.
i also learnt that...
this is a very interesting book.
a newborn kangaroo is the size of a small bean.
people do really horrible, awful awful things to coyotes.
i don't like people as much as i like animals.

a snippet in the life of a dugong lady

bonsoir mes enfants! i hope your weekends are all going swimmingly...
now, FIRST OFF i would like to say please EVERYBODY GO READ the lovely kate.o.d from http://www.beantherereadthat.blogspot.com/ as she is COMPLETELY FABULOUS and also very good at EVERYTHING to do with BOOKS and COFFEE and LIFE IN GENERAL and i ADORE her and her writing. she introduced me to steven herrick. my life was empty before him. i know i sound flippant and suppose i am, but i also mean it, he is just so FANTASTIC and i'm eternally grateful to this delightful creature for bringing him to my attention. omg and also john green. my life was completely greenless till i met kate.o.d-although i did still recycle. in conclusion, she is awesome and her b-log is well worth having a gander at.
AND NOW, as there is no reason for it (i think i am just overexcited) i will stop SHOUTING.
so... this week quite a few things have happened:
i have a pair of glasses! the kind for seeing better out of, not the stay away glarey sun kind, so now i don't get headaches when i spend all day reading (although i do feel like it's only a matter of time before i trip over my feet cos im not used to the view).
i have a new skirt that i spent a ridiculous amount of money on but it's super pretty and i will look sooooo naice (or like a prat in a pretty skirt).
and i went out for dinner with my ever so slightly mad but lovely family for bastille day and dropped my phone down the toilet in between the mussels au gratin and my quiche avec goats fromage and eggplant. in my defense it was the first phone i have ever sent to a looey death, unlike my dear sister who has killed five (FIVE!) phones this way.

in terms of les livres, i have just finished immortal beloved by cate tiernan (ill put my review up soon, but i will say right now that i was surprised by how much i liked it), finally started the knife of never letting go by patrick ness (my gosh im jealous manchee can talk, i so wish my bonkers but beautiful border collie could too. oh, and it's pretty darn good so far). also i have been sent a couple of books to play with by the lovely magpies magazine. hurrah for life!