***IMPORTANT*** HEALTH ALERT - Pet Products Recalls by FDA

If you have a cat or dog PLEASE read this...Click HERE!  Share this on ALL your social Networks!

About Julia K. Cole

What can you expect from someone who considers Putting Reality Back Into Spirituality a personal calling? Straight forward answers that lead to life-changing experiences on a soul level!

Known as The Empress of the Known & Unknown Universes™ and The Diva of Duct Tape, Julia has made it her personal mission to put Reality back into Spirituality™. Julia sets out to assist people in expanding their conscious awareness through her rather unique and personal take on the human experience. 

In the style of Erma Bombeck, Julia utilizes her own brand of humor and down to earth demeanor to get her messages across in an all so delightful way. 

As a writer, Julia is a virtual powerhouse of creativity.  Among Julia's literary accomplishments is  the  Children of the Luminaries  trilogy;  Book One: The Coming Storm can be purchased by clicking Here.   

Book Two  of the trilogy is due out in the Fall of 2015 and Book Three will be available in 2016.  The long anticipated ZEN of Duct Tape:  An Empress Is Born will be out in 2016.  As well as the Teddy Mitchell Chronicles.

Julia has also contributed to several other publications including Brad Steiger's  Real Zombies, The Living Dead, and Creatures of the Apocalypse  Click HERE for the review; and Marie D. Jones' Destiny vs. Choice  Click HERE    

PLEASE NOTE:  All artwork, unless otherwise specified, are the property of the individual artists themselves. The author of these blogs claims no ownership of the original artwork, but only of the sig tags created using said artwork. Each sig tag shown on these blogs include the appropriate copyright information of the Artists and the unique licensure for use.

Reproduction and copying of said work without proper authority is strictly prohibited


Unless otherwise specified, ALL articles on this Blogger are the property of Julia K. Cole.  The ZEN of Duct Tape™, it's name, teachings, modalities, and all excerpts; the nicknames The Empress of the Known & Unknown Universes™ and The Diva of Duct Tape™,  The Duct Tape Diva™; Putting Reality Back Into Spirituality™, Reality back into Spirituality™ are the property and trade marks of Julia K. Cole and are protected under Copy Right Laws both here in the USA and Around The World.  

TAP YOUR HOODS!

PLEASE REMEMBER 

TO TAP THE HOOD OF YOUR VEHICLES BEFORE GETTING IN!

Cats often take shelter under the hoods of cars where it's warm.  So PLEASE...Remember to Tap the hood of your vehicle before getting in.  Or at the very least make enough noise where it will scare the cat out. 

DO NOT BLOW YOUR HORNS!

Blowing your horns can cause damage to the cat's hearing and/or cause it to harm itself while trying to hurry out.  

Remember To  Leave Food and Water.  And to check on the water supply.  In these freezing temps the water will freeze up rather quickly.  So check often throughout the day.

Use Straw to line shelters or to put where strays and ferals take shelter like under your house or porch.  

Learn more about what you can to do by visiting The Humane Society's website.  

Just click HERE

Tell the EPA to DENY Dow AgroScience! PLEASE Sign the Petition! They are Killing our Bees!

Bee populations are plummeting! Yet the Environmental Protection Agency recently sided with Dow AgroSciences to approve a new, highly toxic bee-killing pesticide called sulfoxaflor.

And now the EPA is considering expanding the number of crops this pesticide can be sprayed on to include corn, alfalfa, oats, and several other significant and widely grown crops. Will you help us fight back?

Tell the EPA to deny Dow AgroScience's application to expand the registration of the bee-killing pesticide sulfoxaflor now!

Click HERE to sign the Petition!

Scroll Down towards the bottom to find the Petition and sign it.  

I signed!  Now it's YOUR Turn!

Without the Bees...We will ALL DIE!

CLICK To Feed Hungry Shelter Animals

Right or wrong, you win! Click on an answer, and every day you do, we'll provide 10 pieces of kibble to Animal Shelters to help feed their hungry cats and dogs.

Click HERE  

or copy and paste this URL: http://www.freekibble.com/



And while you're there don't forget to CLICK to provide litter to shelter cats!

Click HERE  (copy and paste URL http://www.freekatlitter.com/)  to get the cat scratching... and every day you do, we'll provide much needed litter to animal shelters. 

Click to scratch every day - the more you do, the more high quality litter we can donate - they need it!

ATTENTION: Free Kibble Donating ALL Kibble Raised Today To Mudslide Victims in Washington!

ALL the kibble raised today, will be donated to care for dogs & cats impacted by the mudslides in Washington - spread the word!



Click HERE to play!

Deadly Honeybee Diseases Likely Spreading to Bumblebees

Wild bumblebees worldwide are in trouble, likely contracting deadly diseases from their commercialized honeybee cousins, a new study shows.

That's a problem even though bumblebees aren't trucked from farm to farm like honeybees. They provide a significant chunk of the world's pollination of flowers and food, especially greenhouse tomatoes, insect experts said. And the ailments are hurting bumblebees even more, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

"Wild populations of bumblebees appear to be in significant decline across Europe, North America, South America and also in Asia," said study author Mark Brown of the University of London.

He said his study confirmed that a major source of the decline was "the spillover of parasites and pathogens and disease" from managed honeybee hives.

Smaller studies have shown disease going back and forth between the two kinds of bees. Brown said his is the first to look at the problem in a larger country-wide scale and include three diseases and parasites.

The study tracked nearly 750 bees in 26 sites throughout Great Britain. And it also did lab work on captive bees to show disease spread.

What the study shows is that "the spillover for bees is turning into (a) boilover," University of Illinois entomology professor May Berenbaum, who wasn't part of the study, said in an email.

Study co-author Matthias Furst of the University of London said the team's research does not definitely prove the diseases go from honeybees to bumblebees. But the evidence points heavily in that direction because virus levels and infection rates are higher in the honeybees, he said.

— The Associated Press

Source:   NBC News

Help Our Heroes Afford And Care For Shelter Pets.

Veterans at all stages of their military careers struggle with emotional and physical issues, including those that challenge their ability to fully integrate into civilian life. Some return from deployment with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or other psychological trauma. Others are long separated from service but struggle with depression, substance abuse, or outright loneliness. For these and many other circumstances, a companion pet is often the right prescription to help heal mind, body, and soul. Pets for Patriots helps these veterans find and afford a "last-chance" pet: adult and special needs animals, and large breed dogs - those most overlooked for adoption, who face the greatest risk of euthanasia and yet make wonderful and grateful companions.

Operating nationwide, Pets for Patriots helps veterans combat the primary obstacle to pet ownership - cost of care - by providing access to ongoing discounted veterinary care, financial contributions towards the cost of pet food and essentials, and discounts for various pet products and services. Through Pets for Patriots' Veterans Pet Food Bank Program, veterans receive the help they need to be a hero once more by saving the life of a dog or cat in need. Your donation saves two lives: a shelter animal out of time and hope, and a veteran who regains a sense of purpose in life.

Click HERE to make your live-saving donation.

Winter Care and Safety for Feral Cats *PLEASE SHARE ON ALL YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKS*

With much of the East Coast now buried in snow, you may be wondering how outdoor cats are surviving. In fact, even though stray and feral cats are at home outside, they can always use some extra help in cold or severe weather. Here’s what you can do to help them stay safe, warm and healthy during the winter months.

Car Safety: Before starting your car, give the hood a tap and check between the tires — cats will sometimes crawl into the engine or hide underneath the car for warmth. This is also the time of year for antifreeze, which often tastes irresistible to cats and other animals, but is toxic and deadly. Keep it out of reach and clean up any spills!

Shelter: Keep your feral cat colonies comfortable this winter by providing them with a shelter.  Dog houses can also do the trick with a few modifications.

• Whether you’re buying or building, make sure the door is no bigger than 6-8″ wide to keep out other animals. If you’re modifying a dog house, you’ll need to block off part of the door to make it cat-sized. A flap on the door will also keep snow, rain, and wind out.
• Insulate the shelter with straw to repel moisture and keep cats warm and dry (note: Make sure it’s straw, but not hay, because hay absorbs moisture). Blankets may seem like a good idea, but since they are also extremely absorbent, they make bad bedding.
• Cats will huddle together inside for warmth, so provide colonies with multiple shelters that can fit three to five cats each. If you are caring for fewer cats, use a smaller shelter so it takes less body heat to warm up.
• Elevate shelters off the ground and place them in quiet areas away from foot traffic.
• Remember to shovel out the cats when you’re shoveling your own driveway. Cats in shelters can get snowed in, so keep entrances clear and shovel an exit for cats who may be taking refuge under bushes, porches, or other hiding spots.
• Stay away from salt and chemical melting products. These products can be toxic to animals and harmful to their natural snowshoes — paws!

Food and water: When temperatures drop, provide extra food and water, and try to keep it from freezing.

 Other feeding tips:

• Feed the cats on a regular schedule. That way, the cats will know when to come around, and both the food and the cats will spend less time out in the cold.
• Feed wet food — it’s easier to digest, so cats save more energy for keeping warm. Since wet food is also quicker to freeze, make sure you put out dry food too. And feed larger portions than you would in warm weather.
• Spray insulation foam into the underside of plastic feeding dishes to keep wet food from becoming fishcicles! (Or chickencicles, turkeycicles, etc. …)
• Change water bowls twice daily to keep water from freezing. Use deep bowls rather than wide ones, and refill them with hot or warm water. If the colony is close to an outlet, heated electric water bowls will also do the trick.
• Here’s a trade secret: Add a pinch of sugar to the water to keep it from freezing as quickly (and to provide an energy boost for the cats!)

RESOURCE:  

PETFINDER BLOG

Author Becky Robinson is the president and founder of Alley Cat Allies.

Paying It Forward In 2014

Is Paying  It Forward In 2014 on Your List Of Things to Do?  

Here are just a few ways you can check it off!

• Volunteer at your local Homeless Shelter. 

• Serve a hot meal to a neighbor or a stranger if you so desire.

• Visit/Volunteer at  a Nursing Home and/or Children's home.

• Your Local Shelter Is In Need Year Round!

• Foster, Rescue or Adopt a Pet from your Local Shelter.Shelters are Always looking for donations in the form of money, blankets, cleaning supplies, food, toys. 

• Volunteer to hold and play with kittens and pups and/or walk a dog at Your local shelters.

• Shovel snow, salt down sidewalks, walkways of neighbors, local restaurants, stores

• Clean public toilets

• Check in on your Elderly and/or disabled neighbors to make sure they have what they need with respect to heating (or cooling during warmer months), blankets, plumbing in working order, etc.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

PET FOOD BANK:

Donate Food for Needy families with pets.

Find one in your Area 

Here in Louisville you can donate to No Kill Louisville:

http://www.nokill-louisville.com/petfoodbank.htm


If there isn't one in your area,  then start one!

 
Cross-Post, Tweet and/or post on your other online social networks!

See a pet in need on Face Book?  Then pay it forward by cross-posting, tweeting and/or adding to your other online social networks.  They DO work when it comes to helping others in need! 


The Toys For Tots Foundation
www.toysfortots.org

Feed The Children
www.feedthechildren.org/

The American Red Cross
www.redcross.org/Donate
 

These are only a few suggestions on how you can Pay It Forward  In 2014

PLEASE NOTE:  All artwork, unless otherwise specified, are the property of the individual artists themselves. The author of these blogs claims no ownership of the original artwork, but only of the sig tags created using said artwork. Each sig tag shown on these blogs include the appropriate copyright information of the Artists and the unique licensure for use.

Reproduction and copying of said work without proper authority is strictly prohibited

Support The Rescue Bank® Pet Food Distribution Program

Rescue Bank^® Pet Food Distribution Program supports the pet rescue community with a network of regional affiliates – pet food distribution centers.  These centers receive truckload donations scheduled by Rescue Bank^® and distribute pallet quantities to qualified groups. 


 Our Pet Food Distribution Program allows rescue organizations to transfer part of their food budget to much needed services such as spay/neuter or other medical bills.



Learn More By Clicking HERE