simply sweet
she's grooming, but she looks so silly doing that
royalty? he sure is.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Owl in Singapore
I spotted an owl at the canal near my house!
It was pretty late, close to 1.30am, when there came a screeching sound like "screeeet screet!" and a huge flapping of wings over the canal. I could see immediately that it was a pretty large bird and got really excited.
It was only when the bird stood still on a fence and swivelled its head around that i then realised that i was looking at an owl. Wow! My first sighting of an owl in Singapore!
I couldn't take a good close look as it flew away shortly after but my guess is that it's a Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Apparently it's quite common in Singapore (since the 1980s) and have adapted quite well to urban environments, roosting and nesting in abandoned buildings as well as in trees.
I wished I could have gotten a camera shot of it!
It was pretty late, close to 1.30am, when there came a screeching sound like "screeeet screet!" and a huge flapping of wings over the canal. I could see immediately that it was a pretty large bird and got really excited.
It was only when the bird stood still on a fence and swivelled its head around that i then realised that i was looking at an owl. Wow! My first sighting of an owl in Singapore!
I couldn't take a good close look as it flew away shortly after but my guess is that it's a Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Apparently it's quite common in Singapore (since the 1980s) and have adapted quite well to urban environments, roosting and nesting in abandoned buildings as well as in trees.
I wished I could have gotten a camera shot of it!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Salmon notes
I must admit; I love eating raw salmon, dipped in light soya sauce. I was introduced to this delicacy about two years ago, and among all the raw fishes I've tasted, the salmon still appeals most to my taste buds.
But one of my resolutions for this year was: I've decided to reduce, or refrain, from eating salmon. Posters and news articles about declining salmon population, ethical eating etc has eaten into my guilt in this indulgent sin.
But it is indeed difficult to not even think about that dish you so wanted to try on again. After all, the last time you ate it was eeeeons ago. Try refraining a candy from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory from a kid who's been there and you'd get what I meant.
However, are things really what they seem they are? While forgoing this time to dine at Sakae Sushi (where I know I'll eventually give into temptation of eating that salmon sushi), I decided to Google out some stuffs about the salmon industry. It all started when I surfed Sakae Sushi's website and found out that their salmon 'are air flown from Norway daily'.
One thing that surprised me was; there are farmed salmon and wild salmon available in the market. Since I felt that eating farmed salmon may have less of an impact on Nature's ecological balance, would consuming wild salmon have more impact? And how do we know our salmon is farmed or wild?
I couldn't give any definite answers to these questions; but I did found others:
1. There are different species of salmon available, mainly Atlantic Ocean species (only one) and Pacific Ocean species.
2. Wild salmon population is declining, but overfishing is not entirely to be blamed for it. Natural causes, diseases, other human created factors also play a part.
3. What is of utmost concern in sushi trade is the overfishing of bluefin tuna for sashimi.
4. Norway's supply of salmon are farmed salmon.
5. Concerns raised so far over Norway's supply of salmon is human health-related (for it is claimed that their salmon contains high levels of contaminants) than Nature-related.
So I guess it might be safe to eat salmon after all, only if i'm sure that the pinkish meat on my plate comes from farmed salmon. On another note, I'm gonna ensure that I will stay away from Bluefin tuna.
But one of my resolutions for this year was: I've decided to reduce, or refrain, from eating salmon. Posters and news articles about declining salmon population, ethical eating etc has eaten into my guilt in this indulgent sin.
But it is indeed difficult to not even think about that dish you so wanted to try on again. After all, the last time you ate it was eeeeons ago. Try refraining a candy from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory from a kid who's been there and you'd get what I meant.
However, are things really what they seem they are? While forgoing this time to dine at Sakae Sushi (where I know I'll eventually give into temptation of eating that salmon sushi), I decided to Google out some stuffs about the salmon industry. It all started when I surfed Sakae Sushi's website and found out that their salmon 'are air flown from Norway daily'.
One thing that surprised me was; there are farmed salmon and wild salmon available in the market. Since I felt that eating farmed salmon may have less of an impact on Nature's ecological balance, would consuming wild salmon have more impact? And how do we know our salmon is farmed or wild?
I couldn't give any definite answers to these questions; but I did found others:
1. There are different species of salmon available, mainly Atlantic Ocean species (only one) and Pacific Ocean species.
2. Wild salmon population is declining, but overfishing is not entirely to be blamed for it. Natural causes, diseases, other human created factors also play a part.
3. What is of utmost concern in sushi trade is the overfishing of bluefin tuna for sashimi.
4. Norway's supply of salmon are farmed salmon.
5. Concerns raised so far over Norway's supply of salmon is human health-related (for it is claimed that their salmon contains high levels of contaminants) than Nature-related.
So I guess it might be safe to eat salmon after all, only if i'm sure that the pinkish meat on my plate comes from farmed salmon. On another note, I'm gonna ensure that I will stay away from Bluefin tuna.
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