There are only 119 known copies of John James Audubon’s “Birds of America” and one of them is coming up for auction (Sotheby’s PDF brochure). You have until December to pull together the estimated $6.2-$9.2 million to get a chance at owning this significant volume which contains hand-colored, life sized illustrations of about 500 birds. A copy auctioned in 2000 still holds the record for highest price paid for a book at $8,802,500. The University of Pittsburgh has digitized their copy  and placed it online with a handy search feature.  Audubon worked with engraver Robert Havell, Jr to create the illustrations; Wikipedia states that he engraved all but the first 10 plates.

Rescue dogs, purebreds, and mixed breeds follow their senator and congressmen owners to work on Capitol Hill, adding much needed stress relief to busy days.  They may get to sit in on high-powered meetings and get scratched behind the ears by the elite of Washington, but these dogs are just like dogs anywhere, waiting hopefully for their treats and walks.

Antoinette Brocklebank, who lives not far from Belmont Park, has been sewing jockey silks for 40 years.  Married to a jockey, Brocklebank made her first silks for family members and found herself in business soon after when word spread of her sewing skills.  She and her sister Anna Marie Miceli estimate they’ve made over 5,500 silks.  They’ve dressed Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown winners.  Business boomed after their black and yellow creation rode to a Derby victory on Seattle Slew.  The silks are actually made out of Lycra and the designs for New York races must be registered with the Jockey Club which allows 38 different body patterns and 19 sleeve patterns. Any color is OK, except for navy blue which can be confused with black.

Gibraltar’s Barbary Macaques’ connection to a secret World War II plot makes for an engaging travel article though the revelation is easily found on the Internet.  The story goes that as long as Gibraltar’s monkeys remain, the territory will stay under British rule.  This being a situation that the residents prefer, when it became a concern during WWII Winston Churchill monitored the dwindling monkey population.  He imported additional macaques from Algeria and Morocco to remove any doubt.

Photos of cute baby animals and their moms.  Awwwwwww.  Most of the moms are cute too.

San Francisco is notorious in international lepidopterist circles for its long list of disappearing butterflies.

According to Yahoo, searches for “chicken coops” are up 100 percent, while searches for “chicken coop plans” are up 225 percent.

Start-up costs for keeping a few chickens are minimal and 50 pounds of feed costs $20. Some backyard farmers do trick out out their coops though, with fancy interiors and even a chandelier. Keeping chickens was how my parents discovered there was a family of foxes living in the woods near our Connecticut house. And also how loud chickens can be — even without a rooster.