I am deep in the middle of that end-of-the-year-clean-off-my-desk thing and came across a clipping from the NYT. It’s a little story about how Switzerland, in an effort to strengthen its animal-welfare laws, has a new regulation on its books regarding the ownership of guinea pigs. Apparently, the little rodents are quite prone to loneliness, so it’s now illegal to own a single guinea pig. As with any new law, there are unforeseen problems that crop up. For instance, what happens when one dies? Do you buy a new one? That could go on ad infinitum. Or do you seek help from Pridska Kung, of Hadlikon, who rents the little guys (castrated males) for as long as you need them? A vexing problem, I daresay. Video via fuckyeahguineapigs.

I love this little image. It’s a cigarette card (1.375″ x 2.675″) which I bought a couple of years ago while in San Francisco. Almost nightly when I was little, my mother used to read us The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. One of my favorites was about how the Armadillo came to be. According to Kipling, these odd little creatures were formed out of an alliance between a turtle and a hedgehog. Click here if you would like to see the entire NYPL collection of Animalloy cigarette cards.

Nature has us all trumped. It’s hard to disagree on this one. Today’s vegetable — the watermelon radish — is brought to you by the good folks over at Willow Wisp Organic Farm in Damascus, PA, right across the Delaware River border from NY. They are amazing and smart and grow vegetables that make you remember how food is supposed to taste.

This is how I feel today. Photograph by Annie Marie Musselman (I would suggest carving out a little chunk of time to go through her work!) via Old Chum.

I am not, nor will I likely ever be, a hunter. However, I will admit to loving these paper targets. And I just spent a good half an hour looking through Speedwell’s target site. There are some really really weird and disturbing images on there. But the bullseyes are all beautiful.