Happy World Oceans Day!

To celebrate World Oceans Day today here is a fun interactive quiz courtesy of The Nature Conservancy.
[I turned out to be Donna from Mama Mia]...

"You probably know them. You may have even cheered for Captain Jack Sparrow, leapt out of your seat during Jaws, and scratched your head in confusion over why Ginger packed so many dresses for a mere three hour tour."

Click here to take the quiz to find out which ocean celebrity is most like you!


We are also reminded that "today is a good day to remember that oceans provide us food, adventure,and the building blocks of life-saving medicines." You can help protect our beautiful oceans when you adopt a coral reef (a great gift idea for a Dad or grad!)

Thank you for all that you do for the ocean and the people, plants and wildlife that depend on it!

Today is World Oceans Day!

World Oceans Day was officially declared by the United Nations in 2008, to be observed on June 8th of each year. This year's theme is "Oceans of Life".

Discover some surprising reasons we're all connected to the oceans by visiting this interactive Nature Conservancy link. Then leave your own message of hope and see what others have to say here: Messages of Hope.

Your message can be anything, but here are some suggestions from the Nature Conservancy to help get you started: How are you connected to the sea? What do you hope for the future of our oceans? Why do you think it is important to conserve our coasts and waters? What about the ocean inspired you to begin living a greener life?"

To find World Oceans Dayevents in your area, click visit this link: THE OCEAN PROJECT

Thanks for visiting!

Show Our Oceans Some Earth Day Love!

Why should Cat Ladies be concerned about our oceans, other than the fact that tuna is probably one of your favorite feline's favorite treats?

Because, according to the Nature Conservancy, half of the oxygen in the air is produced by plants in the sea and oceans absorb about one-third of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions.

As Earth Day approaches, here is another Featured Action suggested by the Nature Conservancy: switch to re-usable bags and re-usable water bottles.

Writer Cara Byington recently saw the effects of cast-off plastic first-hand: a sperm whale that died from plastic ingestion whose skeleton is now on display in the Bahamas’ Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. She reports:

"Thousands of animals — especially marine mammals and sea turtles — die every year from ingesting plastic they mistake for food.

• Last December, seven sperm whales washed up on an Italian beach — all of them dead from plastic (and, let’s be fair, other debris like rope, tin cans and other containers) in their stomachs.
  
• In 2008, it was a dead sperm whale near Point Reyes, California. Its stomach contents? An astonishing 450 pounds of fishing net, some kind of mesh, braided rope, plastic bags and one plastic comb.
  
• In 2006, scientists reviewed 371 sea turtle necropsies (an autopsy of an animal) since 1968 and discovered that one-third of the turtles had likely died from eating plastic."

"I can’t change what was, but I can help change what will be. The reusable shopping bag is such a little thing, but it matters. And every one of us who bring our own bags can know — from this day forward — that none of the plastic shopping bags that find their way to the ocean ever, belonged to us."

Read more of her article here: Crisis in the Checkout Line

Please check out my re-usable cotton tote bags and water bottles--I have dozens of designs available for Feline Fanatics and Nature Lovers in both of my Cafepress Shops: Susan Faye Originals and Susan Faye for Nature Lovers. Click on each image for more information...

Cat Lady No. 331...Christmas Coral

Mermaid Cat Lady Lorinda and her favorite catfish Jonah have a great gift suggestion: adopt a coral reef in honor of a loved one.

Coral reefs, home to incredible biodiversity, are in danger... According to the Nature Concervancy, "If the present rate of destruction continues, 70% of the world's coral reefs will be destroyed by the year 2050".

The Nature Conservancy's Adopt a Coral Reef program provides critical funds for the permanent protection and restoration of some of the last great places on Earth. Other Nature Lover gift ideas include planting trees and giving carbon offsets. Visit the Nature Conservancy website for more ideas.

Thanks for visiting!

Another gift idea: This ACEO watercolor illustration has just been listed for sale in my Etsy shop:
Mermaid 14 Original ACEO Art

Cat Lady No. 282...Salty Sanctuary

Cat Lady Calandra and her favorite cat fish Salty are delighted that their home near Ecuador has just become a marine reserve. That means that a 135,000-acre area, that has an even wider array of species than the Galapagos Islands, will be protected and preserved.

The world's largest colonies of Black Coral will be protected, as well as a multitude of fish, jellyfish, mollusks and even segmented worms. It will also protect crucial feeding territory for several species of sea turtle, plus humpback, orca, sperm and pilot whales.

For more information, visit this website: Galera-San Francisco Marine Preserve. Be sure to check out the wonderful slide show!

Thanks for visiting!

Cat Lady No. 258...Coasting Along..

Cat Lady Mermaid Merriwether and her cat fish Typhoon Tiger want you to know that tomorrow, Sept 19, is International Coastal Clean-up Day.

Last year, nearly 400,000 volunteers collected more than 6.8 million pounds of trash in 100 countries and 42 US states during the 2008 International Coastal Cleanup — the world's largest volunteer effort of its kind. To find out where you can participate in your area, visit the Ocean Conservancy Coastal Clean-up Webpage

If you aren't able to volunteer tomorrow, there are many other ways that you can help out, such as picking up trash along ANY waterway during the other 364 days a year! Merriweather and her ocean-mates will thank you!

Thanks for visiting!

For details on how to enter the 365 Cat Ladies September Giveaway No. 2 click on the link!

Cat Lady No. 210...Announcing A Trio of Winners

Mermaid Lillithina and her pet cat fish Mergatroid would like to take time out from their fun game of "starfish keepaway" to announce the winners of the 365 Cat Ladies Fun and Games Giveaway for July.

Forty-six cats and/or cat ladies left comments about their favorite cat games and three were picked at random. Here are their entries:

Angus Mhor said: "Angus is a champ at Shanghai from the Shadows-he'll lie in wait, invisible, silent. Then, as you pass by his lair, he'll SPRING! Forepaws aloft, all 14 front toes spread for maximum contact, and GOTCHA! Right on the back of the legs. Then, sit down and listen to the squeals! Rewind and repeat!"

Kitty said: "3 of our cats - Harry, Allie and Murray love to play chase with the Sophie our dog. They run from one end of the house to the other and if Sophie stops, they all just leap over her. She's a Shih Tzu, so they're all about the same size."

And Sal's Girl said: "My black and white cat--Fast Edie--loves to play Sheet Sharks. She hides under the sheet and we pat her and she chases our hands or we hide our hands under the sheets and she chases them!"




Each has won a "Peaceable Kingdom matted print from my Etsy shop. Winners, please send me your address and let me know which one you would like-- with or without the caption. Congratulations to all!



This original ACEO watercolor illustration has just been listed for sale...Add it to your collection by visiting my Etsy shop:
Mermaid and Cat Fish No. 11

Cat Lady No. 199...Cats Who Swim

Cat Lady Mermaid Nereida and her finny feline Morven enjoy learning about other creatures from distant oceans and lands almost as much as they enjoy swimming around the lagoon.

They've heard tales of an ancient and noble land-cat from a faraway land who also enjoys swimming. It is called by the name "Turkish Van" and mortals often refer to it as "the swimming cat".

Nereida and Morven hope to someday meet a Turkish Van Cat and learn how such a creature can swim with such a long, skinny tail instead of fins!

Thanks for visiting!


This original ACEO watercolor illustration has just been listed for sale...Add it to your collection by visiting my Etsy shop:
Mermaid and Cat Fish No. 10

Cat Lady No. 194...Kitty Capers

Cat Fish Xanadu's favorite game is to pretend he is a sea serpent and to chase Cat Lady Mermaid Esmerima through the kelp forest and try to nip her tail fin.

Apparently, toe-nipping is a favorite pastime for mortal Cats and Cat Ladies and Lads, if the July Giveaway entries received so far are any indication.

Cat Lady Laura reports: My youngest kitty, Newman, loves to play a foot game with his Daddy. He hides inside his favorite S-shaped lounger, and when Daddy comes out of the bathroom, Newman tries to grab his feet as he goes by. He only plays it with Daddy!

Cat Lady Rita Anne reports: Far TOO many of our babies like the "Toe Attack Game". This game is best played when Mommy or Daddy are not quite awake in the early morning. The kitties wait for that moment when the human foot slides so temptingly under the sheets/covers. Those toes MUST be stopped! The plan of attack is there is none! Just GRAB that toe or toes with claws out, dig in, holding on for dear life and then BITE the big toe with every ounce of strength a kitty has! This is a REALLY fun game, but tragically doesn't last too long as human skin is way too thin and starts to bleed through the sheets. Bummer!

Read more funny Cat Games in the comments section of the July Giveaway post!

This original ACEO watercolor illustration has just been listed for sale...Add it to your collection by visiting my Etsy shop:
Mermaid No. 9

Cat Lady No. 174...Poetry Under the Sea

Today's poetry reading is brought to you by Cat Lady Mermaid Loreena and her cat fish kittens Tilda and Tryon.

Loreena's favorite poem is "The Mermaid" by Alfred Lord Tennyson, which she will now recite:

Who would be

A mermaid fair,
Singing alone,
Combing her hair
Under the sea,
In a golden curl
With a comb of pearl,
On a throne?

If you would like to read the entire poem, and learn more about Tennyson, visit this link: Tennyson's The Mermaid

Thanks for visiting!

This original ACEO watercolor illustration has just been listed for sale...Add it to your collection by visiting my Etsy shop:
Mermaid No. 8

Cat Lady No. 153...Cloud of the Month

Mermaid Cat Lady Anemone and her Cat Fish, Cucumber, sometimes enjoy just floating with a current to see where it takes them. They particularly enjoy floating on their backs and looking for special cloud formations.

Their favorite is what has been dubbed "The Jacques Cousteau Cloud". According to the Cloud Appreciation Society, "since it looks rather like the surface of a choppy sea viewed from below, we gave it the nickname of the ‘Jacques Cousteau cloud’, after the legendary 1970s French diver and ecologist."

Recently, a new Latin name was proposed: "Asperatus"

Read more about it at "The Cloud of the Month" for June. Happy cloud watching!


Mermaid Magic can be found on a variety of gifts, t-shirts, and notecards at my Cafepress shop. Just click here: Mermaid Stuff

Cat Lady No. 151...Crazy for Coral

Mermaid Cat Lady Coralee and Finny, her Cat Fish, are crazy about the beautiful coral reef they call home.

Did you know that coral is made up of millions of tiny organisms...According to The Blue Project these tiny organisms are the architects of "ancient habitats which have supported diverse sea life for more than 50 million years. And while these living organisms cover less than 1% of the Earth’s surface, they provide habitats for one out of every four of the world’s marine fishes"

"Today, coral reefs face an unprecedented crisis. In the last thirty years alone, more than 10% of these elaborate ecosystems have been destroyed. What’s more, researchers believe another 60% could perish by 2050 due to reef destruction, pollution, overfishing and climate change—all things within our control. Unless more is done to reverse this trend, entire ecosystems could literally collapse."

Gasp! Coralee and Finny need your help. Please support programs like the Blue Project....just click on the link to find out more...

Mermaid Magic can be found on a variety of gifts and t-shirts at my Cafepress shop. Just click here: Mermaid Stuff

Cat Lady No. 111...Oceans Need Love Too

Terra firma gets the lion's share of attention on Earth Day, but Mermaid Cat Lady Luana and Cha-Cha, her Cat Fish, would like equal time for the oceans of the planet.

Luana and Cha-Cha enjoy star gazing on warm summer evenings, but the swirls of trash floating on the surface of the sea are starting to obliterate the view. And just last week Cha-Cha got tangled up in a plastic bag and nearly became lunch for a passing shark!

The Ocean Conservancy has lots of useful information and great programs to address the problems facing our oceans. In September, nearly 400,000 volunteers at 6,485 sites in 104 countries and 42 U.S. states picked up trash along the world's coastlines and waterways during the annual International Coastal Cleanup - and they collected more than 6.8 million pounds of trash.

Luana and Cha-Cha hope you will reduce, re-use, and recycle and help to keep trash out of their home!

Thanks for visiting!

Want to do something nice for our planet? Choose a reusable bag instead of throwaway plastic. This extra-roomy 100% cotton canvas tote bag has plenty of room to carry all of your treasures over and over again. It features extra long handles for easy over-the-shoulder carrying. I have over 100 designs to choose from at: Susan Faye Tote Bags

• 10 oz heavyweight natural canvas fabric
• Full side and bottom gusset
• 22" reinforced self-fabric handles
• Machine washable
• Measures 15" x 18" x 6"

Cat Lady No. 100...A Whale of a Tail

Mermaid Cat Lady Merrilee and her Cat Fish Whiskers have never seen a blue whale, but hope to someday. Blue whales are an endangered species. Merilee looked them up in National Geographic:

"Blue whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth.

"These magnificent marine mammals rule the oceans at up to 100 feet (30 meters) long and upwards of 200 tons (181 metric tons).

"Their tongues alone can weigh as much as an elephant. Their hearts, as much as an automobile."

Right now Merilee and Whiskers are spotting a lot gray whales along the Pacific Coast. Peak numbers usually occur during the last week of March with a 2nd peak during the last week of April with about 6 whales an hour passing Oregon .

Check out the numbers for this spring here: Whale Watching Center

For a peek at a baby blue whale look here: Baby Blue Whale

Thanks for visiting!

The purr-fect way to keep track of your Whale Count:
This Wire-O bound, 160 page journal has your choice of papers and measures 5" x 8", a handy on-the-go size to fit in your backpack. Get creative and let the muse flow.

• Back cover made of thin black flexible textured plastic, measures 16/1000" thick
• Front cover made of 12pt glossy paper, laminated for durability
• Filled with your choice of 60lb bookweight (24 lb bond) paper -- blank, dot grid, lined college-ruled, or a task journal.

I have dozens of designs to choose from at: Susan Faye Journals.

Cat Lady No. 78...Pearls

Mermaid Cat Lady Athena and her Cat Fish Rinaldo are always on the lookout for ocean treasures, and have the largest pearl collection in the grotto.

Considered the world's oldest gem, pearls have been prized and collected by humans and mermaids for at least four thousand years.

To find out more about the history of collecting pearls, visit:
The History of Pearls.

Thanks for visiting!

Beach combing? This extra-roomy 100% cotton canvas tote bag has plenty of room to carry all of your seashore treasures. It features extra long handles for easy over-the-shoulder carrying. I have over 100 designs to choose from at: Susan Faye Tote Bags

• 10 oz heavyweight natural canvas fabric
• Full side and bottom gusset
• 22" reinforced self-fabric handles
• Machine washable
• Measures 15" x 18" x 6"

Cat Lady No. 66...Go With The Flow

Mermaid Cat Lady Juliana and her Cat Fish Mirabella enjoy their early morning swims around the grotto because they have mastered the art of "going with the flow".

You too can enjoy your swim through the sea of life with the help of Leo Babauta who has come up with 12 Practical Steps for Learning to Go With The Flow in his award-winning blog ZenHabits:

1. Realize that you can't control everything
2. Become aware
3. Breathe
4. Get perspective
5. Practice
6. Baby Steps
7. Laugh
8. Keep A Journal
9. Meditate
10. Realize that you can't control others
11. Accept change and imperfection
12. Enjoy life as a flow of change, chaos and beauty.

For more details about each of these steps, visit this link:
GO WITH THE FLOW

Take a deep breath. Relax. Enjoy. And thanks for visiting!

My original mini portrait of Julianna and Mirabella pictured above is currently for sale on my Etsy site: www.SusanFaye.etsy.com. It is in ACEO format and these very affordable mini watercolor paintings are adorable when framed and arranged in a grouping!

This image is also available on t-shirts and gifts at my CafePress Shop: Mermaids

Cat Lady No. 49...Under The Sea

Mermaid and undersea Cat Lady Lyra and her Cat Fish Georgio have the largest seashell collection in the grotto. Lyra's personal favorite is the scallop shell, while Georgio is most excited when he finds a Murex Ramosus.

For more information about collecting and identifying treasures from the ocean, click here:
More About Seashells

This original hand-painted miniature portrait of Lyra and Georgio is currently available for sale on my Etsy site: www.SusanFaye.etsy.com
It is in ACEO format and these very affordable mini watercolor paintings are adorable when framed and arranged in a grouping!

For more information on art trading cards, go to: ACEO

Thanks for visiting!