GUEST POSTS

Clockwise, from top left: Waylon at the Park Butte Lookout trying out the Lightening Stool; Abel doing the same; Abel, Waylon and Yoshi trail running at Galbraith; Halloween at the Rae house, complete with a Pika, Helmer the Black from the Green Ember book series, a dragonfly and Ken Rae costumes; and Maddie, Yoshi, Abel and Waylon trail running in the 100 Acre Woods in Bellingham.

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B irds of Washington State

Homeschool History podcast review

By Abel Rae

Homeschool History podcast is a history podcast that covers a broad range of topics, ranging from Charles Dickens to the Space Race. In each episode the host tells the story behind an event, or person. He also inserts silly quips, songs and his own opinions! One of my favorite parts of the podcast is the quiz at the end of every episode. The host asks five questions about the topic and then shares the answers. It’s a fun way to test yourself. I like the podcast because it is informative and interesting. It is also funny! One of my favorite combinations. As I mentioned in the description it also has a broad range of topics, which I appreciate. A few of my favorite episodes are about Mary Anning and Florence Nightingale who are both fascinating! Sadly, the host is no longer making Homeschool History episodes. However, he also hosts “You’re Dead to Me,” another history podcast. I haven’t listened to it yet, maybe I’ll share a review of it in the next issue.

NUMBERS

22% of life on earth is beetles

850x Rhinoceros beetles can lift 850x their own weight

350,000 number of beetles species on earth 10,800 number of bird species in the world

4.5 billion roughly the age of planet earth

40,000 years ago, humans were creating musical instruments

64,000 years, first weapons were made

300+ number of dog breeds in the world

73 number of cat breeds in the world

~500 estimated number of chicken breeds in the world

Readers Write

In the Readers Write section of the Rae Brothers Magazine we invite readers to submit a nonfiction piece of writing (or art) about a pre-selected topic. All submissions will be considered for publication. There is no word limit, however we ask writers to be mindful of the length of their piece as we self-publish our magazine and printing is expensive! The next topic is Summer. All submissions must be received no later than June 1st, in PDF format. Please send your submissions, as well as any questions you may have, to abelfrederickrae@gmail.com.

by Dennis Whitcomb

Three of our pets passed away last summer. To us, they were family members, almost like people. Here are their obituaries.

Mitzie was a farm cat, the best one we’ve ever had. She was wily. Dogs would run at her at full speed and she wouldn’t move. They would always end up running past her. Sometimes, she would even chase them. When she was young, her favorite thing was to ride around on your shoulder, or even your head, as you walked around. Even after she got a bit older, she would frequently come on walks with the dogs. She liked to run ahead, and sit on the top of fenceposts.

Coco was the first dog Dennis ever had. He got her in 2008, a few months before he met Maria. Coco was part Husky and always liked to pull. She was just doing her job! We were her people. One day, she did something extraordinary. We say that she “earned her kibbles for life” that day. Maria was home sick at the farm, groggy and half-asleep on the couch. Someone came to the house, but they didn’t go to the front. Instead, they knocked on the back door. Coco made a noise Maria has never heard before or since, something loud and deep, somewhere between a growl and a bark. It could only be described as ferocious. Maria got up to see what was wrong and just barely caught a glimpse of a person walking away from the back of the house. They got into an old Honda and drove away. Maria is sure Coco scared off a would-be-burglar that day. Coco also liked to chase cats. She once even got in a fight with our cat Millie! But, when she got older, she mellowed out. She became friends with Millie and, towards the end, she was best friends with our kitten Panther.

We got Frankie in the summer of 2009, about a year after we met. He was very special. And so smart! When we first got him, he didn’t know how to sit; but it only took about five minutes for him to learn. He had two speeds: zero and the lightning speed. He liked to chase birds and laser pointer dots, and he especially liked to ride in the car. He would jump in the air to try to catch birds way up on the electrical lines. He liked the laser pointer so much, he would wait in the same spot for hours waiting for it to come back, so we had to stop using it. One day he even got in our friend's car and refused to get out when they were ready to go home! We all got a good laugh that day. He loved car rides, but he’d fall asleep as soon as we started driving. He was also a great snuggler and couch partner who always kept us warm. In his later years he did a great job of protecting the farm from bicyclists and the mail delivery person. He scared them away every time, with a perfect record of all wins and no losses. Even after Frankie had a stroke, all he wanted was to be near us. He managed to stay around a couple months after his stroke, much longer than anyone expected. We miss him very much, along with Mitzie and Coco.