Million Dollar Baby

 I've been watching the baby panda on the National Zoo's web site, and it's addictive. He's grown so much since his "stick of butter" birth. A friend of mine said "What a world we live in where you can watch a beheading on live feed, or watch a baby panda being cradled and fed." I said, "Uh...I'll take the panda every time."

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/

Some are lobbying to name the baby "Butterstick" (his appearance at birth), but I think they should name him "Worth His Weight In Gold," since we pay the Chinese government a million a year for the privilege of having the pandas around. My friend and I were watching Mommy, Mei Xiang, eat bamboo late last night, and we were talking about how we would never allow bamboo in our yards due to it's invasive properties. I was talking to a shrub specialist at a local nursery once, and he told me if you ever grow bamboo in your yard, be prepared to hire a backhoe to prune it or remove it. Ornamental bamboo shrubs in the Nandina family, however, can be a wonderful addition and add great color in the autumn.

I made a card for my friend to mark our conversation. The entire time I was drawing and painting, I heard the baby's grunts, snuffles and squeals going off from the web cam. Enough. This entry is turning into one huge AWWWWW moment...