Blue Sky Times: Babies, Ancient Footprints and Emotional Support Chickens

As we enter the last week of October, it seems like the fall months have come and gone in a flash. The thought of time moving so quickly is unsettling to some, but the news column is here to remind you that there are good things still happening even if the days perpetually escape us. Here are this week’s good news stories.

Babies Ready For Halloween 

Babies in the neonatal intensive care unit at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Illinois and Wisconsin are getting ready for the annual NICU Halloween Costume Bash by dressing up in various costumes, ABC News reported. 

Some babies were dressed up as characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, Barbie, Yoda, Mario and Luigi while others were dressed as animals from butterflies to Very Hungry Caterpillars. Two babies were even dressed up as Twinkies. 

Chief nursing officer of Advocate Children’s Hospital Michelle Tracy said this yearly tradition is a fan favorite among families and staff. 

“Helping these babies dress up for Halloween is one way that we can celebrate their resilience and create the joy that they so deserve,” Tracy said to ABC News. 

Fossilized Footprints

A study published Oct. 5 reaffirmed previous age estimates of ancient human footprints at White Sands National Park in New Mexico, the Associated Press reported. Conifer pollen grains, quartz grains and aquatic plant seeds found at the site of the footprints alongside a lake in the national park were all radiocarbon dated to determine the footprints are 21,000-23,000 years old.

The roughly 60 fossilized footprints were embedded in multiple layers of calcified ancient sediment and confirmed the initial discovery of their age made in 2021, according to the study. The previous 2021 study was scrutinized for only testing the aquatic plant seeds, which could have absorbed carbon from other sources like groundwater, leading to inaccurate results.

The new confirmed age estimate challenges previous theories about the arrival of humans in North America, according to Science News. Previous research said humans only arrived on the continent around 14,000-16,000 years ago from Siberia over a land bridge, but the new estimates outline how humanity had already existed in North America for thousands of years.

Emotional Support Chickens

A family in Bangor, Maine recently won an appeal for an exemption from a local law making it illegal to own fowl and can now legally keep their group of six chickens, The Washington Post reported. The chickens are doctor-recommended emotional support animals for 25-year-old C-Jay Martin.

Despite a prescription for emotional support chickens, Martin was initially not granted an exemption from Bangor’s no-fowl law which led to the appeal. Martin named the chickens Stella, Salty, Popcorn, Cheeks, Pepper and has yet to decide on a name for the final chicken, according to The Washington Post.

Several of Martin’s neighbors came out to support him during the appeals process, testifying in support of the chickens. The family’s dog Marley and cat Spoofy also get along with the chickens, with Marley even acting as protector of the chickens, The Washington Post reported.

Have a wonderful week everyone and remember, as Bob Dylan once sang, “But as long as the world keeps a-turnin’ / I just keep a-turnin’ too / Hey, Hey, so I guess I’m doin’ fine.”

Featured Image by Lilli Malone / The Phoenix