Blue Sky Times: Tortured Poets, Otters and Owls

The sun is finally setting after 5 p.m. here in Chicago, which means longer and brighter days are approaching quickly. While we move through these last couple months of winter, remember to keep making each of your days sunnier and happier. Here are this week’s good news stories. 

New Album for the Swifties

Taylor Swift surprised fans with the announcement of a new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” which will be released April 19, according to Swift’s website. 

Swift announced the release of the new album during her acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards Feb. 4 after receiving the award for Best Pop Vocal Album, according to the Associated Press. Her album, “Midnights,” was released Oct. 21, 2022, and also won Album of the Year.

Some Swifties speculated she would be announcing the re-release date for “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” when her website appeared to be shut down in black and white in the hours leading up to the awards ceremony, according to AP. 

Sea Otters Preventing Coastal Erosions

Conservation efforts with sea otters are proving to be the solution to the prevention of coastal erosion, ABC News reported.  

Sea otters were almost hunted to extinction for their pelts in the 18th and 19th centuries but after years of conservation efforts, their population has begun to recover which has been helping secure the environment as they expand to different areas, according to ABC News. 

Conserving the sea otter populations is a temporary solution to the coastal erosion problem as it prevents threats such as sea level rise, pollution and hydrology changes.

Sea otters are also top predators and eat crabs, which eat pickleweeds. The pickleweed is important to the ecosystem because its roots keep the creek bank stable and prevent erosion, according to Harvard University. Because the otters are eating more crabs, less pickleweeds are getting eaten.  

Flaco the Owl

Over a year has passed since vandals cut a Eurasian Owl free from his Central Park Zoo enclosure — an event none could have predicted would have snowballed into the massive stardom of Flaco the Owl, The New York Times first reported last February. Since his sudden thrust into both the wilds of New York City and stardom, Flaco has captured hearts across the city and learned to survive all on his own.

A bona fide celebrity, Flaco has inspired over ten articles in just The New York Times in only his first year of freedom with countless more among other publications. His story was recounted on Late Night with Seth Meyers, he was anointed a genuine New Yorker by NPR columnist Scott Simon and he was analyzed by Times literary critic Michiko Kakutani as an outlaw-hero.

As Flaco begins his second year of independence, he continues to charm residents of the city and beyond with his bright orange eyes and impressive wingspan, The New York Times reported. Despite a rough start, Flaco has become an underdog success story for anyone feeling out of place.

Have a great week everyone and remember, as Cass Elliot once sang, “You gotta make your own kind of music / Sing your own special song.”