February 2012 – Page 2

2/16/12 – Crooked Acres Thursday

Sights from around Crooked Acres. Toasty the rooster, standing in the mud. It’s so muddy in the back forty right now, ugh. Pretty rooster with no name. Isn’t he gorgeous? Chickens near the now-full pond. That fence to the left is the back part of the pig yard. Places to go, things to do, outta … Continue reading “2/16/12 – Crooked Acres Thursday”

Sights from around Crooked Acres.

Toasty the rooster, standing in the mud. It’s so muddy in the back forty right now, ugh.

Pretty rooster with no name. Isn’t he gorgeous?

Chickens near the now-full pond. That fence to the left is the back part of the pig yard.

Places to go, things to do, outta my way!

Pretty rooster, flappity-flapping.

Ducks, waiting patiently for their scratch.

Ducks of a feather, sticking together. Always, always together, these four. If one wanders off, one of the other three will stop and call to the fourth, and wait until she (it’s usually one of the girls) comes running, then escorts her back to the group.

I’m pretty sure this is a Housefinch.

Male Housefinch (I think). We’ve got a lot of Finches coming around right now.

Cardinal keeping an eye on me through the glass.

Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse. So CUTE.

Chickadee in flight.

Goldfinches. My seedshake brings all the boids to the yard.

Chickadee flapping his wings (and Tufted Titmouse on the other side).

Mister Bluebird in my back yard.

Blurry Bluebird in the foreground, Red-Bellied Woodpecker on the Poltergeist tree (I’ve never actually seen his belly, so I can’t swear that it’s red, for the record.)

I love my bluebird. I just wish he’d stop landing in the back yard where the cats are.

Goldfinch in flight. He kinda looks like he’s walking on air with his wings all tucked away, doesn’t he?

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Groove is in the hearrrrrt!

“Okay, you stand still Jake. I’m going to climb on your back and then that bird will be MINE.”
“Yeah, dude, I don’t think so.”

“Well, FINE, if you’re going to be like THAT. I don’t need YOUR help, forgive me for TOUCHING you, you loony bastard!”

“One day, bird, you will be mine ALL MINE.”

“GAH! SO CLOSE!”

“FINALLY. Hey. This isn’t a REAL bird. What the – ?”

“That didn’t taste quite the way I’d expected.”

::fume::
(I love how his eyes match the floor.)

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Watching for moles (there was, in fact, a mole in that spot where he was watching. I successfully distracted Joe this time, thankfully.)

Joeby-Joe, the tuxie-doe…

sure does love his scratcher, yo.

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Previously
2011: No entry.
2010: Okay, so, a brief overview of the whole surgery thing.
2009: WHO CAN POSSIBLY STAY UP SO LATE?!
2008: No entry.
2007: (”Rescue me! I’m a sad little practically-orphaned waif, adrift in this cold, cruel world, wahhh! Save me! Pity me!”)
2006: So, in summary, if we are to judge all female cats by Miz Poo, then male cats are nicer, but female cats are clingier.
2005: Don’t you wish I was responsible for your books?
2004: I WANT TO FUCKING KNOW WHAT HE SAID.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001.: And almost wet my pants in terror.
2000: So, the nausea continues.

2/15/12 – Alice Wednesday

Rachael sent me the link to this story yesterday, about a cat who was frozen to someone’s driveway for 24 hours before he was rescued. You can see more about him at Facebook, and there’s a ChipIn set up to raise funds for his care, here. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ … Continue reading “2/15/12 – Alice Wednesday”

Rachael sent me the link to this story yesterday, about a cat who was frozen to someone’s driveway for 24 hours before he was rescued.

You can see more about him at Facebook, and there’s a ChipIn set up to raise funds for his care, here.

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I love this picture so hard, I just can’t even tell you. Alice showing Sally Peppers who the boss is with that outstretched paw just kills me DEAD.

Then she gives her the Alice Mo Glare of Death, like “I am NOT kidding you!”

Got it!

And now that she’s got it, she’s never going to let it go.

NEVER.

Sometimes it gets away from her despite her determination.

::LEAP!::

::JUMP!::

An entirely different day, she still keeps her eye on the birdie.

Got it!

BRAAAAAAAAAINS.

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In the evenings, when Fred is sitting in the front room reading, the cats like to gather around. First Alice gets on her heating pad, and then eventually Tommy shows up. He loves the blanket that the heating pad is sitting on so very much that he goes into a trance. He kneads. And kneads. And kneads and kneads and kneads. I call it “the long march to nowhere.”

It annoys Alice Mo to no end when Tommy marches.

She glares at him in disbelief.

And annoyance and dislike.

Tommy just pretends she isn’t there, and he marches and marches and marches forever.

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Previously
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: The back forty’s only so big, you know!
2007: BobPod, may you rest in peace.
2006: I suspect the latter, personally. Fuckers.
2005: Collab
2004: No entry.
2003: No entry.
2002: William Fichtner is a hottie.
2001: I hope I’m not doing serious damage to myself, but if you saw how clean the showers get, you’d know how much it’s worth it.
2000: I highly recommend a warm, purring kitten laying against you when you’re feeling nauseous.

2/14/12 – Tuesday

Yeah, yeah, happy Valentine’s Day. I didn’t get any cute Valentiney pictures of the cats. Maybe next year. For this year, you’ll just have to agree to be my valentine and we’ll leave it at that, mmkay? PS: Where’s my candy?? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ … Continue reading “2/14/12 – Tuesday”

PS: Where’s my candy??

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I think that fucking whore of a groundhog actually brought on winter by seeing his stupid shadow. It actually sleeted last night. SLEETED. Not two weeks ago it was so warm I had to go upstairs and put a short-sleeved t-shirt on, and now we’re getting sleet?

Fuck that.

Someone bring me the head of that rotten little rodent.

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Am I the only one who, upon hearing Adele’s Someone Like You, imagines the whole scenario from the lost love’s wife’s perspective? I mean, Adele’s at the door, all “Yeah, I hear you got married and settled down. SURPRISE! HERE I AM! Oh darling, don’t be so shy and shrink back from the light. No, no, no, don’t worry about me! I’ll be okay! I’ll find someone like you! I just want you to know that it’s not over for me, that I sob over your picture every night and all. Okay, then! Is that dinner? Got an extra plate? Oh, does your wife have to be present? She’s awfully rude, isn’t she?”

I mean, what is the protagonist of this song hoping to accomplish by SHOWING UP AT THE MAN’S HOUSE to tell him she’s not over him and she’s hoping to find someone like him? What, exactly? Okay, that’s a rhetorical question. I think WE ALL KNOW what she’s hoping, she’s hoping he’ll be like “By god, YOU ARE RIGHT, you are my ONE TRUE LOVE, let me get my car keys and let’s blow this popsicle stand!”

I imagine his wife fixing dinner and fuming about how oh GREAT, here’s Crazypants, back again to proclaim her goddamn love for MY HUSBAND, super fun times!

I wish someone famous would write and record a response to Someone Like You. That would be friggin’ awesome, wouldn’t it? Ohhhh, Pink! I think I have your next assignment!

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Miss Sally in the sun. She and Everett look SO much alike – except that Everett’s got the white whiskers, and Sally’s got the white hairs on her chest.

Miz Poo likes to watch from a distance.

Practicing his high dive for the Olympics.

Sugarbutt’s all “Who’s playing with feathers here?!”

I love Sugarbutt’s whiskers in the sun.

Sally again. See the six white hairs on her chest? Too cute!

Someone got a bit too close to Alice.

Sugarbutt, if you’re going to get the feather, you’re going to have to work on your swing.

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I think it’s been quite a while since I shared any pictures of Kara. She tends to spend most of her time outside or on top of the dryer. Lately, she’s been coming in and hanging out on the platform in the kitchen. I think it’s probably warmer than on top of the dryer, which is near the back door.

Kara with an attitude.

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Previously
2011: Easy listening songs of the 80s? Yes, please, Time Life!
2010: Won’t you be my Val-LOON-tine?
2009: SHE IS A VERY HIGH-ENERGY DOG.
2008: I imagine that when we have 40 chickens, it will be a wee bit more difficult to coax them back into their yard after they’ve escaped.
2007: I should have asked him to be my valentine, no?
2006: “Stop following me,” Sugarbutt said. “Or I shall call the gendarmes and they shall kick your ass all the way back to Paree.”
2005: “I wasn’t worried,” Fred said to me. “Because any party where the invitation suggests bringing Dance Dance Revolution pads is not one that’s going to get out of hand.”
2004: No entry.
2003: No entry.
2002: Be our valentine, bitch!
2001: Could this get any more exciting, talking about the weather?
2000: Is it wrong that hearing about that incident gives me a whole new respect for Maria?

2/13/12 – Monday

Congrats to Sarah K., who won the $50 to spend at MrChewy.com! And thank you to Mr. Chewy (and Brent) for sponsoring the giveaway! I do love a good giveaway, and I just wish everyone could have won! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ … Continue reading “2/13/12 – Monday”

Congrats to Sarah K., who won the $50 to spend at MrChewy.com! And thank you to Mr. Chewy (and Brent) for sponsoring the giveaway!

I do love a good giveaway, and I just wish everyone could have won!

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I had a good weekend, and even got a few things accomplished, despite the fact that it was FRICKIN’ COLD outside. Saturday morning I got up bright and early and headed out for South Huntsville. It was blowing and blowing on the interstate, and I was starting to think that I should have driven on surface streets instead of going on the interstate, but I finally made it there just fine.

Forgotten Felines was having a pancake breakfast at Applebee’s, they have them four (I think? Maybe three?) times a year, and I’ve been trying to get to one for pretty much the last year. Last February I was recovering from surgery, and the same in October, but this time I marked my calendar months in advance, and even if there’d been a blinding snowstorm (it actually did spit snow a little, but the wind was the worst part of Saturday) I would have gone!

Katherine met me there, and we had a good time eating breakfast and talking, and we got to chat with Suzanne (who works with Forgotten Felines and has gotten to visit the magical Crooked Acres and has been accosted by Miz Poo) and Heaven (a former Challenger’s House foster mum), and it was just fun to get out of the house and have some social time and eat some pancakes!

I spent the rest of Saturday not doing much but playing Words with Friends, reading magazines, and snoozing on the couch.

Sunday morning I got up and got a bunch of small stuff done around the house – laundry, oat bran muffin-making (recipe up next time I make them), organizing my shelf of fabric in the front room. Fun and exciting (but necessary) stuff like that.

When we got our Da Bird feather teaser for the cats, we also got two replacement feather ends. It’s not quite time to replace the feathers on the teaser, but it probably will be soon. So of course we started wondering where the hell we’d put the replacement feathers. Were they on the bookcase? In my desk? With the other cat toys? NO. I have no idea where they are. I’m 100% sure that I said “I’m going to put these here because (whatever excellent reason for putting them there)”, and equally sure that I will never ever find them until 30 years have gone by and I’ll find them behind a book or in the pantry or UP MY ASS and be like “What the hell are these?”

It’s possible that Fred put the feathers back in the box that the whole rigamarole came in, and I didn’t realize he’d done so, and then stuck the box in the garage and eventually took the box to the recycling center without realizing that the feathers were in it. It’s also possible that one of the cats saw the replacement feathers and batted them to parts unknown. Who the hell knows?

So the reason I ended up organizing my shelf of fabric in the front room is to see if perhaps for some reason I stuck the feathers in and amongst the fabric, but there was nothing in that pile but fabric.

Oh well. Now the fabric is neatly folded and organized, so there’s that.

Exciting, no?

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I actually had two exciting bird-related happenings over the weekend.

First, Friday night I was standing near the side door when I heard a loud bang. I looked out to see a Chickadee laying on the doormat, barely moving, his beak opening and closing. Birds occasionally hit the side door, but usually stand up, shake it off, and fly away. The Chickadee didn’t look like he was going to make it, but we did what we always do when we have a half alive bird on our hands. We put him in a box in a dark room and waited to see whether he was going to die or recover. Ten minutes later Fred checked on him and he was bright-eyed, so Fred took the box out onto the front porch. As soon as the box was open, the Chickadee was like “Later, sucka!” and flitted off. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of the Chickadee in captivity.

And then Saturday afternoon, I realized – this is very exciting, try to control yourselves – that we not only have a Mister Bluebird hanging around here, we also have a MISSUS Bluebird!

Dare I hope that we might one day have baby Bluebirds around here? Oh, I HOPE SO!

(I just wish that Mister and Missus would stop checking out the bug situation in the back yard, it makes Kara very excited, and she’s an excellent little hunter!)

Mister in the front, Missus in the back.

The Missus.

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The Peppers are now out in the house 24 hours a day, I don’t remember if I mentioned that. The first couple of nights were a little rough, because they were very excited about jumping on my feet if I moved them, or smacking at my eyelashes, or any number of other things that disrupted my sleep (I do not like having my sleep disrupted, thank you very much). I used the can of compressed air to teach them what was and wasn’t acceptable behavior, and now they’ll snuggle up against me and sleep, but don’t wake me up or attack my feet.

As soon as they hear me wake up and roll over in the morning, though, they’re all crawling on me, purring, and asking for love. The girls, especially, love to have their morning pettings, and would probably lay there all day and let me pet them. They’re such sweet monkeys, those Peppers.

Everett and Lucy, on the platform in the front room.

What I love here

is how Lucy’s expression

never changes. She’s like “Do you SEE what I have to put up with?!”

Sally, hanging out across the room on top of the bookcase.

“What?”

I love the attitude. I swear, she is just the sweetest thing.

I like how you can see the difference in their eye colors.

Sally, not impressed.

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This basket is always occupied. Sugarbutt has taken over for the time being. If he’s not in it, Corbie is, or Newt, or sometimes even Jake or Elwood. They love the basket, is what I’m saying.

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Previously
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: Happy Friday the 13th!
2008: “We wouldn’t want to detract from the beauty of the muddy cat footprints on the counters. But you don’t need to worry. That’s not a maggot.”
2007: I need a nap.
2006: Mystery solved. Just call me Nancy Drew.
2005: No entry.
2004: Molasses runs in her veins, I swear to god.
2003: No entry.
2002: My life? Complete again.
2001: Do I want to go sit through an eternal PTA meeting, listen to endless amounts of people babble endlessly? Um, no.
2000: No entry.

2/9/12 – Crooked Acres Thursday

One lucky person will win $50 to spend at MrChewy.com! Go enter for your chance to win before 11:59 pm Friday! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Sights from around Crooked Acres. This week, birds ‘n squirrels and … Continue reading “2/9/12 – Crooked Acres Thursday”

One lucky person will win $50 to spend at MrChewy.com! Go enter for your chance to win before 11:59 pm Friday!

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Sights from around Crooked Acres.

This week, birds ‘n squirrels and some randomness. Next week, chickens, ducks and dogs!

We moved this miniature (potted) lemon tree into the garage for the winter. This will be the first winter in several years during which we haven’t killed one citrus tree or another. (Though the winter’s not over yet, so I won’t count my lemons before they’re squeezed.)

I snapped this picture this week to share my awesome spice-organizing method. Not only do I have a neat (unpictured) spice rack over the back of the stove (you may have seen it in previous pictures), I also have two magnetic knife racks mounted under the cabinets, where I have more spices hanging. There’s also another one on the other side of the stove, where I have a couple of jars of kitty treats hanging. This works well, because it keeps the spices (and cat treats) at hand, but not cluttering up the counter. And honestly, unless you know they’re there, you probably wouldn’t notice them. Well, not the spice jars, anyway – the cat treat jars are pretty big and noticeable.

My cabbage, still hanging in there. I’m thinking I’m just not meant to be a cabbage farmer. I’m going to be 95 before they’re ready to eat – and they’re going to be tough as leather.

I chopped the catnip plants back, but didn’t pull the plants themselves up, I figured either they’d hang in there or the cold would kill them. The weather’s been so mild that the plants are pretty happy and unless it turns unexpectedly cold, I think I’ll be harvesting from them again this Summer.

Carrots! They look like they’re crowded, but I did thin them out and there’s plenty of space between them, they’re just taking forever to grow. Maybe not a carrot farmer, either?

Birdapalooza on the seed cake!

Blue Jay. Fred’s stepmother hates Blue Jays because (she says) they’re aggressive jerks. I think they’re purty, though. (He does have a wing, it’s just hidden behind the crossbar (or whatever you call it) on the window.

Male Cardinal, keeping an eye on me. I looked out one day, and counted six male Cardinals and four or five females. We’re awash in Cardinals!

Tufted Titmouse. They’re so purty.

Nuthatch!

(No Chickadee or Bluebird pictures this week, though. I haven’t seen the Bluebird in several days (I prefer to think that he found a better place to hang out) and the Chickadees are just too flitty!)

Is it just me, or does this guy (or girl) have really long, finger-like toes?

They always look so blissful when they’re eating bird seed.

“Come here, my beloved bird seed. Come ever so closer…”

When you stuff too many seeds in your mouth, some of them are inevitably going to fall out while you’re munching.

The entire time I was taking this series of pictures, birds were trying to land on the feeder to eat and then were scared off by the squirrel. That Red-Winged Blackbird on the green feeder had tried to land, got scared away, then retreated to the green feeder to keep an eye on the squirrel.

“Dude. Stop bogarting all the seeds!”

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The Peppers (and Miz Poo) gather for some of that da bird action.

A warm-up jump.

Thinking…

Everett wonders if his sister needs a smack.

But is distracted…

Nice jump for a cat without a head.

Oh gravity, you are a cruel mistress.

That is an interesting position, right there.

::LEAP::

Sugarbutt looks a little sympathetic here, doesn’t he? “Dude, that landing had to hurt!”

Sugarbutt wanders off to sharpen his claws, while Miz Poo moves in closer for a sniff at the feathers.

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Hey, Joe B., whatcha doin’?

“Well. My toes are a bit dirty, so I’m going to wash them.”

“And now that that’s done, I think I’m going to go kill and eat a mole, then vomit it up in the house. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure I do it on the rug. I wouldn’t want to mess up the hardwood floor.” ::LOVE EYES::

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Previously
2011: “I don’t know who his Mama is, but he can’t have MY DADDY.”
2010: The worst part of having surgery is having to wait for it to be time to HAVE the surgery.
2009: “They’re rejects from the nursery!”
2008: No entry.
2007: Beach Roses (fiction).
2006: Giggling like that is EXACTLY something Fred would do.
2005: Taking the day off.
2004: I don’t believe I mentioned that the Bean has tapeworms.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: And I yelled “Any fucking thing else?!”, addressing, I guess, God.
2000: Okay, so I don’t have much to say today.

2/8/12 – Kitteh Wednesday

One lucky person will win $50 to spend at MrChewy.com! Go enter for your chance to win before 11:59 pm Friday! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Not a lot of pics today – my photography assistant has … Continue reading “2/8/12 – Kitteh Wednesday”

One lucky person will win $50 to spend at MrChewy.com! Go enter for your chance to win before 11:59 pm Friday!

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Not a lot of pics today – my photography assistant has had to work late the last few days (the nerve!), and so I have gotten no action shots since this weekend. SOB.

But that’s okay, at some point he’ll be home when the sun is shining, right? ‘Til then, admire some Peppers when they’re NOT flying through the air or stalking da bird.

Everett’s got the grumpies.

I love his white whiskers so very much.

I used to have two bucket litter boxes in front of this fireplace area in the front room, then I decided to try a bigger one made out of a huge storage container. I wasn’t intending to make it be a covered one, but I thought I’d try it and see whether the cats would use it or not. Turns out the older cats don’t care for it, but the kittens think it’s AWESOME. That’s Everett on top, supervising Sally, who’s using the facilities. I’ll probably switch back to the buckets, because they’re less of a pain to scoop. How thrilled am I to have litter boxes in the front room? SO not thrilled. Would you believe that there was a time when we only had four litter boxes, and they were all in the laundry room. SIGH. Those were the days! Now we’ve got them in the laundry room, the guest bedroom, the front room, the upstairs bathroom, and the foster room. Some days it feels like I do nothin’ but scoop!

Lucy, hanging out on my desk.

She’s such a sweet girl.

Everett has a new skill. I’m thrilled by this, I’m sure you can imagine.

This is where the Peppers like to spend their days. The girls are on the cat tree, Everett’s on top of the bookcase.

Sally, annoyed.

Everett, ignoring.

Sally again. See the green around her pupils? So pretty!

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Miz Poo, the old lady, hanging in there. She’s a mess, but so so sweet.

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Previously
2011: Now if Friday would just GET HERE already, I’d be happy!
2010: I don’t know how on earth we’re ever going to dig out from under all that.
2009: No entry.
2008: Which of your cats, if they were human, would you actually want to hang around the most?
2007: I judiciously left off the “You fucking motherfucking asshole.” part.
2006: And then the spud said “Is he trying to go to Narnia?”
2005: I’ll take my anonymous life, thank you.
2004: No entry.
2003: No entry.
2002: “What?” he said. “I WASN’T geeky!”
2001: No entry.
2000: Tomorrow, I’m going to go see Dr. Judy for my ear, out of which I still cannot hear anything but constant white noise.

2/7/12 – Tuesday

One lucky person will win $50 to spend at MrChewy.com! Go enter for your chance to win before 11:59 pm Friday! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Did I mention that I had my yearly appointment with my … Continue reading “2/7/12 – Tuesday”

One lucky person will win $50 to spend at MrChewy.com! Go enter for your chance to win before 11:59 pm Friday!

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Did I mention that I had my yearly appointment with my gynecologist last week? It hardly seems fair that I had my uterus and ovaries removed and still have to go see her every year. Stupid ovaries; one of them was adhered to my bladder by endometrial cells. Or kidney or some other organ in the area, I don’t even remember anymore. Probably my bladder. That’s in the right area for that to happen, right? I swear to you, I have zero clue where any organs in my body are located. She could have told me it was stuck to the inside of my left eyelid, and I would have been “Yeah, I feel like I’ve heard of that happening…”

Of course, seeing as how I’m on the estrogen patch (and OTC progesterone cream), I have to go back and see her once a year so I can get a prescription for the patch. I’m not sure I’d be so ready to go see her every year if I didn’t need that prescription, so it’s probably good that I do have to go see her for it.

Between the appointment in early January with my Gastroenterologist (my lab numbers looked so good he said I can go to seeing him once a year instead of every six months), my appointment at the end of January with my Primary Care doc, and my appointment late last week with my Gyn, I do believe I’m done for the year with doctors.

Except that I just remembered I need to make an eye appointment. Maybe I’ll put that off for a few months. I’m pretty sure I’m about at the point where I’m going to need reading glasses (ohhhhh how I laughed when I was a kid and my parents had to hold something at arm’s length to read it. Who’s laughing NOW, Young Robyn? ‘Cause it sure as shit ain’t Blind Old Robyn.) and ugh. Given that I can barely walk from one side of the house without misplacing my ass, I’m not looking forward to needing to keep track of reading glasses.

I know, I know, get a tether (or whatever the fuck it’s called) and let my reading glasses hang around my neck when I don’t need them. Only, do you know how many times a day I almost hang myself by the headphones cord to my iPod? Oh, that drives me crazy.

Anyway.

I had an appointment with the surgeon who performed my gastric bypass (we just passed six years since I had the surgery!), but a week before the appointment, his office called. They said that he’d retired, and they were going to reschedule the appointment with his partner, who was taking over his practice. So I rescheduled the appointment, and then when the office was closed I called back AND I CANCELED IT. Oh, yes I did.

I find it exceedingly odd that he up and retired with very little notice (his name is actually on the answering machine message at the office), given that he can’t be older than in his mid-50s, if that. It makes me curious as to what the real story is there. What it DOESN’T make me want to do is keep going back to that office. For the past six years, I’ve dreaded my appointment at that office. I’ve actually seen my surgeon’s partner before, and if it’s possible, he has even less of a bedside manner than my surgeon does. My PCP can monitor all my important blood tests, and if there’s something that needs to be done – if I need an iron transfusion (which I haven’t in two years) or whatever, she can refer me to the pertinent specialist.

I am aware that I need to do a six-year update at OneFatbitchypoo. I’ll get to it when I do. I have to tell you, I’m not much interested in OneFatBitchypoo anymore and I have to force myself to update over there (which I haven’t done in a year, so there you go.) There’ll be something up by the end of the month. Probably.

So, there you go. The state of me: healthy. A bum shoulder (hate physical therapy), crappy vision, but my blood pressure is so fantastic it makes triathlon runners gnash their teeth in jealousy, my cholesterol is super-awesome (did you know I eat a scrambled egg every day for breakfast? Sometimes two if I’m hungry and they’re small.), and I don’t look a day over 63 1/2.

I call that good enough.

Last year at this time, I was gearing up for my breast lift/ upper arm lift/ chin lift surgery. The year before at this time, I was gearing up for my hysterectomy (in retrospect, I suspected I was going to come out of that goddamn surgery without my ovaries. Stupid endometriosis.). This year, no surgery. 2012 is the Year of No Surgery.

(Every time I say that, I can feel my appendix getting ready to burst.)

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Sally and Everett (pardon the blur), keeping watch on da bird.

I need to make a video – that Everett gets some serious hang time when he jumps.

Jumpin’ Sally. I love the look on Everett’s face, like “Wait. I’m the only Pepper who’s allowed to jump around here!”

Lucy comes over to check out the form on these jumps.

Everett takes a break from jumping to show the correct waltzing form.

Everett senses that for some reason, he should feel annoyed…

“What is it that has me so annoyed right now?”

“SO annoyed.”

Does Alice look pleased with herself, or what?

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Alice, fangin’.

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Previously
2011: Here, have some more exclamation points!
2010: Petsmart kitties.
2009: “IF I GET PIG SHIT ON ME, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!”
2008: Please don’t tell me she’s a flighty mess in real life.
2007: She became entirely liquid somehow, and flowed through my fingers and across the room, ending up under the bed.
2006: I think that the next thing Apple should create is a cell phone/ iPod player.
2005: Yes, I use the same kind of lotion as my CAT.
2004: No entry.
2003: Anyway. Enough about my underwear.
2002: You’ve been warned, skank hos out there who would swoop down upon my husband in his grief and get him to marry you.
2001: Yeah, that’s me, not giving a shit if they can see me or not…
2000: Really, what other journaller will thrill you with pictures from the litter box?

2/6/12 – Monday

One lucky person will win $50 to spend at MrChewy.com! Go enter for your chance to win before 11:59 pm Friday! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ New one over at Dinosaurs Can’t Eat Pizza! Spoiler: we made … Continue reading “2/6/12 – Monday”

One lucky person will win $50 to spend at MrChewy.com! Go enter for your chance to win before 11:59 pm Friday!

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New one over at Dinosaurs Can’t Eat Pizza! Spoiler: we made Lemon Squares this week!

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Good lord, WHAT a weekend. We spent all weekend dealing with getting the hosting on all our domains switched over, and waiting for the nameservers to propogate and all that. Things might still look odd at Bitchypoo, but hopefully that’ll resolve in the next few days.

It was a gray and rainy weekend, but at least it was warm. I ended up switching from a hoodie to a short-sleeved t-shirt Saturday afternoon, and wore one all weekend long. I am certainly not complaining about this mild winter – our utility bill was the least it’s been for January since we moved into this house, and in fact it was about half of what it was last January (last winter was really cold – I think this winter is definitely making up for the cold and the snow we had to suffer through last year).

Hmm. I really have nothing of interest to say about my weekend because nothing particularly exciting happened. We just hung out. Did a few things around the house. Vegged. And messed around with moving my sites to the new host. Exciting, no?

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The good news: Clay was adopted Friday night! That means that all the Sons have been adopted and I have no kittens at Petsmart!

Everett, Lucy, and Sally Peppers will be here for another two weeks, and then we’ll start rotating them through at Petsmart. Hopefully the two black cats who are already there – the bear cubs – will be adopted by then. The adoption counselor on Saturday, Lisa, said that at least two people said they don’t like black cats. One of them said that they’re “boring.” Jerks.

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More good news! Do you remember Mary Margaret, who we called Maggie?

(I hope you realize that that’s a rhetorical question I ask, just so that I can show some pictures of her from when she was here!)

She came to use in mid-March, pregnant. I expected her to birth those babies at any moment. I decided that all her babies were going to have Irish names, because I was so sure she’d have them on or around St. Patrick’s Day.

She waited almost three weeks. This was her the day before she birthed those babies:

I was so sure she was going to have her babies in the middle of the night when I would be asleep and thus not able to witness the miracle of birth – but she had them on a Saturday morning!

One of my favorite baby pictures. That’s Finnegan.

She birthed six babies, five boys and one girl.

Hee.

She was a fantastically wonderful momma, and when I brought home three little girl kittens (Clove, Coriander, and Cilantro) who were probably taken from their momma too soon, Maggie took them on as her own without a second thought.

This was not an unusual sight. Maggie let all six of her babies AND the three Spice Girls nurse way past the time when she should have cut them off. Sometimes we’d lock her away in the foster room so she could have a little time to herself. But she didn’t like to do that for very long, she was always concerned about what her babies were doing and whether they might need her.

When the babies were three months old, Maggie and five of the six (Ciara needed to stay with us for a bit longer because she wasn’t feeling well) went to Petsmart. I had to put a note on Maggie’s cage (she was in a cage by herself and the five kittens were in another cage) so that when the cleaners let the cats out to play, they’d keep an eye on Maggie so that the babies wouldn’t nurse. Lisa told me that she looked away for a few seconds, and in that time one of the babies latched on and was nursing, and Maggie was totally allowing it.

Good with the babies, was our Maggie.

Maggie was at Petsmart for about two weeks when she was adopted. I was honestly surprised that she was adopted so quickly, because it was the middle of kitten season, when adults tend to sit at Petsmart for weeks and weeks while everyone adopts the kittens. I had already made sure that Fred knew that if Maggie was at Petsmart for a month, she was coming home for some R & R. Then off she went, to her new home!

I tell you all this so that I can tell you that late last week I heard from Maggie’s dad! So without further yammering on my part, here’s the update (and some pics!) on Maggie.

Alex says:

When we adopted Maggie, Sara (my girlfriend) and I already had a cat named Tucker. We’d had Tucker for over a year. He’s an orange tabby. When we went to PetSmart, we chose Maggie because we thought that having a big brother would offer her a chance to be a kitten since she lost that being a mother so young. The first week, of course, was rough, but eventually, the hissing stopped and now they are good siblings. They antagonize each other from time to time but all in good spirit.

©Alex R.

It wasn’t long that we discovered Maggie’s love of all things mint. I find it adorable that she wants to give kisses to anyone after they have just brushed their teeth. On more than one occasion, Maggie has been seen digging through Sara’s purse looking for gum. Though I wouldn’t call her a snuggler, we recently discovered one of Maggie’s greatest traits. Sara and I drove up to Wisconsin to visit Sara’s family; we brought Tucker and Maggie. Tucker, in this new environment, was constantly hiding from Sara’s family and other cat, Bailey. Sara’s family was not impressed with Tucker. Sara and I assume we have spoiled him so much that he is only comfortable around us. Maggie, on the other hand, didn’t hesitate to explore the house. She doesn’t actively see out attention, but she doesn’t run away when someone moves toward her.

©Alex R.

Nowadays, my greatest amusement from Maggie comes when I get out of the shower. First off, boy does she love water. She will stick her head under a running faucet just to get a drink. Anyway, as I get out of the shower (towel on), I will lean over to Maggie who has been waiting. She will literally climb onto my head and start rubbing her head against my wet hair. She will bite my head from time to time. It’s so cute, I can barely stand it.

©Alex R.

Overall, Maggie is doing great. We shower her with love and affection (more than she probably wants). She runs around our apartment with her big brother. I’m sure you always wonder if your cats went to a good home. I promise you, Maggie has.

©Alex R.

Thank you so much for the update, Alex! I had no doubt that Maggie’s new family would have to love her, because she was one awesome cat when she was with us – and that was with six (and then nine!) little kittens demanding an awful lot from her. She was always calm and so very good with them.

Don’t y’all love a happy ending?

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Saturday night, I decided it was time to let the Peppers stay out of the foster room overnight. I’ve found that once kittens get the run of the house, it takes about two weeks before they start balking at being shut away for six hours. Since I have no desire to chase down the Peppers every night, I decided I’ve give them what they wanted.

They were pretty wild and my feet were attacked several times over the course of the night, but they’ve learned to respect the can of compressed air (I don’t even have to spray it in their general direction, just pick it up, and off they run). I’m sure that as time goes by, they’ll learn to behave themselves and let me sleep. I like my sleep, you see, and I don’t really put up with being harassed at night. They can harass me all they’d like during the day, but NOT at night, thank you very much.

Sweet Miss Sally. Aren’t her eyes neat?

If you look closely, you can see my reflection in her eye.

Corbie and Everett keep their eye on da bird.

Sally does, too.

Miz Poo even jumped in for a swipe!

Flying through the air with the greatest o’ ease.

He’s flyyyyyyyying!

Corbie and Sally observe.

::thlurrrrp::

Always attentive when da bird is around.

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It’s a Newtie in a sink.

“What? Where am I SUPPOSED to take a nap?”

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Previously
2011: No entry.
2010: They did not care for Jake and Elwood, is what I’m saying.
2009: Pigs = stomachs on legs.
2008: At one point I turned around to say something to Sugarbutt, who was sitting by the screen door leading to the back yard, smacking at the cat door, and I saw every single chicken sitting on the back steps, staring expectantly at me, hoping I’d send some food their way.
2007: God. That sounds just like a herd of elephants, I thought.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: I DON’T KNOW YOU, I CAN’T CHAT WITH YOU, PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE.
2003: Pictures found.
2002: That’s just the kind of sucky slacking emailer I am.
2001: You know, if I had ANY self-control at all, I’d wait to buy these books ’til they come out in paperback.
2000: No entry.

2/3/12 – Friday

Please note: This post was written on the mirror site, and I’m just cutting and pasting it over here since they finally got the server up and running. Obviously, this horseshit is unacceptable to me, so this weekend we’ll be moving Bitchypoo to a new host. Things will likely look odd here for the next … Continue reading “2/3/12 – Friday”

Please note: This post was written on the mirror site, and I’m just cutting and pasting it over here since they finally got the server up and running.

Obviously, this horseshit is unacceptable to me, so this weekend we’ll be moving Bitchypoo to a new host. Things will likely look odd here for the next couple of days. I’m hoping to get things back to normal by Monday. If it’s past 6 am Monday morning February 6th (Central time) and you’re still seeing this, then click on over to the mirror site, okay? Be patient, things will all work out eventually, I promise!

I know how frustrating it is to keep trying to get to a site only to have it not come up. I can promise you guys that if I were to decide to yank Bitchypoo down (and rest assured that I have no plans to do so), I will at the very least post something letting you know, okay? Okay!

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So, the host that hosts Bitchypoo is currently on my shit list. If you managed to get here to the mirror site, I’m glad. (I am thinking that once things are back to normal, I need to start up a mailing list for times such as these so people who keep trying to get to my site aren’t left swinging in the breeze.) At the time of this writing (Thursday evening – you knew that I write my posts the night before and then set them to publish at 6:00 my time the next morning, yes?) it’s still not up, though they’re slowly, slowly, ever so slowly working on restoring it.

Also, they sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. Oh, OKAY. As long as you sincerely apologize! Fuckers. I mean, I know there’s not really anything they can do except what they’re doing, but if they perhaps showed up in my yard and set themselves on fire as a form of apology, I might be a little more inclined to be lenient. As it is, I have no love for the company “hosting” Bitchypoo.com and Robynanderson.com and oh yeah OneFatBitchypoo.com (and holy crap I have too goddamn many domains) and I’ll be moving everything to a new host as fast as I can nag Fred into doing so.

So there’s that.

Also, I would ordinarily do a post wherein I answered questions that were asked on Bitchypoo as well as questions that were asked on Love and Hisses, but I cannot get to the Bitchypoo comments due to the site being down. So if you asked something important last week on Bitchypoo, please feel free to ask again.

This is so annoying, y’all. SO ANNOYING. But I have to say that I’m impressed with how coolly I’m handling it. Whereas normally I’d be stomping around weaving a web of profanity that would send the cats into hiding (okay, not ALL the cats – Spanky’s the only one who takes my top-volume swearing personally and huffs off to find a quieter spot to hang out), I’ve only been occasionally sighing and saying “Can you fucking believe this?” to myself. I mean, there’s not anything I can do but wait, so wait I shall.

Those fuckers. I cannot wait to cancel my account with them and then write a scathing entry about how much I hate them.

Anyway. On to the question-answering!

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The awesome Kelly, who adopted the 10 year-old (is that right, Kelly, he’s 10?) black cat has this update for us:

New little old man kitty is making a phenomenal transition. He is the sweetest, gentlest, most smooshable kitty ever… loves to be held, purrs all of the time, and is far more playful than I expected an 11 year old cat to be (He can chase his tail at light speed when high on catnip). Today was his first adventure out of the master suite and into general population. He spent the first hour in the sink of the half-bath off the kitchen so he could watch undetected, but so far not a single hiss, growl, or complaint from him or either of the other two cats. I’m thinking we can call this a successful house panther adoption. The biggest issue is that I can’t find him in the dark.

I’m amazed at how calm this house is. The other two cats aren’t thrilled, but their only “lashing out” comes in the form of eating all of his food.

We’ve named our house panther “Norman”. He generally prefers the full formal name, but to tell you the truth he’d be somewhat disappointed if you didn’t call out “NORM!” as he enters the room.

Okay, I might have laughed out loud upon reading that the other two cats “lash out” by eating all of Norman’s food. They’re like “::chomp::chomp::chomp:: THAT’S RIGHT, NORMAN! TAKE THAT! ::chomp::chomp::chomp::”

I’m so glad to hear that I’m not the only one who greets their cats. As I move through the house, if a cat is laying somewhere (there’s always a cat laying SOMEwhere, of course) and looks up at me, I greet them by name.

Also, Kelly – among others – mentioned that it’s not easy to get good pictures of black cats. That is SO true, and the only advice I have on the topic is to get pictures of them near a sunny window whenever possible. Natural light is always best (though I read someone’s opinion recently wherein she stated that pictures taken in direct sunlight are “harsh”. I don’t agree with that, some of (a lot of) my best pictures are taken in sunlight or on bright and sunny days. But then, I am NOT a professional photographer, nor am I someone who’s handy with Photoshop, so what do I know?) Also, if you can snap a million pictures, surely SOME of them have to come out – that’s my favorite way of doing it. Just keep snappin’ ’til something comes out!

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How do you make your seed blocks?

Like this!

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re: interactive kittens.. have you seen this?

That is so neat! They really do think of everything, don’t they?

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So, the picture of the Peppers and Tommy makes me think of how my husband and I have become convinced that all black cats belong to a secret black cat society, networked across the country, kind of like the Masons. Or clones. We started this because we used to have a wonderful black cat (he lived to be 18!) and when we were out and about we would keep running into black cats who looked just. like. him. Like, exactly the same – so we decided they all had to be connected, like a hivemind of black cats. They identify each other by number, and have annual meetings at which they gather and agree with everything everyone says (“Excellent point, number 237!” “Indubitably, number 17!” “I concur, number 802!”).

Okay, so maybe we get a little too into our cats’ fantasy lives…

I love this idea so very, very, VERY much!

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Pepsi is so gorgeous! Could you explain what you mean when you say that she’s “intense”? I’d describe my Rebus as intense too, but I’m not sure if our definitions match… By the way, he also does that sniffing-every-millimetre-of-my-hands thing when I’ve been petting another cat — it’s hilarious!

What I mostly mean by “intense” is that it seemed like Pepsi was going to snap at any moment and take me down. A little too free with the claws, that girl. The first time I stupidly let her out into the cat room at Petsmart with the kittens, she was a bit of a whirling dervish, hissing and smacking at any kitten within reach, and I ultimately had to kind of herd her back into her cage with the dustpan.

(Don’t give me that horrified look, I wasn’t beating her with it, I was just kind of guiding her with it so she wouldn’t flay me open with her sharp, sharp claws.)

When I let her out of her cage the next time I cleaned, I let her out to run around and play first, and she was much better, though still kind of looked like she wanted to snap. I’m sure that part of her attitude was due to her being at Petsmart for a long time before she was adopted. Hopefully in her new home, she’ll calm down after a bit – though as I said, the fact that she smacked at the people who were interested in adopting her didn’t stop them from adopting her. They wanted a cat with sass – they got her!

PS: I adore this picture of her so very much, perhaps I’ve mentioned?

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You are lucky you have that little bumper along the bottoms of the cages! In our PetSmart cat room, there is a space under there that the cats love to go hide in, and which is really hard to get them out of. It even has a teeny gap all along the other side where passers-by can put their fingers or their doggy noses into. I wish we could block up that area!

and

Oh, clever, looks like you have a storage drawer taking up the space beneath the cages. One of the centers we rotate through has that cage type with the space underneath, and it can be a bit of trouble to get shy cats out from under the cages if they decide to take refuge there. A drawer would both give more storage space (which is lacking) and remove the problems of kitties hiding out of reach under the cage.

Back when I very first started volunteering for Challenger’s House, there was nothing blocking under those cages. We weren’t able to let the cats run around and play because they could slip under the cages and out into the store. Eventually, an awesome Challenger’s House volunteer (I think) made those bumpers that fit under the cages. They’re not actually drawers, they just look like it. Each one is basically three pieces of wood nailed (maybe screwed or glued – I haven’t looked that closely at them, actually) together, and they slide into place to block the under cage area, making it possible for us to let the cats out to run around and not have to worry about them escaping. It’s really, really nice to be able to let them do that!

By the way, I was out running errands yesterday morning, and I stopped by Petsmart to peek in on Clay. He was flopped out across the bed in his cage, sound asleep. Such a little cutie pie.

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This one just makes me laugh and laugh. I think of it any time little ones go off for the snip snip. Have you see it?

Ha – no, I had not seen it, that is awesome!

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I might need an estimate for shipping a black cat or three up to Michigan. Since we already have a black cat, my husband will never notice an extra few. They just have to promise to take turns being in the same room with him. “What’s that dear? Norman’s whiskers turned white? How fabulous!” or maybe “Now honey, there’s no way that Norman has become a girl. Is it time for your yearly eye exam?” (Kidding, kidding… he’d never be that perceptive.)

Five bucks says you could make him think he’s nuts. “I’m sorry, you’re saying you see… two black cats? Over there? I… there’s only Norman. Are you feeling okay?” Ha!

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Robyn, I’m so frustrated with my lazy (YOUNG!) Barney-cat – this dude will NOT jump for Da Bird no matter HOW we try to get him to do so! What are your tricks for motivating lazy cats (or don’t you have any lazy cats)??

Andrea answered this one pretty much the same way I would have:

Wendy, some kitties are birders and some are mousers, try dragging da bird, maybe your kitty’s more a ground attack agent. Star always was until Leo came along. I think his leaping inspired her. She still prefers things that run (fast!) along the floor to anything in the air, but she tries!

I do have cats who prefer to chase things on the ground instead of jumping for things. Jake and Elwood and Sugarbutt are our jumpers, but most of the others prefer to just watch the other cats jump, and then run after toys that are dragged along the floor.

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Please please please tell me you and Fred double team to get those great da bird shots! I just cannot swing da bird AND get pictures that you can actually tell what’s going on in by myself. I gotta either get someone else to take the pictures or do da bird or I get nothing! And you get some AMAZING shots! So if you tell me you did that all by yourself, I’m gonna have to hang up my camera and leave the field!

Oh, definitely – Fred runs da bird, I run da camera. 🙂 I can’t imagine trying to get those shots with one hand while waving da bird with the other. It would never work!

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How do you stay so serene when the kitties are hissing and smacking each other? When my little monster bella is picking fights with the big kitties I just about come out of my skin. I know cat tiffs are 90% noise, but I can’t stop myself from breaking it up.

I handle it better some times than others, actually. Most of the time I’m used to the occasional hissing, and like in the pictures of Sugarbutt and Sally, there was never any contact, just smacking in the general direction of each other, and then Sugarbutt stomping around posturing and hissing. As long as there’s not contact between cats, I let them work it out. If there’s light contact between them (one cat smacking another once or twice), I’ll keep an eye on them, and usually that’s about the worst that it gets, a couple of smacks and someone stomping off. Anything more serious than that, and I break it up and make one of them go off to another room.

Honestly, sometimes even the light hissing and smacking gets on my nerves, depending on my mood, and I’ll break it up and make one of them go to the other end of the house, even if it’s not all that serious.

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What “style” of puppy are George and Gracie? I would love one!! They look so floofy and soft, and any animal that likes kisses is my type of animal.

They are Great Pyrenees, a breed which is meant to be livestock guardians. Their job is to protect the chickens, which they do wonderfully.

This is what they looked like when we brought them home three years ago. They were about five months old, and at the time I thought “These guys are HUGE!” Ha. Now I look at the pictures of them and think “They were so tiny!”

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Everett sure does like to use his claws when he’s jumping for da bird. (Sally, jumping at the same time, shows her claws as well.)

Corbie, giving it a try.

Moving to the other side of the front room, more kitties decide to get involved.

Smilin’ Corbie, smacking at da bird.

And here goes Elwood…

He can jump high for a fat cat, no?

Oh my god! Corbie! WATCH OUT! HE’LL CRUSH YOU! Corrrrrrrrrrbieeeeeeeeeeeee!

Oh. Or maybe he’ll just land next to you. Okay, then.

“I saw my life flash before my eyes, and MY GOODNESS am I gorgeous.”

I call this one “invisible urinal.”

Sometimes a kitty’s just gotta dance.

It looks like Elwood’s got a bit of the loony going on himself! (Corbie’s face in the background, all “What the – ?” cracks me up too!)

“I am Lucy Peppers, and I disapprove of this nonsense.”

Corbie and Elwood resting while keeping watch on da bird.

Annnnnnd smack!

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I know, you saw pictures of Corbie up there, but. Um. What’s your point? Are you saying you don’t want to see more Corbie? You know you do!

It’s a Corbie in a basket!

Da Corbs.

2/2/12 – Crooked Acres Thursday

Happy Alabama Gives day! What, you ask, is Alabama Gives day? Why, it’s this: February 2nd is your opportunity to join thousands of Alabamians in being part of a history making event that aims to raise millions of dollars for hundreds of Alabama nonprofits in just 24 hours. Inspired by other Gives Days in the … Continue reading “2/2/12 – Crooked Acres Thursday”

Happy Alabama Gives day!

What, you ask, is Alabama Gives day? Why, it’s this:

February 2nd is your opportunity to join thousands of Alabamians in being part of a history making event that aims to raise millions of dollars for hundreds of Alabama nonprofits in just 24 hours. Inspired by other Gives Days in the nation, Alabama Gives Day provides nonprofits an opportunity to showcase the impact of the incredible work they do that helps improve the quality of life for everyone in our state.

Challenger’s House is one of the nonprofits you can donate to on Alabama Gives Day if you’d like, and you could do that here if you’d like!

For that matter, you could also donate directly to Challenger’s House if you wanted – scroll to the bottom of the page here to find out how!

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Sights from around Crooked Acres
(There isn’t a big variety this week; I was more interested in shooting pictures of wildly jumping and flailing kittens than going outside and shooting chicken/ duck/ dog pics.)

They aren’t as bright and showy as the males, but I think that female Cardinals are just gorgeous.

Toasted marshmallow rooster (Toasty) would like you to know that he’s the man.

::flippity flap::

::en pointe::

::thinking about it::

Giving me the side eye to see if I’m impressed (I’m not).

::flippity flap::

::flap::

Check out those pretty feathers!

We call this move, where he lifts up the feathers around his neck, “Umbrella neck.” They usually do it when they’re facing off with other roosters, but apparently it’s a flirtation technique with Toasty, here.

Myself, I’m still not impressed. The hens, on the other hand, do seem to be gathering around!

This young rooster tends to stay out of the way. He knows that Toasty can kick his tailfeathers all over the back forty!

Gracie, mid head-shake.

Still shakin’ those ears. Silly girl.

George guards his favorite (for the moment) stick.

::thlurp::

“I sure wish it was snack time. I’d eat my treat, and then I’d lick my lips just like this!”

“I wonder if I can scare you into giving me a snack. Rrrrrrrrr. RRRRRRRRRRRRR! Hm. Not scared, huh?”

About as terrifying as a roving band of kittens, these two. Actually, the kittens would be scarier.

For the record, George and Gracie enjoy kisses on top of their heads. In case you ever get to see them in person, keep that in mind.

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Sally would like you to know…

that her sleepy brother Everett…

is not the only Pepper who has awesome claws.

See?

Everett in the window.

Sally’s thinking about heading up to the platform for a nap.

Maybe not.

(I promise, I’ll try to get more pictures of Lucy. She tends to stay away from the crowd – not that she’s unfriendly, she just likes her quiet time, I guess.)

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Videos! These have been sitting on my hard drive for weeks. The first one is from the very first time the ducks came out of the pond and then went back in.

The second one is Sugarbutt, Jake, and Elwood racing around like mad after the laser pointer light.

And WARNING! This next one contains profanity at the end (and it’s not very long). We were out in the back forty and I was having issues with the camera. I’d think it was recording, and would realize it wasn’t (so I missed some good duck video, grrr), and then I thought it was NOT recording, and when I looked I found that it was, so in my exasperation I let some profanity (yes, the “f” word, for one) fly. You have been warned!

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Jobey Joe the Tuxie-do.

Sure does love his nappin’, yo.

He is just the sweetest boy, I’m telling you.

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