Hippity, Hoppity - Loppy & Lizzie

Meet the two new additions to our back yard menagerie.

We adopted them from a women in Hull, Massachusetts who couldn't keep them any longer. We stopped at Nantasket Beach along the way and walked beach collecting rocks and shells. It was cold along the waters edge so we didn't stay out too long but it was peaceful none-the-less. We also stopped for a nice lunch on the way home - it was a nice afternoon!

"Loppy" is 1yo Mini Lop Buck


"Lizzie" 1yo Rex Doe


Mini Lop:
Among the oldest breeds of domesticated rabbits, lops are known for their distinctive floppy ears. There are six types of lops: French Lop, Holland Lop, Dwarf Lop, English Lop, Velveteen Lop and Mini Lop. They are very laid back rabbits, have excellent temperaments and do make wonderful house rabbits and companions. They love attention and love to be picked up, cuddled and handled. They are also very easy to house train. They have short hair which is very easy to maintain. Although lop rabbits ears are drooped to the side of the head, this in no way impairs their hearing compared to breeds with ears 'sticking up'.

Rex:
The Rex breed is distinguished by its lovely velvet fur. A medium size rabbit they can be 7-9 pounds. They come in 15 different marking and color combinations. Rex fur is a recessive genetic mutation that results in shortened guard hairs, the length of the down coat, which stick out from the body creating a plush velvet coat. The resulting coat is short and very dense, and is what would be called undercoat on a normal furred rabbit. They are full of personality and make lovely pets. They are known as good mothers and are used as foster mothers for other rabbit breeds.

Wikipedia List of Rabbit Breeds

Farm Fresh Eggs

Got three eggs today, yippie!

The egg on the left is from *Paul - Buff Orpington
The egg in the center is from either Lucy or Ethel - Black Sex-Link
The egg on the right is from New Honey - Barred Rock


* This is the last egg we'll get from Paul, as she was re-homed today. Hopefully, to a coop where she isn't picked on and chased.

Buff Orpington Paul

This is 'Paul'. Don't let the name fool you, Paul is 1 year old hen (female). I can't recall why or how the name Paul was choosen but it's stuck. We hatched her, with 4 other chicks, about this time last year, which means she's no longer a pullet but rather a hen.

Paul was the only one of the 5 chicks that we kept and truth be told she has never really fit in. The other hens; Lucy and Ethel, are constantly after her and pecking her. The missing feathers on her head, which you can see in the picture, is one indication of the abuse she receives. Even though she's picked on we still get an egg from her every day or two.

With that said, we've decided to re-home her. Someone is coming today, Sunday, to take her for her first backyard coop. Getting rid of her is not the biggest problem but rather trying to explain to Emilie that she's going and why...

Wisdom

"Death is an Entrance, not an exit"

Charles B. Frye, Jr.

July 21, 2005

Time

The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

Bertrand Russell

British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970)

Miss Lila

This is Lila, say hello to Lila - "hello Lila".

Lila is our indoor cat. She been declawed and has been delegated to indoors only. On occasions she does like to venture into the back yard and check things out. It's fenced so she can't get too far or into any trouble unless she falls into the built-in pool but one can only hope...

The St. Patrick's Day snow storm we had here in New England was one of those occasions where she ventured out. Of course this was not a decision of hers as you can see here in this picture. She wasn't too happy and didn't enjoy the snow at all and unfortunately the pool is still covered, alas.

Caterpillar Identification Assistance

The above is a picture of a caterpillar that we're trying to identify. While we're at it, can you also identify what US state this quarter represents?

This little fellow hails from the Miami Florida area - born and raised or actually hatched and currently being raised. My niece Alyssa is the proud keeper of this critter and she's doing a wonderful job raising him. We believe it's some sort of Hawk Moth, possibly a Privet Hawk Moth, but we're just not sure? Google searches return a variety of hawk moths with many of them residing in the UK, not Florida.

Perhaps this fellow will go through some changes as it continues to grow, like changing colors for example or eventually changing into a moth, that will provide us just the clue we need to make the identification.

So, if you have any ideas on what type of caterpillar this little fellow is, please post a comment.

Unique

10 Things You Shouldn't Buy New

Here they are…. (but there are exceptions to them):

1. Books
2. DVDs, CDs and videos
3. Little kids’ toys
4. Jewelry
5. Sports equipment
6. Timeshares
7. Cars
8. Software and console games
9. Office furniture
10. Hand tools

10 things you shouldn't buy new

Who is Jack Schitt?

For some time many of us have wondered just who is Jack Schitt?

We find ourselves at a loss when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt!' Well, thanks to my genealogy efforts, you can now respond in an intellectual way.

Jack Schitt is the only son of Awe Schitt. Awe Schitt, the fertilizer magnate, married O. Schitt, the owner of Needeep N. Schitt, Inc. They had one son, Jack.

In turn, Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt. The deeply religious couple produced six children: Holie Schitt, Giva Schitt, Fulla Schitt, Bull Schitt, and the twins Deep Schitt and Dip Schitt.

Against her parents' objections, Deep Schitt married Dumb Schitt, a high school dropout. After being married 15 years, Jack and Noe Schitt divorced. Noe Schitt later married Ted Sherlock, and bec ause her kids were living with them, she wanted to keep her previous name. She was then known as Noe Schitt Sherlock.

Meanwhile, Dip Schitt married Loda Schitt, and they produced a son with a rather nervous disposition named Chicken Schitt. Two of the other six children, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt, were inseparable throughout childhood and subsequently married the Happens brothers in a dual ceremony. The wedding announcement in the newspaper announced the Schitt-Happens nuptials. The Schitt-Happens children were Dawg, Byrd, and Horse.

Bull Schitt, the prodigal son, left home to tour the world. He recently returned from Italy with his new Italian bride, Pisa Schitt.

Now when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt,' you can correct them.

Sincerely,
Crock O. Schitt

Duran, Duran

Well, not exactly, his name is just Duran. However, he was named after the 80's rock band Duran Duran. One very important item to mention here is that 'WE' did not name him!

Duran is a 9 month old, neutered male, Black Tricolor Australian Shepherd. We're thinking about adopting him so we're giving him a 'test' run at our house for a few days to see how he does in general but more importantly with Emilie.

He's a beautiful, smart, energetic and surprisingly strong dog. With that said a little too rough and aggressive with Emilie but she's crazy about him just the same. He definitely needs some obedience training and more exposure with kids and animals too - he goes coo-coo when he sees our cat, chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs. Oh, and he loves to chew stuff, any stuff will do...

Black Testicles

I found this joke while reading one of my favorite blogs and found it VERY funny and thought I'd pass it along for the rest of you, enjoy!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A male patient is lying in bed in the hospital, wearing an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, still heavily sedated from a difficult four hour, surgical procedure. A young student nurse appears to give him a partial sponge bath.

Nurse", he mumbles, from behind the mask. "Are my testicles black?"

Embarrassed, the young nurse replies "I don't know, Sir. I'm only here to wash your upper body and feet."

He struggles to ask again, "Nurse, are my testicles black?"

Concerned that he may elevate his vitals from worry about his testicles, she overcomes her embarrassment and sheepishly pulls back the covers.

She raises his gown, holds his penis in one hand and his testicles in the other, lifting and moving them around.

Then, she takes a close look and says, "There's nothing wrong with them, Sir!!"

The man pulls off his oxygen mask, smiles at her and says very slowly, "Thank you very much. That was wonderful, but listen very, very closely......

A r e - m y - t e s t - r e s u l t s - b a c k ?

Tootsie Roll and M & M

'Tootsie Roll' and 'M&M'

They're not exactly candy but their names are appropriate - say hello to 'Tootsie Roll' and 'M&M'. These two Guinea Pigs (Cavies) are the newest addition to our managerie. They're both boys and cage mates that have been raised together since babies. We've had them now for just over a week. We picked them up last weekend as companions for Riley (see my previous posting titled 'Meet Riley', dated 9/13/2006).

For those of you who have not been following along, Riley is a young female Guinea Pig of ours, approximately 9 months old, that we adopted for Emilie last fall. Even though she is kept in the same area as our bunnies she seemed to be in need of a companion, or two, of the same species. They're still in separate cages for now but we can already see and hear the diffrerence, as they're constantly squeeling and chating back and forth.

Yes, they're rodents but interesting just the same...

Doggie Pet Peeves

10 pet peeves that dogs have about humans:

1. Blaming your farts on me.. not funny.. not funny at all !!
2. Yelling at me for barking.. I'M A DOG, YOU MORON!
3. Taking me for a walk, then not letting me check stuff out. Exactly whose walk is this anyway?
4. Any trick that involves balancing food on my nose... stop it!
5. Any haircut that involves bows or ribbons. Now you know why we chew your stuff up when you're not home.
6. The sleight of hand, fake fetch throw. You fooled a dog! Whoooo Hoooooooo! What a proud moment for the top of the food chain.
7. Taking me to the vet for "the big snip", then acting surprised when I freak out every time we go back!
8. Getting upset when I sniff the crotches of your guests. Sorry, but I haven't quite mastered that handshake thing yet.
9. Dog sweaters Hello ???, Haven't you noticed the fur?
10. How you act disgusted when I lick myself. Look, we both know the truth, you're just jealous.

Now lay off me on some of these thing's. We both know who's boss here!!! You don't see me picking up your poop do you ??