Llama Herds Galore

We've come across quite a few farms that raise llama during our ride-abouts -

After leaving our farm yesterday afternoon, we took back roads on our way to Johnson City.  What a fantastic drive!  The farms, open land and views were tremendous!

Good looking animals I must say.

Shush!

Cat on a hot tin roof -

Seems like an odd spot for a "cat" nap.

BFF's

Frick and Frack!

These two get along and are fine together, perhaps even 'bonded' but Trixie is the one in charge.  Basically, she tolerates Oliver and will let him know when it crosses the line.

That being said, he is forever sitting and watching over Trixie when she's sleeping.  Sometimes playfully waiting to pounce but mostly it seems like he's concerned and keeping a close eye on her -

Wicked smaht these two, taking advantage of and lounging in the sun -

Me on the other hand, well lets just say that I am NOT a cat person AND I'm tired of searching each room in the house every morning, like hunting eggs on Easter morning, with fingers crossed hoping they're all cat vomit free, GRRR. Despise finding signs of him up on the counter, DOUBLE GRRR (if I ever catching him, OY VEY) and being unable to have house plants because he eats them, ASS!

Fairly certain that come the warmer weather, which is right around the corner, Oliver is going to become a full time outdoor cat, HOORAY!!

Pets Don't Know We Turned Clocks Back

Honestly, I do!

There are a number of reasons too but let's start with this one, which happened to me this morning -

Trixie has NO idea the clocks have been turned back.  Her internal clock is still operating on DST, so she's had me up at 4:00ish every morning this past week to let her outside to do her business.

This morning was no different, so up I got.  Well at 4:00ish it's still very much dark out.  Since my plan was to go back to bed I didn't turn on any lights, instead I simply make my way downstairs.  This hasn't been a problem in the past, however, a different story today!

As a made my way down the hallway and turned to head down the stairs I stepped in something wet and squishy!  I mean I "stepped in it" with the ball and toes of my left foot, YUCK!

Well, the no lights things went out the window, as I immediately flipped on the hallway lights and as I suspected there lay a pile of cat hair vomit, GRRR!

Instead of letting Trixie out to do her thing, then crawling back into my warm bed, I was on bended knees cleaning cat puke off the carpet, screaming and swearing like a drunken sailor!

Needless to say I was NOT and I am STILL NOT happy, nor was I able to go back to bed, as I was too jacked up.

In the midst of that event I made the decision that the cat HAS TO GO, which I am still very much adamant about even now some 10 hours later!

I'm a firm believer that the best kind of cat is a dead cat!

Adventures of Trixie & Oliver

A couple things about these pics - 

First, please ignore how bad the linoleum looks. I know it's bad, alas!

Second, Oliver is forever sitting close to Trixie when she's sleeping.  Not sure if he's keeping guard or worried or senses something, perhaps he's simply waiting for the opportunity to jump in that bed. I like to think he's keeping a watch because he's concerned about his buddy. 

Third, ever since I pulled out the winter pet blankets and placed them in the pet beds, Trixie is forever wrestling with hers. She'll scratch at it, flip it here and there with her nose, all seemingly to arrange it to her liking and comfort.  It's comical to watch but what's even funnier is where her bad ends up when she's done.  The picture below is just one example and as you can see it's in the middle of the kitchen and she's perfectly content and napping away, HA.  I'll move it back to where my OCD wants its, even when she's in it, and I'll usually open the blanket and drape it back over her bed when she's up and she will then go at it remake her bed to her liking before settling back in.

Seems Trixie just might have picked up some of my OCD tendencies, the poor thing...

Throwback Picture

Here's a throwback picture of Sasha, our dog we had growing up back in the 80's.  We got her as a wee puppy from the Canton dog pound.  She turned out to be the best dog we ever had.

Nail Care

I gave Jack 2.0 a mani-pedi the other day.

He settled right down one I got him on his back.

RIP Jasmine

It's with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Jasmine.

Her she is sneaking on the couch for nap.

She was fortunate to have spent her final hours with her love holding and comforting her.

She was a good dog and will be missed dearly..

Work In Progress!

Two of the girls working -

Our rewards -

One-Eyed Llama

JoAnne snapped this picture of the elusive one-eyed llama.

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

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...

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.

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...

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...

All Aboard!

"The Ladies"

The weather hit the mid 60's the other day, which prompted us to do a good spring cleaning of our rabbit cages. The rabbits also got some fresh air, exercise and their nails clipped.

The ladies are two female Mini Lop rabbits that have been raised together in the same cage since babies. Our other mini lop's, Abbey and Jack, didn't get a ride in the wagon but enjoyed the day just the same. Abbey is due on Tuesday, April 3, so we're careful with her and don't jostle her too much. She has proven herself to be a fantastic mom, so we have high hopes this time too.

Emilie got excited and wanted to take "the ladies" for a ride in her Radio Flyer wagon. I'm not sure how the ladies felt about this but it was a fun afternoon for all.

Meet Riley

Say hello to Riley -

"Hello Riley"

Riley is a 7 week old female Guinea Pig, as of 9/14/2006, and the newest addition to our menagerie.

Just the other day, out of the blue, Emilie asked if she could have a guinea pig someday. The very next day there was a posting on the bulletin board at work, "Guinea Pigs for Sale". How could I refuse with a coincidence like that?! It's karma I tell yeah. Needless to say Emilie got her pet guinea pig and I need my head examined...