Peter Cottontail

We have a wild rabbit who seems to have made a winter nest in my garden.  I walked by the dining room window yesterday morning and saw the bunny resting.  He looked quite fluffy, which  I thought may be an extra winter's coat. 

Later in the afternoon, I walked by the window and noticed the rabbit again.  Same position, same place.  I wonder if he is a she who may be expecting?  Closer to my house, she would have been able to make a nest in our warmer, more protective landscaping.  I wonder why she is sitting out in the open?  Possibly, she's sick.  Oh dear, I hope she doesn't pass and my girls notice before I do...it will break their hearts!  Although, I'm sure a carnivorous critter would find her before they would.

Big Sis was oohing and ahhing over the animal and stated, "I wish I could just go out there with a little blanket and cover that bunny up!  She is going to be so freezing!"  And I know Big Sis would do exactly that. 

We may have a new outdoors pet.  Any name suggestions?

An Unwelcomed Visitor

We have a mouse in our house and I want to move away.
We have a mouse in our house who thinks he's here to stay.

He lives under the sink and there's droppings everywhere.
When I first saw the signs I received quite a scare.

I removed all the bottles, all the soaps and paper towels,
I disinfected and cleaned everywhere he lost his bowels.

Hubby bought a trap, the kind where you don't see
The mouse that you catch which makes a happy Me.

We set it before bed and I drifted off to sleep.
When we woke, I hurried in to the kitchen for a peek.

Sure enough, he's caught!  I'm glad for this to end!
But now I start to wonder if he came with a friend?

Day at the Zoo

Over the weekend, we went to the Big Zoo with my parents.  It's an hour away and Hubby hadn't been there since the 5th grade.  We have a small zoo close to our house and the kids and I have a membership there.  The small zoo doesn't have elephants or giraffes.  Big Sis was so excited to see a giraffe for the first time.  She even took her stuffed Giraffey with her.  The expression on her face when she first saw the giraffe was priceless!

The zoo was holding a photo contest so I was all too excited.  Sadly, I didn't come home with anything worth submitting.  To enter that kind of contest, you have to set up at one area with a tripod and wait for the animals to get into the perfect position.  I was more interested in enjoying the zoo with my family. 

The primates were by far my favorite.  I could sit and watch gorillas and orangutans all day.  Grammy had to spoil the kids, of course.  So she bought a blue monkey for Big Sis and a purple frog for Baby Girl.  When we saw the little monkeys, Big Sis decided to show her blue monkey to them.  We snickered but were amazed at what happened.  All the monkeys crowded up to the edge and stared at that blue monkey.  A stranger next to us was tickled and said the monkeys were thinking Why are we not blue?  Baby Girl had to follow suit and held out her purple frog.

Big Sis did the same thing when we saw the giraffes.  They didn't seem to care like the monkeys did.  Maybe they're a snooty animal?  They do hold up their heads awfully high.

We reached the orangutan display a few minutes before closing time.  They must have been super excited about the day's end because they were showing off like no one's business.  They were swinging and jumping, but I just couldn't get a good shot.  The glass was thick and scratched and wasn't conducive to photos.  So I decided to try to get one of the active guys to come closer my way.  I lightly drummed on the glass with my fingernails.  When I did that, he charged at the glass and hit it right where my face was.  I nearly wet my pants, jumping back and screaming!  Everyone laughed at my expense.  The orangutan was apparently amused and continued playing with us.  He screamed right at Big Sis and played around with Hubby.  (Maybe he saw a resemblance there?)  But before I could get any good pictures, the zookeeper kicked us out.  We will definitely visit that display first next time.

The kids also rode a camel!  (They get to do a lot more when Grammy is there.  She doesn't know how to say no.)  We ate Kettle Corn, toured the Butterfly House, and walked a few hundred miles - a perfect day at the zoo!

Eagle Cam

A friend turned me on to this website and my family has had a wonderful time watching it!  It is a live video stream of an eagle's nest in Norfolk, Virginia.  Several times, we have seen one of the parents feeding the tiny, little eaglets.  We've seen them eat fish, squirrel, and something unidentified.  Those little babies sure are hungry!  I haven't checked yet today but the third egg is supposed to hatch any time (if not already).  We have learned a lot!  They have moderators who answer questions and a camera guy who will zoom in on the action.  Check it out...it's really interesting!

http://www.wvec.com/marketplace/microsite-content/eagle-cam.html

Elegant Beauty

Have a fabulously elegant day!

Crazy Cat Lady

Crazy Cat Lady is someone I will never be. I have never been an animal lover and we've never really had pets. We've tried fish a couple times but I'm just not capable of caring for them. But today I found out that we apparently have a pet cat.

Just a few minutes ago, two nurses from a nursing home behind our house knocked on my door. They said that they've heard a cat cry coming from my shed for a couple days. They thought a cat was stuck in there. We have a deep back yard with a shed at the back of the property. There's no way I could hear a cat in there. Although I did see one climbing UP the outside wall of the shed recently. It was four feet high before it fell off. I thought that was awfully strange.

So anyway, the women asked if they could rescue the cat. "Sure!" I said. I was glad they didn't ask me to do it. I watched as they walked all the way back to the shed. They opened the door and waited. One woman entered for a moment, then returned and waited. She walked to the side of the shed and knocked. A black cat came tearing out and fled to the neighbor's yard. The women followed the cat but I couldn't see past the trees. Moments later, I saw the cat returning home. Looks like we have an unwanted pet. I just hope there aren't any babies in there. And I can only imagine what it will smell like in there.

Two weeks ago, Big Sis stepped in cat pee with her snow boots. I've tried everything and cannot get the smell off her boots. Why do animals always pick those who don't love them to cling to? My aunt's dog loves to lick my feet and jump up on my lap. I've told her that I don't love her but she doesn't seem to care. The dog's love for me is unconditional.

I would love to find a way to repel animals without harming them. We have groundhogs, squirrels, skunks, and of course cats that have all been a nuisance. The rabbits and occasional deer have never been a problem.

So if anyone wants a free cat, I know of a nice black one. It's available to any good, actually to any home. :)

HAPPY 1.1.11!

Amish Country

It's been a while since I've posted because I've had so much internet trouble lately. It's extremely frustrating!

Anyway, I love visiting Amish Country. If I had no ties to family, friends, church, or work, I would definitely live there. There is so much peace and serenity: the occasional passing horse and buggy, the laundry drying on the line, and the cute little stores selling junk and treasures.

I recently travelled with a group of 40 kids to an Amish animal park. It's one of those places where you ride on a covered wagon pulled by horses. Animals of every kind approach the wagon to eat from feed buckets. It was a divine day, in spite of the 90 degree heat. I took over 200 pictures, mostly of the children feeding and petting the animals. But here are a few of my favorite shots.

Where, O Where Has My Birdseed Gone?

I recently purchased a new birdfeeder. My last birdfeeder was an adorable 3' snowman holding a bowl of seed but he fell victim to an unfortunate death. So I made sure the new feeder was made of plastic and childproof.

The day after I filled it, the feeder was half empty. I figured the birds of the neighborhood were just hungry. Then I saw the culprit....a black squirrel. He must be tougher than the native brown squirrels of this area because he was the only one I saw eating the seed. So here are before and after pictures to answer the question, Where, O where has my birdseed gone?