Tonka

Tonka is one seriously cool cat.  He basically spends all day napping in your general vicinity, purring simply because you're there.  He even likes it when Boyfriend plays guitar, inspiring this song:

This video is an accurate representation of Tonka's daily activities. 

We've been fostering him for nearly a month, because we really wanted him to go to the home of someone we know.  I get too attached to my fosters!  Anyway, he deserves a forever home, so here I am widening my search.  Spread the word!  Tonka is rad.

Sparrow

Sparrow is our newest foster. She's quite a little dove. A lynx-point Siamese with Tabby markings, she chirrups like a little bird, is teeny tiny, and wants nothing more than to roll onto her back and lick the hand that gives her belly rubs.

She is unbelievably sweet and cute - if she didn't give me hives I'd be tempted to adopt her myself!

Look at those eyes!  And those whiskers!

Prince Cashmere

Ok, I haven't blogged in awhile.  My only excuse is that some one introduced me to World of Warcraft.

However, now I've begun to foster cats for Multnomah County Animal Services, so y'all can expect to see a post once in awhile extolling the virtues of whichever cat is lucky enough to be under my care at the time.

My very first foster is Prince Cashmere.  He's got a kitty cold (or Feline URI), but he's mostly better at this point.  He's pretty awesome.  He can't get enough cuddles and he purrs almost constantly.  He's got the tiniest, cutest meow, yet he's a pretty stocky, tough-looking fellow.  He appears to be curious, but not overly adventurous (as in, he keeps stretching up to look at the counter, but he has yet to even try jumping up).  He's a little too free with the love bites, but that's an easy behaviour to fix with a little consistency.  Overall, he's very affectionate and laid back.

As a person with pretty severe cat allergies, I hope that I'll be able to provide some extra information to potential adopters.  I already have one cat to whom I am not allergic at all, and depending on the cat, my reactions can vary. If someone is looking to adopt and they have allergic friends and relatives, or even mild allergies themselves, my experiences could prove valuable. My reactions to the Prince have been mild - mostly just sniffles after about a half hour of vigorous snuggles.

We tried to do a little photo shoot with him this afternoon, but he kept trying to nuzzle the camera.  This is what we ended up with:

Isn't he pretty?

Baby Peeper Alert!

So, somehow this became a chicken blog.  But, that's ok, right?

Anyway, Nynaeve has been broody all summer.  Taking pity on me, my mom sent up a couple of fertilized eggs from her flock. 

A few days ago, I came home from work and peeked into the coop to check on Nynaeve when, lo, a teensy tinsy bird face looked back me from under the new mother's suddenly giant wing! 

So now, I present to you Baby Peeper:

The New Flock

It's been a few weeks since we buried Egwene. Since then we've expanded our chicken flock a little bit - up to 3 now! Still no eggs, though...

                               

Nynaeve is the remaining original chicken. She's been broody for the past 2 or 3 months... pretty much the whole summer. She takes a break from egg-sitting duties everyday for about an hour to let the new chickens know that this is HER house and she's the BOSS. 

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This is Mieran. She came from my mother's flock, where she was being, basically, tortured daily by the rooster and other hens. My mom wasn't sure she was going to survive long, and when I first met Mieran, I wasn't either. She has balance issues, her head has been stripped bald, and one of her eyes appeared to be missing and the socket infected.

However, a few days of calm seem to have done wonders for her! Her feathers are growing back in and her eye seems to be healing quite nicely. On top of that, she has developed a bit of spunk. The trauma of her previous life is still fresh, however, and she's yet to lay an egg for us.

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And lastly, this is Siuan. She, too, was getting picked on in her original flock, so her previous home put her up for "adoption" on Craigslist. She came with the name "Speckle", for obvious reasons. (Before learning this, my neighbors, who fell madly in love with her at first sight, suggested the name "Midnight Speckle".) We renamed her Siuan, because we're big nerds.

Siuan is just 4 months old, and thus not yet laying. But she could start any day now!

She's still at the bottom of the pecking order here, but she doesn't seem to mind.  All in all, the 3 birds seem to be getting along pretty well, with only very occasional bouts of bullying.

Egwene the Chicken

Last Friday I awoke to a horrific sound - the sound of a chicken screaming.

They often cry in the morning, because they want out of their coop to hunt bugs.  I will often sleep through that until my alarm goes off.  But that morning, the sound was very different.  I glanced out the window and saw a raccoon trying to slowly rip off the head of one of my chickens, Egwene, who had managed to get out of the coop on her own.  Alone.

I ran outside yelling and hissing and scared the evil creature away.  Then I called in sick to work and spent the rest of the weekend increasing chicken security and keeping an eye on my now catatonic chicken. I wasn't too worried.  She seemed to be moving around fine after the attack, even if she spent the next few days hiding in the coop.  My mother told me of one of her chickens who had survived a raccoon attack.  The bird had hidden for 3 days, but was afterward fine.

But Tuesday, my neighbor called me at work to report that Egwene wasn't walking.  When I got home I found her lying awkwardly in the shade where they had placed her after she stumbled out of the coop.  But she was drinking water and was alert. I attributed her weakness to sitting in one position for 3 days with no food or water. Over the next few days she seemed to be improving, but I attempted to contact my vet (who still hasn't gotten back to me, btw) to see if they could recommend someone to look her over, anyway.

Thursday, she died.

We buried her in the forest at the end of our street, surrounded by tall grass.  She loved grass.

Sunscreen for those of us of Northern European Descent

*No, I'm not being paid to say this*

I am Irish/Polish/other, but mostly I look Irish - and my skin seems to take this part of my heritage very seriously.  Without sunscreen, I can be in direct sunlight for maybe 5 minutes without burning.  With sunscreen, usually about 15.

So, as I have gotten older and more concerned about sunburns and their negative long term effects - both internal and external, I've had to get creative.  I spend as much time as I can skulking in shadows.  If I have to be in the sun, I try to keep my back to it.  I've carried parasols and worn floppy hats. But if you use a bicycle as your main form of transportation, as I do, none of these solutions are very practical.

So, a week or so ago, I went to my local drug store, Ainsworth Drug, (where, by the way, they are all very very nice and helpful, and always appreciate a visit from Crayon), and decided to drop some cash on some sunscreen.  I've tried many in the past, with minimal luck, but I was in a mood to experiment.  

I struck gold on my first try!

Neutrogena Waterguard Kids Sunblock Mist SPF 70

I've not had much luck with Sunscreen sprays in the past, but  they're so easy!  I thought I'd give one another try, since it'd been a while, and I can never get my back with a lotion by myself.

I also decided to go for a kids formula, because in my experience, they are usually slightly less toxic than adult versions, and they always work better too.  Why?

 

 

 

Bullfrog Ultimate Sheer Protection Face SPF 30 Sunscreen

For face sunscreen, I just grabbed this one because it looked nice.  It said all the right things on the label : Anti-Aging, Ultra-light, Oil-free, etc.  

This appears to be a case where those words actually mean what they say - at least the ultra-light part.  This stuff goes on smoothly, feeling just like a regular moisturizer, without leaving you looking like you haven't showered for a week, as most of these sunblocks are wont to do.

My first test of these purchases was a 20 mile round trip bike ride on the Fourth of July - one of the sunniest days we've had so far.  This involved more than 2 hours in direct sun and more than a little sweat.  At the end of it all, I felt like I had just gotten a little sun.  In comparison, Boyfriend, who is less sensitive to sunbeams than I and never wears sunscreen, was burnt pretty badly.

I declare a win!