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[[deleted user]]

Hayes wrote: "Whoo whoo whoo!
*punching arm in air*
**vicarious thrills, 'cause you sure don't see me cleaning under the bed!**"

I big on the balcony with Hayes drinking iced tea. Let's us know when you're done Kathy! :)

(Cleaning under beds -- that's scary.)

[[deleted user]]

Good morning everyone! I have spent the past few days at the animal hospital. My old lumpy, bumpy dog actually had a tumor (not just another fat blob), and it had to be removed. Word is that they got it all off with minimal damage to the dog. I will pick him up later today and then play nurse to him for the next week. I also took the cat in for suture removal this morning from the hernia surgery. I hope they all stay healthy for a while.

[Kathy]

I think another person has taken over my body. I expect that person will soon realize what a mistake she has made and vacate. LOL! Or, maybe after living in this house for 22 years, I've run out of space and need to throw stuff out to make more (more room for books, of course).

I'm actually on here early today, as hubby is home and he gets up very early. I was able to stay in bed almost an hour after he got up (at the ungodly hour of 6:30), but he needed me to help me get dressed for a funeral of an old teacher of his. Why is it that I can prepare myself for an event all by myself and my husband can't? I don't mind helping, I just still find that interesting after all these years.

We are going out to lunch later with his mother and our son. A good start to the holiday weekend. I expect that my husband and I will have his mother over for a Memorial Day meal. Our daughter is gone on vacation, so, unfortunately, he won't get to see her and the grandkids this trip.

What's everyone else doing this weekend?

[Kathy]

Jeannette wrote: "Hayes wrote: "Whoo whoo whoo!
*punching arm in air*
**vicarious thrills, 'cause you sure don't see me cleaning under the bed!**"

I big on the balcony with Hayes drinking iced tea. Let's us know..."

LOL! I'm gonna quit and join you all. It is getting scary when I clean under the bed.

[[deleted user]]

Good morning Kathy! Up and online before 9 is early for you! lol

Apart from caring for the dog, we have all the fun stuff planned for the weekend: weeding, cleaning, etc. We leave in a week for Europe, so there will be plenty to do!

Have fun with the hubby! ;-)

[Kathy]

Aw, Jeannette, give your little doggie a kiss for me, not necessarily where it hurts, as that might not be a kissing area. LOL! I hope your cat does well, too.

Hayes, I just noticed your Bookcrossing link on your profile. I can't remember why I went to your profile, something to do with a book or the like. Oh, I remember why now. I wanted a better look at your profile pic--very nice. Anyhoo, I was aware of Bookcrossing but had kind of forgot about it. I now have signed up and plan on becoming a bookcrosser. What a great idea for some of my books that I still need to weed! Thanks for jogging the old memory. For those of you unfamiliar with this great site, it is http://www.bookcrossing.com/

[[deleted user]]

Glad your animals are on the mend, Jeannette. And if you need any help exorcising your evil visitor, Kathy, let me know!

Have a great Memorial Day, all you in the US. Wednesday is Italy's celebration to commemorate becoming a Republic instead of remaining a monarchy. No school or work, so we all get to sleep in! Yay!

[[deleted user]]

Kathy wrote: "Aw, Jeannette, give your little doggie a kiss for me, not necessarily where it hurts, as that might not be a kissing area. LOL! I hope your cat does well, too.

Hayes, I just noticed your Bookc..."

Yes, the tumor was pretty close to his tail, and I don't love the dog that much!! Cat's fine now that the sutures are out.

[Kathy]

Hayes wrote: "Glad your animals are on the mend, Jeannette. And if you need any help exorcising your evil visitor, Kathy, let me know!

Have a great Memorial Day, all you in the US. Wednesday is Italy's celebra..."

Hayes, I think I might need to come to Italy for your help. LOL!

[[deleted user]]

Jeannette wrote: "Here you go Christine:"

Finally had a chance to look through some back posts. Now that is a cupcake!! The cappuccino is good too.

Kathy wrote: "I think I might need to come to Italy for your help. LOL! "

Well, you know where to find me! I'm always here!

[[deleted user]]

Christine was having her "stroke" so Paula and I decided she needed the jumbo size! :)

[Lisa]

Fiona, Oh, beautiful! In that second shot, she looks a bit like a house dog, coming in the house. Too cute. Does she/he have any family, do you know?

[Manybooks]

Fiona wrote: "I'm not sure. Many years ago a vixen used to bring her family of cubs around to our house.

I'm not sure if it is a she - we just call it a she for the need of a pronoun! I wish she would bring her..."

How cute. Last summer, the raccoons bought their babies over to my back door every evening because I usually give them any scraps left over from dinner, but it's a bit early for that as yet (hint, if you feed the raccoons, they will generally not go through your garbage). Just tonight, I put out some bread and cooked vegetables, and I guess it was not good or fancy enough, because when I was looking out my bedroom window, a raccoon was staring up at me with a very disappointed look (so, I opened up some soup for them, yeah I am easily manipulated).

[Manybooks]

Fiona,

They actually have raccoons in Germany now, someone set a bunch of them free after WWII, and they are quite a nuisance, as they have no natural predators. My neighbours (Southern Ontario) do not like me feeding the raccoons at all, they always claim they attack their dogs, but I've seen their dogs chasing baby deer and other wild animals, so I do not have much patience with them.

My raccoons like it best when I make tuna sandwiches (rarely, because I hardly eat any meat), they just love any kind of seafood. But, just like your fox, after a dinner of seafood, they will generally balk at anything non fishy for a day (they always come back, though).

And, I wish we had hedgehogs in Canada. When I was child in Germany, we always used to feed them milk and fruit; they loved it.

[Kathy]

Fiona, what a beautiful fox! I can't believe she just comes in your door like that. You could call her Fantastic Mrs. Fox. LOL! I'm a little wary of raccoons, as my father-in-law, rest his soul, used to talk about being bitten by one when he was young, and he had the scar to prove it. I do think the raccoons are cute, though, and I imagine baby raccoons must be adorable. Now, hedgehogs, Gundula, are something I would find very interesting indeed. Unfortunately, the last wild animal (well, besides all the rabbits that are constantly hopping all over) around our yard was a skunk. Oops, I forgot the opossum. Neither of those is as adorable as the animals you all seems to have around.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Fiona, thanks for posting the wonderful foxy pics! I love foxes! You are so lucky she comes right up or into the house.

I actually like skunks, even the smell. I know that sounds a bit weird but it doesn't bother me at all. I too wish we had those adorable hedgehogs here. We do have plenty of raccoons though. The babies are quite cute but they make a mess of the garbage.

[[deleted user]]

Great fotos, Fiona. But that is really strange, a fox just walking into your house like that. Any chance that she was a "pet" who was released back into the wild and can't fend for herself? Or is she just so used to humans (or so hungry) that she isn't afraid any more?

Problem with feeding them (and I tend to agree with Gundula's neighbors) is that they forget how to take care of themselves and later on really do become a nuisance. And they reproduce to levels in balance with what you are feeding them, not in balance with what the ecosystem can provide (i.e. they over reproduce and then you have too many of them).

Sorry, got to pontificating there... ecology lesson over.

[Lisa]

All that. And, I'm worried when friends regularly feed feral cats, then sometimes move, and then worried that nobody will take over. There are organized groups feeding colonies of spayed/neutered feral cats and I think that's great.

[Lisa]

Of course, where I live, we've encroached on the habitats of cougars, wolves, foxes, bears, etc. etc. etc. so, they're not fed by humans, but they come into "human territory" anyway because they don't have enough of their own left. Then, they usually get shot because they're considered a danger. Very sad.

[Becky]

Lisa, I hate that. It makes me so sad! Where I live there is a TON of deer, and last week, on my literally 3 mile drive to work, I saw 3 dead deer on the side of the road. 1 dead deer per mile. :(

It's awful, because we put these roads in the middle of their home, and then increase the hunting limit so that they aren't "littering" the roads when they die trying to cross the road to find food. Because heaven forbid we should have to haul away a dead deer that we're not getting Real Manly Hunter Man points for killing. >:(

Ugh. Sometimes I really hate people.

[[deleted user]]

I'm of two minds about Real Manly Hunter Man, Becky.

My Dad lived in central New Jersey, where there is a huge problem with deer and consequently Lyme and other tick related diseases. There are no predators left, so the deer reproduce and wreak havoc, eating anything and everything in sight, wandering across roads and causing accidents where people are killed and maimed as well as the deer you see by the roadside.

So Hunter Man is providing a badly needed service (of a sort). Having said that, I can't bear the idea of hunting. Gives me the willies.

[Becky]

I like in the northeast US, so it's probably similar to your Dad's area... And I know... Hunting deer is necessary, but only because we made it so by encroaching on their homes and then killing off their natural predators or forcing them to find other territory.

If we left their natural environments alone as much as possible, we wouldn't have the problems with them that we do. They'd have their own food sources and wouldn't have to wander into gardens... at least in theory. It's one thing to hunt for food, but another entirely to hunt for population control because of our need to take up more room. Humans sprawl as our divine right, I guess, so the problem will continue and my ideal perfect world solution will never happen... LOL.

I don't have all of the answers, but I think that our attitudes as humans needs some adjustment. We have to have more more more, and everything else has to give up their share for us to have it. :(

PS. I loathe hunting. I don't even like catch and release fishing... I think it's cruel.

But if it were up to me, I'd be a Zoo-lady. Not just a cat lady with 40 cats, but I'd try to save and rescue every animal I could. LOL *shrug*

I have lots of opinions, but few answers. One day, when I'm queen of the world, we'll see how well I do. ;)

[[deleted user]]

I totally agree with you, Becky.

The people that pissed me off even more than the hunters (I don't know if the policy in NJ has changed, if anyone lives there and would like to give me an update) were the "Deer Huggers", who went out in the winter to feed the deer so they wouldn't starve/freeze to death. Then they would try to block the hunting (already fiercely regulated with specific seasons for bow and arrow, as well as for limited rifle use). Then they complained that the gov't wasn't doing enough to reduce Lyme Disease... duh!!

[[deleted user]]

It's the same problem I have here with the "Cat Ladies" who leave plastic plates of food out for the cats. And then more plastic plates of food, without picking up the previous plates. So there are a bazillion dirty plates around, attracting mice and rats, but the cats are used to being fed so they don't hunt the rats, the rats are used to being fed on the left over cat food and both populations increase out of control. Grrrrr....

[Lance]

My son, Dave, is at the Bournemouth Ink 2010 convention today and tomorrow, representing his studio, Poison Ink.

Good luck with the competion tomorrow Dave!!! You can win!

[[deleted user]]

Wow! Good luck to him, Lance!

[Lance]

Today could be the day that the first owlet hatches on the barn owl webcam. I am excited! Readers of Wesleywill understand why.

[Lance]

Hayes wrote: "Wow! Good luck to him, Lance!"

If you look at the web site, and click on artists, look for Poison Ink, and he is listed as Dave Danger.

If he wins, it will mean tonnes of kudos and recognition, and he can start to make real money. He deserves it. If you look at his art, you'll agree with me.

[[deleted user]]

Lance wrote: "Hayes wrote: "Wow! Good luck to him, Lance!"

If you look at the web site, and click on artists, look for Poison Ink, and he is listed as Dave Danger.

If he wins, it will mean tonnes of kudos and ..."

Found him on the PoisonInk site... loved the way he "corrected" the tattoo of someone's ex-girl! Clever!

I will never get a tattoo (for a number of reasons), but I find them really fascinating.

[Lance]

For anyone who has had difficulty with the barn owl webcam link that I posted, try http://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/bird-webcam.html

Bob and Brenda are getting quite animated. I think that the first hatch must be imminent!

[Lance]

Hayes wrote: "Lance wrote: "Hayes wrote: "Wow! Good luck to him, Lance!"

If you look at the web site, and click on artists, look for Poison Ink, and he is listed as Dave Danger.

If he wins, it will mean tonnes..."

I have never had one either, although he keeps trying to persuade me. One good point, if you'll pardon the pun, is that he is passionate about the hygiene aspect. He gets very angry about artists who do not take this seriously.

His art is fantastic though. producing some of those images on cnavas or paper would be difficult enough, but to create them on stretchy skin is just marvellous.

[[deleted user]]

The kestrel is gorgeous! Saw 5 whole barn owl eggs, no hatchlings yet.

[Manybooks]

Hayes wrote: "I'm of two minds about Real Manly Hunter Man, Becky.

My Dad lived in central New Jersey, where there is a huge problem with deer and consequently Lyme and other tick related diseases. There are no..."

Hayes, I do sometimes worry about the raccoons and feeding them, but I found that if I did not leave a little bit of food, especially on the day I have to leave out the garbage, they would go through the garbage and make a huge mess before it was ever picked up.

And, I guess I can to a point understand allowing deer hunting in areas where there is an overpopulation of deer, or if they are diseased. But, I think that hunting should be a lot more organised and officially controlled in North America, and the fact that even though I have strict "no hunting" signs on my property, I have had to replace a few windows because of bullet holes, makes me quite suspicious of hunters. And, sorry, but for me, hunting should never be seen as a sport, as something enjoyable.

[Manybooks]

Fiona wrote: "RE: Hunting: It is a worry here that with those Tories back in power we'll have fox hunting brought back. Labour scraped it through just about, it took ages especially to get through the House of L..."

Also, if the British aristocracy wants to do their "fox hunts" they can still do these, even with hounds, but without actual animal prey. In countries like Sweden, Germany etc., they also have hunts on horseback, but these hunts have not been chasing animal prey for many decades.

[Becky]

Hayes wrote: "It's the same problem I have here with the "Cat Ladies" who leave plastic plates of food out for the cats. And then more plastic plates of food, without picking up the previous plates. So there are..."

I know... I used to have neighbors like that.

I should mention that when I say that I'd be a zoo lady, I mean that I would actually ADOPT the animals and care for them as pets, meaning they'd be spayed and neutered (as appropriate) and not just fed and left to breed.

[Lance]

Hayes wrote: "The kestrel is gorgeous! Saw 5 whole barn owl eggs, no hatchlings yet."

Keep watching. Must be soon. They are having a few problems with the broadband though.

[Lance]

The first Barn Owl chick has hatched!

[Lance]

Lance wrote: "Hayes wrote: "The kestrel is gorgeous! Saw 5 whole barn owl eggs, no hatchlings yet."

Keep watching. Must be soon. They are having a few problems with the broadband though."

The first born: take a look!
And turn up the sound.....

[Lisa]

Lance, Where is this? Which barn owl has hatched? Thanks.

[[deleted user]]

See messages 2519 & 2522 above. :)

[Lisa]

Thanks, Jeannette, And thanks Lance!!

I admit, though I read just about every thread in here, I get overwhelmed by this one, and often end up skimming. And then miss some cook stuff and some interesting conversation too.

[[deleted user]]

Lisa wrote: "Thanks, Jeannette, And thanks Lance!!

I admit, though I read just about every thread in here, I get overwhelmed by this one, and often end up skimming. And then miss some cook stuff and some inter..."

I skim them all, so I happened to know what you were looking for. Glad I could help! :)

[Lisa]

And that's cool stuff, not cook stuff. You'd think I thought I was over in one of our food threads. ;-)

[[deleted user]]

Wouldn't surprise me in this thread what you'd run into! :)

[Kathy]

What a cool link to the owls! Thanks, Lance. I just got back from my mother-in-law's where we put together a Memorial Day dinner for three, husband, m-i-l, and me. It was a very nice evening. My husband put up a new mailbox today, one of the heavy-duty plastic monsters. Unfortunately, while he was taking down the old metal one and sawing off the post, I was standing behind him when he pulled real hard for the final pull on it. I ended up on the ground. Geez, I am so tired of falling. This time I have a badly bruised leg. Of course, I do bruise at the drop of a hat. I think I need to stay inside and just read. Of course, then I have to avoid the steps down to the family room. LOL! I vow that I will go the month of June without a fall. It seems to come in waves, so I hope this one was the end of this wave. As one of the Gummy Bears used to say (anyone else remember them), Slow and Steady, Grammie.

[[deleted user]]

Gummy Bears? Do you mean the Care Bears?

I hope you are okay! You do fall down a lot! Take care of yourself! :)

[Lance]

Lisa - re the owls - Google for "Dorset Wildlife webcam barn owls"

[Lisa]

Lance wrote: "Lisa - re the owls - Google for "Dorset Wildlife webcam barn owls""

Thanks, Lance. Very interesting!

[[deleted user]]

Lance wrote: "Lance wrote: "Hayes wrote: "The kestrel is gorgeous! Saw 5 whole barn owl eggs, no hatchlings yet."

Keep watching. Must be soon. They are having a few problems with the broadband though."

The fir..."

Can't get the page to load. Too many people watching, probably. Will check back later! How are the kestrels doing?

[Lance]

Hayes wrote: "Lance wrote: "Lance wrote: "Hayes wrote: "The kestrel is gorgeous! Saw 5 whole barn owl eggs, no hatchlings yet."

Keep watching. Must be soon. They are having a few problems with the broadband tho..."

First kestrel chick hatched today. Another due tomorrow.
Second owlet should arrive tomorrow too.
It would be my Mum's 77th birthday tomorrow too, had she lived to tell the tale. Maybe they should name one of the chick's after her!