Hummingbirds

I put out both my Hummingbird feeders Sunday and managed to attract quite a few birds by Monday morning. In fact, I had so many birds I went down to Home Depot Monday evening and purchased another feeder just to accommodate the crowd. I'm not 100% sure what species I have buzzing around my feeders, but I think it is either Broad-tailed or Ruby-throated or a mix of both. They rarely stay still long enough for me to get a good look.

I'm sure this is a female.

This is the same female pictured above with what I think is a Ruby-throated male coming in to claim the feeder.

Wounded Butterfly

I found this butterfly crawling across the mountain bike trail today, probably the victim of a bird attack. I didn't know what to do when I saw it and I felt sorry for the poor thing, so I picked it up and hiked a mile back along the trail with the it sitting in my hand while leading my mountain bike with the other. I eventually reached the smooth section of trail where I could ride back to the car with the butterfly hanging on to my glove. When I got home, I put it on a slice of water melon from the forth of July figuring it needed the sugar water. I assume butterflies eat nectar like hummingbirds.

In any event, It looks like I have a pet butterfly to tend to since I do not think it will ever fly again.

(July 7, UPDATE) The butterfly is now in the care of a class. It has its own butterfly cage with fresh fruit, sugar water, and lots of people to care for it.

For better or worse, my cat is my best friend.

My Peculiar Cat

My cat has an unusual habit. He gathers all his toy mice and deposits them in his food bowl from time to time. He also has the uncanny ability to find rubber bands and places these in his food bowl with the toy mice. I’m not sure if this is a recessive predatory instinct in action or a territorial thing, but it’s darn peculiar.

If I were a Dog

There is an interesting series on Animal Planet called Dogs 101, which details the traits of various dog breeds. It is a truly informative and entertaining program, especially if you are looking to adopt a dog or are simply an animal person, which I happen to be. It was while watching an episode of Dogs 101 that I found my perfect dog, and quite possibly my alter ego in the dog world - the Whippet. In fact, if I were a dog, I would be a Whippet because I just have so much in common with the breed.

Here are a few Whippet characteristics:

-Whippets are quiet, gentle and loyal.
-Whippets are content to spend much of the day resting.
-Whippets do not respond well to punishment or yelling.
-Whippets are great with young children.
-Whippets are physically and emotionally sensitive.
-Whippets are very active when outdoors.
-Whippets do not do well in cold climates.
-Whippets can be very playful.
-Whippets are very loyal to their owners.
-Whippets are wonderful companions.

You can see the episode on Whippets here.

Other good sources of information on Whippets are petplace.com and terrificpets.com.

Dogtown

I just finished watching an episode of Dogtown on the National Geographic Channel about the Michael Vic dogs. I just have to say there must be a special place in Hell for Michael Vic because he deserves the same cruelty these dogs had to endure. I'll spare you the gruesome details, but the story of one dog in particular broke my heart.

Cats and Curiosity

My cat is extremely curious and this often gets him into trouble. I’ve rescued him from high places on a few occasions, and he has gotten himself locked in more than one closet over the years. His antics have been rather amusing to a point. However, today my cat's insatiable curiosity scared me to death.

We were outside and I saw my cat looking intently at something. That is when I noticed a brown stinkbug crawling up the side of a plastic bucket and my cat walking over to investigate. Before I could reach my cat, he stuck his nose up to it and got a chemical blast in the face. He immediately backed off and ran around the corner like a bolt of lightening. When I found him, he was hunched over, eyes closed, and foaming at the mouth. This scared the living crap out of me. I immediately picked him up and ran inside where I got a wet rag and started wiping his face, eyes, and the inside of his mouth. He was in some serious pain, and I was close to a panic! After a good bit of wiping and cleaning, he started to feel somewhat better and was able to open his eyes. He sat in my lap for about an hour once I got him cleaned up and he even started purring, so I felt better and knew he would be okay. I'm not sure if the ordeal scared him more or me, but he did stay close for the remainder of the day.

My Cat is my Buddy

My cat is my buddy, and I love him very much. He came into my life one morning as I arrived at work. He was a small kitten then with big ears and big feet. He came to me meowing his little heart out from across the parking lot, scared, lost, and alone. I picked him up and he immediately adopted me.


One small cat changes coming home to an empty house to coming home.
-Pam Brown