Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Rescue Kitties
Last month these amazing babies showed up at my husband's office out in Eminence, Ky which is a rural area. The four kitties were dumped there (our guess) and there were two pairs from two different litters. They seemed a little skittish but friendly. They were not feral cats at all. Each time the door opened they would sneak inside which isn't good for business and people were annoyed.
Knowing that they might be put down at a regular shelter, we knew we had to do something to help them out. All of the no kill shelters or organizations that we called said they could not take any more kittens at the time. My husband was able to borrow a large crate from a local shelter for several days. We set it up in our garage until we could figure out what to do next. We already have two cats and could not take any more. And we couldn't let the kittens around our two cats because our existing cats were not thrilled to see them in the garage.
We didn't have any baby shampoo or cat shampoo so we bathed them warm water with Aveda Shampure, clipped their nails and gave them a mini spa treatment. They really seemed to like it. And they smelled really nice!
Putting my marketing degree to use, I took cute pictures, gave them sweet names and made little fliers to help promote them. We posted their pictures on Facebook and told our friends and family. One day at work I mentioned our cat Tucker to a coworker and he said he was looking to get a kitten. That was wonderful to hear! At the same time, we had contacted the lady we knew at Shamrock (we worked with her to adopt the two we have) and she agreed to foster the kitties until they found homes.
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It worked out that my coworker took the two small ones (Oreo and Pumpkin Spice) because he didn't want to break them up. I am so happy to report that they are doing great! They are spoiled rotten in their new home. And the best part is that I get regular doses of stories about their antics and pictures of them as they grow.
We are hoping that Isabella and Fiona find homes soon. They are beautiful orange, black and white calicos. They are currently at the Feeder's Supply in Middletown and I hear that someone is trying to decide between the two. I am excited that maybe at least one of them will go home with someone nice. I go up to see them on the weekends and sometimes on my lunch hour. I like to think that they remember me or know my voice, but they probably don't. They are just so happy to have someone to hold them and love on them.
So remember to spay and neuter your kitties so that we don't have to work so hard to be sure they find good homes. Ours will have a happy ending, but that is because we took an interest in them and because of great organizations like Shamrock.
To learn more about Shamrock or make a donation, please visit them here. Do it for the fur babies.
Knowing that they might be put down at a regular shelter, we knew we had to do something to help them out. All of the no kill shelters or organizations that we called said they could not take any more kittens at the time. My husband was able to borrow a large crate from a local shelter for several days. We set it up in our garage until we could figure out what to do next. We already have two cats and could not take any more. And we couldn't let the kittens around our two cats because our existing cats were not thrilled to see them in the garage.
We didn't have any baby shampoo or cat shampoo so we bathed them warm water with Aveda Shampure, clipped their nails and gave them a mini spa treatment. They really seemed to like it. And they smelled really nice!
Putting my marketing degree to use, I took cute pictures, gave them sweet names and made little fliers to help promote them. We posted their pictures on Facebook and told our friends and family. One day at work I mentioned our cat Tucker to a coworker and he said he was looking to get a kitten. That was wonderful to hear! At the same time, we had contacted the lady we knew at Shamrock (we worked with her to adopt the two we have) and she agreed to foster the kitties until they found homes.
.jpg)
It worked out that my coworker took the two small ones (Oreo and Pumpkin Spice) because he didn't want to break them up. I am so happy to report that they are doing great! They are spoiled rotten in their new home. And the best part is that I get regular doses of stories about their antics and pictures of them as they grow.
We are hoping that Isabella and Fiona find homes soon. They are beautiful orange, black and white calicos. They are currently at the Feeder's Supply in Middletown and I hear that someone is trying to decide between the two. I am excited that maybe at least one of them will go home with someone nice. I go up to see them on the weekends and sometimes on my lunch hour. I like to think that they remember me or know my voice, but they probably don't. They are just so happy to have someone to hold them and love on them.
So remember to spay and neuter your kitties so that we don't have to work so hard to be sure they find good homes. Ours will have a happy ending, but that is because we took an interest in them and because of great organizations like Shamrock.
To learn more about Shamrock or make a donation, please visit them here. Do it for the fur babies.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Trip to Stream Cliff Herb Farm
I recently took a trip to a little place called Stream Cliff Farm in Commiskey, Indiana. What a hidden jewel this is! I knew nothing about it until my friend Amy suggested that we take a trip there to celebrate our birthdays. It's about an hour or so from Louisville and well worth the trip if you have lunch at their quaint restaurant.
They have a wonderful selection of plants and herbs. And if you love to take photos, you will find lots of great spots to take pictures. There are gardens and water features, a little sanctuary area for weddings, craft classes, a winery, a restaurant, gift shops, some friendly goats and a baby donkey. We had quite the sampling of food in the restaurant and what is really cool is how they use the flowers on the plates as edible garnish and there are herbs (like lemon verbena) used in the lemonade and tea. Be sure to try the "bird seed pasta" if you go.
If you are looking for a nice place to visit in the country, give this place a try! It's worth the drive!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
A Mother's Day Lesson from Birds
Every year I get two large ferns to hang from our front porch. After about a week my husband noticed a bird flying out of one of the ferns whenever he opened the front door. Upon further inspection when watering the ferns, we found a bird's nest already built. Within a day or two there were eggs. And imagine my surprise to see two different sizes and types of eggs in this nest!
I wondered how this could happen so I did a google search and learned about "brood parasites" What this means is that a mother bird (frequently a cowbird) will find a nest that another mother bird has built (the host bird), then lay her eggs there and she may or may not ever return. In some species of birds, they aren't capable of building a nest so they just find one already built for them. In most cases, the host bird will come back and lay her eggs with the others. She may abandon her eggs when she notices there are other eggs in her nest. Or the brood parasite bird may come back and remove the eggs that are not hers from the host nest.
As you can see from the photo that I took, the speckled eggs are much larger and they tend to be the ones to hatch first. I really had to wonder how 7 babies could even fit in this tiny nest. It is probably about 3" wide.
Unfortunately, I read that when all the babies have hatched, the host mother will feed the babies that are the biggest and have their mouths open first. She may not even realize that the babies are a different species. This endangers the life of her own babies, and she is feeding birds that aren't even hers. Her smaller babies may end up starving because of the competition for food. Or they may get thrown out of the nest by the larger babies. I have read that this practice has possibly reduced the number of songbirds, while increasing the number of (brood parasite) cowbirds.
For days I struggled with getting involved in this circle of life. It didn't seem fair that a "squatter" bird's eggs should jeopardize the 5 blue eggs that were laid by the mom that built the nest in the first place. I considered removing the cowbird eggs myself. But I decided not to interfere with nature and see how this plays out. I hope that all these babies will have a chance at life.
Last night we checked and the 7 eggs were still there. Today I checked and the two speckled eggs have hatched! I hope this new mama can take care of all 7 of her babies. I only see 4 blue eggs now, but hope that the 5th one is under the new hatchlings.
More pics to come in the days ahead, if mama allows it.
Happy Mother's Day!
I wondered how this could happen so I did a google search and learned about "brood parasites" What this means is that a mother bird (frequently a cowbird) will find a nest that another mother bird has built (the host bird), then lay her eggs there and she may or may not ever return. In some species of birds, they aren't capable of building a nest so they just find one already built for them. In most cases, the host bird will come back and lay her eggs with the others. She may abandon her eggs when she notices there are other eggs in her nest. Or the brood parasite bird may come back and remove the eggs that are not hers from the host nest.
As you can see from the photo that I took, the speckled eggs are much larger and they tend to be the ones to hatch first. I really had to wonder how 7 babies could even fit in this tiny nest. It is probably about 3" wide.
Unfortunately, I read that when all the babies have hatched, the host mother will feed the babies that are the biggest and have their mouths open first. She may not even realize that the babies are a different species. This endangers the life of her own babies, and she is feeding birds that aren't even hers. Her smaller babies may end up starving because of the competition for food. Or they may get thrown out of the nest by the larger babies. I have read that this practice has possibly reduced the number of songbirds, while increasing the number of (brood parasite) cowbirds.
For days I struggled with getting involved in this circle of life. It didn't seem fair that a "squatter" bird's eggs should jeopardize the 5 blue eggs that were laid by the mom that built the nest in the first place. I considered removing the cowbird eggs myself. But I decided not to interfere with nature and see how this plays out. I hope that all these babies will have a chance at life.
Last night we checked and the 7 eggs were still there. Today I checked and the two speckled eggs have hatched! I hope this new mama can take care of all 7 of her babies. I only see 4 blue eggs now, but hope that the 5th one is under the new hatchlings.
More pics to come in the days ahead, if mama allows it.
Happy Mother's Day!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Trip to Lover's Leap Winery
On the first day of spring, John and I went to Lover's Leap Winery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky for their Spring Fling event. It was our first visit there and we were impressed. The grapevines had not budded out yet, but you can get an idea of size the vineyard. From what I recall, they will start budding out by May and I believe the grapes are harvested in September. I plan to go back later this summer and take more pictures.
We paid $15 to get into the event and it included a wonderful BBQ lunch, desserts, live music, a tour, wine tastings, and keepsake glasses. We always enjoy trying new wines and picking out a favorite. Many times you go to local wineries and you really don't like the wine, but we really thought all the ones we tried were good. We left with several bottles.
When I saw this hat, I had to have it!
John goes back for a refill on the tour. Actually we had permission to do this!
If you are in the area, you should visit this family owned winery. They support the arts and are hosting an outdoor event called the Vineyard Stroll on June 12 (from 11 am 7 pm) featuring over 50 Kentucky Proud food producers and Kentucky Crafted artists. Admission is $5 and there is live music. Maybe I'll see you there!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Look What I Won!
Check out these lovely pearl earrings that I won earlier this month from Blair's Wild and Precious blog. These beauties were created by BonnyBeeDesigns. I don't normally enter too many blog contests, but I fell in love with these earrings. I was so excited to win!
I am using Bonnie's photo as hers is so much better than mine!
Check out her etsy shop to see more of her creations.
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