Not sure what was happening here....

...but whatever Piper's up to,
she clearly disapproves of me photographing it.

So you're going off to college...

Obviously we know you're brilliant, have loads of common sense and think you are going to have a blast in college...BUT your nieces and nephews wanted to pass on some sage words of advice.

1) You are a beautiful and awesome
person exactly the way you are,

so artificial enhancements just aren't necessary.

2) You're much cuter when you're in a good mood, so...

keep those peevish expressions on reserve for your visits home ;)

3) School can be exhausting and make you positively cross-eyed...

so listen to your body...

and take frequent naps.

4) This is the Internet age
(like you've known it any other way, right?),
so remember anything you do,

no matter how silly or dumb it looks,
could end up online for all to see......

and looking shocked about it won't do you any good.

"I can't believe you just took a picture
of me making that face!
You're not gonna post it are you?
I'm gonna look like such a dumbass."

*5) Aimee has decided she has something to add after all:
Be careful where you leave piles of laundry...
...as they can grow strange things:
...and they're not usually this cute:
"Okay, I said my bit, I can go back to sleep now, 'kay?"

6)We're here to listen anytime.
We love you!
You're gonna have an awesome time!!!

CJ: The Hang Cat

We're all familiar with the hang-dog expression so common in those of the canine persuasion, but we have here that rara avis, the hang-cat, in all its forlorn and heart-melting glory. May cause uncontrolled urges to grab the nearest kitteh to squeeeeze it and love on it, which may in turn cause injury to the offending human. You've been warned.

Hey! It looks like it's gonna perk up afterall.

Yep, much better.

The Cat Singer

CJ sings for her favorite piece of string...yes, she has a favorite string.

Foraging for Kitty Snacks

CJ's film short with a ferocious soundtrack by Heart:

Pigeon-toed Gosling

Several months ago, most of the campus Canada geese had their babies, but apparently this one was a straggler. He's an only child, and he's quite an intrepid explorer...his parents were quite far off and paying him no mind whatsoever, unlike the other usual hissing (doting, I'm sure) parents I usually come across. And just to make his already adorable fuzziness even more spec-tock-ular (tip o' the nib to CuteOverload.com), he's pigeon toed.

Perfect little bite size drummet, if you ask me ;)

The Frisbee Dog

Um, excuse me.
Please to be throwing my Frisbee?

It would make my Aussie eyes smile...

I got it. I got it. I got it.

Yeah, I got it. I rock. I'm amazing.

Check out this perfect form...

Doggie Bliss

Thanks, Dad!

I haz a Blowfish

dear Cari and beatrix,
this iz my favrit new toy. i carry it evrywear and i luv to talk with it in my mouf. my parents said blowfish are danegerus, so i feel extra tuff when i play with it...even tho itz pink and girly. i've been so bizzy playing with it i fergot to thank you befour.

k thanks love lucy

oh and anna likez the moosething 2...but she'z bizzy chasin' frizbeez.

Himself

Mr. Centerfold

Massively Tiny

Mutual Exhaustion Apparent

Another Knee for the Bucket

Lucy the "Lucky Bucket" is going to be a super-bionic doggie after tomorrow, as she will be receiving her second TPLO surgery. (See ~ http://www.vet-vsc.com/surgery_tpl.htm ~ for further explanation of this if interested.)

These aren't Lucy's actual X-rays, but hers look the same.

Her first knee was a success, and we hope that by snowfall she will be romping with Anna again. Yesterday she had a day at the doggie spa so she will be clean and pretty for her invalidity. She loves her beautiful necklace. Anna also got a bath yesterday, but hers was a much less relaxing trip into the shower with me as her attendant. She also got a special necklace so she wouldn't get jealous when Lucy came home.

"Why, yes, we are perfect! Thanks for noticing, Dad!"

"What's that? You want us to smile at the same time?"

"Like THIS? Are we done now?"

"Excuse me. I was perfect for your silly pictures.
Could you puh-lease throw the Frisbee now?"

"Puh-leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaassssse!!!"

"What look? I'm not giving you a look?
What's wrong with this face? Sheesh."

"Okay. Throw it or I'm licking your knee."
(you may need to click for enlargement
to see just how unpleasant a threat this is.)

Perfect Lucky Dog

"You with the camera--I will not be ignored!!!!"

The Missing Guinea (or Missing the Guinea)

So it seems that Guinea Hens have a reputation for their striking lack of focus and common sense.

"Only don't expect them to be the brightest bird on the block. I still have to open gates for them after they fly over the fence. They forget they can fly back and just run up and down the fence line for hours. I have friends who think that guineas all share one brain cell between them and therefore the more you have the dafter they get. I tend to agree with them."
--from http://www.lynsalmostafarm.com/Guineas/guineas.htm

I have given Gloria a great deal of credit for escaping whatever injured her just prior to her arrival. I also acknowledge, with a good deal of awe, her physical strength in recovering from those injuries, and for demonstrating great physical strength by regularly hoisting her neatly-spotted and weighty posterior into the air for flights around the yard or hikes up and down the roof, decks, and window sills. In a yard oft visited by large dogs, and inhabited permanently by one of the herding variety and another of a houndish sort, she demonstrated a good deal of sense about when to stop gazing at herself in the mirror and fly away.

Apparently Guineas are often silly enough to wander off and get lost, but she has stayed here willingly for four months and been spoiled rotten. Something tells me she was quite happy here: she would run to greet us whenever we pulled up the driveway; she preferred the window ledge of whatever room we occupied; she always got food when she knocked on the window upstairs. Her leaving doesn't feel all that likely to my human brain, but in this case--as smart as I have considered this silly bird who adopted us--I have to hope that she was daft enough to wander off and get lost. I don't like the alternative scenarios. It's a shame she couldn't take her mirror with her.

Anyway, here's hoping that Gloria is somewhere entertaining a new family with her sprinkler imitations, and ridding their gardens of pests. We miss our big funny chicken.

The Owned-by-the-Animals Creedo

Over the years, I have received this e-mail several times. It never fails to make me feel sheepish, as we do tend to let our fuzzies get away with an awful lot of these antics, particularly the hording of couch space. It is amazing to watch a cat take up more than half of a large sectional sofa. Incidentally, all of our animals are excellent communicators, even the fish: they leap out of the water and pop open the tank lid in Morse code for "feed me now, or the little fish gets it!"

****************

To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - nose height (and of course they're smart enough to read it for themselves)

Dear Woggets, Cattages, Rabbitudinous-Buns, etc...

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It
is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but
sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under
the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!


To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:

1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.
(That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Remember: In many ways, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

1. Eat less (doubtful with Linus around)
2. Don't ask for money all the time (uh, Frisbees don't grow on trees, ya know...)
3 Are easier to train (is there medication for Doggie ADHD?)
4. Normally come when called (except for that selective teenage hearing possessed by all dogs, no matter their age)
5. Never ask to drive the car (actually, Anna asks all the time. She says she's smarter than all of us, and her lack of thumbs is no impediment to her road-skilz)
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends (Um, can anyone say catnip?)
7. Don't smoke or drink (only because we don't trust them with matches or cork screws--Piper seems like a menthol and Merlot kind of girl)
8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions (they prefer the state of nature...we humans are the aberrations in their nudist colony)
9. Don't want to wear your clothes (however, Linus likes to sleep with his feet in Grace's sandals)
10. Don't need a "gazillion" dollars for college (...but knee replacements are another story...)

"What!? Tevas are the coolest, man..."

How to bathe a horse...

The New Looking Glass

Gloria can now admire herself in super-fancy high-definition round-picture, and she is thrilled:

She spent the first few minutes running back and forth and jumping on and off of her stump to check herself out at all angles...she's decided that since her new cadillacesque mirror was free, it will do nicely. We, her humble and obedient humans, agree.

Gloria's Newest Friend

This is Big-nose-baby-bun (henceforth BNBB). He lives in the garden by the office window that has become so popular with Gloria and the other wildlife.

"heeeey.....salad bar!"

"mmmm....snackage."

1) BNBB
2) Ubiquitous Squirrel
3) Gloria (blustering over having to share the attention with other critters)
....as you can see, the squirrel is farther away from the camera than BNBB, and he still dwarfs this little bunny.

BNBB taking a dust bath