August Snaps... kitties and Emma

With the flood happening I haven't spent much time snapping pics of the critters over the last 10 days.  I do have a few to share though - none of the little guys - they have been too busy with the flood happenings to stop and pose for pics.  I am happy to report that Mr Hedgehog is all tucked into his squeaky clean cage - no more closet sleeping for him:

7 years ago...

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary - 7 years have flown by.  I was thinking about how much has changed in critter land since our wedding day....

I guess the biggest change is the loss of our sweet Isabel kitty.  I can't believe she has been gone for 2+ years.  We have also had some additions to the zoo since then - Clooney, Nigel and Madison all came to us after our wedding.

Agatha was 7 when we got married, Zoey and Oliver were 5 and  Miss Phoebe just a year old.  Emma pup was was just 2.  Wow - we are all getting old.

In other news - the blowers are finally gone and the house is dry.  Now onto the reconstruction in the next couple of days.  Ready for this to be over.....

Toy Roundup

Nigel the hedgehog is still residing in the master bedroom closet due to his room being way too cold.  All this equipment to dry out the house is causing temperature havoc.  He seems quite content in there.  One funny thing he is doing is seeking out all of the toys that the ferrets have hidden in the closet.  He drags them out into the middle of the closet.  He has amassed quite a large pile of them over the last few days.

Clooney has climbed the gate a couple of times and taken his favorites out of the pile.  Phoebe has done the same.  Hopefully today or tomorrow will be the end of the drying phase and the equipment will go away....its noisy and hot.  Then Mr Hedgehog will be able to go back to his cage where he will definitely be more comfortable.

In Honor of the Olympics....

Baby Gates....

Its funny to watch how differently Clooney and Madison think.  We currently have the master bedroom closet blocked off with the baby gate as it is serving as a temporary home for Mr Hedgehog.

Both ferrets spend a reasonable amount of time in the closet, sleeping and playing each day.  They are not loving that it's access is blocked.  The entertaining thing is the different way each of them approach the gate.

Clooney - aka Hercules - takes the manly approach and uses his heft and might to scale the gate and climb down the other side.  He enters and exits whenever he wants, pesters Nigel and munches on his food.  He also did a sacred cow check to ensure his favorite toy had not been disturbed.

Then there is Miss Madison.  Cute, sweet, pink nosed Madison.  She uses the cute, charming, ferret eyelash batting approach to get you to lift her over the gate.  She plays, visits Nigel, snoozes and has a nibble of food and then wants out so she stands on her back feet and looks pitiful til you pick her up and lift her over.  She has watched Clooney climb over but won't do it herself.

They are too cute...

And the Flood Continues....

So - we still have blowers blowing everywhere in the house and today they had to rip out the shower.  Not sure if its the fact they arrived late afternoon or just that the critters are getting accustomed to having folks in the house doing strange things.  Whatever the case may be - they are pretty uninterested.  Ferrets didn't even get out of bed to explore the commotion.  Emma is just laying around watching and the kitties are snoozing.  Only Zoey has come out to say hello.

Nigel is still sleeping in the closet as his room is still too cold.  Neither of the humans in the house are sleeping at all - perhaps I can talk the hubs into a hotel - Emma could go out right before we leave and we could come home early to let her out.....not sure I really want to do that but blower-less places are rather blissful these days.  We have a few days of drying out - then reconstruction - UGH - probably 2 more weeks of this fun and excitement....

Frozen or Steamy - those are your choices

With all of the drying equipment in our house the temperature is whacky.  In the rooms with the equipment its too warm - in the rooms without its way too cold as the air conditioner is working overtime.  I checked in on Nigel last night and he was cold in his room which is no good as hedgehogs will hibernate if they get too cold.  He got cuddle times and I used my hot cocoa cup up against his sides to warm him up.

No worries, I thought to myself, I can have him sleep in the bonus room.  Headed in there - it's like a meat locker its so cold.  UGH.  He can't sleep downstairs - there is tons of equipment and its cold.  So - out comes the baby gate and into the master bedroom closet goes Nigel.  It's warm in our room because of the equipment in our bathroom and its a contained space for him.  He seemed perfectly content - had some water and food and found a place to curl up and snooze.  I am thinking he will sleep in there until the equipment is removed - most like Monday of next week.

I am glad I checked in on him and that he is okay.  Love that little guy...