General Updates

So here you have it - the general updates from today:

First - I finished a small photo project today.  Not exciting really - but slowly but surely I am filling frames and getting more current photos hung up:

I worked down in critter land today - sorting, cleaning and building a cabinet.  I would like to state for the record that building anything with a ferret assist is challenging.  Oh - how I love those weasels.

Emma spent a good bit of time outside today - as did Winston.  She was feeling quite frisky today. Winston is doing well.  I was a bit concerned - last week I was doing his routine maintenance - ears, eyes, hoofs and teeth.  I noticed that he had lost one of his four lower front teeth.  I knew he had lost the middle two but this one was on the right side.  The socket looked fine and there was no pain response when I messed with it so I decided just to keep an eye on it.  Today the piglet let me take a look and sure enough - his big pig tooth is coming in.  I think he still has one more baby tooth to go....

Speaking of the pig - we did some snout painting today.  I am working on a charity donation for something at work and Winston was kind enough to help me out.  Once I finish I will post pictures of his creations.

Kitties and weasels are all doing well.  We spent lots of time together today and everyone was just fine when I went to check on them and do the evening routine.  Everyone is still enjoying the new toys - they are in different spots every time I head that way.

We are gearing up for another busy week.  I think Winston, Theo, Phoebe, Violet and most certainly me will be glad to see the pollen drop come to an end - we are a sneezy, itchy eyed bunch at the moment.  Allergies....ICK!

Oh - and by the way - wasn't it Friday like 27 minutes ago?  Where do the weekends go???

A New Bag of Tricks

A good friend of ours brought the critters a bag of toys her kitties were no longer playing with.  Holy cow - I wish I would have been smart enough to take my phone with me so I could have videoed the antics!  It went something like this:

I set the bag down and let them do their thing.  Ferrets love to take things out of bags and boxes.  Oh my - it was a grab fest.  7 little ferrets and 2 of the 3 kitties all with their heads and some with their bodies in the bag.  Aggie, the eldest kitty cracked me up.  She came in to see what the commotion was, found a pink mouse she thought was interesting and proceeded to pick it up and headed back in the other room.  She had no need for shenanigans.

I think the funniest part of the whole thing was Kai was desperate to get everything out of the bag and Fiona was trying to make a bed in the bag so he would take something out and meanwhile she would put something back in. This went on for about 20 minutes.  Theo found a yellow squeeky mouse with a pink feathery tail which he claimed.  Tabitha found a blue ball.  Bash claimed the purple elephant, Madison found a turtle, Violet took an orange fish.  They all hoarded to their own spots and then proceeded to steal from each other. The cutest hoarding effort was Bash trying to hoard a large stuffed polar bear.  It's about three times his size and he decided it needed to go a long way to the other room.  It took him quite some time but he finally made it all the way down the hall and into his hiding spot with his favorite squeaky rhino. Silly critters!!

When I left them they were still investigating the pile, divvying up the goods I am guessing.  I will be curious to see where things end up by morning.

Thanks Auntie Laurie for all the new fun!!

Stories of the Day

There hasn't been a lot to write about the last few days.  The critters are all doing great but there haven't been doing anything all that noteworthy.

The ferrets got some playtime in the shower in their bathroom - they love it and I try to let them have time to explore and play in the water once every 10 days or so.  I don't want them to do it too often as the water can dry out their skin - its a fine line....

The kitties have been being quite well behaved - Oliver has quit wailing at the door and has settled into a nice routine.  Aggie seems quite happy - full of icky hairballs but happy.  Phoebe is well - still acting like a bully - naughty girl.

Emma has been being a pretty good pup other than scratching the carpet - grrrr.  Even bigger grrrr - scratching the carpet at 2:45 am.  Fun times!  She had one day of extreme tummy upset but once she took an antacid she was fine.  Not sure what made her belly so unhappy.  Since then she has been the picture of health.

Winston has been being a pretty good little piglet.  He is getting up way earlier than I would like so I am on the quest to keep him up later.  Last night I opened the door between his room and ours.  He came in and investigated, got some belly rubs and then promptly went back to his bed.  Lazy piglet....

All in all - no complaints....going to let the piglet out now - he has had his dinner and he can play outside until it gets dark....  :)

Status Quo

We have had a couple of pretty status quo days (we like those!!).  Everyone here seems quite happy. Winston has enjoyed playing outside for much of his time during the day.  He roots in the dirt, grazes in the grass and naps in the sun.  Ah the life of a piglet.

Emma thinks outside should be for going potty and running around the yard for a couple of laps and not much else.  She seems to be doing just great - lots of energy.

The kitties are fantastic - all three of them have been leaving me some lovely hairballs - ugh - but other than that they are all doing fantastic.  Oliver is as ornery as every.  Phoebe and Aggie are both doing quite well.  Phoebe has turned into such a bully - she is quite mean to Aggie and the ferrets. It's interesting - like she is making up for lost time - she was always the victim of others bullying her when she was younger.  She's not gonna take it anymore.....  :)

The ferrets are all doing great as well.  They are so full of energy.  They are still shedding their winter coats - the color changes in Bash in particular are intense.  Fiona has decided that she is now a kisser - she never used to give kisses at all.  Not sure how long it will last so I am going to enjoy it.  I have three kissers - Maddie, Kai and Fiona and one occasional kisser Theo - he makes up for lack of frequency with exuberance!  There has been lots of playing, wrestling, and tag occurring with every visit!

All in all my little zoo is doing just great!

Oh - and BTW - have you guys heard the story of Henrietta the Earless Pig?  She is a rescued pig that is facing a big surgery tomorrow.  You guys have great mojo - you have sent it to my gang many a time so if you could send some to this sweet girl I would be grateful!

https://www.youcaring.com/henrietta-the-pig-518894/update/453494

The Randomness

Here you go - the total randomness I capture with the camera that typically doesn't get posted:

Aggie laying on a plastic bag

Tabby laying on a plastic bag - do we see a theme here?

TabLet - Tabby on the right and Violet on the left - sometimes when you are far away you can't tell who is who so we have named them TabLet for those occasions.

Phoebe

Can you say ornery with a capital O?  Oliver

Aggie

Evidently I am keeping her up - mid yawn 

Yawning continues - Violet

Violet

From the outside looking in - Phoebe through the window

Ollie through the window

Emma through the window

Winston

Winston

I love the ones with his teeth showing

National Ferret Day

April 2nd is National Ferret Day!  According to ferret.org National Ferret Day is 'A day to educate the public to respect this lively and intelligent companion animal--the domesticated ferret. This day is also a time to focus on such ferret issues as welfare, care, nutrition and responsible ownership.'

So - in honor of my sweet business (the official name of a group of ferrets) here are some photos hot off the presses:


Let's start with Theo.  Oh my is this a sweet boy.  He is so affectionate - he gives kisses so hard they hurt.  He is quite gregarious and exuberant.  He loves to play and can almost always be found with Bash and Kai - the boys are quite close.

Next - my beautiful Fiona girl.  Her markings are quite adorable.  Fiona is an incredibly mellow ferret - she loves to be picked up and carried around.  She is very gentle and sweet.  She and Violet are BFFs - always together.  She and Bash are litter mates.

Next - Bash (Sebastian).  We named him Bash because he was really big when we got him - very overweight.  We thought given his size he would be a big bruiser.  Actually Bash ended up being the perfect name for him because he is quite bashful.  He doesn't like loud noises and can be quite shy.  He loves to wrestle and can be quite rough and tumble.  He loves Theo and Kai - they are the three musketeers.

Next we have Miss Tabitha - she is my fluff ball.  Tabby is quite independent.  She tolerates being picked up and loved on but doesn't really seek it out.  She tends to hang out with the boys for the most part.  She and Kai are litter mates.

Speaking of Kai - here he is.  He is my wild child.  He is a leaper - loves to jump at you when playing.  He loves to wrestle and has been the most difficult to curb his tendencies to nip.  On the other side of the coin he is incredibly affectionate and will shower your face with kisses.  He loves to be picked up as you can see in the third picture - he stands on his back feet and asks nicely.....

Oh my Madison - my eldest.  She is the mama of the group, always checking on and caring for the others.  That said - she is not all that interested in the younger ferret shenanigans and can be found snoozing alone rather than in the pile of wiggly young ones.  As you can see from the picture below - she was not interested in getting up for pictures.  Talk to the hand mommy.....

Last, but most certainly not least, my sweet Violet.  She did not want to come out of her tunnel for pictures this morning.  Violet is also a very independent ferret.  She used to be much like Tabby in that she really didn't want to be picked up and loved on.  As she has gotten older she has decided that lovies aren't all that bad.  She is the alpha ferret of the bunch - she might be small but she is fierce for sure!

So - that's my little business.  I can't express in words how much I love these fuzz butts - they make my heart happy every day.

The Day of Rescues

After saving the sweet little birdy who flew in my open sliding glass door I went outside to check on Winston and saw a beautiful butterfly drowning in the pool.  I used a pole to get it close enough to the side of the pool that I could scoop it out and thankfully it was still alive.  It was happy to see me and held on to my finger pretty tight.

I took him out front and coaxed him off my finger and onto a flowering plant in the yard thinking he could dry in the sun and have some access to nectar from the flowers in case he needed energy.  I went and got the camera and was able to capture some pics.  Then I went back to check on him about 30 minutes later and he had flown away.  Hooray - a butterfly saved.

I think - not positive - that he was a male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail but its really hard to tell for sure.