March Photo a Day Challenge - Day Twenty-Four.... "An Animal"

Day 24 and today's theme is "an animal".... that being said,  my cat Marshall is more than just any old animal. I adore him. Love this photo of Marshall looking at me through my bedroom mirror.

Today my Life Changed

Technically, if I wanted to be pedantic, my life changed at 5pm yesterday afternoon when I met, fell in love and bought my new puppy, Georgie. A gorgeous, lively and utterly adorable 8 week old Shih Tzu.

From reading the ad until I visited with the owner, I devoured everything I could (online) on Shih Tzu (a.k.a. the Chrysanthemum Dog, originally from China / Tibet!) and puppy training. Information overload with the very best of intentions.

You see, I'm one of those people.... the OCD über organised creature. The one with spreadsheets for groceries and alphabetised blu-rays! Less than 24 hours later and I can honestly say, not any more, and I couldn't be happier. This morning as Georgie leapt and tumbled around the house, I tried to feed her, my cat, shower, have coffee, get ready for work, remember to brush my hair etc and so on. It was a chaotic whirlwind of excited Shih Tzu, one blasé cat and me working out how I was going to get me and the pooch out the door (me being presentable for work) in the time required. As a result bags were left, hair was unbrushed and a rather emotional me left my gorgeous new puppy with my Mum as I headed off to the office.

This new topsy turvy wonderland of puppy-dom is going to be an adventure. I am sure Georgie will have me whipped into shape in no time!

Baby Seals!!!!!

Several weeks ago my Aunt went to RAF Donna Nook across the river in Lincolnshire (we're in Yorkshire) to check out the baby seals. Since the 1970s grey seals have been coming to Donna Nook in the Autumn months to have their pups - over 1,300 were born last year!

It's a sanctuary and completely free and a wonderful place to visit and see baby seals. I went a few days after my Aunt told me about it and was blown away (I took about 100 photos!) Baby and adult seals everywhere. Wild. And all on my 'doorstep'. It was a fantastic experience and a lovely day out. Will definitely be going back next Autumn when they return to see it all again!

Lovelorn ram snagged on live wire

My Aunt (from back home) sent me this link from an Australian newspaper:

A lovelorn ram has caught his horn on an electricity cable and "abseiled" down a hill while trying to reach a field of ewes.

The sheep accidentally slid down the live wire before coming to a rest against a telegraph pole in the small coastal town of Helgoysund, Norway, on Thursday.

The hapless ram was spotted bleating for help as it dangled five metres above the ground.

Tourists at the scene managed to pull the sheep back to ground, unharmed, in little over an hour — and as a reward released it to graze with the ewes it was spying on.

Pinki Binki!

A few weeks ago now Binki (my Mum's bichon frise)'s groomer Sam asked if she could dye Binki pink for a Dog Show she was having and to raise money for an Animal Charity. She had asked last year and Mum had said no so she relented this year and Binki came out so pinky and CUTE! These pictures don't even capture how bright pink she was. The dye is of course, completely harmless to Binki and she was in the newspaper and managed to raise some money.

The Dog Show was on Sunday and Mum, Binki and I went and had a craft stall selling our ceramics (with pet theme) and it was a fun day ... and Miss Pinky Binki was definitely the star of the show!

Oink!

I'm home from work with ...... swine flu! Groan! I've had a "bad summer cold" since Friday but my boss sent me home this morning and the Doctor told me it's not a cold but swine flu and I've got to stay home for the rest of the week (and avoid people and large gatherings).

The one blessing of this is that it helps with my not-being-at-work-guilt that I'm following Doctor's orders and also I don't want to make my colleagues and friends poorly.

So there's a week of bed-rest, watching DVDs and sleeping in my future.

Poor Waffles

Meet poor Waffles!

He was just cattin’ around, mindin’ his own beeswax when suddenly he crossed paths…



WITH A BEE!

Spring has Sprung

Which means it's a great time to attract birds, bees and butterflies to your garden.

(My back yard)

I was at (the store) "The Range" last year when a Granddad befriended me as I was looking at the bird seed and told me how to attract Gold Finches to your garden.

(A Gold Finch)

Gold Finches really like Nyjer Seed and you need to purchase a special Nyjer Seed Feeder (which are quite expensive compared to normal bird seed feeders).

(Nyjer Seed Feeder - not my own)

The Nyjer Seeds are like miniature black rice (and I do mean miniature) and the special Nyjer Seed Feeder has very small holes for the birds to access the Nyjer Seeds.

It is a favourite of the Gold Finches (who will come 4-6 weeks after the Seed Feeder is put up) but also all other Finches. Another interesting tid-bit is that the Gold Finches always seem to travel in pairs. I often have two, four or six Gold Finches on my Nyjer Seed Feeder.

I am also a big believer and very passionate about Wildlife Gardening - doing those little things to make sure the bees, butterflies and other wildlife can find a home in your garden.

This explains it the best:

Why Wildlife Gardening Matters
(from http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/index.php?section=doonething)

Gardening is a beautiful hobby. We choose plants for their colour, scent, or architectural beauty and the result is always unique.

But there is another dimension besides. By providing shelter for wildlife, choosing certain kinds of plants, and looking after your garden in a particular way, you can encourage another whole display of colour, movement and sound.

Once you start, wildlife gardening becomes much more than just making friends with the local birds, hedgehogs and dragonflies. It’s a way of connecting to the whole web of life. Years ago, the countryside was rich in wild plants and animals but today that’s no longer true. Many of the creatures that thrive in gardens – for example frogs, goldfinches and sparrows – are having a hard time in their old haunts. What gardeners do to help makes a real difference.

And for the first time, there’s solid scientific evidence to show what really works. Research by Sheffield University has found that the key features are trees, dead wood, water, and a real variety of plant shapes and sizes.Once we provide these simple needs, we can see gardens not just as our outdoor rooms, but as an interconnected network of green patches that together amount to a very special nature reserve – whether in the heart of the metropolis, or within the wider countryside.

BBC Breathing Spaces (http://www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces/) encourages us all to 'do one thing' for wildlife and there's no better place to start than close to home - in your own garden.

Hot Tubbing Koala!

In Victoria (Australia), the temperature has been above 44C degrees (112F) all week and they are forecasting another week of 40+ temperatures.

Power is failing, trains have stopped running because tracks are buckling under the heat . It’s just scorching.

And it seems that the people are not the only ones suffering. Check out these photos of a little Koala which just walked onto a back porch looking for a bit of heat relief. The woman filled up a bucket for it and this is what happened!

Cuuuuuuuuutttttttttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Ever seen a Panda grow????

Guess who's coming to dinner??!!

All Creatures Great & Small

Eventhough it's nearly the end of June there are still no peachicks (baby Peacocks / Peahens) at work but there are pheasant chicks at Mum and Dad's new Barn.

Aren't they adorable??!! I spotted them for the first time on the weekend. In fact it's a bit of an All Creatures Great and Small blog entry today .... Eventhough there are no peachicks around at work, it hasn't stopped the Peacocks trying to attract the Peahens....

Clearly she's unimpressed!!!

Then I came into work yesterday to find heaps of bunny rabbits on the lawn! They were all basking in the sun and only scarpered when more and more cars arrived at work. Cute, cute, cute!

I love birds and especially having birds in my yard. On the weekend, I spotted a row of these birds on my Mum and Dad's back fence. I hadn't seen them before so like a true Twitcher, I looked in my bird book but I can't identify them. Perhaps from the "Flycatcher" family?

Orville ... the Dolphin???!!

Mum and I meet for lunch every working day and sit by the Humber River to watch the ships sail by. Two weeks ago on a particularly sunny day we saw a dolphin playing in the water. It was fantastic! We didn't have a camera with us so the moment couldn't be captured....

... but we have looked out for him / her every day since.

Dad joined us for lunch today and out of the blue announced that he wondered if Orville would be joining us. ORVILLE?! When pushed he went on to say Orville the Dolphin. I am still laughing .... It doesn't even rhyme (I come from the family that has Arney and Barney the BARN OWLS ...)

It completely amused me.