We had a great Thanksgiving. In fact, it was one of my favorites ever!
All the food was wonderful. The guests were the best! Thank you guys for coming!
And I loved how nobody rushed off after eating. We all sat around talking for a long time. It was really nice.
Aquagirl’s boyfriend, Red, came to join us this year. And we loved having him. I can see that he really makes Aquagirl happy. And she is comfortable enough with him to be herself. That is a very telling sign.
But for GB the real star of the day was Zeke. Red came from his family’s house in Northern Virginia and he’s staying until Saturday. Zeke is his little ferret.
Isn’t he a-dor-a-ble?!
This is his favorite toy; a rolled up ace bandage. I’ll bet the discovery of that fondness was a funny story.
GB could hardly keep his hands off of poor Zeke.
This is Zeke’s ping […]
Original post by Robin
Meet Murphy:
Murphy is now 16 years old. He is arthritic and gets cold really easily; hence the cute little sweater. He gets grumpy easily. And I now have to sedate him to groom him.
We are totally indulgent and let him sleep in bed with us at night. Next dog? I don’t know if I’ll allow that again. Anyway…….. When he first started having trouble getting up into our bed we bought this nice little bench as a booster for him.
But then he needed a booster to get up to the bench, so we took this cushion off of our rocking chair………
Now his patheticness has increased. We’ve had to get him some stairs, which he loves, and move the cushion up to the bench. We also needed another rug to give him some traction on our wooden floors.
Grampa built Murphy this nice ramp, which still scares the bejezus out of him. […]
Original post by Robin
Our second tradition at the beginning of our homeschooling year is to take a trip to the zoo! We, at the Martinzoo, LOVE the zoo. We have such a nice one, too. It began as a tiny little zoo in a local family’s back yard. And it has grown into a fabulous, real zoo with an amazing assortment of cool animals. I didn’t get photos of the bears, the snow leopard, the tigers or the male lion because it was hot and the animals just wanted to sleep and be lazy. Maybe next time.
We went with one of the families from our homeschooling group. We don’t get together with this family very often because they have a brand new baby and have been kind of busy. Plus, they are loaded with girls and, typically, GB doesn’t engage well with girls. But he did this time! L was the kind of […]
Original post by Robin
Look at our swing set. Do you notice what I noticed this afternoon?
It’s one of my sunflowers!! Right there on the top of the swing set!
I just have this hilarious vision of a squirrel running through my yard with a sunflower clenched between his teeth, climbing the swing set, and perching on the tip-top to enjoy his treasure.
Original post by Robin
GB and I think that Peatsy looks chubby in this picture:
But after a trim and a shampoo, he looks like he’s dropped a few pounds.
I cut, and GB shampooed. It was a co-effort. And GB insisted on me including this picture that he took of Peatsy.
As if you couldn’t tell, Peatsy is GB’s best buddy!
Original post by Robin
Murphy had a rough night.
During the night I was awakened by whining from our doggie. He does that a lot. It usually means that he’s got itchy paws or clogged up ears. So I usually pat him to comfort him and then go back to sleep. But this time when I tried to comfort him, he bit me! That is not normal. So I woke up my dh and told him that something was wrong with Murphy because he’d bit me. When my hubby tried to check on him himself, he tried to bite him too! We knew that it had something to do with his front left leg because he was really guarding it. He was in so much pain that he was visibly shaking. It was really pitiful.
This morning I promptly made an appointment to take him to the vet. And GB and I endured a -painful- twelve […]
Original post by Robin
Missing sunflowers
Mystery solved!
This year it’s not a squirrel. This year it’s an adorable little chipmunk.
How does he get up to the deck, you may ask?
He uses the dog ramp, which can be seen to the left of the picture. Grampa will be so happy that someone is using the ramp. Because, as of yet, our dogs won’t go near it…..LOL!
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Original post by Robin
The other day I happened to read on another web site that crickets really like fish food. Well, GB and I maintain a cricket habitat to feed the firebelly toads and the skink. We buy about 4 dozen every other week, and we lose at least a third of them. I’ve been using the gel stuff that they sell in the pet store for crickets. But after reading about them liking fish food we decided to give it a try and see how they well they liked it.
Whoa! These guys were not messing around. They loved the fish food, which is great because I have lots of fish food. GB and I were fascinated because you could actually see them taking bites of the food. The flakes had little bite marks on them. And they were swarming the dish. It was funny because some of them were fighting over the […]
Original post by Robin
Last week GB got a new member for his menagerie.
We went to swim team practice, as usual……….. Oh, they just go on, and on, and on…….. every day ….. But, I digress.
One of the moms came up to me while GB was out of earshot and said, “I heard your son is the animal lover of the team.”
And I was like, “Yup, he loves them all!”
So, she proceeded to ask me if GB would like to take over possession of their little hamster. Her little girl was neglecting her hamster a bit, and Mom wanted the little guy to go to a child who would love him. So, I told her that it was ok with me, but that GB would have to agree since he would be handling care and cleaning duties.
Ha! I don’t know why I didn’t just say yes then. I knew what he was going to […]
Original post by Robin
Remember those kids in high school who were always tripping on drugs? We called them stoners in our high school, or heads, or druggies, take your pick.
Well, look at my poor little puppy dog. Isn’t he funny?
I had to groom him today. I wish I’d never started doing this. I started so that I could save the $40 grooming fee each month. And now Murphy won’t let anybody else touch him. He’s fifteen years old, so I guess I’ll have to see this chore through to the end. I hate to traumatize the little guy.
He hates haircuts. And it takes me an unbelievably long time, three hours all together. I have to cut away the bushiness. Then I shampoo him. Then he gets it all blow-dried out straight. Then I use the clippers to get the rest of the hair cut closer. There are much fewer snags on my clipper […]
Original post by Robin
Yesterday I spent four hours cleaning GB’s room. He has OCD issues, so these things have to be done while he is not around. His room is never messy, but it wasn’t clean, if you know what I mean. He likes everything to go back to the place where it belongs, but it doesn’t matter to him if there are crumbs or fluffy bits on his carpet. So I decided that it was time for a top-to-bottom cleaning. Plus, I wanted to add a shelf for his books. You can’t add, or take away anything from GB’s room without a darned good reason. So, I told him that the cheapy plastic furniture was going to have to go because the books were warping the tops of the little dressers. And Walmart doesn’t make those dressers anymore.
Well, even though it’s pretty cheap stuff, GB likes it. He’s used to it, and […]
Original post by Robin
Aren’t they cute? Don’t they look happy in their big swimming habitat?
I got the idea for using one of these under-bed storage containers from someone else’s blog. I’m sorry, I can’t remember which one, but it was a great idea. And the little tadpoles are quite content.
Look at how different their sizes are. Remember, they all came from the same glob of eggs. But it’s weird, because some of them are WAY bigger than others. I’ve even noticed the beginning of legs on a couple. You would think that they’d mature at the same rate. But it doesn’t look like it’s going to work out that way.
GB and I enjoy watching them swim around and come to the surface to get air. They look so funny!
I’m so glad we got to do this again this year!
Original post by Robin
This was the first day we brought the tadpoles home.
By day three, they had elongated but were still clustered around the grassy vine, and still developing inside their gelatinous cloud.
On day five, they were already swimming, although they are very tiny.
When they need rest they just chill like this, bobbing along in a vertical direction.
But when you gently shake the aquarium, this is what happens:
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Original post by Robin
This morning when I took the dogs out, it was pouring rain.
BUT….. that didn’t stop our backyard nature habitat from thriving. This is what I saw within a 5 minute time span:
Technically, these guys were in our front yard, but have you ever seen the show, “Backyard Habitat”? GB loves that show and wants our yard to be a back yard habitat. I thought this group of bunnies were adorable.
Greedy squirrel……. And yes, those are what’s left of our Tomatosphere project. Slowly I am dispersing them to friend, neighbors, and family. We’ve kept two and already planted them in ginormous pots.
I thought this cardinal was gorgeous and didn’t even realize that I had captured a squirrel in the photo too. I love how the red of the cardinal contrasts with the old bench and the green plants.
And this huge black bird was going after my little suet feeder. Can […]
Original post by Robin
I have been in ‘Missing-Aquagirl-Crisis-Mode‘ for several weeks now. So yesterday we went up to Harrisonburg to pick her up from her college and have a nice day together. Good Lord, I missed that girl! I believe the school year is MUCH too long. And I want to start a protest. You hear me, Aquagirl!
Since GB was coming too, we decided to finally head to the Virginia Safari Park, where animals abound within arms reach. Basically you sit in your car and drive along the gravel rode on a long, bumpy path and feed whichever animals meander over for some munchies.
This is a Gemsbok Oryx with my dh.
**snort - snort!** This is a Vietnamese Pot-bellied pig
Isn’t this a gorgeous Eland?
This is a Rhea, these strange looking birds are the 4th biggest flightless birds. Cool fact: A single male rhea can incubate up to 50 eggs!
Speckled llama - Don’t make these […]
Original post by Robin
Today we went to Sea World. One of the biggest surprises to me was how similar Sea World was to our own Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. I knew they were owned by the same company, but didn’t realize that they had so many similarities.
Some things that I liked a lot better at Sea World was their crowd management. There were still tons of people there, but it didn’t seem crowded at all. And for my lazy self, it was nice that the terrain was shady, but flat. The landscaping was still exquisite.
Sea World is very animal attraction friendly, whereas Busch Gardens is very ride-heavy. I LOVED our trip to Sea World!
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GB is standing here with a GIANT Clydesdale horse. We have these in Virginia, too, but because of the crowds GB has never gotten a picture with them.
This was a really cool wall in the Polar […]
Original post by Robin
Today we went to Gatorland! GB has been so excited to come here ever since Carol mentioned it as a possibility. Every time we discussed what we might do, he reiterated that he wanted to come HERE!
These were all our kids on the fake alligator.
I thought these airplants growing on the Cyprus trees were cool.
GB cools off in the Gatorland splash zone. He and several boys had an epic water battle.
If you look to the center of this photo you’ll see an egg. It was the same size as a chicken’s egg. But these were tiny, little baby alligators.
Is the thrill apparent enough? GB thought this was the greatest experience EVER! As a mom, I was very relieved to see the little guy’s mouth taped closed. It may not make the alligator happy, but it helped my nerves tremendously.
This was Chester the Alligator. He was HUGE!
If you ever […]
Original post by Robin
Either my deck is pretty comfy, or this squirrel has taken on my college kids’ attitudes.
He lay there for a good two minutes - Time for me to run and get my camera and set it to zoom. Funny, huh?
Original post by Robin
On Thursday, while in Maryland, we went dog sledding with Maryland Sled Dog Adventures, LLC. We braved 20 degree weather with wind chills of 11 degrees. But, honestly, this is not your everyday adventure. So, we were totally up for it. We’ve been excitedly anticipating this trip for months, and we were not disappointed.
GB and all the kids greet the dogs
GB gets some love from Sobo and Okemo
From the left, our team, Okemo (Siberian Husky), Sobo (Siberian Husky with one beautiful blue eye, and one gorgeous amber eye), Zoe (Alaskan Husky and lead dog), and T-bone (Siberian Husky - Sheltie mix). All were rescue dogs who became part of Catherine and Eric’s family.
Eric demonstrates a dog harness.
Check out that rapt attention!
GB demonstrates attaching a belly clip.
In our demonstration, these were our ‘lead dogs.’
GB is a passenger on the rig. When there is no snow they use this rig, which weighs […]
Original post by Robin
While at the Aquarium, we got to see the Frogs: A Chorus of Colors exhibit. This was GB’s favorite exhibit.
All the kids liked watching the frog video. You can see some of the videos here.
It’s hard to get nice pictures through glass.
This is a Blue Poison Dart frog. This beautiful little guy wasn’t even discovered until 1968!
Want to know a surprise? The most poisonous creature in the world is not a snake or a spider. It’s a frog. The Golden Dart Frog (Phyllobates terribilis) contains about one milligram of poison, which is enough to kill 10,000 mice, and perhaps enough to kill 10 to 20 humans if the poison reaches their bloodstreams.
Frogs are very beneficial to us. Besides being very important in the food chain, frogs help farmers by eating billions of insects every year, and protecting valuable crops. Frog skin is coated with a protective toxin that keeps predators […]
Original post by Robin
Last night, when I was laying in GB’s bed, saying goodnight, he said it had been a great day. So I asked him what had been the best part of the day. I was fully expecting him to say that he had really enjoyed his cousins coming over and having a huge, all-out nerf war. I’m still finding nerf bullets everywhere. I even found one on my aquarium glass! But he surprised me. He said it was a great day because he had his nature class. Isn’t that cute? I’m so glad he’s enjoying this.
This week’s subject was ‘mammals.’ This is a subject near and dear to GB. He loves animals. Christen, the park ranger who leads the group, is coming to know the children by name. She told us that she had noticed several kids who had a look of revulsion on their faces when we all […]
Original post by Robin
We had a terrifying night last night. I went to sleep as usual, but was awakened by my husband around 1:00 a.m. It’s annoying to be awakened after being asleep for only an hour and a half, but it’s scary to be woken up to an emergency. Our little dog, Peatsy, whom you will remember had surgery on Monday, had impressively been able to get most of his bandages off. Bandage stuffing was spread from the bedroom all throughout the house. All this mischief making occurring while dh was researching on the internet. This dog may be dumb, but he is persistent. My other dog, Murphy, would have realized that the pain in his ear was getting worse because of his own paw. But not Peatsy. He just wanted those bandages off.
If you looked at my link to the surgery pictures, you’ll understand just how disgusting a site I was […]
Original post by Robin
Look at our Peatsy! Can you see the redness and puffiness in his ear? It’s a hematoma of the ear. It’s swelling in the outer ear due to a ruptured blood vessel in the ear. The vet told us it could have been caused by excessive itching or flapping his ears too hard. Can you believe that?
You would think that you could just drain it and close it back up. But no, you have to have it fixed surgically. They have to cut along the edge, go in and stitch it back together and leave a little tube in place for drainage. Then his ear is folded up, on top of his head, and bandaged tightly to the head. He looks a little like Jacob Marley in Scrooge….LOL!
About half of the ear flap was affected. And it never gets better. It just gets harder and can possibly weigh his […]
Original post by Robin
Today we went to a Hug a Tree presentation. Kris Koeberle and “Pi” are a search and rescue team. Pi, her lovable, furry partner is a Newfoundland dog. Kris and Pi are members of Black Paws Search, Rescue and Avalanche Dogs. She has been involved in search and rescue since she was 16 years old.
The Hug-A-Tree and Survive program began as a result of a child who tragically lost his life due to not knowing what to do when lost in the woods. This presentation helps equip children with the knowledge they need to help make it possible for them to be found if they get lost in the woods.
Here are some of the things we learned today:
Children should always tell an adult where they are going………. even if it’s just to look at a cool rock up that hill….
Once you’ve decided you are lost, hug a nice tree […]
Original post by Robin
Yesterday, while we were walking on the beach we kept coming across these adorable groups of birds. I swear, they looked like they were body surfing in the ocean. They would ride the wave out to sea, then they would peck at the exposed sand for insects. Then as the wave geared up to come back to shore they would rush back to the beach with short, quick, perky steps to get into position and do it again. We were SO enchanted. I have been to the beach many times and never seen birds like these.
This morning I did a little research to find out what they were. And I found out that they are called Piping Plovers. And very important, they are endangered. I felt privileged to have been able to watch them. Once again the animal world suffers for human encroachment. It makes me sad to read about […]
Original post by Robin
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