"WHERE THE ANIMALS ARE SERVED FIRST...AND AREN'T ON THE MENU!"

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Another Sunday Skunk Sighting, Toby Goes to the Vet & Organizing Closets at the Lazy Vegan!

SKUNK!
Another week has come and gone!  And another skunk was spotted near the same spot around the same time as last week...and this time I was determined to take a photo!  Unfortunately, it came out blurred...but you can still see that it was a skunk standing just fifteen feet or so away from me!  The skunk actually cocked his/her head at the sound the camera made when I turned it on.  I also saw him/her on my return trip.  All of this was around 6 a.m. - which I guess is the time the skunk is out and about!  The critter cam also captured a skunk this week...perhaps the same one?  In other news, Toby went to the vet and was put under to have his teeth done, and that all went well...except that for the following days he seemed confused by time and woke up way too early!  And then, because he doesn't like to be left out of the loop, Bravo decided to come down with some weird full-blown illness on Friday...throwing up, refusing to eat and just laying around being very un-Bravo-like.  I was all set to take him to the emergency vet when he started to improve, and by the next morning he was back to his usual obnoxious self!  NEVER a dull moment around here!  Lastly, the excitement of the week was making several trips to the thrift store to unload all the extra things we've acquired over the past year.  My new motto is use it or lose it!  Am so tired of hanging on to things that I might need when there is no doubt someone out there who WILL need it...less is more, and so on!
Skunk on Critter Cam!

The foreman took the above photo of the colorful landscaping.
Miz Wasabi hopping about while Bravo chews on one of her toys!

The fearless bun...hanging out with Toby while he chews on a bone!
Oh, hop, hop, hop!
Standing!
What's next?

More hopping!
This year we let the poppies take over the bedroom terrace...and they love it!
The weekly pose...I love how huge Paco's snout looks!

I wish Weegie would "pose" with me...but he would rather stand to the side!
Toby is so deaf now ...and I suspect also somewhat blind...that he will just come and stand on the front terrace when he's ready to come in and doesn't even notice me if I'm in the yard, below.  Sad!

Lavender is really taking off, too.
Where Toby's I.V. was put!
Raccoon Messing with the Camera!

Nap time with Buddy & Baby.
Relaxing evening.
At the vet, when the procedure was all done!
A very groggy Toby in his car seat, heading home.
Big Ears!
And More Big Ears!

I love these free-ranging chickens...they were part of a huge rescue (over 20,000 hens) from a factory farm in California.  Our local humane society got about one hundred of them, and one of my neighbors adopted ten of them.  They are the most bedraggled chickens I've ever seen (that's what battery cages will do to poor   hens!!) - most have huge bald spots and very little tail feathers.  But now they are happy to be free!  They go in a large coop at night, of course...and there's some risk to how brazen they are about ranging...but so much better than being crammed together in a tiny cage for their entire lives!



The turkeys are all over the place lately, fanning their feathers!
 Just another lazy morning!

 I made pesto from all the arugula we're growing right now...vegan, of course...it was a super yummy recipe with walnuts & arugula & garlic and a few other things!
 The foreman enjoys some pesto on toast.
 Good smells!

Deer reaching for the oak leaves.
Turkey Shows Off!


It is like an episode from National Geographic around here...the turkeys strut their stuff!

I know some people think they're weird looking, but I think they're beautiful!


The foreman shows off the greens he just picked from the garden!
Wasabi samples the greens!
One of my favorite meals lately...mushrooms with fennel & tomato sauce over brown rice!

Wasabi has done some extensive renovations on her "Magic Dream Cottage"!  She apparently likes an open floor plan!
Just hanging in the kitchen.

Organized closet number one - the upstairs closet.  Still looks like quite a bit of stuff, but at least I can now see where everything is!

And organized closest number two - downstairs.  Yippee!  My narrowed-down wardrobe in one location!



Sunday, April 22, 2012

Happy Earth Day at the Lazy Vegan!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!  I celebrated Earth Day today by heading off on an early morning walk, when I came face to face with a SKUNK getting ready to cross the road!  I've never been so close to a skunk before...at first I thought it was a weird looking cat!  But then he quickly turned around and as soon as I saw the tail, I BOLTED!  Ran as fast as I could and didn't look back.  It is a bummer, because I actually had my camera with me...but I don't think it would have been worth a photo to be sprayed!  The critter cam was active this week with deer, raccoon, jack rabbits and even a feral cat (I've been seeing him around - very skittish) and wood rat!  Still hoping for more fox and coyote sightings!
Jack Rabbits!


Treat time!
Mower Man is back!  The foreman fixed the rider mower - just in time to tackle some tall grass!
Very comfortable bun in the living room these days.

Toby can pretty much nap anywhere now!  The old guy gets his teeth cleaned this week - of course he'll be put under for that.
The bun!
Weegie soaking up some sun.


Paco was napping, too - so I had to stop to say hi!


Feral Cat...and then, Wood Rat!


This is the sight I saw when I went to put the critter camera back on a tree one morning...

Deer Grooming!

I call this pose "front and center".

MORE napping.
And yawning!

Mower Man, again!
Silly Paco loves red wine!


Weegie decides he's had enough of Bravo's company.
This exotic plant that the foreman planted one year ago is taking over!!


More relaxation.
Toby's a bit concerned that I might have forgotten about dinner time!
The donks play while the foreman plants in the garden.
I have no idea what Bravo is doing here in the corral!
Time to plant the tomatoes!
It got very hot here this weekend - here the crew enjoys some night breezes.
Back of Raccoon!
Snap and I went to the cemetery again, and on the way stopped at the Luther Burbank little house, where I snapped this photo of a photo...Burbank with Helen Keller!


Beautiful day to head to the cemetery to search for another name!
This person clearly was a rabbit lover.
The find-a-grave volunteer hard at work...

Checking the "map" !


The weekly pose with Paco...and a straw hat!


Another Raccoon!

 Dust bath time!


 Hanging out.

 More "free ranging" in the living room!

 Smelling the night smells - with a gate up for safety, of course!
 Sheep early one morning.
 And a duck!
 Going to retrieve the critter cam one morning, I came across this turkey showing off!

Curious Cute Deer!




Two Short Wasabi Videos!

Photo of the week, below (to me) - I was really touched by this photo of one of the chimps rescued by http://www.savethechimps.org/  - read full story by CNN at:
  http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/20/us/rescue-chimp-migration/index.html

Fifteen-year-old JJ still finds security in his blankets. "We are basically taking responsibility for the lives that someone else created," says Save the Chimps' Feuerstein, who relies on donations to fund the sanctuary. 


 w