j.m.m.

My Favorite Part of Summer: The End

2011-07-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

It's not secret that I love autumn. But my favorite part of summer is happening now. Reliably, around July 15th or so, Michael's Arts and Crafts starts putting out their Fall stuff. For me it heralds the end of Summer and the build up to Autumn.

They first put out the Fall foliage stuff, and about the time the Tulip Tree in the woods behind our house starts losing its leaves, they start putting out the Halloween stuff, too.

Some of my favorite selections from this weekend:

Philadelphia

2011-07-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

We went to Philadelphia as a mini vacation this week. It was just an over-night kind of dealio but it was fun and we did a lot.

Everyone who is a fan of things-in-jars knows about the Mutter Museum. Part of the The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, it's a collection of medical oddities including: a gangrenous hand in a jar, Siamese Twins, fetal abnormalities, mis-shapen skulls, and so on.

Entrance to the museum. The banner says, "Disturbing and Informative" or something like that.

Unfortunately they don't allow photography in the museum. Not only are the specimens really interesting, but the exhibit itself is really cool. It's set up like a Victorian Era collector's cabinet, with massive dark wood frames, giant panes of glass, drawers full of bizarre treasure, and velvet lined boxes with shiny instruments.

A light, by the building sign.

Some of my favorite things:

A side exhibit of "Exquisite Skulls" of different animals (included horses), with mirrors under the skulls so you can see beneath them.
Black cabinets with red-orange back panels.
Labels with scrolly work and hand-painted numbers.
Drawers of things removed from inside of people including pins, small metal toys, and such.
Square glass jars with ghostly dyed hearts.
A black framed fetal skeleton artfully arranged.
An "exploded" skull on an ornate stand.
A wall of skulls with labels noting features and personal information.
Shiny tools with ornately detailed handles.

There was also a gift shop and I wanted to buy ALL THE THINGS. They had original monotypes of skeletons and other prints (skulls! absinthe!) and some other art like painted dolls and skull coasters.

But I ended up purchasing this thing-in-a-jar:

...containing rubber tree flowers (at home).

Next to the Museum was a medicinal herb garden. Whenever we come across secret little places like this we refer to them as "magical lands"--something that I aspire to have one day.

The garden, next to a stony church.

It was quite big and welcoming despite being enclosed by a pointy wrought-iron fence. There were plants everywhere, sectioned off in cozy little beds surrounded by rock paths.

Benches in a circle.

The plants were are labeled with their names, and the ailments and symptoms which they were (or are!) used to treat.

Bee balm, for nausea, vomiting and fevers.

There was also a rather helpful looking statue of a little girl offering a dish of water. There were also little plastic pans of water for birds and bugs and I imagine whoever else needed a drink.

Statues: another mark of a magical land.

It was quite hot and humid out, but overcast all the same. And we were getting hungry so we piled back in the car and drove off to out hotel. After a little downtime we decided to wander around the neighborhood and soon found The Continental.

Sam had actually been here before and it was a good lunch place for sure. It was kind of 1950s diner-tastic, but significantly classed-up. The decor was a great martini theme with red, green and tan colors. But my favorite part was the skewered olive lights:

Complete with red "pimento" bulbs.

The place also had a massive bar selection. But since it was 3pm we didn't have any libations! The food was excellent on its own.

After lunch we wandered around some more including walking up and down South Street which we deemed "The Haight of Philly." There were massive amounts of headshops there, and some nerdy design/art-kid stores. There was also a healthy dose of music-centric shops including one that sold band shirts and was run by a woman who had her daughter playing on a leopard-print rug. It was pretty adorable.

Philly, over all, struck me as a pretty pet-friendly place. There were people walking dogs everywhere. We even met a couple of shop-pets include a Sheltie and this guy:

Black shop cat.

...who, appropriately, lived in a witchy-looking place that had statues of dragons and crystals and amber jewelry and fossils in a back room.

Closer to our hotel, we visited some historic cemeteries. There were also a lot of other historic landmarks, but we didn't visit any of those. We joked about how morbid our vacations turn out to be. But, hey--the cemetery was quiet and shady and nice.

And of course had some cool tombstones and coffins.

I was happy to see that their cemeteries were not uptight and at least one even welcomed pets. When we were in Boston there were some sort of strict rules, like staying on the walking paths. But this one, at least, let you go where-ever AND allowed dogs.

The rules.

There was even a dog bowl.

After a while we went back to the hotel to relax until we were hungry again. I should also mention that it was kind of drizzly the entire time we were there. But it was an inoffensive/non-committal kind of rain that wasn't too much of a bother.

We had dinner at a Spanish tapas place called Amada which is run by a celebrity chef (or something like that). The ambiance was quite nice and really, you can't go wrong with tapas.

They also had a list of entertaining sounding cocktails so I got one. I thought about having something with absinthe in it, but I wanted to save that experience for the Edgar Allen Poe bar in Baltimore! Instead, I had a vodka, lemon, rosemary concoction that was rather tasty.

After dinner we decided to try some of the other restaurants by bar hopping. We were in a great location for that, since all the places we visited were in easy walking distance of our hotel.

Sam's choice was a tequila bar next to Amada. He had a variety of tequila on the rocks that he had never tasted before. And I had a dirty martini. It was pretty quiet when we got there, which was nice. But we only stayed for one drink before visiting the next place.

My choice was National Mechanics.

It's in an impressive building that looks like it could've been some old state house or bank or something. Inside its quirky personality shines through. This is a little dark, but maybe you can spy the stained glass window and the things-in-jars:

And here is the foam model for a taxidermy fox(?) repurposed into a strange light fixture:

And right next to me by the bar, what looks like medicinal bottles made into small, weird chandeliers:

It was open mic night and pretty active for a Monday night. The acts were nothing to write home about, but they were at least entertaining nerd-music. We had a few ciders before calling it night.

After our late night out we decided to sleep in a bunch. Which turned out to be good, because our breakfast/lunch location of choice didn't open until 11:30.

Farmica was another great place to eat. Since we showed up soon after it opened it was quiet but got busier. Its focus is locally grown, sustainable fare which I always appreciate.

Sam had a mexican cheesesteak, and I ordered a salmon and egg salad sandwich with fennel salad but they were out of salmon :( All the same it was pretty delicious. We also drank copious amounts of water!

We putzed around the neighborhood a little while longer before jumping back in the car for the ride home. It was a nice little visit!

A Grandchild's Guide to the Cemetery

2011-06-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

(Sorry if this treads on morbid territory, folks. But this post is meant to be a helpful reminder for me, on those occasions when I want to visit the place where my father's parents rest.)

How to get to Fort Lincoln Cemetery:

3401 Bladensburg Rd, Brentwood, MD 20722

View Larger Map

How to get to East Mount Calvery:

(click to zoom in)

Where to find the Tavel Plot:

(click to zoom in)

Who will you find there?

Sterlin Tavel Senior, Olivia Tavel, Sterlin Tavel Jr, Ella Mae Tavel, Hilda Gish, and Daniel Tavel.

Other things:

In front of you will be the Garden of the Crucifixion.
Behind you will be the Garden of the Apostles.
There's a big oak tree to your left, and a crazy spruce tree behind you.

Nature is awesome

2011-05-28T08:39:00.001-07:00

On our morning walk with Locksley this morning we came across something pretty amazing.

Behind our apartment is a little woodland area with paved trails that lead to a playground and recreation area. I always tell Sam he's flattering it by calling it a "forest" because it's really more of a "woods" in that it's just a scrap of wilderness. But even so we get some pretty great visitors--fox, birds, deer, snakes, and so on so I'm really grateful to have it so close to home. It's my favorite place to walk the dog.

So we're on our morning walk when all of a sudden we come up on this:

Can you see it? I spotted her first and even when we stopped to observe Locksley was pretty much oblivious. Which is good because you don't really want to annoy a snapping turtle.

I knew immediately what was going on, she was digging a hole to lay eggs! As we stood quietly watching she gave us kind of a dirty look and went on with her business.

Digging with her back legs, a pile of earth behind her.

Watching the turtle reminded me of the turtles that we had growing up. My dad when he was a boy would go out into the woods and find Eastern Box Turtles. They'd keep them for the summer and then let them go in the fall. So when my sister and I were young we did the same. One year we even had a turtle lay eggs, though I don't think they hatched.

Sam's mind was blown from coming across this turtle. It was definitely an educational experience! And it made me really grateful that I had lots of experiences with nature as a kid.

We didn't want to make the turtle too uncomfortable with our presence so we didn't stick around too long. She was doing important stuff, after all! I hope that her choice of a nesting spot is a safe one and that the eggs get a chance to hatch.

I looked up some snapping turtle information and apparently they can lay anywhere from 10-30 eggs! The sex of the eggs are determined by temperature. And they can hatch anywhere between 55 and 125 days later. You can learn more fascinating stuff about snapping turtles here and even more nerdy stuff here.

Also, we managed to get a video where you can actually see her plopping some eggs into the nest:

Nature is awesome! Thanks and Godspeed lady snapping turtle!

Busiest Friday Ever

2011-05-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

Friday the 13th had a lot in store for me this month, and all of it good!

I found a baby bird

I took a half-day at work so I could meet the farrier at Bonnie's for Gobie to get his feet trimmed. On the way out of the parking garage at work a baby starling flopped out in front of my car! So I stopped, parked, put on the hazards, and got out to usher him to a safer place.

Well, I looked around to see where I could put him. Any nests? Adult Starlings looking worried? Even a good patch of grass with some shelter from predators and away from the road? Nope! He was also way too easy to catch which made me think that he probably wasn't feeling so hot anyway. So I did the only logical thing for an animal-loving bleeding-heart could do: I brought him home.

I had a feeding pan in the car so I put him in that and then wrapped my black, breathable rain jacket around that so he wouldn't flop around the car. Then I high-tailed it home.

Fortunately I have some spare cages lying around. I put him in Nooch's old cage with some paper towels in the bottom. I noticed after I put him in the cage that I had a red bug on my hand. Uh oh--parasites! I'm no stranger to rehabbing birds so I knew that these weren't going to infest me or anything (they're specific to BIRDS and, as I learned, specific to Starlings, even). I also noticed quite a few on my jacket, and squished 'em all. Honestly he didn't look so hot so I wasn't sure he was going to live. I didn't want to be late for the farrier so I high-tailed it to the barn.

Gobie got his feet trimmed

I made it to the barn on time! You can read all about how Gobie's feet trimming went here. The short version is: he was great and the farrier was awesome! It was a totally pain-free experience and left me confident that I have a good little pony on my hands.

We went to a Thrill Kill Kult show

So appropriate for Friday the 13th--My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult was playing a show at Bourbon Street in Baltimore. So we went! Sam and I don't go to a lot of shows so much anymore, but when a band that we like does come around it's always a treat to go see them. The band put on a great show as usual, occultiness and sleaziness at its peak performance!

Success!!

2011-04-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

Horray! We did it! Gobie has been successfully loaded in a trailer and delivered to his new home.

It was a group effort. I am so grateful for the awesome help that we had: Michelle, Melanie, Berry, Bonnie, Jason, Patty and Sam. It was truly a team effort. Gobie was being a very good boy without a bite or a kick, just some nervousness. He got to eating grain off the floor, but it took Michelle and Barry pushing on his butt to get him to actually stumble in to the trailer. Once he was in there he was quiet and well behaved.

This trailer's not a-rockin! On our way home...

The drive was pretty quick. The weather managed to hold off on the rain until we actually got to Bonnie where it just sprinkled a little bit. Gobie unloaded like a champ and was good about being lead into one of the pastures. He's in his own big area which shares a fence line with another pasture where the rest of the horses are. His first meeting went great!

Oh hey.

There are four other horses at Bonnie's. Honey (Bonnie's palomino), Cinder (a big white horse with a crippled leg), Bo (a plucky Arab gelding), and Kahlua (a brown 30-something mare). There was a little bit of squealing between Gobie and Bo (as the two bachelors) but their first meeting was pretty mellow.

Okay, I'll see ya later.

Bonnie put out some hay for Gobie in case he wanted it. He ate a little bit, but since he'd had some grain and was grazing all morning he wasn't super interested.

I guess I'll have a few bites.

Bonnie let out her corgis and Sam and I had a good chat with her about logistical stuff. There's a tack area where I could put my stuff, an area for feed and things if I wanted, and smaller pasture areas where I could work Gobie when I need.

Bonnie's Corgis, Furby and Belle, have great manners around the horses. Gobie checked them out, but then went along minding his own business.

Let's all eat grass!

Gobie didn't check out his entire paddock, but he see where the water trough was and checked out the tree.

What IS this crazy thing?

I was glad to see he didn't seem frantic or nervous about anything. He wasn't squealing for his friends, or pacing the fence line or anything. He was curious about the other horses, but not nutty about it.

And he came over to the fence to say hi to us several times. And of course to get a treat or two.

This is Sam's "I have a horse!" look.

And from over the fence Gobie seemed to be making good friends with Bonnie's horse, Honey. She almost started grooming Gobie's back, before Bo got a little bossy about it.

BFFs?

It started to rain a little bit, so we made everything was good and cozy and then went on our way home. Of course, now I can't wait to go back :)

So the Good News Is...

2011-04-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

So the good part about the visit today was actually ADOPTING Gobie, although the getting him in to a trailer and taking him home part didn't work out so well.

His adoption fee was a little bit cheaper than I first thought it was going to be. And the contract was pretty straight forward. I'm actually a co-owner of Gobie with HorseNet Horse Rescue. That means he goes back to the rescue instead of being sold/traded/etc. The contract also says:

Adopter is aware of the following: Gobie came to HorseNet in 2004 from a horrible cruelty case in Washington County. It took him a long time to trust people, and will continue to need reassurance. He is a super smart boy and should be a fun project. Gobie requires training both on the ground and under saddle.

The adoption packet also includes his negative coggins test. And lists his markings as star, stripe, snip, right front pastern, left front fetlock, left hind coronet.

My favorite thing in the packet is his History, though. It has two pictures of him as a little dude looking pretty steely gray. It lists his information as:

Breed: PONY
Sex: GELD
DOB: 2001
DOR: 2004
Weight: 715
Height: 14
Training: UNTRAINED

As well as his last worming, farrier, nutrition, housing, vaccinations, and so on.

Even though it was pretty discouraging not being able to get him loaded into the trailer, I didn't get a bad feeling from it. Even when he was being naughty about it, I didn't feel intimidated or threatened by him. And even though he may turn out to be more work that I first thought (and way more work than I really should be getting in to) I think he will absolutely be a good "student" as far as training goes. If only we can get him home... ;d

So the Bad News Is...

2011-04-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

Gobie would not get in the trailer!

Today was the day I was going to adopt him and bring him "home" to Bonnie's farm. But, Gobie had other ideas. Namely, there was no way he was getting in that deep, dark, creaking cave that he was pretty sure had a horse-eating monster in it.

I can't really blame him though. For some reason I thought to myself, "Well, I can start training him when we get him to the new place." But really, I should have been training him (instead of just bonding with him) for the last couple of months. I don't think that I figured he would just HOP into the trailer. But I sort of did think that after a few tries he would get in. Not so much.

To his credit, he's a 9 year old horse that has probably SEEN a trailer all but a handful of times in his life, and has probably only been INSIDE a trailer ONCE. And it probably wasn't the best experience of his life.

To my credit, I thought he was little more trained and trusting than he is, at least when it comes to stressful situations. The six year old girl in me was pretty sure that if he loved me out in the field he would trust me when I asked him to get a trailer. But the trainer in me knows that was a pretty silly assumption.

He really did TRY though, and I'm thankful for that. He was literally shaking from fear, but he came so close to going in a couple times. And he really didn't try to fight so much as run away and even that was halfhearted.

When we first arrived he was flirting with Magic. I think she must have been in heat or something because he was raising his upper lip and sniffing around her girly bits. And she was acting rather inviting. Lucky for everyone, Gobie is gelded.

Getting him to come in from the field wasn't too bad. He was definitely a bit stubborn, but he eventually came through the gate to where the trailer was parked. Part of the experience definitely confirmed my sneaking suspicion that he's not totally halter broke--or at least he doesn't have great manners probably because he was never told he needed them.

Anyway, we had a bucket of grain for some encouragement and he liked that. Part of me wondered, though, if it didn't get him a little too excited. It took some doing to get him close to the trailer at all. But every little noise--every creak and groan from the metal--would send him backing up again. It didn't help that semis would be barreling down the road, or that dogs would be barking their heads off. He would try running to the left or the right, and if he made a lot of ground we'd have to walk him around in a circle to gain it back. At one point they were trying to use brooms and a rope around his neck to get him to go in. But the broom seemed to wig him out more than motivate him to move forward. And using two ropes was kind of unmanageable. We got pretty close to getting him to load twice, but alas...

Some broken nails and a bruised finger later, we decided to give it a rest. Probably a good thing, too, because it started pouring rain on my drive home.

So we'll try again tomorrow! They're talking about sedating him (yikes) and setting up some panels to kind of "chute" him in. We may try putting him in with another horse. Part of me wants to take it really slow and just get him use to being around the trailer, and then get him eating out of it, and then getting him finally jumping in to it. But I think everyone else has more expedient modes in mind.

I guess we'll see...

Congrats it's a...

2011-04-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

My in-laws sent us a card in the email today:

(oh dear..)

and here's the inside:

lolz!1

They are so cute! Plus, I like that it's from the cat also.

Rest in Peace, Lola

2011-04-12T16:16:00.001-07:00

we'll miss your big furry newfie face.

Big News!

2011-04-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

Adoption Pending!
...to me!

Herding... horses.

2011-04-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

Today at HorseNet Horse Rescue's New Windsor barn we had to move the gelding herd to the pasture across the street. When it starts getting warm and nice out the geldings go to this other pasture so they have room to run, and grass to eat. It also gives their winter pasture time to recover and grow more grass.

As you might imagine, moving a whole herd of horses is a little tricky. Horses can get pretty anxious about new things, especially when it involves members of their herd going places.

We moved the herd in groups. There were four of us volunteers who were trusted with leading the horses so we could move only four horses at a time. Fortunately all them were pretty well behaved!

Leading the last group up the driveway.

The volunteer coordinator was a little nervous that Gobie would be naughty, but he was a good boy. At first he didn't want to be lead out of his paddock, but we got him moving without too much trouble. He got a little excited once we actually got across the street and saw his pals waiting for him on 20 lovely acres of grass.

Looking pretty tiny out there, Gobie.

It was a productive day. By the end of it the horses and the volunteers were happy.

A Place for a Pony

2011-04-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

Today Sam and I went on a visit to Ellicot City.

The main purpose was to check out a place offering horse boarding. I found out about it on Craigslist and was amazed at the price and then really pleasantly surprised by the location--just 30 or 40 minutes away.

Getting there was a piece of cake. The house was nestled back in a little wooded area a big off a main road. When we pulled in to the drive we were greeted by two adorable corgis. They were vocal but really friendly and enjoyed the scritches and attention. Bonnie, the owner of the place came out to say hi.

To say this place was perfect might sound like over enthusiasm but really, it was perfect. The I-would-like-to-live-here! kind of perfect.

The house where Bonnie lives is central to the six-acre property. When you're coming up the drive there's a paddock on the left, and then two paddocks in the back behind the house. There are trees on all sides protecting the fields from wind and providing some shelter to the horses. There are also at least three shelters.

The fence line along the driveway.

the paddock along the driveway.

Bonnie's house.

The back paddocks.

Some of the shelters.

Bonnie was really nice and easy to talk to. She inspired the kind of confidence in me I was hoping for--really sweet, and really experienced. She said she had three other people who boarded, in addition to her own horse that lives on the property. She goes riding about once a week she said.

She also has indoor cats in addition to the two corgis. And she allows people to bring their dogs if they like!

Some of the boarders' horses, relaxing in the paddock.

She has a trailer and said she was happy to do any short trailering. There are places to ride around her house, but I got the impression that every so often she would take the horses out to ride someplace new.

Trailer!

I told her about some of my past horse experience, and that I've been volunteering at HorseNet Horse Rescue for a little over 6 months. The visit left me pretty excited and happy about what could be coming next...

Guess what? Ponies.

2011-03-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

I've been laying off the ponies for a little while, but I finally made it back out to the barn this weekend. It's been a combination of being busy, and being bummed out. On the one hand I enjoy being around the horses, but on the other it brings up all these conflicting emotions about keeping a horse of my own.

Today the horses were very much interested in soaking up and snoozing in the sun.

Seriously, Gobie. Could you BE any cuter?

Everyone was enjoying their hay as well.

Our main chores were spreading out the hay so everyone could get to a heap without fighting about it, and checking water troughs. Part of the work involved going in where the goats stay. They were feeling pretty cheeky, and I had fun messing with them and deflecting their headbutts.

nerd.

The rest of the gang was working on the fencing to the pasture across the street. They're going to move the geldings over there next weekend. I'm not really looking forward to that.

Dammit Spring

2011-03-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

Once again, I'm impatiently waiting for the arrival of Spring. This year I decided I would start trying to grow things INSIDE because it's not yet warm enough to grow them outside yet.

I decided to get started with pet grass, also known as pet grass. Locksley really enjoys nomming on grass, and I hear parakeets are supposed to like it too (although Dorsia hates practically everything novel--so we'll see).

So, I planted a bunch of oat grass in a big pot for Locksley, and a bunch of oat grass in a small container for Dorsia.

Locksley's pot was quiet for several days until BOOM! explosion!

Dorsia's pot grew nothing. I thought maybe they were late bloomers or something. So I waited.

Meanwhile, Locksley's pot continued to grow like crazy mad men.

Dorsia's pot, still nothing. I gave up on it until...

One peasey blade of grass. Growing, smashed into the corner, mocking me. Jerk! I guess I'll give this pot a little longer to produce something substantial.

You might have noticed there's something ELSE in Locksley's pot. A mushroom!

It's not real of course -- I think it's ceramic or something. Anyway, I thought it was adorable. Who doesn't need a friend in a grass forest?

At the same time I planted purple basil and sage. I got these already started from Behnke's, our local garden store. I also decided I would grow some regular old basil in this pot as well. They took forever to sprout (at least in comparison to the grass) and seem to be pretty slow growers. Though it may be because the pot is already pretty active.

I was also inspired by Chris and Sandy to grow an Avocado plant. They have a HUGE avocado plant in their dinning room that they grew from a grocery store avocado pit. They didn't start it in water or anything -- just chucked it in some dirt and watered it. I'm trying that same route, though I'm not expecting to be as successful in this endeavor as they were.

I've got several other seeds to start, but I'm trying to pace myself. This whole process so far is only confirming a sneaking suspicion I've had for a while: I need a backyard.

Jaleo FTW

2011-01-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

I didn't even like food before I met Jaleo. That's absolutely true. But one day, after Sam and I had caught the play Titus Andronicus at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in DC, we were starving and needed some sustenance. Jaleo to the rescue!

Ever since then, Jaleo has come to the rescue a zillion more times. It's been my favorite restaurant ever since that first dinner. We've tried lots of other place of course, but most of the time there's a feeling of "why didn't we just go to Jaleo?"

Some favorites:

Tostada con salmon ahumado y huevo duro. This isn't always available, but it is by far my favorite. In fact, we've tried to duplicate it at home! Some of my favorite things: salmon, goat cheese, egg, and capers.
Endibias con queso de cabra y naranjas. Endives with goat cheese orange and almonds! I usually not a sweet/citrus kind of person but man is this delicious. It taste clean, clean, clean and pleasantly satisfying.

There are more favorites of course (and new things to try) but this is just a taste.

The best sangria OF ALL TIME. I'm serious. This was my first "salad drink" -- where fruit and mint were combined in a beverage -- and all others have paled in comparison. Another Jalo favorite that we've tried to duplicate at home.

Basque Cake. This is basically made of heaven and is my favorite dessert. Creamy in the middle, with cinnamon accents and vanilla ice cream to compliment.

The service is always great. PLUS in the spring and summer they have outdoor seating where dogs are welcome.

Making Christmas, Part 2

2010-12-25T18:43:00.000-08:00

I don't mean to brag, but we've gotten a zillion Christmas cards this year. I also SENT some Christmas cards this year -- I think that's the key. This is just a sampling:

We get cards!

Next year maybe I'll have to get one of those Christmas card trees!

This Christmas I've gotten loads of Christmas style decoration cheer. Notably in the ornament department.

Sam's mom got us this one:

Old World Pumpkin.

So appropriate! We were married on Halloween, and I love Autumn, so it's only fitting we have a pumpkin ornament on our tree.

My Aunt Laura gave me two new ornaments:

The Horse.

This to commemorate my enduring love of horses. It was also crafted by Wayan, and a portion of the purchase goes to a nonprofit.

The Cat.

This I feel commemorates my cat-centric job. Plus, I love how this cat is painted -- orange with green circles.

I also stole some ornaments from my mother's collection. Okay, so stealing isn't the right word. I got these passed down to me ;)

Star Trek Starcraft. Don't be jealous of my nerdiness.

The Sleeping Squirrel. My favorite ornament as a child.

The Peppermint Unicorn. Adorable!

I was also super excited to recieve TWO nativity sets this year. I have previously had NO nativity scene to display, so this was a real treat.

This set was given to me by Sam's mom:

Fontanini.

The figures are very realistic in the sense that they look like people and animals. Detailed features, clothes, and so on. I got a stable, Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, manager, and two dogs. The dogs are for Locksley :) and the tradition is to keep Jesus hidden and ONLY place him in the manger Christmas Day. Like magic. This set is soft and probably unbreakable! I also hear it has loads of other figures available -- notably, all sorts of animals.

This set was given to me by my mom:

Willow Tree.

It was on my wish list :) They're made of wood, I think, and are far more abstract. It's definitely more arty looking, and even though there aren't any features on these faces they are still very expressive.

I love that both of these nativity scenes are distinct and lovely. I can't wait to display them--and all of my new found Christmas decorations--year after year.

The Best Pony Evar

2010-12-17T16:42:00.001-08:00

Photos by Jason Putsche.
More here.

EP and Jason accompanied me to the horse barn last weekend to take some photos of the barn cats for work. They also took some pictures of the ponies, and got to meet Gobie.
When we headed out into the pasture to greet Gobie he recognized me instantly and started walking toward us. It was a veritable love-fest with lots of petting and nosing and such. I had brought my curry comb along with me, so besides the usual petting I took the time to brush him down a little. Some of the other horses came over to say hi, and they were all pretty polite for the most part...
Except one black mare. She came over with her ears pinned and looking cranky. I tried shooing her off, but I wasn't very convincing. Gobie too care of us, though. He protected us quite readily by turning his butt to Magic and pinning his ears back. She moseyed off and we were saved. Gobie is a hero, pretty much.
EP and Jason agreed he was a pretty great pony. We showed the photos to the other volunteers and they loved them, of course. <3

Yule Log

2010-12-12T17:55:00.000-08:00

Nothin' better than sitting inside some cold winter's day with the Christmas Tree twinkling, the Yule Log channel a' glowing, and presents wrapped. Cracking and eating mixed nuts for old times sake!

Gingerbreading

2010-12-10T19:24:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for some pretty epic Gingerbreading? Thanks to Molly, tonight was filled with the triumphs and hilarious failures of making Gingerbread houses.

The mood was set with a laptop cranking Christmas Music, ready with Gingerbread icing recipes, and Christmas themed movies playing in the background.

There was also the exciting privilege of seeing, in its natural habitat, Molly's Ridiculous Cabinet Handles.

(and creepy knife set)

Step one was making the icing, using our handy recipe. Four egg whites, Four cups of Confectioner's Sugar, one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat until firm!

...or beat until it resembles a Jackson Pollock.

Step two was copious amounts of candy. Which we had IN SPADES.

And the Gingerbreading commenced! It was hard work.

Emily's Creation:

Starting out with a solid foundation.

A roof! And a peppermint ribbon chimney.

The roof is amazing! Post modern!

Also, did you know a hippo lives here?

Also living here: a pirate gingerbread man and his friend.

My Creation:

It was super promising... but then..

NooOOoOOo!!!

Maybe it just wanted to be a big cat zoo exhibit?

I salvaged it into a house -- with a Locksley Dog, poopin on the roof.

Molly's Creation:

Solid foundations -- with a cyclops gingerbread man supervising.

The roof -- steady as she goes!

The cyclops, tearing the roof from the house, to access the people inside.
RUN FOR YOUR LiIiIIife!

A near tragedy -- the walls start to slip!

But an epic recovery! The cyclops carnage is complete with the house on "flames"!

As you can probably tell, Gingerbreading was a success.

Making Christmas

2010-12-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

When it comes to holidays, my heart belongs to Halloween. I was married on Halloween, for pete sake. But for the first year ever, I'm actually getting kind of excited about Christmas. Starting out, I was a little worried about this blossoming Christmas Holiday relationship. I didn't have any decorations, after all. And the few that I bought looked a little silly amongst all the deer skulls, black furniture, and orange accents.

But it's okay! I think it's starting to look like a legitimate Christmas.

Smells like a pine tree! Okay, no it doesn't. Faaaake!

I know it's leaning. SO WHAT.

Our star, and a "My First Christmas" ornament with our smoochy faces. (Thanks mom)

Dorsia isn't sure what to make of the tree.

This is Dorsia's ornament.

This is Locksley's ornament.

Snowflake!

Sam's armadillo.

Purple glass owl, and vintage glass mushroom. (thanks Lore)

The red nutcracker. (Thanks Allison)

The blue nutcracker. (What? I like nutcrackers, okay?)

The fox.

I was super organized this year and have nearly everyone's present wrapped and ready. If I get them mailed on time it will be a Christmas miracle.

My own pony! (sort of)

2010-12-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

I'm sponsoring Gobie, one of the horses at HorseNet Horse Rescue, and today I got his sponsorship packet in the mail!

It was really well put together with a letter from the Executive Director, my donations to date, some information on the organization, a business card, and a photo of Gobie including his story:

"Gobie is a super cute 9yr brown/grey pony gelding.

He came to HorseNet from a horrible abuse case in WV. Gobie arrived with the rest of his herd of horses, they were malnourished, infected with parasites, and all had painfully over grown hooves. They had not been receiving proper care from their former owner for many months and their temperament and body condition showed it. They were basically wild horses. Gobie was one of the ones who turned around quickly. After much needed care and attention his health and behavior was complete different. He became a wonderful, loving boy.

Gobie is also a very comical boy, who is very willing to please and tease. He loves treats and a good scratch. He is enjoying his life in his herd of horses. This little man will make a great project for someone who can put the time and patience into training him.

Gobie has been with HorseNet since 2004 and is patiently awaiting his very own life long loving home."

I was sad to hear that he was part of an abuse case, but I was glad he made it to HorseNet. The description is totally fitting. And I was surprised to read that he's been at the rescue since 2004. That seems like forever!

At any rate, it was great hearing more about the pony I've been pining over for the last several months.

Krampusnacht

2010-12-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

Just when you thought Halloween was over -- Krampusnacht is here!

The Krampus is an entity celebrated in central Europe (though primarily in Austria) who comes around on December 5th as a minion of Santa to torment children who have been naughty for the last year.

Read more about Krampusnacht.

On Krampusnacht young men dress up as the Krampus, creating their own wooden masks and costumes. They then rampage the streets with switches and chains, terrifying observers.

Pretty impressive, right? Who knew Christmas could be so sinister...

Pony Blankets

2010-12-04T19:55:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the sudden onset of winter with extremely chilly temperatures, the horses at HorseNet Horse Rescue had to be blanketed. Some of them -- like my favorite, Gobie -- didn't need a blanket because they are healthy enough, and already super furry. But many of the rescue horses needed blankets because they didn't have their own furry warmth, or were sick, or skinny, or old.

But that meant we got to groom the horses, and fit them with blankets.

Robey wanted some attention, too. But he didn't need a blanket.

He was extremely nosy about the grooming box.

The girls, grooming one of the horses.

Everyone on the hill, some with blankets, some without. All happy!

It was a pretty mellow day at the horse barn. Maybe it was because it was so cold. Or maybe it's because they know Christmas is coming.

Sleeping and soaking up the sun.

I wonder if Santa will leave treats for the horses in these stockings?

Happy Holidays!

Thankful for Horses

2010-11-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

I don't usually go to HorseNet Horse Rescue on Fridays, but today was a post-Thanksgiving volunteer meeting. Those of us who come out to volunteer don't always meet each other with those differing schedules, so this was a good time to say hey to fellow horse lovers.

It was also a good excuse to drag Sam out to show him what I'm up to on those Saturday mornings at the horse farm. He was a trooper! We walked out to one of the far pastures to bring some horses to be groomed before being ridden. He also got to meet Gobie.

Looking out for other horses while brushing Gobie.

We didn't go out to bring Gobie in, but he followed some other horses in to get some attention from us. He was as cute and endearing as ever. He's looking pretty woolly with this colder weather.

Adorable furry legs!

Sam and I walked the fence with one of the other volunteers to check to make sure there weren't any ways for the horses to get out. Although the weather was cold and cloudy, it was pretty out there.

Up on the hill.

The whole farm was getting decked out for the holidays. That means lights, garland, bows, and the whole works. It's looking pretty cute out there.

I'm grateful to be able to come out to the rescue and spend time with the horses and the dedicated volunteers.

I (heart) Gobie

2010-11-20T16:12:00.000-08:00

There is one horse at HorseNet Horse Rescue that I'm particularly fond of. His name is Gobie and he's listed as a grade buckskin pony. A grade horse is basically the equivalent to a mutt dog -- their parentage is unknown and unidentifiable. Buckskin is a pretty "western" style horse color (as opposed to "english" -- the two dominant riding styles) but I'm pretty sure Gobie is actually Grullo (or grey dun) which is even MORE western and even more obscure. These things, coupled with the fact that he's a technically untrained, 9 year old pony, means that he's been with the rescue for a while.

I love love him to bits. He's got that mellow, but slightly mischievous disposition that I love in a horse. All the things that work against him in Maryland's horse culture makes me love him more. Plus, I think he's absolutely adorable.

I give you a celebration of Gobie:

That last picture is of Sam helping me groom Gobie. He doesn't know it yet, but we're going to have this pony if I have anything to say about it. :)

Ponies Ponies Ponies!! Part 4

2010-11-13T16:01:00.000-08:00

Volunteering at HorseNet Horse Rescue continues to be awesome. It's satisfying both my desire to be around horses, my need for exercise (ha!) and my passion for nonprofit work.

It looks like I'll also soon be able to lend my social media expertise to the rescue. I'm excited!

Bear scratching an itch on a tree. See the video!

Design Blog

2010-11-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

For class we had to create a design blog, so here it is:

http://www.designwithspine.com

Visit it for nerdy art and design oriented posts:

Stay here for personal posts about other junk, and expect some overlap :)

Happy Anniversary!

2010-10-31T15:59:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I celebrated our One Year Anniversary at Rosa Mexicano. The decor was excellent and the food was delicious!

Autumn on a Horse Farm

2010-10-30T13:15:00.001-07:00

If you really want to experience the loveliness of autumn, you'd be hard pressed to find a better place for it than a horse farm. Something about those rolling hills, colorful trees, dark fences, and, of course, beautiful horses.

After being away from the barn for a couple weeks, I was back volunteering at HorseNet Horse Rescue. It was a busy visit! We stacked bales of hay, raked hay scrapes, folded and stowed away horse blankets, and folded tarps. We also picked up piles of pine tree brush in the paddocks and moved it to the pond for burning later. Hauling all of those pine branches and needles smelled like Christmas.

The barn cats, who shadowed us through all of these chores, were a big help.

The barn recently got in a few new horses from a Humane Society seizure earlier this month. With the addition of more horses, there had to be a little shuffling around of paddock mates. One new arrangement was turning out two of the younger horses -- Elsie and Oreo -- out with some of the older, mellow horses.

Elsie, running circles around Cody.

Everyone coming in to say hi.

So far my favorite newbie is Tula. She was there to greet us at the fence and was happy to get lots of scritches.

And dole out some kisses.

Of course, the old horses are still there! Viceroy has a pending adoption, but he was roaming his usual places this weekend.

Giant horse under a little tree.

And who can forget the minis? All three miniature horses are now sharing a paddock together. They all seems to be getting along famously.

Oh, hello!

My favorite horse, Gobie, was moved to the gelding paddock. I'm a little bummed out not to have him closer to the barn, and it actually took me a while to figure out where he was. But it is pretty out in that paddock, for sure.

Welcome to my autumn paradise.

Gobie has loads of company out in the gelding paddock. When I trekked out to visit they were all around round bales eating, except for Gobie who was in the middle noshing on scraps. He looked happy to see me and came right up to say hi.

Looking heroic.

I gave him some good scratches and a couple of treats. He was his usual charming pony self -- checking out my pockets, giving smooches, and trying to eat my keys.

I'm a sucker for a pony muzzle.

Halloween Mail

2010-10-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

Today I had so SO MUCH fantastic Halloween mail waiting for me. Not one, but TWO packages. They were sent, independently, from two of my favorite people: my sister, and my aunt.

Package One
Package One was sent by my sister. It actually arrived yesterday, but it was delivered to the office because it was TOO BIG to fit in my mailbox.

Thick, squishy envelope -- I wonder what's in it?

Locksley was super interested in what was in this package. He insisted on being involved in the opening process.

'scuse me, dog!

Inside the package was an envelope and four smaller packages wrapped in excellent halloween-themed tissue paper!

What an adorable group!

Inside each tissue-papered treasure were treats! Since my sister didn't think she'd be getting any trick-or-treaters, she thought she'd give treats to her favorite "kids";) Super cute!

Yum!!

I can't wait to try them all! Some highlights: "cat butt" gum, pumpkin truffles, candy corn saltwater taffy, and sour pumpkins.

Locksley says, "I know these aren't dog treats, but can I have some anyway?" Nope, sorry dog!

Thank you, dear sister!

Package Two
Package Two was sent by my aunt. Earlier this month she had sent a card to my dog for Halloween so I was DELIGHTED to get my own autumnal salutation. Her envelopes are always easily identifiable in the mail. Bright ORANGE! And a great E.A.Poe stamp.

I should note that this envelope was ENCASED in packaging tape. It was great fun getting in to. Although it might look like it, Locksley did NOT help.

Riiiiip!

Inside was a Haunt House Halloween card, WITH STICKERS!

And a mysterious bubble-wrapped package.

...biodegradable bubble-wrap.

Inside the bubble-wrap was a CD of custom-made tunes, perfect for the autumn activity of exploring graveyards.

Complete with headstone cover art.

I can't wait to give it a listen! Since I don't know of any good, old cemeteries in this area to visit I will listen to it while going to visit the horses in New Windsor instead.

Great CD color, too, don't you think?

Thank you, dear aunt!

Jack-o-Lanterns

2010-10-28T22:51:00.000-07:00

We made jack-o-lanterns! A bat, a wolf, and (because I'm a giant nerd) the Alley Cat Allies logo. I brought the logo pumpkin to work and the President of the organization took it home :)

Primed for Halloween

2010-10-24T17:27:00.001-07:00

HorseNet Fall Festival

2010-10-23T17:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend was HorseNet Horse Rescue's Fall Festival. It was held at the Mt. Airy barn which I have never been to -- I volunteer at the New Windsor barn. There were pony rides, t-shirts, raffle, auction and all kinds of yummy good offerings. But the highlight, of course, were the horses.

My favorite horses at this barn were Ben and Jerry -- two "matching" stocky bay ponies. They had their own small paddock with a shelter and were loads of fun.

Jerry -- my favorite of the two.

Ben -- who was a total treat fiend. Here he's streeetching to reach grass.

The two together, coming and going.

There were a few horses hanging out in stalls so you could purchase a cup of carrots and feed them. They were all rather well behaved, and pretty polite about taking treats. They're all available for adoption.

Rey. Young and completely adorable. I was impressed with her manners.

Sahara -- one of several horses seized from a case of neglect. Doing great!

Bo, half blind and a total sweetheart.

Infact, this barn has an entire blind herd! They live in their own private paddock. They all seem to get along quick well despite their limitations. They're permanent residents.

They can be sponsored, here.

The farm also has two miniature horses: Harry and Jake. They're best buddies and are, of course, super cute.

The festival was fun! It did make we wish I was at MY barn, playing with Gobie. But it was nice to be around horses again after not being able to go out for the past couple of weeks.

Dorsia is not a fan

2010-10-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

We have a Halloween household, but apparently not everyone is on the same page. To bring a little Halloween cheer, I got a small pumpkin to put in Dorsia's cage.

Cute, right?

If you've ever known a bird you realize they're not super thrilled with novel objects in their cage. They usually snub them for a while before getting anywhere near it. Dorsia snubbed her rope toy for days and day and now it's practically her boyfriend.

This was Dorsia's reaction to the pumpkin:

Hello up there!

She flew out of her cage and on to the deer skull hanging above the porch door. She's since been back in the cage, and while she isn't interested in the pumpkins she's not scared of it either. Maybe in a couple days?

I could take this to mean that Dorsia hates Halloween but I am heartened by the fact that she landed on the skull. That's pretty Halloween, right? She did look rather nice on it. In fact, I half expected her to croak "Nevermore" while she was up there.

There are no ordinary cats

2010-10-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, my husband's parents were found by a stray cat. They were telling me all about it one day at dinner and almost on cue I heard some imploring meowing from the open kitchen window. There it was -- a bag of bones with the exception of a very round belly. Just what the neighborhood needed -- a pregnant stray cat. The cat was pretty friendly, and it wasn't long before we decided that we should help out this little lost soul.

We made a shelter, gave it some food, and soon the cat was trying to convince us that we really SHOULD let it inside. And since it was going to be raining, with a chance for flooding, and since a raccoon had been harassing the poor thing the night before, the cat won out and moved in to the basement.

Days and days passed and no kittens. The cat was eating more, dutifully used the litter box and was seeming to prove its worth as a good house cat, and not some vagrant free-loader.

We decided it should probably go to the vet so we could determine what was going on. Last night my mother-in-law got an appropriate prophecy in her fortune cookie: "There are no ordinary cats."

We walked in to the Langley Animal Hospital today.

The cat was a trooper about being in the cat carrier and didn't fight to get in it at all.

Though there was LOTS of talking, while inside.

At the animal hospital we talked to the front desk person and told her our story. She offered helpful conjecture:

"It doesn't look actually black - there's white on the belly and patches of brown -- maybe its really a calico."

"It could be part Siamese with the way its face is, and all that talking."

We weighed the cat: 8.6lbs. And we moved into an examination room and waited for the doctor to appear.

The cat was really well behaved and let the doctor look in its mouth, feel its belly, and other routine check ups. We learned some interesting things:

the cat ISN'T pregnant! What a relief.
the cat is a MALE, and neutered at that.
judging from his teeth, he's probably around 8 years old.

Nothing what we expect, but a pleasant surprise! One cat is easier to find a home for than an entire litter.

The doctor suggested we give the cat a full work-up: blood, urine, and fecal analysis, a bath, vaccination, and test for common feline diseases. My in-laws are extremely compassionate people and agreed to foot the bill for all of it.

(heart)

They don't really want a cat and are planning on looking for possible adopters. But, if that doesn't work out it sounds like they're okay with keeping him around. This cat found the right place to come to.

Hocus Pocus Night

2010-10-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

This evening a few friends and I had a Hocus Pocus Night. Think of it as a Halloween pre-game. It all came about because we were reminiscing about a childhood Halloween movie favorite: Hocus Pocus.

We decided on my house for the venue (it looks like Halloween year-round I'm told) and we quickly whipped up some extra decorations from the Halloween storage bin, and concocted some delicious Halloween dinner.

Locksley helped decorate.

The table was set!

Dinner included: roasted pumpkin and shallots, wild rice, pumpernickle bread with goat cheese, spinach salad with pumpkin seed oil and apple cider vinegar dressing.

And wine, of course. Plus pumpkin beer and hard cider.

And for desert: spice cake with buttercream frosting.

The company was excellent, the food was delicious, the mood was seasonal and the movie was everything I remembered it to be.

My Favorite Creeps

2010-10-06T17:53:00.000-07:00

I've been on a bit of a German Expressionism kick lately. It's aesthetically pleasing to me -- something about high contrast black and white, crazy angles, severe brush strokes and over all creepiness of it.

Visually speaking, I'm rather fond of two German actors in particular: Conrad Veidt and Max Schreck.

Conrad Veidt

Aw, handsome right?

young veidt

mature veidt

How about that hair, right? Nothing says sophisticated like white on the sides. And then there's the long nose and those super dark eyes. Angles and contrast, friends! Dear Veidt was in two pretty excellent films:

The Man Who Laughs

That grin! Holy god.

And The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Watch the full-length film, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari:

Max Schreck

No, not THIS Max Schreck:

THIS Max Schreck:

He has been described as being "pointy" and "rat-like". And it's true. But it's the best kind of pointy and rat-like. This is my favorite photo of him -- the fixed gaze, dark around the eyes, pencil thin pursed lips, pointy ears, equally pointy eyebrows and... of course... a widow's peak.

You're probably familiar with at least one of his movies: Nosferatu.

Oh hi, Max!

I am so entertained by Max Schreck, that I made some t-shirts. In an era of lame vampires, his seminal depiction of the undead is refreshing.

Watch the full-length film, Nosferatu:

GWAR

2010-10-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

We went to see GWAR this weekend. And because it's tradition, we brought an unwitting victim who has never seen GWAR live before along for the ride. (Apologies to Molly.)

Pre-GWAR, with my Max Schreck shirt. You're SUPPOSED to wear white, but I don't have any white t-shirts.

Molly's first "blood spatter".

Sam, looking a little green!

The floor, after the show. We were standing by that black pillar.

Molly. Even her pupils are red!

Me, looking like some weird barf rainbow.

The dog was not amused by our face paint, or our late night interruption.

Ponies Ponies Ponies!! Part 3

2010-09-25T13:25:00.001-07:00

There are great signs all around the HorseNet Horse Rescue New Windsor barn.

This barn cat is more like a lap cat.

Gobie following me down to the water trough.

It was a good visit! I scooped poop, cleaned a water trough, and picked burrs out of Gobie's hair. The cats were out in full, affectionate force. And the chatting during down-time was nice. I'm looking forward to the Open House later in October.

Photoshop-tastic: World Under Glass

2010-09-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

This is the second version of my first assignment for Digital Imaging 2.

Heeeey.. I think I know that dog.

Ponies Ponies Ponies!! Part 2

2010-09-18T21:30:00.001-07:00

The past two weekends I've volunteered at a local horse rescue in Mount Airy/New Windsor, MD. They're called HorseNet Horse Rescue.

I decided to volunteer because I missed being around horses, and there was something unsatisfying about the idea of just going riding, or leasing. I wanted to feel like I was not only getting "horse time" but was making some sort of positive impact.

The horse rescue is an hour and change from my house, but the drive is pretty nice on a Saturday morning. When you finally get to the New Windsor barn, a painted sign peeks out from the bushes.

The farm is fully fenced, of course, and the gate in has about a thousand signs on it. Keep Closed! By Appointment Only! But in the distance you can see horses so you must be at the right place...

The drive in is gravelly and usually a couple of horses are roaming around, mowing the grass as it were. Parking is pretty informal -- any spot on the side of the road seems to do.

Walk through a second gate and you're flanked by paddocks of horses. And they all seem like happy, well adjusted herds. And adorable herds.

Like the minis.

The farm is really interesting. The horse rescue rents it from a man who lives on the property, but they are responsible for the care and ownership of all the horses. The owner of the farm is a tremendous help, though, helping to move round bales of hay around to the different paddocks.

The out buildings are neat and sort of old-world. It's the kind of aesthetic I like and reminds me of some of the buildings in Pennsylvania or Salem or something. A nice departure from the red-brick, particle board, or aluminum siding that seem like the horse-housing norm. To me, there's something magical about buildings made of stone, mud, and weathered wood.

The topography of the place is pretty interesting. Rolling, dipping, all over the place. The barn is nestled in to one of the hills like a cute red gem. There are only a couple stalls, but they have runs attached to them. The barn is mainly used for storage, so the horses can enjoy pasture turn out.

The barn.

The two equine occupants are a mare and filly from a massive seizure of animals a couple months back. The mare was in rough shape, and while she is physically recovering nicely, psychologically she's still learning that people can be good. The filly is a love-bug, like baby animals tend to be.

When you enter the barn there's a mural with a white horse statue. It's sort of whimsical, and reinforces this feeling that you've somehow entered a magical land.

If they haven't greeted you by now, the barn cats usually make themselves known once you get near their food bowls in the barn. There are about 9 or so barn cats that roam the property. They are excellent mousers, and some of them are pretty friendly -- rubbing around your ankles for a scratch.

The barn is pretty cozy. Sort of dark, like barns should be, with dust and hay, and a satisfying and orderly clutter of tools and "stuff". The mare and filly who live in the run attached to the barn come in for a visit, and try to solicit treats. When learning to trust people, treats help.

Is that a smirk I see?

There are more stalls, but they don't have runs attached to them. They're used for storage, including hay, stray, wheelbarrows and so on.

There's a gate inside the barn that leads out to a paddock where there are more horses. That way, they can come in to a part of the barn for shade, or have the run of the pasture on the hill. There are a couple of horses in this area, plus an adorable donkey.

He's pretty sweet and mellow and a little unsure. I've never been around a donkey before, but there's something really endearing about this guy. Maybe it's the silly ears? or the cool shoulder stripe?

If you walk down the short hill, there's another paddock. It comes right before a green lake, which as far as I can tell, is in the center of the property. The fences are all supported by a bramble of weeds and out by the lake there are white gord shaped community birdhouses.

This paddock has my favorite horse in it, Gobie. He shares the long narrow space with another horse named Queen. They're both actual ponies, coming in at about 14 hands tall, give or take. At one end of the paddock is a watering trough.

Queen and Gobie, having a drink.

Near the middle of the paddock is the gate, where hay is chucked. This is usually where you can find the two horses.

I had liked Gobie from the start when I saw his picture online. When I went to visit him I noticed a bunch of burrs in his mane, thanks to those fence fortifying weeds. I was allowed to make getting all those crazy things out of his hair a pet project.

Adorable.

I'm sponsoring Gobie, meaning, each month I donate a dollar amount to defray the cost of his care. I'm glad I chose him. Hanging out with him in the paddock was really fun and reminded me of the good times I had with Cinder.

Pink little nose.

He ate hay, while I dutifully teased the burrs from his mane and forelock. We came to a happy respect for each other -- he let me move him around, I let him eat and bite at flies when he needed. It was a good balance that let us both do what we wanted. I appreciated his laid back attitude. He was mellow, but friendly and curious -- searching my pockets for treats, inquisitively nibbling the metal comb. He didn't try to run away, even when I asserted that he NOT eat the comb, and if he didn't enjoy the attention he at the very least didn't mind the interruption to his hay munching.

I usually spend about two hours at the barn. And with an hour commute each way, it eats up at least half the day. I'm massively out of shape so scooping poop in the paddocks, moving hay, folding blankets, and any other chores are a good work out.

When it's time to go I end up leaving feeling happy and healthy. Cody, the half blind black horse supervises the walk to the car.

On the drive out Viceroy, the draft horse who once pulled coffins at Arlington Cemetery, usually impedes the exit.

Beep beep, Viceroy.

It's easy to not be in a hurry to leave. But at least there's always next weekend.

Halloween Treats

2010-09-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

Ladies the gentlemen, the latest Halloween treats, picked up by yours truly.

From Target (though they did not have the majority of their Halloween stuff out yet):

Chocolate candy bar. Dark chocolate made by Bloomsberry. Really delicious, velvety, cocoa tasting! A cackling good ride? I'm sold!

Pumpkin Pie flavored Poptarts. Delicious right out of the box, with festively colored sprinkles, but to DIE for when toasted. Mmm.. warm pumpkin pie.

You didn't think I'd forget Locksley did you you?

From Petsmart:

The purple set of medium sized Halloween Toy Assortment. Includes a tennis ball, two small rope toys, a vinyl bone, and a sturdy bat chew toy.

That's all for now!

Ponies Ponies Ponies!! Part 1

2010-09-08T18:21:00.001-07:00

If you didn't know it already, horses are pretty much drugs to girls. At least some girls. Specifically, me.

Horses are something I keep coming back to and the only reason I can figure out is that there must be something inherently narcotic about them.

As a little girl I adored them, and refused to give up on loving them even when I figured out that my toys and storybooks had lied about them: horses were not magical, loyal best friends but real, live, instinct driven animals.
As a young adult I was committed to them. I bought my own horse. I stuck through learning how to raise and train her. I worked at a barn and I became a competent horseperson, trainer's assistant, and instructor.
As a grown up I'm seeking to make it up to them. I betrayed them (I moved away from the barn and sold my horse) and I owe them. But most importantly, I miss them.

This Saturday I'm going to visit HorseNet Horse Rescue in Maryland. Partly because I miss horses, and partly because I feel like I need to do a penance for the horse life I gave up.

But mostly because these guys are super cute:

I can't help it. I'm a junky.

They knew how to be creepy

2010-09-07T18:07:00.000-07:00

This sums up my job

2010-09-06T15:39:00.000-07:00

Addiction + Addiction = Blog Post

2010-09-03T17:38:00.001-07:00

We've established that I'm a Halloween junkie. It's also pretty well documented that I'm a nerd for pet-related things. Put the two addictions together, and it's a whole obsession in itself.

I swore I wouldn't get anything before October, but I didn't want to risk something being SOLD OUT. So I caved.

I visited not one, but TWO Petsmarts today to check out their Halloween swag. One shop had an abbreviated selected, but the other was pretty well stocked. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of my restraint. I only purchased one item there today. But I have to admit the restraint was fueled a bit by being overwhelmed by selection. So many great toys! I have to space out the Halloween bounty.

I came away with this:

Dog treats! They had another variety where instead of bat cookies they had pumpkin cookies, but these were my favorite. The ingredients are all natural. The cashier at check out admitted that the manager had them try one of these cookies and they were palatable, though not at all sugary like a human cookie.

The surprise find of the day, though, was at Old Navy. We stopped in on a whim and I--like a blood hound--sniffed out their Halloween products promptly. Imagine my delight when I found these:

Sort of a holy grail. Halloween pet toys, cute design, that glow-in-the-dark. Jackpot! The plush skeleton guy is too cute, and the bone glows entirely and has BATS on it. It's like they read my mind.

A side note: I have a dog and a bird. I've always loved the wonderous variety of toys and THINGS for dogs, but I've always wondered why birds and small mammals get the shaft. Where are the Halloween bird toys? The Trick-Or-Treat foodstuffs? Get on it, pet product producers of the world!

Of course, as I was treating my pets, I treated myself. Starbucks now has available their autumnal offerings. I had a tall Pumpkin Spice Latte today -- the first of the season. I also picked up an autumn designed travel mug.

I had held off getting one for ages because I knew Starbucks would come up with something cute and autumny and I wasn't disappointed. YOINK.

I (heart) Halloween

2010-09-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it. It's a little ridiculous that I start thinking about Halloween in July. But to be fair, I have to SUPPRESS thinking about Halloween until then. And to my credit I try not to talk TOO much about Halloween until September.

I love Halloween and that's all there is to it.

One of my favorite games is checking to see who puts their Halloween stuff out first.

The winner since I started playing this game has always been Michael's Arts and Crafts. They usually put their stuff out right after the 4th of July. To tide myself over I get something AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

This year I came out with a grow-a-creature (black cat and ghost).

The runner up this year was Bath and Body Works. They have a whole line of Halloween and Autumn inspired scents. I'm still sad they no longer carry the 3 in 1 Pumpkin Pie product. But their other pumpkin-smelly stuff are pretty good.

To reward them, I had to buy something, of course.

Halloween themed hand sanitizer. Comes in five scents!

Petsmart is pretty prompt with their Halloween items, but it takes a while to get it all out there. Target is the real torture. They almost always have GREAT stuff, and they are almost always the LAST place to put stuff out.

Of course watching the influx of items is pretty fun, too. Visiting CVS and Rite Aide and other convenience-type stores and watching their seasonal aisle grow is a treat. This weekend I HAD to snag these:

Whitman's Chocolate Sampler - Halloween Cat.

Pez's Glow-In-The-Dark Halloween Bat Dispenser

I love the the Cat design on the chocolate assortment. There were other packaging designs, but the black cat in the witches's hat and the skull collar was too cute.

The Pez dispenser was a must have. I'm a sucker for anything glow-in-the-dark and I'm a big fan of bats. I was especially delighted by the detail of the bat head.

I can't wait for more things to hit the shelves.

Goodbye, Summer.

2010-08-31T15:06:00.000-07:00

See also: Locksley's Beach Vacation Blog Part One, Two, Three, and Four.

Cemeteries: Salem

2010-08-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

Part three! A few photos I took while on the second half of our Honeymoon in Salem. The cemeteries are all lovely here, you basically can't visit a bad one. I remember this cemetery specifically from when I visited Salem the first time ever as a school girl. I found a lone tombstone and adopted it as my favorite. It belongs to Moses W. Lawrence (a name I emblazoned on my memory) who was 19 years-old when he died. On this visit I remember exactly where his grave was, and of course I had to say hi. While there are certainly some great designs on the tombstones here, I think the best part about this cemetery is its ambiance as a whole.

Art in Nature: Bower Birds

2010-08-19T19:24:00.001-07:00

I love bower birds. They truly have a sense of aesthetic - they know what they like and they go for it. The above is an image of a bower bird nest, who clearly likes the color gray. The nests are meant to attract a mate: if I was a female bower bird I'd be all about this guy.

The nests are all individualistic. One bird might decorate his bower in blue, another red. They decorate their nests according to taste, finding just the right items for their bower. They arrange all of their items just so.

Here's my favorite naturalist, Sir David Attenborough, hanging out with bower birds:

Kudos to Sub-Studio for their bower bird post.
Also, kudos to me, back in the day.

Also, this is the funniest thing I have ever seen. Naturalist Nerd Humor!

Un-Wise

2010-08-16T19:23:00.001-07:00

I am getting my wisdom teeth out. For the longest time I didn't even have the roots for wisdom teeth, and even now, I only have 3 of the usual 4. But, it's time they come out since they've already ruined the work of about a thousand years of braces, and they are starting to hurt.

I'm not very squeamish about medical stuff, but for some reason I'm not too crazy about getting these suckers out. I've had teeth pulled before, but these are impacted. I also think my dentist is kind of a quack.

...at least this quack has teeth, right?

I'm sure everything will go fine, though. After all, times have changed. We've come a long way from chewing on willow bark or sipping brandy for tooth relief, and dental science has progressed (a least a little bit) beyond rusty wrenches and crooked knives for tooth extraction.

...or whatever is going on here.

I'm still not convinced that tooth worms aren't responsible for my wisdom teeth woes. But the big question is, will they let me keep my gnarly teeth once they pull them?

even though I won't do anything nearly this cool with them?

Aesthetics: Dark and Shiny

2010-08-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

Aesthetic inspirations, thanks to Cabinet of Curiosities.

Buy this stuff at: Catbird, Nervous System, Bona Drag, Etsy, and Bjorg Jewelry.

Grander than a Cactus

2010-07-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the good folks at SpiderIdentification.org, we now know what Cactus Spider is!

He's a male Mecnogea lemniscata, otherwise known as a Basilica Orbweaver.

They're named after the structure of the web used to catch prey, which supposedly resembles the "domed ceilings inside some cathredrals." I had no idea our humble cactus spider was an arachnid of the cloth!

Cemeteries: Boston

2010-07-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

Part two! A few photos I took while on our Honeymoon in Boston. The place is full of old graveyards and this one - on the Freedom Trail - was my favorite. Favorites: death dancing the with the maiden, and the metro hole that blew hot air, and creepy noises, up into the graveyard like some spooky gateway to the underworld.

Son of Cactus Spider - TRIUMPHANT!

2010-07-23T18:13:00.001-07:00

Sad news, everyone. When I went to check on the spiders who live on the cactus this afternoon there was only one. ONLY ONE! Son of Cactus Spider now as the cactus monopoly.

God speed, Original Cactus Spider, where ever you are.

I was also able to witness something I had NEVER BEFORE SEEN. This is kind of a big deal because I have spent a lot of time over the years observing nature. I thought I wanted to be a naturalist. But then I learned that it entailed more than creeping around in the woods, dictating into a microphone, pretending to be Sir. David Attenborough.

What I saw was Son of Cactus Spider shedding. I didn't know that spiders shed! But it makes perfect sense: what else are you supposed to do with an exoskeleton that's starting to pinch in all the wrong places?

It was hard to photograph because he was twirling around the entire time. But here we go:

This is how I found him. What are you up to, Cactus Spider?

He was really twisting around in the "wind" - though I'm pretty sure all that twirling was on purpose to speed along the shedding process.

Here he is, peeeeeling out of those old legs. I imagine it's like taking off panty hose after a hot day.

He's free! and dangling from his discarded exoskeleton. He kind of looks like an octopus or something, I think.

He's finished! No longer floppy and octopussy - it looks like his legs are in full working order.

Good work, Son of Cactus Spider!

Cemeteries: New Orleans

2010-07-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

Cemeteries are something I enjoy, aesthetically. A couple years ago I was visiting New Orleans, so of course I had to check these world famous cemeteries. Here's a collection of my favorite photos from the visit:

Farmers Market

2010-07-18T13:16:00.001-07:00

Every weekend there's a Farmers Market in Old Greenbelt, and every weekend I try to remember to go. Like a lot of people who frequent Farmers Markets, I go to support local farmers whose practices I believe make for healthier food.

It's also a more tactile experience. In a typical grocery store I feel like all the offerings are the same - tomatoes, peaches, and so on, all roughly the same size and color. At the Farmers Market there are different booths with food form different farms. The selection process takes more time, checking the variety of offerings, assessing each item. It's a conscious effort.

Look at that color. OM NOM NOM!

I can't get everything at the Farmers Market. I also shop at MOMs (My Organic Market), and a grab couple of basics at the regular grocery store. It does take more time to do the grocery shopping, but I love the way my refrigerator looks afterward.

Rad Animal Rights Design

2010-07-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

I love nonprofits. Thanks to my parents I always had a strong sense of community service. But it wasn't until I fell in with the nonprofit crowd that I realized I could make a living supporting my passions.

Nonprofits are great to work for. There are few opportunities in the corporate realm to produce great work that is both personally and professionally satisfying. As an art nerd, I've found that producing work for a nonprofit offers this most excellent blend. A nonprofit without much cash to spend is often more willing to take design chances, and pro-bono work can be a fantastic way to build your portfolio and get your work noticed. A nonprofit with a healthy budget can provide you consistent, gratifying work for years.

I recently attended the Animal Rights 2010 Conference and was reminded of how rad animal rights organizations can be with their designs. A few favorites below!

Alley Cat Allies
In the interest of full disclosure I have to say: I work here. Of COURSE I like our publications. As an organization that advocates for the humane treatment of stray and feral cats it's important to come off as looking professional, organized, and consistent. I love our colors (bold! poppy! contrasting!) and our clean design.

We've also got t-shirts and other products to raise awareness for our cause.

The Classics
These examples aren't of great design per se, but I think they capture the climate of Animal Rights design in general. It's an odd blend of old conventions: ribbon magnets, bumper stickers, familiar themes; and new perspectives: snappy, sassier phrases and images.

Herbivore Clothing
So, they're not a nonprofit but they do extol the virtues of "cruelty free culture." It's for a decidedly younger generation, loaded with curse words! clever and catchy phrases! and trendy design!

Compassion, and specifically not eating meat, can sometimes be seen as an un-masculine. With designs like these the wearer can assert otherwise.

Calico Dragon Bags
These bags are similarly tough and trendy. Their subject areas are broader: vegetarianism, anti-fur, ant-animal exploitation, and so on. They all communicate a similar theme, though—I'm young, I'm cool, and I care.

Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe
This company not only sells well designed products, but they also have a host of vegan foods, cosmetics, and other stuff. My favorite category is their jewelry. They're made of recycled material, and communicate cruelty-free ideals with simple design.

Animal Art
Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary was selling art created BY animals. Issues of animal exploitation aside, having art created by a nonhuman is certainly something that would appeal to those who communicate about animal issues. This isn't design, really, but it does reinforce a desire to express the animal's perspective.

The painting I bought, created by Joey.

Thanks to some marketing savvy leaders in the animal rights world, key concepts are being communicated with bold, trend-embracing design. Appropriate for a movement known for its revolutionary concepts.

Autumn Tease

2010-07-15T17:40:00.001-07:00

Spied this leaf on our evening walk today, and almost was tricked into thinking Autumn could be near. But no, it's still hot and humid and undeniably SUMMER.

SON OF CACTUS SPIDER!

2010-07-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

I came home from work today and checked on Cactus Spider only to find he's got a NEIGHBOR now.

I think they may be the same kind of spider? Maybe one is a female (my guess, original Cactus Spider) and the other male? Or Maybe one is the offspring of the other? Hm..

Original Cactus Spider.

Son Of Cactus Spider - with a tasty morsel!

I wonder how long these two will stick around? Who knew cacti were such swanky digs for spiders?

Dorsia, progressing

2010-07-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to report that Dorsia is getting along rather well with us. She very quickly got used to having hands in her cage, learned to dutifully "step up" on to a finger, and is getting more and more comfortable spending time outside of the cage with people.

She'll even ride around on my shoulder, though she does get bored and tries to fly off on her own. Her wings are clipped, and she lands on the floor, but rather cutely will run over to jump back on your finger (and to higher ground).

Good work, little Dorsia!

Cactus Spider

2010-07-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

We have about a zillion cactuses (or cacti, if you please) living on our apartment balcony. And apparently, we have something ELSE living on our balcony, too.

I present to you: Cactus Spider.

It be fair, I have been holding out on you a little. This spider has actually been living on this particular cactus for several months. But it's gotten decidedly larger, and its web has gotten much larger and more interesting.

If you look closely at the web in the photo above you should be able to tell that instead of a "charlotte" style pattern, the web is more like something you'd see on your screen door. They're all very tiny squares, basically. I had never seen something like it.

You can't see it in any of these photos as far as I can tell, but its legs have really loooong, sticking-straight-out hairs all over them. Silly looking -- and kind of like the spines on our cactuses.

But, my favorite thing about our spider friend are its googly eyes. Usually you'd expect several beady eyes arranged on the front of a spider's head. Not this one! It appears to have two round googly eyes situated at the front, or slightly under its body. It may have more eyes underneath it (or on the top of it's head) but it's perpetually upside down so we always see this rather goofy spider look on its face.

I have no idea what KIND of spider it is, but it's nice to come out and check up on.

Max Schreck is NOT Amused.

2010-07-06T15:33:00.001-07:00

Who's sick of schmoopy, sentimental vampires? This guy. And also, I would imagine, Max Schreck. Let's face it – Nosferatu didn't sparkle. He didn't make out with teenagers. He did what vampires do best – be simultaneously terrifying and intriguing.

Show your solidarity with Old Guard vampires! Buy my shirt design on CafePress.

God I hate July.

2010-07-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

"It was raining down love from a thin
my room and the walls began to warp

the colors in my face were all washed out wrong
and the lights began to short

I heard you call out my name but I couldn't find the way
and the foes were asleep
then your face in the light began to shadow of fright
kill good sleep

there was just enough light for me to watch you
leap through the hole in the wall

should I build or burn your effigy as the buildings fall?
I refuse to become a martyr no matter what you say
I'll be gone this time tomorrow I only live for the day

God I hate July, I scream into the sky
for what it's worth on the face of this earth I refuse
to be denied...

I left him looking on past in hiding into the street
you were cold and gray again and you couldn't even speak
I pulled out the singe from the mouth of disease
and I begged for the truth
I was cursed by way of comparison it broke me in two

I spat upon my unmarked grave in the heat of the spite
I screamed my insect bitter needs in the middle of the night
bury the martyr to his neck and feed him to the worms
replace his blood with toxins look at him burn!

God I hate July, I scream into the sky
for what it's worth on the face of this earth I refuse
to be denied..."

- Chris Connelly

Things that happen on a weekend in July

2010-07-04T18:34:00.001-07:00

It's been a busy weekend! Friday night I was in the mood for oysters, so we decided to go out to eat. But instead of going to an old stand by (Blacks, in Bethesda) we tried someplace new: 8407 Kitchen Bar in Silver Spring.

The ambiance was nice - dark hardwood, mossy green walls, cool lighting and stainless steel everything.

We were seated, and as we checked out the menus our server politely told us that they were out of (among other things) oysters. OY. Fortunately, the other menu items looked pretty interesting. I consoled myself with olives, and Monocacy Ash Goat Cheese.

They had a great wine list - including Tavel rose wine. We got a bottle of something-or-other chardonnay. I had some sort of crazy arugela and artichoke soup, and heirloom tomato salad.

The soup was a little too complex for my unsophisticated palate, but everything looked lovely and certainly satisfied.

For dessert we shared a goat cheese flan, with blueberries, cinnamon and lemon verbena ice cream.

It was brilliant! We ended up taking a walk around Silver Spring afterward - and stopped by Living Ruff to get some goodies for Locksley.

Saturday I went to Old Town Alexandria. It's one of my favorite places around this town - a few visual representations why:

(it's OLD).

For lunch/breakfast we tried Grape+Bean. It was a small place, walls lined with wine bottles, with a bar area for eating and some outside seating. They ALSO had Tavel wine available. Is the rest of the world catching on?

The place is known for their clover coffee, so I got some, naturally. For food, I ordered some tasty salmon, cucumber, and olive thing. Om nom nom.

We made our way to Paint This! for some pseudo art creation. I did something like this about a thousand years ago, but I have almost no recollection of it. So, we were going in as a new experience.

Step One was selecting an item to paint. I was torn between something I could use as an ashtray for the balcony (for company), or a piggy bank.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for a sweet face.

Step Two was selecting the paint. When you're painting ceramic stuff, the paint that goes on dry will look different than when it's fired and glazed. So there's a bit of imagination involved.

My selections. I'm not too adventurous.

The artistic process for this, I've learned, must be taken in good humor. Simple, geometric, abstract themes are best for the novice. And though I'm an art kid by definition, I can quite humbly say this kind of craft takes concerted practice.

My aunt's creation.

My sister's creation.

My pig, ready to be fired!

The whole process took me a little under an hour. But, the more complex the design the longer it will take (my Aunt's took about 2 hours or so).

When it was all said and done, there was a SURPRISE waiting for me. My dear Husband had gone shopping while I was eating/ceramic-ing and picked up something:

A Charley Harper calendar!

I came home and slept for about three hours directly afterward.

New Addition

2010-06-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

Our new addition: a yet unnamed parakeet. Still settling in -- he (or she) doesn't quite know what to make of the place, yet. Eating plenty of breakfast is a good sign, though!

Fireflies

2010-06-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

One part of Summer I really enjoy is the arrival of fireflies. The Museum of Science has a website where you can keep track of fireflies throughout the Summer and help scientists learn more about their populations. It's called Firefly Watch.

Plants for Nooch

2010-06-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

We added plants to Nooch's Urn today. We selected plants with shallow roots, and that would enjoy shade with only some sun in the morning.

In the center of the urn: 'Chocolate Chip' Ajuga
To the left and right: Purpurea Acaena inernis
Top and bottom: Irish Moss

I have a pretty abysmal plant record -- hopefully I can keep these alive, though!

Barkwells

2010-06-07T16:39:00.000-07:00

We're on vacation at a pet resort called Barkwells. It's pretty awesome:

See hilarious commentary here.

Chickens

2010-06-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

We're on vacation in North Carolina and visited my mom who recently bought some chickens and turkeys.

Cue gratuitous chicken photos...

For the full effect of this trip, you should check out Locksley's Blog.

Also:

Guess what?

I love Animal People

2010-06-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

In memory of Nooch the rat, I made a tribute donation in his name to AAVS—which is dedicated to ending animal testing. Nooch wasn't a test rat, but he was a great example of how intelligent and sweets rats can be.

One of my coworkers very sweetly donated a tribute to Nooch as well. I realize that rats aren't number one of everyone's list—some people are creeped out by them, don't think they're cuddly, or whatever. I mean, even if someone likes MOST animals, they might not like rats. It was really nice to have someone say, "I know what it's like to love and lose a pet rat."

I was already feeling pretty warm and fuzzy and then I received this email:

It says:

"Rats are quite loved here at AAVS, both personally and professionaly — our condolences for your loss. May happy memories of your buddy provide comfort at this time."

The exchange made my day. I am so grateful for a community of animal people that have such compassion—not only for the animals—but for each other.

<3 !

Rest in Peace, Nooch the Super Rat

2010-06-02T18:00:00.001-07:00

After three years of excellent friendship, Nooch the rat has died.

I bought Nooch to save him from being snake food. Fancier rats—ones that have cool colors and markings—usually make it as pets, but brown "sewer rats" like Nooch don't seem to fare as well. So I brought him home to keep me company. He was the first pet I would have since moving from North Carolina to Maryland. I had missed having an animal to take care of. More importantly I was at a rough spot in my life—work was stressful, and to make matters worse I was having neck surgery. The time I would have to take off of work was perfect for bonding with my new addition.

I've had rats before but Nooch was, by far, the best (no offense to Cooper, Lewis, and Oswald). He was puppy like—always seeking out my company, ready for a game of chase, or a session of mutual grooming. He was cheerful and cuddly even when he developed a lump on his side.

Death is hard to watch, but I'm glad I was able to be with Nooch the evening he died.

I wanted to bury Nooch, but I live in an apartment. So, I had to get a little creative. My solution—a small, mobile cemetery in the form of a flower pot.

A flower pot, or urn (if you like), befitting Nooch's final resting place.

We drilled a hole in the bottom and put small river rocks for good drainage.

Next, a comfortable layer of dirt was added. Nooch was placed cozily on that—along with a yogie for the after-life.

More dirt was added over Nooch, up to nearly the top.

Since we'll being going out of town in a couple days we decided not to plant anything just yet. We want to make sure it gets a good start with watering and such. For now, an orange flower will be Nooch's token.

A ritual deserving of a super rat. Rest in peace, Noochy.

It's OVER!

2010-05-22T23:23:00.000-07:00

I'm done for the school year. Stay tuned for Fall.

Rats!

2010-05-04T20:49:00.001-07:00

Nooch the rat will be 3 years old in June. That's pretty old for a rat! With his age Nooch has developed some health problems the biggest of which (literally) is a growth on his side. It showed up late in his life which makes a rat-loving person consider the options: risk the peril and expense of surgery to remove it, or make sure that your pal is comfortable and let him live out his natural lifespan.

I opted for that last method. Nooch has a great appetite (especially for yogies) and is pretty active despite having this cumbersome nodule. But in the last couple of months he's gotten a little mopey. Don't ask me how you can tell if a rat is depressed -- I think it has a lot to with the personal knowledge of a particular individual rat. But It worried me so I brought him to A.P.A.W Vet in Lanham, MD to see what I could do for Nooch.

The visit was great! Dr. Johnson was very understanding and had a great bedside (cage side?) manner. Nooch came home with two medicines: antibiotics for a boo-boo on his foot, and childrens' aspirin for discomfort. They were both flavored (one cherry, the other bubble gum).

We've been taking the medicine for a couple days now and WOW what an improvement. Nooch is his regular cheerful self. Medicating is no sweat -- in fact he likes the flavors so much he tries to drag the oral syringes into the cage when his dose is done.

I realize Nooch won't live forever but I am grateful to have him around for however long we're allowed.

Surprise!!!

2010-03-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

Today I got a package! Totally unexpected. It's not even my birthday or ANYTHING. And it was huge. HUGE. I wish I had a picture. I pulled in to my parking spot at the apartment complex, and as I was coming out of the car I saw Sam walking the dog with a GIANT box in his arms. It was for me, from Hawaii! We couldn't wait to get it inside.

It said mom's mushrooms on the box. "I want some mushrooms!" Sam declared. "It's probably just the box, buddy. There probably won't be any mushrooms." I said.

I grabbed a pair of scissors and set to work. The tape was a nightmare to cut through. It seriously must have been SUPER TAPE. Tape made with titanium threads or something! I got one flap free and noticed a note with RANSOM LETTERS on it. So I pulled it out:

Oo what fun! I grabbed the camera and started cutting in to the rest of the tape again.

Locksley had shown immediate interest in the box, and as soon as the flaps were free he buried his nose right in it.

There was a LOT of packing paper in there.

I carefully removed each crumpled wad - feeling to make sure there was nothing inside them. "There'd BETTER be mushrooms in there!" Sam hollered.

Suddenly! A wad heavier than the others! I unfurled it:

It was the CAP to a mushroom. With no stem. We removed more paper but no little correlative stem! Instead a HUGE MASS of bubble wrap!

"I don't think this is a mushroom! Maybe that was left over? or put there to throw us off?" I conjectured.

I heaved the bubble wrapped item out of the box. It was pretty heavy!
"What *is* it?!" I wondered.

"You are taking TOO LONG to open it!!" Sam cried. Back to opening!

I removed the first piece of tape. The bubble wrap peepshow had begun! Carefully, I pulled the taped bubble wrap off, starting with the loosest piece on the left.

It unveiled a textured, jutting structure.

By this time my hypothesis was that it was a bone of some kind. Was it a REAL bone? It must be. There was some dirt, or maybe sand? at the bottom of the bubble wrap.

Pulling back more of the tape, I saw an eye socket. A skull of some kind! But what? It was from Hawaii - maybe it was a sea creature of some sort? Locksley gave it a discerning lick.

I started at the other end of the bubble wrap. If the left side was the back of the skull, the right side must be the nose. And if I could see the nose, I'd be able to tell if it was a sea creature, I was pretty certain!

The nose! There was a tag attached. Should I look at it and ruin the surprise?

I pulled apart the last remaining bubble wrap piece. The anticipation!!

A SKULL! A BIG SKULL. Could it be my most coveted bone OF ALL TIME? Maybe it was just a cow or something?

Locksley thoroughly examined the eye socket, resting his nose right inside. If he knew what it was, he wasn't saying anything.

I had to check the tag:

IT WAS! HORRAY! HORRAY! A horse skull!

Not just a horse skull, but a beautiful one. Textured, textured, textured - the perfect blend of white bone and grey and green. It had such character! It was like a sculpture, or a painting!

"Where are we going to put it?" husband and I machinated. The best spot in the house, of course! On top of the bookcase! And, being the art kids that we are - we had to compose the arrangement.

Brilliant!! What an amazing gift and an exceptional surprise! Who could be the clever individual(s) responsible? I suspect the origin of the package is the biggest clue...

Family.

2010-03-24T20:14:00.001-07:00

I come from good stock. Like any good family we are sort of like a pack of wolves - bearing teeth, growling at one moment - working together in smooth, almost symbiotic, collaboration at another. My family has built things together. Raised children together. And for all the dysfunction, we're better for it.

Cuz really, at the core, we come from good stock. Despite ourselves, we can't help but be those kids that came from The Master of the Universe and the love of his life - even though we now find ourselves without them both.

Spring warms

2010-03-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

Nooch spent some time playing in the pet grass on the balcony this morning. And enjoyed some behind-the-ear scritches, too.

I will have you, Spring.

2010-03-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

I admit it - I take things and run with it. So when it finally got a bit warmer this week, and a nice misty rain shower came for a visit this weekend, I took it to mean that Spring was upon us and that I needed to get things rolling, PRONTO.

So, a visit to our local Behnke's. I can remember going to this gardening store ever since I was a kid (pronounced it "Binky's") and it's one of those memories I have of my parents together, and us, as a happy family. We'd come home with plants - even one for me, that I would promptly and mournfully kill - and make our yard into a secret garden of colors and textures.

I don't live in a house. I live in an apartment, with a balcony. I'm afraid I haven't gotten much better with plants with age. But, I was heartened to find a website or two addressing the challenges of growing anything on an apartment balcony with its shade, shifting light, and suspect cover. So I got a couple flowers (pansys, mache ranunculus), herbs (peppermint, lavender, rosemary, oregano) and pet grass (for Locksley). My fingers are crossed for them. They really are.

Because I, my dear friends, can kill the most un-killable plants. That's right: cacti. Fortunately for me - and for the cacti - Sam is very *good* at keeping cacti alive. We have about a thousand of them. And now that the threat of frost is gone they get re-potted and moved out onto the balcony as well. I'm already missing their green (although spikey) company in the kitchen. Re-potting, if you're unfamiliar, involves moving plants that have out grown their current pots and placing them in bigger ones. Cacti have pretty crazy roots - either because they are HUGE, because they are ridiculously tiny, or because they are ridiculously networked. It's a messy and adventuresome process. Locksley helped :)

Cup of Tea

2010-03-13T14:18:00.000-08:00

Crystals

2010-03-06T14:29:00.000-08:00

Deer Atlas Bone

2010-02-13T11:49:00.001-08:00