Fourth of July

This year Eva really wanted a 4th of July hat. She wore it for the parade and received many compliments from those going by in the parade.



When we bought Eva's 4th of July hat, we also bought two mini-hats for the guinea pigs, which of course they loved. Here they are as patriotic and festive pigs.



A neighbor took our picture before the parade/ Eva with the pigs. Everyone in their fancy hats.





Our neighborhood 4th of July parade passes right in front of our house.



Eva decorating her 4th of July cake. There is peach jam between the layers! Yum!

picture color- day 27 {going back in time}

Instant pigs.

picture color- day 6 {white on white}

spring photos and one guinea pig

No alphabet today. I'm barely here, just popping in to upload a few spring photos.

E is for Eva (pronounced Ava. as in Gabor. but with an E, nonetheless.)

Agnes placed just so between the two kids/two laptops.

A little closer-

guinea pig love

Albert playing hospital/vet, no doubt.



Albert and Terrence and a pink plastic turtle, in the sink waiting for their bath.

guinea pig nail trimming

One of the challenging parts of taking care of guinea pigs for me is trimming their nails. When they do need to be trimmed, the guinea pigs and I can usually handle one paw a night. This obviously is not a hard and fast rule. And they make such a fuss, particularly Albert, who starts squeaking when he sees the nail clippers, that I am almost always behind. Their nails are consequently quite long most of the time. It's most often Eva's idea to do the clipping. She holds each guinea pig while I clip their nails. They struggle and then are given treats afterward.

I want to stress that while Albert is very upset in the following video, I swear I am not hurting him. Nail trimming can be a harrowing experience, even without physical pain, which is another good reason to do it as infrequently as possible. And you'll notice I only really got three nails trimmed and not even one full paw done. It's just too nerve wracking for me and the pigs.

This post could read Cats Keeping Cool-



Samuel took this picture of Maxwell sleeping in the tall grass recently. And here is Magoo resting on some dried leaves.

But then I couldn't resist throwing in one of Albert looking extra cute. And he doesn't seem to be keeping cool here, although who can say really but him.



Albert snuggled between two blankets.

maxwell love

Maxwell, me, Albert, Eva. {My eyes are all red because I had been crying.} This was taken shortly after we found out about Maxwell's health. He's doing about the same but is at least eating a little. He particularly likes the different kitten foods I have found for him. We are going to try him on a steroid in a few days to see if that helps his breathing any. He is still loving his catnip and sits on my lap any chance he gets. Eva got him to eat the other day when he wouldn't even eat for me!

Two stories from today.

The first one. This morning Samuel and I were the first ones awake. Samuel got both guinea pigs out of their cage and sat with them for a few minutes. When they tired of that, the pigs ran off to check out the house, a little piggie floor time, if you will. The funnest part was sitting with Samuel and watching the guinea pigs root around together. Terrence followed close behind Albert, as usual. Each pig had his nose out and his body low. There was an almost constant chatter between them. We talked about how Terrence's legs are much longer than Albert's and that he looks as though he has knee high socks on when he runs very very fast across the floor. The pigs moved along the wall until they reached the curtains and crawled underneath. And then- we saw first one nose and then another nudge out from under the curtains, the only evidence that guinea pigs were there at all. There were a few catalogs and pieces of paper scattered near the curtains and both guinea pigs, first Albert, then Terrence, began gently chewing on the catalogs. Samuel and I burst out laughing. What a sight. Two guinea pig noses and mouths sticking out from under the curtains, nibbling away on Christmas catalogs. Nibble nibble stop. Nibble nibble stop. Soon Maxwell and Jack sauntered over as well to have a look at the guinea pigs and what they were up to and that cracked Samuel and I up even more. There is nothing quite like Jack and Maxwell looking suspiciously at the guinea pigs, wondering what they are all about and if there is something edible there for themselves. Jack never tires of sniffing catalogs, carrots, kale, dandelion greens in a last ditch effort to find something, anything, to eat. I swear sometimes he even shakes his head at the guinea pigs and looks at me quizzically as if to say- "That's what they're eating? That's what all the commotion is about?" Thankfully he doesn't seem to consider the guinea pigs in the least bit edible, just smaller members of the pack.

And the second. I was walking up to the front door carrying sandwiches and yarn when I stopped to watch bushtits fly about on the suet. There are large flocks of them around the suet feeders everyday now. I have one suet feeder hanging in front of the living room window and one in the back yard by the other bird feeders. On a good day, the bushtits will fly back and forth from one feeder to the other, sometimes landing in the trees nearby, sometimes not. Today while I stood there watching the bushtits, a hummingbird flew up to the nearby hummingbird feeder I had refilled just yesterday. Most of the syrup was frozen inside but there was some at the very bottom that had thawed in the sunshine and the hummer sat perched on the feeder and ate for a very long time. When he was done he flew over to the laurel a few yards away and perched on a limb there. I stood very still in the cold sunshine and felt blessed at having caught all the birds at the feeders at once. I love the activity of the birds during winter- the flocking, the time spent at the feeders, the chattering to one another. All of it reminds me that while we typically think of winter as a time of rest and hibernation, there is activity here as well. Each season brings movement of its own kind, each adds to the movement of the others. And we are each a part of it all.

zen-y pigs

Albert and Terrence munching on a purple carrot.

seize the day

Albert capitalizing on his situation. No nutella but he got quite a few crackers. (And yes, that's a cat's tail in the background.)

saturday

Albert celebrating apples season.



Eva-bee loving Albert...

And that concludes a week of Albert photos. I have to say for a while I was loving the form requirements of posting a photo of Albert each day. I am not sure I would have gone a full week without deciding on it formally. And then at some point- on Thursday, I think, I started lagging behind. And in walks freedom. You have to have both- form and freedom. Structure and spontaneity. Each and every. Day.

friday

After this photo Eva put on her baby sling and carried Albert around in that for a while. He was still nonplussed.



And obviously Jack is concerned about this photo. He does not like the guinea pig leaning on him. I don't think Albert was too keen on the set up either. And Eva? She designed it, of course.

We got the Guinea Pigs magazine at Petco today while picking up some food for Jack. It is a hit!

thursday

Albert snuggling up on a sweater. Guinea pigs love knits.

Let's see- Thursday was a busy day. First, there were ice skating lessons for me and Eva. Our friends Dawn and Rose and Ben came to watch our lessons and join us to skate afterward. Samuel loved hanging out with them while Eva and I skated. Then the kids had clay class. This may prove to be too much for us on a single day. We shall see. I am not sure what I was thinking scheduling both of them on one day except that both of them were on the same day. Oh well. Perhaps a little Burgerville in between will be just the thing to see us through. I also have to remember to let the kids know what they can expect when we get to clay class because the last clay class was a little on the chaotic side and this definitely added to the tension.

wednesday

Eva takes most of the photos of Albert around here, except for the ones she asks me to take while she is holding him. She posted several Albert-photos on her own blog today. We were excited to see old photos of our much loved rat Charlie there as well. Eva was so happy to see his picture that she brought Albert over to share. We wondered about what Charlie and Albert would make of one another. For the most part, I think they would be friendly with each other. Their food preferences wouldn't conflict and I think with those guys, that counts for a lot.

The kids and I took a walk at Smith and Bybee Lakes today (without Jack, I am sad to say, though I am hoping to take him out later to make it up to him). While we were there they talked A LOT about what wild guinea pigs must be like. We all had fun imagining herds of guinea pigs running wild together, head butting one another to move out of the way, purring together, munching. In point of fact, guinea pigs like Albert most likely do not exist in the wild. They are probably domesticated descendants from other cavies like this one. I have mentioned this to the kids once or twice but it doesn't seem to stick. It is far too much fun thinking about Albert and his family roaming and blipping through the Andes mountains, wild and free.



Here he is all shmooped up (as Eva says- well, I guess now as I say too). She wanted a side and front view taken.

We saw a few herons on the water today and so many Woolly Bear Caterpillars running across the path. We took several photos, of course, and then we took a video (actually two, but I will just post one for now). I will have to remember this the next time we run across a nutria!

tuesday

I'm at it early today. Guinea pig pictures abound!



Early morning snuggle with Eva.

Albert is currently making quite a ruckus behind me. His idea of how to spend time and Eva's idea of how to spend time are at odds. I think he may need a vacation. He enjoyed puttering around the living room/computer area last night. Sitting under the trampoline. Bouncing out, chutting, blipping, scavenging, sitting some more. Good times for Albert.

I must say this following your heart business, if you pay attention before, during and after, really does lead the way to some kind of goodness. But you have to pay attention! to right now. To catch it. Otherwise you might stay in the story you have already left behind by following your heart.

monday

Albert and his carrot. Every time Eva tried to move the carrot, Albert complained mightily.

And today?

Today there was time spent at a friend's house with banjo playing, song singing, costume dressing, game playing, macaroni eating, chocolate munching fun.

sunday

About this photo- um yeah, Albert tolerated this dress up time as long as there were apple skins and cucumber slices to nibble on, otherwise there was A LOT of guinea pig complaining. All I can say is that our cats have been off the hook ever since Albert came to live with us.



Here is Eva dressed up as a dragon giving Albert lots of dragon love. He didn't fuss quite as much during this as he did during dress up. He really likes to sit and eat. Mostly. Quite a bit.

Around the day, here and there, were bits and pieces of this-

pumpkins and squash and apples on the counter
lots of dissecting talk about The Office and the hilarious characters therein
a trip to Powells to pick up a copy of Saltwater Buddha because the library wants theirs back
lolly pops at Powells
rainbow sherbet
Sunday dog walk at the Arboretum for Jack
prettiest little purply-pink flowers still blooming in the woods