Update From The Ark (Long)

Well, I don't have two of everything- even though it feels like that with all these animals around here sometimes!

First, the bad news. This summer I lost two of my finches, Fawkes, who was a yellow backed male gouldian, and Minerva, the mother of most of the chicks you have seen grow up on this blog. That really sucked!!

I also sold almost all of the Society Finches. I only kept the original couple I had and one of their babies that was born with a twisted foot. I wanted to keep him to make sure he was going to be looked after. Sometimes a flock will pick on a bird with a handicap but so far he seems to be getting along just fine.

So the flock is down to manageable proportions again. Thank goodness! I'll probably slowly sell off about half of those I have left. I want to just keep about six to eight birds total. I don't think I will raise any babies this year either. It's just too much work for me to keep up with right now. Keep reading and you'll see why!

I also lost Marilyn, my beautiful white Angel Fish. Both of our tanks were suddenly hit with weird sicknesses. We managed to put the Discus tank to rights but couldn't cure Maryiln. Diana, the golden Angel Fish, is showing some worrying signs now too. We are treating the tank again but with fish (as with the finches) there seems to be only so much you can do. :(

I try not to get too upset when I lose any of the "little guys", but I do feel distressed. Not like I would if I lost one of the dogs, but you know what I mean. I consider the birds and the fish to be some of the wonderful "bonuses" of life, like the wind in the trees or a beautiful clear night sky. Just a small nugget of gorgeousness that makes me stop and think about how great life is and how lucky I am.

Now for the good news.

Actually just some cute photos. :)

Libby has lost all the weight she needed to and is thriving. She desperately wishes she was a lap dog though. Hubby took this photo of Libby trying to climb onto my lap the other day.



You haven't been kissed until you have been kissed by a mastiff. :)

Luca is his charming, sweet self as usual. Here he is with his most favorite toy in the whole world - a stuffed lobster.



He carries it around smiling and wagging his tail. Never chews it or anything, just loves it. The lobster makes a strange burbling noise when it gets squeezed and occasionally Luca sets it off while he is cuddling with it in the dog basket and it scares the bejezus out of us every time.

And lastly, I haven't blogged about this yet, but about a month after we adopted Libby, we adopted two more dogs! (Why yes, we are crazy.) Two little English Toy Spaniel girls joined our family. Both are retired breeder dogs just like Libby was.

This is Sarah, in the basket with Henry and Luca. She is turning three next week. Sarah is a total sweetheart - the kids ADORE her.



And this is Clementine. She prefers to sleep on the couch. :) Clemmie is five years old. She's a bit of a diva.



(Ten points to anyone who can guess why I named them Clementine and Sarah.) :)

They have both settled in and now our dog/animal family is complete. Seriously - no more animals for us!!

Well - that's the update from the Ark.

Sorry for the long post. I couldn't knit tonight because we took the futon couch out of our sitting room - my knitting spot. Our new couch will be delivered tomorrow. Yay! That futon was major uncomfortable. I just hope the new couch has good knitting mojo. :)