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If I could liken cats, dogs and ferrets to the military, then cats would be snipers, dogs the soldiers and ferrets, Secret Ops! Later, I will talk about our 7 cats and the dog, but again today, I want to tell you what life is like with five little nosey ferrets rummage around, decide what they want to latch onto and abscond with to their "cave". The cave is anywhere that humans cannot access. Behind large bookcases, china cabinets, under the kitchen range, anywhere that anything more that 8 inches long cannot possible go. I live for the day that we move some large object and find "the stash".
So far, we think that Bruce's new partial plates ($1200) might be there. The plastic parts may be chewed on, but the metal will be intact! Jewelry, earbuds, shoes, socks, toys and any number other objects that we haven't even missed yet. That'll be the day.
We have a heart-shaped bathtub. Spa tub, really, that is turquoise and one of the most relaxing places in our home. The ferrets love it too. All along the edges on flat surfaces, we leave bottles of shampoo, etc. and Honey (the only girl), Panda, Grizzly, Teddy and Marshall get wild in that room. It has mirrors all around the tub so they see themselves and go wild trying to fight themselves. Then the real fun begins. The game is called "Let's push every bottle into the tub or into the floor". And they do. They they begin to slide down the pointed end of the heart tub and scamper all over the tub, not finding a way to get out! It is so slippery they just roll all over each other and fight. They make a little clicking sound and squeal as they bite and play.
After a half hour of these antics, they are each lifted out and they begin to merge into the landscape, disappearing and sleeping all day. The night is theirs!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
HONEY BEAR WADDLES IN TO MIX IT UP WITH THE BOYS
When people find out that we have ferrets for pets, they get this look on their faces. You know the one.:(. Well, once you stop relating them to any other animal on the earth and you know they have been neutered and "destunk", they are just precious. Male ferrets are bold and forthright in their curiosity. Just like real guys. There is no part of your home, your stuff or your body they aren't curious about. The intelligence that glows in their eyes lets you know there is no match for them.
Did I say that? Well, when my daughter came home from work at Complete Pet Mart with the 5th ferret, I felt the violence just welling up inside of me. Who does she think she is and where does she think she's living? The realization hit me that she is my daughter and this is her home. I guess it has never dawned on her that I might not want the fifth ferret, but oh well. No point in wigging out, she's already showing me this little blond ball of fur with a little tiny head. "These boys needed a little girl with them and besides, she's Panda's sister". So now we have 5 lightning quick rummagers and my daughter was right. Honey Bear really jazzed things up.
One would think that she would be the lovey one, the cuddly one, but no...she doesn't want a thing to do with human touch. She just wants to terrify otherwise brave-hearted male ferrets by just appearing out of nowhere. She's a little minx and has brought in the gift of creating situations where it's every ferret for himself!
Since joining our family, she has gained so much weight, she needs a ferret treadmill. Her belly is three times as wide as her head so she looks silly when she waddles down the hallway. But she is fearless and beautiful. Wonder if that old adage about blondes having more fun applies to ferrets?
Did I say that? Well, when my daughter came home from work at Complete Pet Mart with the 5th ferret, I felt the violence just welling up inside of me. Who does she think she is and where does she think she's living? The realization hit me that she is my daughter and this is her home. I guess it has never dawned on her that I might not want the fifth ferret, but oh well. No point in wigging out, she's already showing me this little blond ball of fur with a little tiny head. "These boys needed a little girl with them and besides, she's Panda's sister". So now we have 5 lightning quick rummagers and my daughter was right. Honey Bear really jazzed things up.
One would think that she would be the lovey one, the cuddly one, but no...she doesn't want a thing to do with human touch. She just wants to terrify otherwise brave-hearted male ferrets by just appearing out of nowhere. She's a little minx and has brought in the gift of creating situations where it's every ferret for himself!
Since joining our family, she has gained so much weight, she needs a ferret treadmill. Her belly is three times as wide as her head so she looks silly when she waddles down the hallway. But she is fearless and beautiful. Wonder if that old adage about blondes having more fun applies to ferrets?
Sunday, February 7, 2010
TWO MORE FERRETS JOIN US
If you have been keeping up with this blog, you know that Marshall the ferret was smuggled in by our daughter last fall. We came to love him, even though he made 9 animals living with us!
We were assured that this would be it...no more animals. History proved me right and on a cold Saturday afternoon in December, two more babies arrived. Not in the usual way...or no, in her arms. Now there were 3 and Marshall wouldn't be "lonely" anymore. Panda and Grizzly are creamy beige with dark brown accents, hard to tell apart until you pick one up to see the brown stripe down his belly. One of the two will be constantly trying you gnaw on your expensive sneakers!
I awakened one morning about two weeks later and looked into the ferret play land cage to see a completely black one! What! (these suckers cost about$200 each.) There is no way that he just appeared out of nowhere. She has a second job at Complete Pet Mart and had worked last night. When confronted, she said groggily "He's a baby and he's black and the other ferrets were picking on him. I just couldn't leave him there." Really? Teddy Bear is really young, small, lithe and able to get out of that $400 ferret cage in less than an hour. The hunt was on while Grizzly and Panda and Marshall curled up together dreamed of dirt.
We were assured that this would be it...no more animals. History proved me right and on a cold Saturday afternoon in December, two more babies arrived. Not in the usual way...or no, in her arms. Now there were 3 and Marshall wouldn't be "lonely" anymore. Panda and Grizzly are creamy beige with dark brown accents, hard to tell apart until you pick one up to see the brown stripe down his belly. One of the two will be constantly trying you gnaw on your expensive sneakers!
I awakened one morning about two weeks later and looked into the ferret play land cage to see a completely black one! What! (these suckers cost about$200 each.) There is no way that he just appeared out of nowhere. She has a second job at Complete Pet Mart and had worked last night. When confronted, she said groggily "He's a baby and he's black and the other ferrets were picking on him. I just couldn't leave him there." Really? Teddy Bear is really young, small, lithe and able to get out of that $400 ferret cage in less than an hour. The hunt was on while Grizzly and Panda and Marshall curled up together dreamed of dirt.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
TEDDY BEAR JOINS THE CLAN
If this blog confuses you, read about Marshall the ferret below and then the arrival of Teddy Bear will take on more meaning.
Marshall had lived here about 2 months and had captured all our hearts as well as pooped in every corner he could find. Claire was on clean up crew in every room every day. Finally I found a piece of plexi glass and put it on the carpet in what had become known as his favorite "hangout". Of course, it had to be at the very beginning of the hallway so every guest who visits can see Marshall's original and unique creations first thing!
Marshall's coat is grey and white. His hair is little wiry and he really does look like Don King. Teddy Bear on the other hand, is all black with brown and white around his face and he is 6 weeks old.
He wants to play chase, bite, roll, hide and pounce. Marshall is enthralled, but he has to go into that enormous black wire cage in order to cavort. Marshall was accustomed to freedom, so he grieved and looked for a way out constantly. We didn't realize he had Teddy in boot camp.
Marshall had lived here about 2 months and had captured all our hearts as well as pooped in every corner he could find. Claire was on clean up crew in every room every day. Finally I found a piece of plexi glass and put it on the carpet in what had become known as his favorite "hangout". Of course, it had to be at the very beginning of the hallway so every guest who visits can see Marshall's original and unique creations first thing!
Marshall's coat is grey and white. His hair is little wiry and he really does look like Don King. Teddy Bear on the other hand, is all black with brown and white around his face and he is 6 weeks old.
He wants to play chase, bite, roll, hide and pounce. Marshall is enthralled, but he has to go into that enormous black wire cage in order to cavort. Marshall was accustomed to freedom, so he grieved and looked for a way out constantly. We didn't realize he had Teddy in boot camp.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
MARSHALL, THE FERRET, INCORRIGIBLE
Ferrets sort of grow on you. They smell so good (if their odor glands have been removed). Musky. They have soft fur and very funny body language. They are so far beyond curious that they can actually hurt themselves. For example, after Marshall had settled in here in Ona WV, a cold snap in the weather drove us to start a fire in our Buck stove. Later, after removing some ashes and going to bed, we woke up to a ferret with no whiskers. He had stuck his whole head down in the ashes and burned off his whiskers. Fearlessly, he circled the bucket for days. We learned a valuable lesson that our grandmothers knew....take out the hot ashes! Marshall continued to look for ways to worm his way into our hearts. He became cuddly, kissed us on the nose, prowled around under sheets and blankets on beds only to jump out and bite our toes. He seemed to have a shoe fettish....one pair of my summer sandals were dragged into his lair half a dozen times only to be fished out by Marshall's owner....Claire (who has now developed a shoulder shrug and a look of bewilderment when I speak of finding a new home for Marshall or ME.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
MEET THE FERRETS
No one in their right mind would have five ferrets living with them. So that tells you that somehow my brain function has been compromised. They actually came one at a time hidden carefully somewhere in large coat pockets that belong to my animal-adoring daughter, Claire. First Marshall. I'd never seen a ferret much less have someone thrust one into my arms. He looked like Don King, gray hair standing straight up, long pointed nose and gray and white fur. My first impulse, of course, was to throw him at Claire, but I held him while she brought in a cage....not just your ordinary cage. Oh no, it had to be 6 feet tall, 5 feet long and 5 feet deep. With all the paraphenalia, we had him all set up. Sitting in that huge cage, all alone, he looked forlorn. Some where deep in my soul, I know this cage would be populated in the coming days. I was right.
IT ALL STARTED WITH MY CHRISTMAS LETTER 2009
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY 2010
Don’t you just hate it when someone sends you a Christmas letter and it sounds like they live the perfect life? Well, that’s not what you’re going to see here (You see Linda, I’m not perfect.)
Bruce has 7 cats (yes, 7), Claire has a Fox Terrier, called Owen Meany, and 5 ferrets named Marshall, W, V, U, and Teddy Bear! Our house is a war zone filled with “land mines” so you have to turn on a light to be sure you don’t wear poop all day long on your shoes….and wonder what that awful smell is coming from everybody else! (Help, get me outta here).
Just so I can be in this mess even more; I have officially retired as on June 30, 2010. Now, I can be here with the “family” all day while I try to do what I have always said I was going to do when I retired…paint more. I should have 15 minutes a day between feeding 7 cats multiple times, letting any one of 7 cats in and out no less than 10 times each per day, scooping the litter boxes, cleaning up land mines and chasing down little ferrets who are “at play” out of their pen when free play is over.
And Owen Mean… shivers constantly, won’t go outside to poop because he is afraid of everybody’s shadow. He barks like a electronic toy dog; and he and 7 cats begs to be fed whenever he hears the sound of the electric can opener!!
So, you’re probably asking by about now... what do Bruce and Lillianne do with their spare time? Bruce has been working pretty much full time since May at Mayne Framing in Huntington. He is a jack of all trades and an asset to all. He is growing a full beard, which you can see in the enclosed photo, eating healthy and making me laugh constantly. His health is that of an 18 year old which matches his appetite (4 peanut butter sandwiches everyday for work).
As a Career Specialist, which sounds so important, I take students out of the school everyday twice, morning and afternoon, assess all the students who have a disability in the 9th and 11th grades. Seeing students succeed and graduate has always been the driving force behind my career. In 20 weeks, I’ll do a little freefalling and finally get it right in the last 1/3 of my life. We have sent several family members on their extended vacations to Heaven this year, so I know how important it is to get off the sidelines and get out there.
We wish for all of you the continued blessings you have already experienced. Keep in touch.
BRUCE AND LILLIANNE
Don’t you just hate it when someone sends you a Christmas letter and it sounds like they live the perfect life? Well, that’s not what you’re going to see here (You see Linda, I’m not perfect.)
Bruce has 7 cats (yes, 7), Claire has a Fox Terrier, called Owen Meany, and 5 ferrets named Marshall, W, V, U, and Teddy Bear! Our house is a war zone filled with “land mines” so you have to turn on a light to be sure you don’t wear poop all day long on your shoes….and wonder what that awful smell is coming from everybody else! (Help, get me outta here).
Just so I can be in this mess even more; I have officially retired as on June 30, 2010. Now, I can be here with the “family” all day while I try to do what I have always said I was going to do when I retired…paint more. I should have 15 minutes a day between feeding 7 cats multiple times, letting any one of 7 cats in and out no less than 10 times each per day, scooping the litter boxes, cleaning up land mines and chasing down little ferrets who are “at play” out of their pen when free play is over.
And Owen Mean… shivers constantly, won’t go outside to poop because he is afraid of everybody’s shadow. He barks like a electronic toy dog; and he and 7 cats begs to be fed whenever he hears the sound of the electric can opener!!
So, you’re probably asking by about now... what do Bruce and Lillianne do with their spare time? Bruce has been working pretty much full time since May at Mayne Framing in Huntington. He is a jack of all trades and an asset to all. He is growing a full beard, which you can see in the enclosed photo, eating healthy and making me laugh constantly. His health is that of an 18 year old which matches his appetite (4 peanut butter sandwiches everyday for work).
As a Career Specialist, which sounds so important, I take students out of the school everyday twice, morning and afternoon, assess all the students who have a disability in the 9th and 11th grades. Seeing students succeed and graduate has always been the driving force behind my career. In 20 weeks, I’ll do a little freefalling and finally get it right in the last 1/3 of my life. We have sent several family members on their extended vacations to Heaven this year, so I know how important it is to get off the sidelines and get out there.
We wish for all of you the continued blessings you have already experienced. Keep in touch.
BRUCE AND LILLIANNE
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