missing Stinksy

Things that I have to get used to:

Not looking for him and saying hi when I get home.

I don't have to go around town trying to get him opioids.

Not having to be vigilant about leaving the doors open.

I don't have a litter box to clean anymore.

I don't have to use a water vessel with a closed container.

I don't have to worry about stepping on a cat.

He is not in the hallway meowing.

He is not related to the noise upstairs.

Rudy might become even more spoiled as an only child.

I don't have a lap pet anymore.

Look! A post!

Ok, so it's just a video of the cats eating... but I felt the need to post something!  If you have feline friends, this is the best canned wet cat food ever.  Ok, I'm a little biased because my dead soul cat was named Tiki.... 

Oh, and please ignore the mess on the kitchen table... I just cleaned it off a few days ago, but it just piles up!

Off to clean the table now....

I got a crab

So, we live in South Florida. It's like a jungle down here! Big huge green lizards, big blue iguana like lizards, curly tailed lizards, and land crabs too!

We live about a quarter mile from the canals, yet there it was, a crab in our backyard.

We were hanging out in the lanai (not a Florida room according to wikipedia: sunroom) when we heard a scratching against the wall.  I was scared it was a rat or something.

But I looked out, and lo and behold, it was not a rat!

So, I wasn't sure what to do.  The crab with the huge claw couldn't just hang out in the backyard.  If Rudy would see it, he would surely go up to it and probably get a claw in the nose...

So, I decided to put it in the big stock pot and just put it outside the fence somewhere away from our backyard.  I got the pot and a spatula to wrangle it in.  Then I put on my rain boots, because I didn't want to get pinced.

So I walked out to get the crabby crabberson, and it was gone!  I looked around the backyard and I couldn't see it.  So, I just hoped one of us didn't stumble into it later....

Saying Goodbye

So, this morning was amazing, but truly sad.  Today was the last day of our zoo membership, so we had to go.  We typically went right when it opened, so it seemed fitting to go almost at 9 am.  The crowds are not around yet, and all the animals are alert and active.

This time, we drove there.

We passed by the orangutans, and there were only 3 of them.  One adolescent was swinging around, and putting on a show.  It swung up to mom, who was up in the poles eating, and mom gave it (I don't know if it was a boy or girl, so I call it it) a hug.  That was sweet.

I always liked the little siamangs, but they were hanging out in the back eating.  They remind me of those long armed hand puppets that I've only seen crazy people use.  I remember when we would go to the library in elementary school, sometimes the presenter would have one of those puppets.  Then in college we would go to this one club on Sunday nights, 80s night.  This one homeless guy would be there every week.  I wonder if he had to pay the cover?  He would go around to everyone with his long armed ape puppet and talk to people and tell jokes and I think he would ask for money.

We went to the gorilla enclosure, and there was only the silver back, sitting in the middle facing the glass.  He kept looking around.  I think he was waiting for his family to come back from wherever they were.  This one family was there, and the grandfather was tapping on the glass at him.  Tap tap tap.  Tap tap tap.  Tap tap.  And the signs are posted all over the glass.  Please do not tap on the glass.  Nice example for your granddaughter, grandpa.

We have been to the zoo countless times, but we still get turned around in that area by the gorillas and monkey tales.  We wanted to get to the panda while it was early.  We started walking down one way, when a volunteer asked us if we had seen the baby tigers yet.  No!!!  So, she told us we should go then because they were only out until 11:30, so she directed us back down the tiger trail and then we should go down the hippo trail to the new panda trek.  So that's what we did.  I have to say, the baby tigers and the mama were the best encounter ever with tigers.  They were amazing.

They were alert and playful and so sweet.  I took several minutes of video of them.  And they were using the whole space.  All the while, mama tiger was keeping her eye on them, yet from a distance.  They were amazing.  I'm so sad the first time I saw these little cuties was my last.


Then we went through Panda Trek.  It was nice.

The red panda was the first enclosure.  It was up in a tree asleep.  So cute.  I love their little faces and their striped tails.


This one family walked in behind us.  They looked at the red panda for two seconds, then the dad read the sign and said how it's not even a real panda anyway, more of a skunk.  Like the red panda wasn't worth their time.  So they went ahead of us to the panda.  There were several people standing there watching.  I guess the guy didn't like the line, so he didn't even really look at the panda, he just told them to turn around and go back through the entrance.  So he wasn't interested in an animal called panda because it wasn't actually a panda, nor was he interested in the panda itself.  So if he didn't give a shit about animals, why was he at the zoo?

Anyway, the panda, Yun Zi, the youngest, was all active and running around.  I mean, he was climbing up and down and all around, playing in the water and jumping into a bucket filled with bamboo.  He was a little goofy clown!  Best panda experience ever!  We stayed there for a long time, and he just kept doing cute stuff.  I could have watched him for another hour.

We went up Big Cat Trail.  The chinese snow leopard was gone!  So sad.  The mountain lions were pretty active, and one kept giving me dirty looks.  They were walking around up on the tree limbs, and I was scared they were going to spray on us.  The black jaguar was pacing, but he always paces.  He had gained weight over the months, so that was good.  The snow leopard was waiting for his keeper, so he was hiding between the rocks and bushes, waiting.  The lynxes were cute as usual.

They were also anxious, waiting for their keeper.

The jaguar in the elephant odyssey was taking a nap in the shade, and the lions were gone.

The  polar bears were frolicking, which was nice, but we really went to the polar bear plunge to see the arctic foxes.  They were all trimmed up except for their tails, but they were just laying around with no intention of getting up.  Unfortunately.  They were some of our favorites.

We took the skyfari cable car ride back across the park.  Luckily, we got a koala car, so the FP didn't have to get bent out of shape having a monitor lizard, cactus plant or bird on the side of the car.  No, we can't see the picture once we get in the car, but it really pisses him off if we don't get a good animal, like the panda or the polar bear.  It was a nice ride.  The sky was clear, and the zoo below looked so vibrant.

We went to the petting zoo to say bye to Akeela, the fennec fox.

She was napping on a rock.  The FP thought she got a bum deal being in the children's zoo instead of in another part of the zoo, as if she wasn't taken seriously because she was so tiny.  But I love her.

We went in the petting zoo one last time, and we said bye to the miniature pony and miniature donkey.

They were eating hay, as usual.  The little goats were chubby and cute.  They reminded me of my sister, who only recently told me that she has always wanted goats.

We didn't get to see everyone in the zoo, but we hit the highlights.  It was certainly one of our best visits to the zoo ever.  We walked through the exit and we were both sad.  We still have a whole month and a half left here, without being able to go to the zoo.  :(

Squirrel Poop

If anyone is reading this, please respond with some answers!!!!!! I've been wondering where squirrels poop, and what it looks like. When I google this topic, there is no answer that satisfies me. One person said they shit in their hollow trees or from the branches of trees and it disperses and is so small you don't notice. And someone else said they can go while in motion, so it spreads out and you don't notice. But really, where do squirrels shit? And does anyone have photographic evidence of it?

In high school, my friends and I gave my BFF this flying squirrel she had been eyeing in the pet store. I don't recall seeing this thing take a shit or even what the shit looked like. That is an altogether different case though - a wild animal in captivity. That was an unfortunate purchase btw. This thing was freaked out and scared shitless. And I think we got like a 10 gallon terrarium for it, which obviously wasn't big enough. It escaped when we brought it to her, and it was a nightmare getting the thing under control. It crawled all the way up one friend's leg, totally freaking her out. So, the flying squirrel was named Satan, I believe. Poor thing didn't last very long, although I don't imagine their lifespan is very long anyway. The things one used to be able to find in pet stores way back when....

My first apartment in Boston was across from Boston Common. I can't tell you if there were more hippies walking around out in the open smoking weed or more squirrels there. But the squirrels were used to handouts from people. One time, this squirrel jumped up on the back of a bench as I was walking by. It was like begging for food. So, I happened to have a bite sized snickers. I don't know if I had been eating one, or maybe the squirrel's little keen nose smelled them in my back pack. So, I unwrapped the bite sized Snickers and offered it up to the little fella. He/She grabbed it out of my hand and started nibbling on it, no fear, no shame. It just gobbled it up. No one ever believes that story.

Here in San Diego, America's Finest City, they were poisoning squirrels and gophers at Balboa Park. So, because people who use the park were directly or indirectly feeding these animals, the populations grew. The park was being overrun with these animals and diminishing visitors enjoyment of the park. So, they were poisoned. I am not sure what the stance is currently. I know a lot of people put up a big stink so it was stopped at least temporarily. I wonder if that's ever been a proposed solution to the growing population of transients here in America's Finest City? Just throw out a bunch of poisoned pizzas on every street corner downtown and in the bushes in Balboa Park, and let it do it's thing. Well, it's just about as outrageous as leaving poisoned bait in a public park...