Put the Chicks with the Hens & Roosters Today- 7 Weeks old

Today I finally got the nerve to let Lil Banti's 7 week old chicks into the big enclosure. The only chicken that really cared was Gaia, who we now affectionately call Gimme. (I will tell why later).

These little chicks have been totally raised by Lil Banti and really want nothing to do with The husband and I. So It was really fun when we had to catch them to relocate them. Lil Banti was already in the big enclosure. We had let her out earlier today. She was all happy she had been walking around the yard, digging, scratching, and doing her thing, while eating her favorite snack, potato bugs. She had a nice day out of the enclosure by her self.

After we had let Lil Banti back into the enclosure we went back to catch the chicks from the brooder coop. I knew this would be hard. The brooder coop was set up about 2 feet from our creek bank. So when we opened the door the brown chick freaked out and flow out and we had to trap the poor baby to catch him. This took a couple minutes and her cornered himself up against the brooder side. I opened the door and our Big Rooster, Titan, came out of the enclosure to meet me. Scared me to death and John came over to protect me. Luckily he walked around a few times and then went back into the enclosure without trying to kill me first.. :) We put the little brown chick in the large enclosure first because he is the biggest. Gaia gave him a hard time but John stayed in there to make sure he didn't get hurt.

Next John decided we could catch the other two at the same time.... Yeah right... They both flew in different directions and over the creek bank which drops about 8 to 10 feet down. Luckily they grabbed ahold of the brick and grass and pulled them selves back up the steep fall. They did really good. Then I caught Snow white and John had to chase the Blue splash chick all the way around to the opposite side of the large enclosure... Then I trapped him with Snowwhite in my hand a caught him. I was so scared one of them was going to find the road. The part of the yard they got lose in isn't fenced off from the road. We put them both on a perch inside the enclosure so they would know where a safe spot was in case one of the hens chased them. John and I watched.

Now that everyone is in the enclosure together they are reforming a pecking order and the poor babies of course are dead last. So even their Mama, Little Banti is chaseing them.

We also had to catch them this evening again to put them into the coop. The had stayed outside when everyone else went inside, even Lil Banti. This time John seemed to have the good luck catching them. We shined a light for a while so they could find a safe spot. Then we went in for the evening. Around midnight I sent him back out to make sure they had found a spot to lay. They were all confused wanting someone to cuddle with when we had first put them in the coop.

The Little Blue splash chick jumped up onto the perch between Crownoses, Banti Roosters, legs. He did like this very well and tried to run him off. Then the splash tried to perch between everyone but they still picked on him. The little brown chick tried to find a home under Ivy. Then the splash went under her, then Snow white tried to and ended up getting all of them ran off and Snow White fell out the coop door. So I grabbed her put her back in and finely they all decided to jump up into the top of the coop and try to sleep up in the roof section. At Midnight when John checked on them they had moved though.

Hopefully tomorrow they will feel better and learn to come in and out of the coop on their own...

More Veggie plants & The Three Rivers Festival

Went to the greenhouse again today. Picked up more tomato plants than needed. Last time I came home with 18 this time I came home with 30! Oops... What was I thinking. I don't know where I am going to put half of them and I still had other things to plant... Plus I still had 4 or 5 plants out there last time I checked. But I did have better luck today with the Heirloom varieties. Today we picked up Mr. Stripey, Black Tomatoes, Cherokee purple, Golden Jubilee, & Brandywine. Picked up Early girls & beefsteak tomatoes, cucumbers, & blue lake beans for my parents & picked up some more peppers for us. I like to plant beans too but I breakout when I pick them so I don't think I am going to plant them this year.

So, tomorrow I get to plant these plants and hope they make it and the birds don't destroy them. (o' and mow the grass... yuck)

Speaking of birds. On my way home tonight right infront of my Inlaws house there was a bird in the road that did not fly away when we drove up on him. So John stopped in the center of the road and I got out and chased down the pooor bird so we could move him. Put him in the car with us and went and turned around. Parked in the Inlaws driveway and took the bird across the street to a huge yard that borders a small creek with brush and trees. It wasn't bleeding. It didn't seem small enough to be a baby. It did bite me and grip me pretty good. But it just hopped around like its right wing wasn't exactly right. So I turned it lose where we found it just out of the way in a protected place with food & water so I hope he makes it.


Three Rivers Festival

Also on the way home I stopped by the Three Rivers Festival to see what was going on. This is an annual festive at Palentine Park in Fairmont, WV. There was a good number of people there. I thought there would be more but it is Thursday so I figure most people will be there on Friday or Saturday. They were having a Battle of the Bands Compitition tonight at 8pm, The 3 best local bands. Thats what we really went to check out. But as hot and humid as it was I listened to the first couple songs and decided I had had enough and was going home. I did run into a few people I knew. A good friend was there with his daughter from out of town so I was excited to meet her. Seen some other people from school but just kinda avoided them. There was some stands set up for T-shirts & jewelery, some food stands, and maybe 8 to 10 rides. It was free to get into but I had wrote online to ask about handstamps for the rides and they said it would be 12 to 15 dollars... Not worth it... But I am sure the show was probably pretty good. Maybe next Year. There are thinking going on all week end there so check it out. They have a really nice stage for the preformers.I believe this Band was called the Zig Zags...
Video to post soon.... having issues

New MFA investigation into an Ohio Dairy Farm- Graphic

Please be aware that this video contains graphic images of cruelty to animals. This is some of what the investigators witnessed. Please go to Mercy For Animals Blog to learn more.

• Violently punching young calves in the face, body slamming them to the ground, and pulling and throwing them by their ears
• Routinely using pitchforks to stab cows in the face, legs and stomach
• Kicking "downed" cows (those too injured to stand) in the face and neck - abuse carried out and encouraged by the farm's owner
• Maliciously beating restrained cows in the face with crowbars - some attacks involving over 40 blows to the head
• Twisting cows' tails until the bones snapped
• Punching cows' udders
• Bragging about stabbing, dragging, shooting, breaking bones, and beating cows and calves to death

After viewing the footage, Dr. Bernard Rollin, distinguished professor of animal science at Colorado State University, stated: "This is probably the most gratuitous, sustained, sadistic animal abuse I have ever seen. The video depicts calculated, deliberate cruelty, based not on momentary rage but on taking pleasure through causing pain to cows and calves who are defenseless."

Heading to the Greenhouse yet agian!

Not because I want to...

Not because I haven't spent enough money this year on the garden...

But because a bird has thought it to be a good idea to rip the tops (all the foliage) off almost every tomato plant and one eggplant. Out of the 18 heirloom tomato plants we brought home I have 4 or 5 left.

Nothing but a little 4 or 5 inch numb sticks out of the ground where they were once located. Now I hope the greenhouse has these same tomatoes or the original list I wanted...

But the bird it not on my good side.... evil little thing...errrrr. Guess I am going to have to bring out the tacky silver pie pans, strings, and stakes to chase the birds away.

I did finally put my cucumber and zucchini seeds in the ground but still have some other seeds like kale, lettuce, onions, swiss chard, etc. to plant because I am not sure where to put them.

Chicken News, New Voice, No Eggs, & Potato Bugs

One of are lil Chicks has found his/her voice
This evening we were outside in the back yard with all the chickens. We were letting Lil Banti in with all the rest of the adult chickens.

All of a sudden we here a screech! we are looking all over the place. We turn around and look into the fenced in brooder run and find that the little Brown chick was squawking. I wouldn't call it a crowing noise. But it was something. And after he/she figured out he could do it he kept doing it every few minutes. Very cute. I can even here him/her from inside our house.

He/She is even bigger than this now. And the comb is even redder... But still not big enough to go in with the brood. Maybe next weekend! :)
Big Red at it again, or not at it... depends on the way you look at it.
I don't know what is up with Big Red. Again tonight I go outside to check on everyone and find Big Red in the coop on her perch trying to lay an egg that wasn't willingly coming out. Called John out got out the gloves and mineral oil. Luckily she dropped out a gosh of liquid egg. But no shell. Caught her and luckily the shell/membrane was starting to come out so I removed it. The husband got to feel to make sure all of it was gone. She wasn't fluffed any more when we put her back on the ground and the rest of the hour or so we was outside she was not trying to lay any more egg. So thats good. I am really going to have to figure out how to get calcium into her. I think I am going to take some of the eggs and put them whole into the bullet blender, add some more calcium and give it to her that way. Or just get some yogurt. I am not sure but I am going to have to do something.

Potato Bugs
On Sunday Lil Banti was beyond herself how to get out of the brooder coop. She was excited and as soon as I opened the door she ran out and started frantically scratching around. I watched her for a couple minutes. She has never wanted away from her babies. So I thought it might be time to be her back with the rest of the Adult Chickens. John comes home later that evening and I take him out and show him how she is acting and she does that exact same thing. I take her over to the other chickens and she still wasn't happy. So I take her back to her babes and she runs out and frantically digs again.... John said "Its the potato bugs!" and it was. She can't get enough of them. They are her favorite and every time I open the brooder she comes out to hunt down all the potato bugs she can.

Taking on Potty Training.... The CATs!

Yes people. I have decided old cats can learn new tricks and I am on my way to having atleast 4 potty trained cats, maybe 5.

I ordered this a couple weeks ago when I ran upon this thing called a Litter Kwitter on some animal website when I was looking for a Jolly Ball with a handle on it for Roxie. It has always been a running joke in our house that we go through so much litter that it would be much cheaper to potty train. So I ran it by The husband... and wah la (or how ever its spelled) 60 bucks for a hunk of pastic & the UPS fairy dropped it on my doorstep this morning.(On the door step because I wouldn't get out of bed & fight the barking & jumping dogs just to answer the door.)

But day one seems like it is going ok. The 4 cats that I have introduced it to seem pretty comfortable jumping up on the toilet seat already. They will get up there and sit when its closed. So I figured for now I would skip step one of putting the tray on the floor beside the toilet.

I figure Moejo will be the first to use it. Copper and him still have their off days so he likes to be able to see around him while using the bathroom.

Copper I figure will be next because he seems to be the next brightest and inthosed to sit and scratch. The other two, Romeo & Dewy are about 7 years old and I am not sure how they will fair with training. Romeo seemed ok to sit there. And Dewy was really unsure about the whole thing. But he is easily frightened. Storm ha strained her hurt leg again so I don't want her jumping right now. Not sure if she will really be interested anyways. Beltane I figure I have no hope unless the other cats teach him. He is a touch me not, that stays hidden all day and comes out only at night after the Pibble, his archenemie, is in bed. He will let us pet him a little but otherwise he is happy doing his own thing on his own time...
With atleast 4 potty trained cats I figure we will be able to cut down on the around $40 I spend on cat litter a month. So if this works it will be well worth the money, the health of the cats, and our earth.

O ' yeah I read reviews that it will not fit an elongated tiolet. We have one and it fits it just fine. It doesn't cover the entire toilet seat. But it does cover lost of it and it hasn't popped off.

Wish me luck ;)

New Years Resolutions 2010- Progress

Here is the update

1. Be a more outspoken and reliable vegan... not doing so great on this one. Well to tell you the truth. I really haven't been to any family gatherings and the ones I have gone to I have taken food with us. But if it does come up I do plan to be tactful & kind in whatever I say. I still don't want to come across as a "Bitchy" Vegan. I would rather people have a good outlook of veganisim instead of bringing their preconceived notions to life. :)
2. Pay off atleast $6,000 of debt. we are moving towards this goal for the year. As of April we are about $2100.00 down. But Johns job has shortened hours for the last couple months. The only credit card we have used is the Lowes card, for some gardening stuff..oops & The Care credit card for some vet bills. So even with the hour loss we have been staying away from credit cards. But our savings account is feeling the stretch. So I really hope his work picks up.
3. Cook at least 3 Times a week. Well this happens some weeks but not all weeks. My back had me in bed for a month so I really didn't cook at all that months. Maybe once of twice. I have been cooking more lately now that the weather is nice. I have been baking and trying some new recipes for desserts at my parents weekly cookouts. Plus I have been looking for some light dishes for the summer. So we can make it quick and sit out in the gorgeous sun and enjoy evening, the companionship, and the food.
   
4. Keep the house cleaner than last year, and more organized. This is such a battle for me. With all three dogs and a couple cats under my feet where ever I turn. It makes it difficult. We have taken on some projects around the house aswell. Like building a walk in closet into our bedroom. So I have everything displaced into the animal room (the 2nd bedroom), and our living room. For some reason The husband is at a stand still with progress. and has been for months. I have cut drywall and wood laying in the already crowded hall way along with the four bookshelves that need put into the 2nd bedroom. I am going to put a sewing table & book shelves into the 2nd bedroom as soon as the junk can be moved. Then the back porch that we built on a few years ago will be the "animal room". I am going to hang up some shelves and build a cat House for it. But John is also thinking about putting his weight bench out there. We have has it for 5 years and it is still in the box. For both of our sake I hope we can get it up sooner or later. The house is just on on going project because we just have to much stuff to fit into this house. In 3 to 5 years. Hopefully 3 we plan on finding a piece of land and moving.
5. Read more than 15 books. We are 5 months into the year. I have made a book list of 15 books. But I have only finished 1. And I am reading 2 others at this time. So I hope to meet this goal.
6. Be a more consistent blogger. Hey I think I have been keeping up with this one. I haven't been doing alot of cooking blogs so Vegannatura.blogspot.com has been paying the price with 1 blog in the last probably 3 months. But this blog I have been adding a good amount to. Probably could put in more. But sometimes I get to busy and forget. But like I said this one is a go!!! :)
7. Take better care of my health. I will say since I have become vegan I don't know if I have had one cold which is awesome! Normally at the beginning and end of winter I always get a sore throat and head cold and I didn't this year! awesome awesome awesome. and that has ALWAYS happened in the past with the colds. But I have yet to start 1 consistent exercise program and I should really eat a better balanced diet. But when your back hurts and your not feeling well because of it you just don't feel like doing either. Today I feel really good though and have been trying to get stuff done. So hopefully I feel feel good the rest of the week and I can get into some exercise and good eats. On the mental prospective I have been doing really well this year. Atleast I think. I am learning as I go. To stay a calmer person. To try to take life as it comes at me instead of always worrying. I mean I do still have things I worry about on a daily, hourly, minutely, secondly basis, but these things have dwindled down to just a few things and I am trying to live a slower, less stress, life. I love to chill out an listen to Mishka which always seems to give me a calm feeling even when I have had a pretty crappy day. So things though still send me over the top. Like Chloe escaping from my parents yard and my neighbor calling me to tell me she can't catch her when I am 2 hours away. Luckily she did catch her but I was inconsolable! But I am a work in progress. and I think I like where I am going.
8. Learn more about amino acids. Haven't really hit on this one yet. I know a few things but not enough.
9. Donate to atleast 3 charities. we have donated a small amount to 2 charities. A dog rescue & the Harrison county humane society. But I do plan on making 3 Bigger contributions to Probably Farm Sanctuary, maybe an overseas village water program, not sure which one yet, and probably another animal case.
10. Takeout no more than 2 times a week. Sometimes we have it once, sometimes twice, and yes if we are out a third time sometimes 3 times. But The husband has been eating alot of takeout for work lunch and that kinda annoys me... We could be saving some money if we just made his lunch here... But thats a man for you..lol

I have also added some.

1. Do some art projects, sewing, knitting, painting. It doesn't matter but do something from the heart. I have been doing this. I have painting a few times this year and sewed. I am getting ready to make some 4- 4th of july dog collar bandannas, a couple dogs beds, & a purse. I have some other plans too that have to do with balsa wood wall hangings.
   
2. Take better care of the garden this year. Instead of like in the past . Plant it and walk away. Actually try to keep it nice, weed free, tired up. and nice. I have been working on this we will see how it pans out later on this summer.

What the heck is up with the words that want to stay red. It won't let me change their color for some reason.... evil thing..lol

Greenhouse shopping & Sinfully Vegan Orange Bundt Cake

I finally have my tomato, eggplant, & pepper plants for the year. The husband and I went to Freeds Greenhouse again. I had a list. Knew exactly what I was going after. And then they didn't have the ones I wanted. I was just there last week and they had them. When I want them of course not. They had one out of the five tomato varieties I wanted. My list was as follows:

Tomatoes

• Brandywine
• Cherokee purple
• Striped German
• Blackcherry
• Baby Reds

Peppers

• Jalopeno
• Serrano
• Kind Aurther
• Sangria

So out all the tomatoes they had the Cherokee purples. I really wanted these so I was glad. To sub some of the others I bought Mr. Stripys and some variety of orange heirloom to make up for the striped german. But I still haven't found any cherry toms. But I think some of the Organic yellow plum cherry toms I planted might pull through. So thats good. I found King Auther bell peppers & Serrano peppers. Decided to skip the Jalapeno and they didn't have the ornamental Sangrias.

Came home and called around to a couple other greenhouses but every one else caries the every day better boys, early girls, beefsteak, etc. So I guess I will have to check back. This is our new garden bed this year.


Cooked out over at my parents house again. Decide to try a recipe from Sinfully Vegan. It is a Orange Bundt cake on Page 79 Called Orange you glad it has chocolate chips cake. The batter for this is extremely tasty. If you have ever tried the orange cinnamon roles the batter almost tastes like these. I loved the batter! As you know once you cook flavors they tame down some. I think the cake was still good. It was very moist. I really liked the chocolate chips in it. Even those the book doesn't tell you when to add them. I forgot they were even supposed to be in it and had to stir them in after I had put the batter into the bunt pan. O well. I wans't a big fan of the icing that it is paired with. It was already really moist and when you added the little bit of icing it made those spots kind of mussy. The instructions say wait 10 minutes before dumping the cake onto a cooling rack I would wait a little longer. Mine broke when I went to put it on the cooling rack. I didn't really care but if I would have been taking it to a party or gathering I would have had to start all over. The taste was nice & light once it cooled. But I liked the upfront orange flavor of the batter more than the finished product. I think I will cut it down and just make the batter to snack on every once in a while... Yum.. ;)
The finished cake picture is on my moms camera oops...

Tostones or Fried Plantains

Tostones, or Fried plantains is a side dish in Latin Amercan countries. Like french fries are served here. It is basically a unripe plantain fried twice. I use the ripe plantains too. They come out tasting sweet, almost like a funnel cake.

1/2 to 1 Green plantain per person
oil

Heat oil. Slice into 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick pieces. Place in the hot oil and let them lightly brown on both sides. About 5 to 6 minutes. Take them out dry some of the oil off. Let cool and then smash them. Put them back in the oil and let fry for another minute of two till they brown again. Let cool a little. If you are using the green plantains the traditional topping is salt or a garlic sauce. Some people even put cheese on them. So if you find a vegan cheese to make a cheese sauce out of you could try that.

I have never tried them with cheese.

When I use a yellow plantains I eat them without a topping, kinda as a dessert. But you could serve with powder sugar, vegan vanilla icecream, homemade vegan caramel. But I still enjoy them plain. :)

All Pets Expo Morgantown WV 2010

Found this video when I search the All Pets Expo. This wasn't taken by me.. But guess what.. I am in it ..lol.. When she walks in I am waiting for my signed picture at the Rescue Ink Stand. So I made an appearance. this video was from Saturday. :)

Raising Chickens

Today I went out to Lil Banti's Brooding house and found the first egg she has laid since the beginning of March when she went broody. I was a little surprised to find it because she still seems to be taking care of her chicks. When we go out in the evening I find her fluffed out in the broody stance for her babies to go under her and keep warm. In a few days the chicks will be 6 weeks old. I have been reading and it said that around 6 weeks old chickens stop caring for their young and that you can put them back with the flock. But I am thinking I will leave her with them, until we release the babies with the flock. I have also read that at 6 to 8 weeks they can be released with the adult chickens but that is for a standard size chicken. They are a good bit bigger at 6 to 8 weeks than the bantis.

When do I introduce bantis to the full grown chickens?

I have been doing research and still haven't found this answer. I want my babies to stay safe. So I think I may hold them out a little while longer. But I do look forward to the day when the whole flock can be together.

O' Yeah. I thought all our babies were female, I am thinking now that the black & yellow chick with the rose comb might be a boy. This chickens comb is really bright red... So that is a sign. I didn't even remember this till my little 8 year old sister hit me with the information I had taught her last year... The red comb at an early age normally means rooster!!! oops... I seriously had totally forgot... So out of our three babies, unless its just a breed trait. Then we probably have a boy... Thanks Chey, for the info..lol
As long as all the roosters get along it will be ok. Our other Rooster live great together. Knock on wood.. no problem. I have bee told as long as they are raised together and that the new rooster is put with the flock by 8 weeks that everything should go well. So fingers crossed that everything goes well and my babies cockerel or no cockerel, stay safe...

In other chicken yard news... I haven't been taking their eggs. I normally let them keep the eggs and the rest of the chickens will eat them. And when they build up and no one is eating them I normally take them so that they don't spoil and bust. But this time there was a good build up, probably about 5 days to a weeks worth of eggs and Isis decides to go broody on them. So now I don't know how many eggs she is laying on. Then a day later. The other pile of eggs that only had like 5 or 6 started getting brooded by Ivy. So when one gets up they switch nests and now I have two broody chickens. Neither one has even been broody before. So I figure that with in a week or so they will leave their nests. Hopefully they haven't pulled their downy feathers out to actually keep the eggs warm enough. The first few times lil Banti tried to lay she didn't so nothing came of the eggs. Tonight i have to go chase them off and mark the eggs so I know which eggs are fresh and which ones have been laid on. So, I will update on that in a few days.

Big Red has been doing better as far as I know. No sign of being egg bound in the last couple weeks. Before that I finally got my own taste of removing a bound chunk of egg from her. Not the most pleasant thing to do.... :)

Roxie & Copper

Freeds Green House & an Alpaca Farm

Stopped by Freed's greenhouse for the first time on Thursday. Its alot bigger than I thought it was. They have like 9 greenhouses plus more plants outside. My first thought was "wow! I wish I would have stopped here sooner" but my thoughts kinda changed after asking an emplyee a qeustion about organics and got an ear full for it...

We looked through some of the flowers & tropical plants. They have some gorgeous flowers. Than moved over to the annuals, which I skipped most of. I don't really like spending money on plants that won't come back next year. I took my camera to take pictures but after the first few pictures I started looking at the plants and forgot to take anymore.. oops :)John and I went straight back to the perennials which are not housed in the green house. But in the center of 4 other green houses. They have a good variety. We got a small pot of chickens, and another plant that looks similar to the chicken plant but more bulbous and lighter green and pink. We also got a plant that feels really weird. It has its own little fingers and really pretty purple flowers. $4 each. They had a ton of plants I wanted but for money sake.. I couldn't.

Next was the green house full of garden plants. I was excited to get in there and see what the different varieties are. The only varieties I see at regular stores like walmart, and local smaller stores are the big boys, beefsteak, early girls, et cetra. But Freeds has many varieties. But I didn't see any organics so I walked over and asked the garden attendants. He said no they don't but after we purchased them we could grow them any way we wanted. That it wasn't pratical expense wise to bring them up with organic fertilizers. Synthetic pesticides are just as good and are cheap. And that they didn't raise them by the phases of the moon either. He went on and on. I was so annoyed and I could see it in Johns face that he was too. This guy had this "know it all" attitude that I just could not believe. He was plain out rude to us. So John said we should buy anything and even wanted to put my perennials back but I wouldn't let him. I went ahead and walked around to see what they had. They do have a huge variety of "non-organic" tomatoes, peppers, & pumpkins. Plus a smaller variety of cucumbers, lettuce, musk melons, etc. I will probably go back and grab a couple of the Cherokee purple toms, some German stripe toms, and a couple peppers since ours didn't do so well. But I hope I don't run into the same defensive garden attendant. It really doesn't make their business look good.

Although a few of my plants are doing well alot of them have had a hard time. We had some storms so I covered them back up and a hail storm that came through on Friday damaged alot of them. So I guess I will try again next year. I am getting over trying to grow from seed though. Its annoying when they all die and I don't know why.... I did pick up some eggplant plants at Speedway market.

We also drove half way up to see the Hearts Desire Alpaca Farm. I don't know if we are actually aloud so I made John stop so I could take pictures of the gorgous alpaca from the car.

All Pets Expo day Two

Went back to the expo today. We did take Roxie but unlike yesterday there were tons and tons of people and dogs. So she was a little over whelmed, excited, and pulled us everywhere!

I made her a Stop BSL shirt this morning before we left out of one of John's old wife beaters, food coloring, & acrylic paint but she was so hyper I decided not to make her wear it. I had even made little pamphlets in case someone asked what it was.... It took me so long to figure out how to get the pamphlets made then I didn't even get to use them... errrrr.... But everyone did keep telling us what a gorgeous pit she is :)

But It was a good day. We got another Rescue Ink shirt, a signed picture, and we got two pictures of John, Me, and Roxie with Rescue Ink which was awesome.

I also took a few other pictures of them from a distance. They probably thought I was stocking them..lol.. and no I wasn't.. I just love to learn. And I wish I could have someone like them teach me so much about rescue and rehabilitation. Eric's rescue is something that few people take on and love to do. I really hope one day I can learn as much as he knows about rehabilitating pits and all dogs. I really look up to these guys. So I just wanted to be around them. But I did keep a distance from them just so they wouldn't think I was stalking them :)

O yeah. I remembered another tip Eric gave me yesterday. Watch the dogs pupils around other dogs, when meeting, when food aggression could be an issue, etc, If they dilate then its time to take action.If they are normal than your good for the moment.

O yeah and Rescue Ink is taking this dog back with them from our Marion Co. Shelter :) Her name was listed as Coconut on Marion Co. Website.Here is a link for another dog. A 5 week old puppy named Hayden. He is deaf and was left in a box in WV. Pet helpers picked him up. Rescue Ink took him back with them.

We wasn't out long, just a few hours but poor Roxie was so tired. She slept all the way home and then some more when we got here.

John and I, went outside and laid in the hammock for almost 2 hours. Talked and read our books. Nice and relaxing. I love our new hammock! I think we might be just as tired as Roxie. We went to bed really late last night and got up at 8am... Then got pulled around by her all day.

After the hammock time we went to my parents house and cooked out. Came back and cleaned up outside a little bit. laid in the hammock till it got dark. Now going to get ready for bed early. John goes back to work tomorrow.

kiiiiiiiiiiiij This is Storms note to everyone... lol...she decided to help me by walking across the key board :)