Nature Friday - Cheering Up by the Sea

 TGIF and welcome to Nature Friday!  Today I want to show you how Mama and I went from being frustrated and sad, to being happy and smiley faced all thanks to getting out in nature!

 The past month has been a rough allergy month for me, a sad month for Mama and then, on top of that, there are all the California wildfires and resulting power outages. Mama and I needed a break, big time! As you can imagine, Mama jumped at the chance when I asked her to take me on an adventure!

 I put on my fall bandana and told Mama we needed to go to our happy place....can anyone guess where that may be??

 Just over these weeds Mama....

 Aaaaahhhhhhh, smell that salt air! If you guessed the ocean was our happy place, you were  100% right!  If it looks familiar, that's because it's the same place Mama took Rosy for her birthday! The northern part of Route 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway!

 Here is the Point Cabrillo Light Station! I can see why Rosy and Mama like this place so much. What a pretty light against the blue sky!

We were lucky enough to basically have most of the park to ourselves. We sat at a picnic table for a little snack and photo shoot and then we headed out for a walk.

We found a nice trail right along the bluffs that had a wonderful view...

Both Mama and I felt the blahs lifting as we  walked and listened to the ocean sounds.

We saw some beautiful nooks and crannies filling with water as the tide came in.

Before I knew it, it was time to head home.  But the ocean had done its magic!

Mama and I both left smiling from ear to ear!
We sure hope you all find your happy place this weekend!

 Show us your nature! It can be flowers, your current weather, a scene out of your window, or maybe a picture from a vacation, walk or other journey! Any kind of nature picture will do! If you don't see a link below, click HERE 

to our Hoppity Page.

Happy Halloween! Day 2 - No Tricks, Just Treats for Shelters

Happy Halloween and welcome to another day of

 No Tricks, Just Treats for Shelters!! Today, while we show you our Halloween costumes,  we want to to share ten easy ways you can help your local shelter or rescue organization.

1. Host a fundraiser on social media.

Having a birthday or other special event? Did you know you can host a fundraiser to raise money for your favorite shelter or rescue?

Click HERE to see more info on Facebook Fundraising!

2. DIY Crafts for Shelters

Do you love to craft? There are so many different crafts you can choose. From Catnip Pillows to Snuffle Mats 
We found a few good suggestions over at the Animal Humane Society's page too. Click HERE to go on over and check out the cool craft items you can make! 

3. Name your favorite shelter as a designee on your 
Amazon Smile Account
You can read all about Amazon Smile 
HERE

4. Buy One, Give One

The next time you are buying pet food, cat litter, toys or treats, make sure to pick one up for your local rescue or shelter. Have a designated bin in your vehicle and when the bin is full, drop it off.

Easy Peasy! 

5. Volunteer to Transport Animals

Do you have a vehicle and a little extra time to spare? You can volunteer to help transport foster pets to and from the vet, or even help transport animals from a shelter or rescue organization to a foster family. Mama enjoyed doing this when we lived in Texas, she got to meet lots of new friends and help dogs in need. Check with your local shelter or rescue for more information on how to help!

6. Donate Gently Used Household Items

We showed you how to do this yesterday. Old towels, sheets, blankets are always needed at shelters and rescues.  You can use a box or bin to fill with toys or treats your pet isn't fond of along with linens you may not use. When it's full, drop it off!

7. Share Shelter Pets and Events on Social Media

Do you follow your local shelter on social media? Make sure to share shelter pets that may be up for adoption and don't forget to share posts about shelter events too!

 

8. Purchase something from your Shelter or Rescue's Wish List

Most Shelters or rescues publish a "Wish List" on their webpage.

Click HERE to see Legacy Boxer Rescue's Wish List

9. Sponsor a Shelter Pet

Some shelters give you the opportunity to sponsor a shelter pet, paying for the food, spay/neuter and sometimes even the adoption fee for the animal! Visit your local shelters web page to find out how you can sponsor your own shelter animal!

10. Last, but definitely not least, show your appreciation

Shelter employees and volunteers work hard, for little or no pay. The next time you visit your local shelter make sure you say thank you and let a shelter or rescue employee/volunteer know how much they are valued. Bake and take holiday or "just because"

cookies(or other treats) to your shelter to let the employees you appreciate all they do for animals in need!

Tell us in the comments how you help shelters and we'll have Mama put together a list  to share!!

We want to thank each and every one of you who stopped by and left a comment or joined our No Tricks, Just Treats for Shelters! We will be back next week on Thankful Thursday to announce the final tally! 

We want to give a very special thank you to Brian's Home,  Marg's Animals and Legacy Boxer Rescue(and their representative Matilda) for agreeing let us talk about them this year.  We hope you'll all try to stop by each of their web pages and let them know how much we appreciate what they do.

 

 Publish a Halloween post letting us know some way you plan to/or have helped a shelter or pet in need, and link up to the hop. We will be donating $1 per hop entry AND 50 cents  for each comment we receive on the 30th and 31st (Make sure to join the hop with a post each day)! Money raised this year will be split between Legacy Boxer Rescue, Marg's Animals and to our local Cat Rescue, HART(Humboldt Area Rescue Team) in Brian's name.

No Tricks Just Treats for Shelters, Let's Do This!

Welcome to the Fifth Annual No Tricks, Just Treats for Shelters!!
We took the down time we had, while the power was out, to gather up things to donate to our local shelter. 


 Rosy, why don't you start us off...What did you find?

Thanks Boyz! I decided to go through our toys this year to see what I could find to donate.

Can you believe even after I threw away the toys Jakey deaded, I still filled a whole crate with gently used toys to bring to help keep the doggies in the shelters busy!

What do you have for us, Jakey??

Well Rosy, this year I cleaned out our dish cabinet...

I found more than a few dishes we haven't even used yet!

I have also asked Mama to add an extra bag of foodies to our next Chewy.com order to help fill up all the empty dishes at the Shelter!

How about you, Arty?

Well Jakey, I'm on linen duty this year...

 I found a BUNCH of blankies and old sheets to donate, Mama says she may even have some old towels to add to my collection. I told her I would be more than happy to skip baths in the future so she could give ALL my towels away if she wanted to BOL!!

Donating items from around your home is only one  of the great ways to help out shelters and rescues. Make sure to stop by tomorrow for more examples of  how you can help your local shelter and rescue organizations!

 

 Publish a Halloween post letting us know some way you plan to/or have helped a shelter or pet in need, and link up to the hop. We will be donating $1 per hop entry AND 50 cents  for each comment we receive on the 30th and 31st (Make sure to join the hop with a post each day)! Money raised this year will be split between Legacy Boxer Rescue, Marg's Animals and to our local Cat Rescue, HART(Humboldt Area Rescue Team) in Brian's name.

Helping Paws - Part 3 - Legacy Boxer Rescue

 Rosy here today, thanks for joining us for the final segment of our Helping Paws segment of our No Tricks, Just Treats for Shelters event. Today we are recognizing Legacy Boxer Rescue. 

Legacy Boxer Rescue(LBR) is the rescue that helped our furiend Matilda, along with her Angel siblings Casey, Jessie and Cinderella found their furr-ever Mama!  LBR has had a few legal challenges this year and could really use Blogville's help! We believe their Mission Statement says it all!

Legacy Boxer Rescue

Mission Statement

(and quoted from their webpage) 

" For every life there is a legacy. In many instances the legacy passed down is not as it should be and requires help from caring souls to be fulfilled. It is our belief that all Boxers should have a legacy befitting of their wonderful enthusiasm and love of life, but sadly, this isn't always the case.

We, the founder and volunteers of Legacy Boxer Rescue, have made it our mission to seek out these Boxers and create a legacy they deserve, a loving family and home of their own.

We firmly believe that a Boxer's future should never be uncertain, so we will help to create better, happier legacies for them; one Boxer at a time.

A legacy that replaces despair with hope, sorrow with happiness, fear with security, and pain with love."

 That last line says it all, don't you think. There are so many ways to help LBR, from monetary donations to purchasing a calendar, getting them something from their Wishlist, you can even make them the designee on your Amazon Smile account!

Matilda and I hope you will visit the Legacy Boxer Rescue by clicking HERE to see if there is something you can do to help!

Make sure to join us tomorrow and Halloween Day for the No Tricks, Just Treats for Shelters Blog Hop and Comment-a-thon!

Helping Paws Part 2 - The Caring Cat Lady

Jakey here today with Part Two in our Helping Paws segment of our No Tricks, Just Treats for Shelters event. Today we have the story of a Caring Cat Lady, Miss Marg, from Marg's Animals.

Many of you may have heard that Miss Marg has been ill. She could really use Blogville's help to make sure her "furkids" are fed and taken care of. Please visit Marg HERE to leave your get well wishes and consider visiting her Paypal by pressing HERE to give what you can. Remember, every little bit helps.  

 

With the help of Miss Ann from Zoolatry, we were able to find out just how Miss Marg got started. Through Miss Ann, Marg's good friend Dee forwarded us this beautiful story of Marg and her Animals:

 
Not the Crazy Cat lady.....the Caring Cat Lady!
Margie has spent her whole life in-love with animals.

She graduated college with a degree in horse husbandry, and soon after started working in the industry. She moved around a bit in the early years, learning the tools of her trade; and then settled down and built a barn of her own on a large plantation in Charleston, South Carolina. She began boarding horses, breeding ponies, and teaching youngsters to ride, instilling in them her love of animals.
(She is still in contact with some of her students, 30+ years later. Some even make the 4 hour drive from Charleston to her current place to visit 2 or 3 times a year.)

Up until the past few years, there have always been dogs in Margie's life. She loved the herding dog breeds, and trained them to assist her with the horses. The good thing about working on a large plantation is that there was always plenty of places for dogs to work and play.

When you work in a barn, cats will always be around. She took care of them all, no matter how scruffy or feral. TNR(Trap, Neuter, Release), feeding and vetting, she took care of each one as they wandered in from points unknown. And, of course, once they found this oasis in the cruel world, they never left.

Margie moved to her current location a couple of decades ago, bringing her horses, donkeys, dogs, and cats with her. All those she brought with her have since gone to the Bridge(Ande was the last dog and Missy, the last kitty). Yet the cats in the area still find protection, food and comfort on her property. They wander in, she vets them and gives them names, feeds and watches over them. There is also a feral colony a mile or so down the road overseen by a neighbor that didn't know much about cats, but loved them all the same. He called on her to help him take care of the colony and she has had as many of those cats fixed and vetted as is possible (It's hard to trap cats when you are 80 years old!)

At current count, Margie has 30 cats - 1 from another shelter, 11 came from the feral colony down the street and the rest just wandered in one day, some with their moms. The cats all have their places - 15 live in the house, the rest live on the property. Everyone gets three square meals a day. As tribute to their safety, she has never lost a cat due to anything but old-age or severe illness.



She knows each and every feline intimately. She knows their  mannerisms and likes/dislikes. She knows when someone if off, and takes swift action to get them to the vet. They are her children and she loves them very much. They are very lucky beings to have found such a nurturing home!

The Cats 

House Kitties

Momma Kitty - feral                    Little Bit - shelter

Missy - abandoned                       Maggie - abandoned 

Mahoney - Maggie's daughter     Two Two - feral

Boo - feral colony                        Loo - feral colony

JJ - feral colony                           Salt - feral colony

Pepper - feral colony                   Sissy - feral colony

Suzie - feral colony                     Charlie - feral colony

Rose - feral colony

Outside Kitties

Boyzo - Momma Kitty's kit          Khaki - Momma Kitty's kit

Ohs - Momma Kitty's kit              Tees - Momma Kitty's kit

Black - feral                                  MewMew - Feral

Spot - feral                                    Little Mom - abandoned

Bubba - Little Mom's kit              LGs - Little Mom's kit

Tippy Tail - Little Mom's kit       Whitie - feral 

Pumpkin - feral colony                 Precious - feral colony

Murphy - technically the neighbors, but always at Margies

 We are so very thankful for Marg and her life's work, and to Dee for putting together such a loving tale of Marg's journey,  Again, if you were touched by Marg's story, please consider a donation to help her feed and vet her kitties.  Click HERE to go to her PayPal or HERE to visit Marg's Animal's Blog.

 

We're joining Comedy Plus for the

Awww Monday Blog Hop!

 

 

Good News....Bad News

First, the good news, Happy Punkin Day! 

Here I am making sure Arty knows I am also one of the cutest punkins in the patch!

Now the bad news..which isn't really bad, just inconvenient. You might remember that we live in Northy Northy California where, it seems, they feel that they can steal your power(and internet) for days as a time. Earlier this month we lost power for two days. Mama was in Texas then, so it didn't affect her too much. Well, they are stealing out electricity later today and we are not sure for how long. Mama is hoping it will be back on by Tuesday.   

Through the magic of the interwebs, we have our  next two Helping Paws posts ready to go for Monday and Tuesday, plus we have our No Tricks, Just Treats Blog Hop set up. Feel free to grab the link HERE. There is a SLIGHT chance, that you may see repeats for No Tricks, Just Treats for Shelters from last year.....Mama is scheduling them JUST IN CASE the electric peeps keep our power for that long. Regardless, don't worry if you don't see us commenting, we will be back as soon as we can.

Woodland Lhasa Fairy - FFF on Nature Friday

Rosy here today for the funnest Friday of the month, where Nature meets Fiction...

 

Today we are joining YAM Aunty for a new type FFF,  where we get to pick a picture and tell us its story!

Make sure to visit YAM Aunty HERE to get the New Rulez and join the FFF fun!!

Woodland Lhasa Fairy Tail

Once upon a time, there was a Woodland Lhasa Princess Rosy, who lived with a lovely family in the middle of a beautiful forest. Rosy love roaming the forest and smelling all the wonderful scents.  

One day Rosy's Mama asked if she would like to be transformed into a beautiful Woodland Lhasa Fairy.....Rosy thought that might be cool and imagined how she could flit and flutter and smell all the scents way up high in the trees. So Rosy agreed and let Mama transform her. If it was nice being a princess, it would be twice as fun being a fairy, right?

 Mama put her Woodland Princess Flower Crown,  put on her wings but then IT HAPPENED! Mama said all Woodland Lhasa Fairies wear Tutus...

WHAT DA WHAT???

Needless to say, after wearing the Tutu for all of two minutes, 

Rosy stuck her tongue out at her Mama, took the tutu off,  and decided she would much rather stay a Woodland Lhasa Princess.

The End

 Show us your nature! It can be flowers, your current weather, a scene out of your window, or maybe a picture from a vacation, walk or other journey! Any kind of nature picture will do! If you don't see a link below, click HERE 

to our Hoppity Page.

Thankful for Helping Paws - Part One~Brian's Home

This year, as part of our No Tricks, Just Treats for Shelters event,  we want to recognize a few blogs we follow who help take care of  animals who may not be able to care for themselves.
Today, we are thankful to Brian's Home for their work advocating for cat adoption and, just as important,  for their selfless work with Feral Cats. We asked Brian's Dad to give us an idea their journey with Feral Cats, here is their story:

We moved to South Carolina from West Virginia in 1995 and, where we lived in West Virginia, we rarely saw a feral cat. Sure, we saw outside kitties frequently but we knew where they lived and who their owners were. We hardly saw any feral cats at our home in South Carolina for quite a few years. Why is that? Well, when we moved to South Carolina we had 1 cat and 2 medium sized dogs. Obviously cats wouldn't care to visit our yard. In early 2009 our sweet dogs had both gone to the Rainbow Bridge and we now had two cats, Brian and Ivan. Then in 2009 we saw a male tom cat in our backyard. It was obvious he was fending for himself and he had several battle scars from fights. He appeared to be an older guy so we started calling him "Old Man." 

We starting putting food out for the Old Man. He really did seem ever so grateful and became a regular, showing up to get food on a pretty routine schedule. At the time, we didn't know about TNR(Trap, Neuter and Return/Release) so, as you can imagine, it wasn't long before other kitties started showing up for food. Then there were kittens, they were cute, they grew up, there were more kittens. We started having cats and kittens everywhere. So, we did the only thing we knew to do, we contacted the rescue where we adopted Brian, Zoe and Gracie and asked for help. Boy did we learn the importance of TNR in a hurry. We learned it worked and we learned it makes for a happier, healthier feral cat population.

At one point in our TNR journey, we trapped 8 cats in one day, including Simon and Seal who have successfully transitioned to life inside.

We also had several quick lessons on bottle feeding little ones who were left behind, like Rocky here.

Today, since ferals have a rough life, some disappear, some don't make it, we've been rather stable at 7-8 furry feral family members.  We provide for them daily, year round.

In order to keep their food dry during inclement weather, I made a feeding station out of a deck storage box which  turned on its side, removed the lid and drilled holes in the floor so water will drain out when it rains.

These past couple of photos are of a recent early O'Dark Thirty breakfast club.

 
and here is the crew at a dinner time feeding.

 We also provide shelter for the ferals so they can keep dry when it rains and they can keep warm when the weather turns cold. We have 3 insulated and heated houses, a doggy type igloo and a covered tent for shade, and yes,  they use all of them.


It's not unusual to have kittens turn up since we know we can't, and haven't, been able to get everyone fixed. It's important to maintain an active relationship with your local shelters so they may be there to help when you need them.

There are lots of ways for you to support your local shelters, here are just a few of the things we do:

Make monetary donations
Donate wet and dry cat food on a regular basis
Donate towels and blankets you are no longer using
Save and donate your newspaper
Donate laundry detergent
Donate cat litter
Donate your time!

Running a shelter is hard, and often thankless, work. Make sure to support your shelters on a regular basis!





 
  We want to thank Brian's Dad and Mom for all they are doing to help their local feral colony and for taking the time sharing their experiences with us. 

If the story of how Brian's family touched you,  please consider donating to a Cat Rescue in your area. 

Stay tuned next Monday for Part Two of our Helping Paws 

 We are joining Brian for the 
Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!