Thursday, December 25, 2008

Happy Birthday Jesus

When the presents are wrapped in paper and bows
And You don’t see Your name on any of those
And they’re carefully tucked under fake or dead trees
Help us all to remember to get on our knees
And thank You for giving us all the gifts
You wrapped them in fur and they just need a lift
To get back to the real trees, their forests and streams
Help our hearts to stay strong to follow these dreams
Let our hands be Your tool that help them survive
Help us know what to do to keep them alive
And know when we can’t, it was always Your plan
And You gave us the strength to do what we can
Please help us give You this as our gift every day of the year
And thank You Lord Jesus, for Your Angels so near

Psalm 91:11 (Amplified Bible)
For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Another below zero day

Just getting colder and colder up here. Ice on top of snow and now more snow headed this way tonight. Perhaps it will be enough to make our wild ones actually get into their proper mode of hibernating and prevent early births.

After putting out a post to the LBA? Seems the coonies are doing this pretty much collectively everywhere and we are having record temperature lows not seen since 1990.

Reports have been coming in of babies frozen in the snow, pregnant raccoons already -- in December!! Things just not looking good for normal spring season. All you rehabbers be prepared for the neonates far earlier this coming spring.

Houston reporting distemper cases, Missouri reporting pregnant females, bears not in hibernation. As the old chief has stated, animals are beginning to prepare for a revolt that is due to come about. Mother Nature is not happy with what hoomans have done to her precious planet and may just take it upon herself to fix the problem -- the virus we call mankind.

Please -- if you haven't already started doing your part to help our Mother Earth? Please start now. Even a small step is better than none. Reuse, recycle, go green.

Monday, December 15, 2008

-15 in the Northwoods

Well. After all that snow it decided to rain. -15F with the wind chill today. Coondo locks, hasps, doors, everything frozen shut. But coonies all out and about. How strange is that? Coonies out in -15 in mid December? My poor babies all just a shakin asking mom what's going on here?

Unfortunately, since they aren't in torpor like they should have been for the past 6 weeks or so? They are going through 20lbs of dog food a day. Most expensive winter over I've ever run across.

Little Hercules muffin had his tail amputated. He still has a 4" nubbie and he looks absolutely adorable with it. Long haired kitten and just a little fluff of a tail. He's doing quite well and will be going home to his family for Christmas. What better gift could I give than to give him his own home and kids to love him? But alas. The time we've spent together? I fell in love and will cry when he goes home. But. If you love something give it freedom and the best you have to offer. I will be able to visit him so it'll be okay.

Little Bonzai is still just a little mama's boy. Would rather mama cuddle him than eat. Kind of concerns me though. His sibs are twice his size [but he rules the Coondo -- go figger]. Today they are all just shivering. One day we will have an inside space for the Coondos so they can go inside if they want to. But that's down the road a ways.

Keep warm and be safe.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

early a.m. in the Northwoods

Snow's still falling, schools are getting cancelled [but not here yet]. Temps have been down in the single digits for days. The main water pipes broke in the Village a few days ago. We didn't have any water off and on for 3 days. Had it back on overnight at least.

From having no snow late in the year to it snowing every day is quite a rude change. Coonies finally decided to stay all tucked in the cubbies in their hay and fall into torpor until the weather warms up a bit. Particularly watching little Bonzai this year. He is pretty small and wants mama instead of sleeping with the littermates. He was just a shiverin up a storm calling mama to come love him ... so I did and then he went to cubby up with the others.

No water in this deep freeze. They must eat snow or ice for liquids -- it freezes too fast and they wouldn't be finding any pools of water on the Big Adventure right now. Any wet on their paws and they'd be sticking to the chain link and hardware cloth harming their foot pads. And if coonies see water? Automatic get in it and get all four paws wet time.

OK days'a wastin and much to do....

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Araja

The beautiful Western Painted turtle that came in last summer all spray painted red and full of hot tar has lost the last scute with red on it today. It's taken her many months to grow enough that she shed her scutes and relieved her shell of all the paint. I saved all of the scutes as they came off one by one. And now she looks like a turtle. Her head is almost healed and perhaps this spring we can find her a nice pond in the forest far away from those who would do her harm so she can live a long life and prosper.

I have been getting rave reviews about Diary of a Coonie. Good news is, I may have found the little red schoolhouse that was the hold up for the soft cover version so that should be available very soon. Thanks to those who purchased the story, it is feeding the coonies today.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Diary of a Coonie

I'm happy to announce that Diary of a Coonie is finally finished and available for immediate download. Still working on the cover for the soft cover book, but you can download the pdf version of it now.

It's the story of Dory & the Orphans from the perspective of one of the orphans, Little Mini

All proceeds from sales will feed the orphans at the orphanage.

Rave reviews have been coming in about this story written so a child can read it and enjoy the pictures and entertaining enough that adults are passing it on to their friends to read.

Mr. Henry Zecher Author of: The Masque of Sherlock Holmes, The Extraordinary Life of William Gillette said "It is delightful! I could not put it down until I finished it."

"Meltcat" after watching the youtube video Dory & the Orphans Christmas song has said

"Oh, Matzo,
That was just precious. And I felt like I knew each one of them personally, just from reading your book, 'Diary of a Coonie'.
Thank you for what you do for all those critters that cross your path.
Cat "