1. Little noises really irritate me. The quiet sound of mice in the walls, or my cat softly chewing a plastic bag will wake me up from any state of sleep. And yup, it's mouse trap season.

2. We don't have cable, but we do have a DVD player. And a friend of ours lent us his DVD collection of Strangers with Candy. Has anyone else seen this stuff? Holy moley. Noblett? Jellynut? ....!!! We're convinced our son makes Principal Blackman eyebrows regularly. It's true.

"Iiiii want to sit at the welcome taaaay-bul...." (refrain).

3. So. It's November 30th and there's no snow on the ground here. In case you've forgotten where I live, I live in Canada. You know... igloos and Celine Dion. We set up our holiday lights with the ladder sinking into the muddy GRASS. It's a travesty.

Here's a picture of how things normally look here. Go-go Gadget global warming.


4. Speaking of Canada, I just finished Douglas Coupland's coffee table book "Souvenir of Canada". I loved it. It would make a great holiday present for anyone with a wry sense of humor. An excerpt:
"Canada's fourth largest city is Los Angeles. More Canadians live there than in Ottawa or Calgary or Winnipeg or Quebec City. For a hundred years it was push button simple for Canadians to work illegally in the United States, and vice versa. It wasn't even an issue. These days, if you're a Canadian over the age of twenty who looks even remotely middle class, you'll be fiercely grilled when entering the US, more for labor issues than potential terrorism of anything else. Canadians can obviously "pass for American" as long as we don't accidently use metric measurements or apologize when hit by a car...."

5. Speaking of LA, it's been a while since I've been there. The last time I was there (Dec. 04), I saw Annie. And Rambo.


6. My hair rests on my shoulders now. I miss the white blond, but I don't miss the upkeep. Yup, that was some white hair.


7. Things I don't love:
-Mice in the house.
-Cat barf on the floor.
-Mastitis.

8. And when I say Scott cut Trucky in half... I mean it. (New framerails have been welded and bashed into place since this snap was taken).


9. Whoa oh oh oh....sweeeet child of my-eee-ine.


10. The house smells so good. I stuck one of our chickens in the crockpot early this afternoon. Crockpots are awesome. If you have any crockpot recipes, feel free to pass them along.

TwwlyTidbit: I was in 4H as a tween. Were you? And if so, was it 4H sheep, cattle, horse or vet...?

Link of the day: FuzziBunz!

1. Thank you everyone for your congratulations on the birth of little Bob. And your generosity too; we've received some lovely presents and wonderful knitted woolies in the mail and it has all been VERY much appreciated.

2. All of the chickens are in the freezer and the snow has started to accumulate. We're bracing ourselves for the harsh master of winter. (I think perhaps winter is a masculine season?) We've got a generator this year and an electrician booked to wire it properly to a little jockey panel in the house, which I am REALLY excited about. I plan on leaving the house just as soon as I can see the first flowers of spring.

3. VonScotch has been busy tearing the bed off of Trucky the Toyota, as his winter project is rebuilding the back 2/3 of the frame. And I mean a total rebuild, no patching - the frame is crumbling like crackers. I think all of our "please let the baby drop" offroading adventures were the final nail in the coffin for Trucky. He's going to bob the bed as well. When in Rome, right? If anyone has any Toyota tips or a pre-Tacoma truck kicking around that they want to part ways with, do drop me a line.

4. I was very pleased with my latest set by the terrific tmronin. I was also quite amused that someone at HQ photoshopped in the end of my amputated finger in my set preview to cover my nipple. (The end of my ring finger is no longer with me).


Thank you Steve for breaking new photographic ground, by shooting both a pregnant woman and livestock in one swoop. Steve has shot some very important events in my life and I am very grateful.

5. How many phone messages does it take for a SuicideGirl to return your call? That's the question I've been asking myself lately. And what kind of life altering feats does a person have to pull to get a SuicideGirl to return ones call? Like have a baby or something? Not naming any names here (Miss Amina SchMunster!) but I mean... really. One call? Two calls? Three calls? Place your bets, ladies and germs.

6. So this month I've been hanging out in bed with my husband and my son and it's been great. I don't have much to say really, but I feel like I should update. What else, what else.... Let's see if I can answer some FAQs.....

Tattoos: Still look great. They've all returned to their natural shape. And I never did get any stretchmarks. I'll update that tattoo thread at some point with a final preg shot and some post partum pics.

Weight: I've lost 25lbs already and really weight loss is the farthest thing from my mind at this point. I'll definitely start working out again, but I won't be driving myself barmy with gazillions of crunches or squats any time soon. And we bought a fish scale from Cdn Tire the other day to weigh the little guy from (in a sling of course, not from a hook in his lip) and he's up to 10lbs already. A+!

Boobs: I really should have taken a picture the night the boob fairy came. Engorgement, FYI, is truly wild. Now things are more manageable. Leaky, but thankfully not boulder-like. Breastfeeding has been going smoothly from the very beginning. Right after his birth he latched on and has been a champion feeder ever since.

Dogs: In all honesty, while they are clearly aware that something has changed, and Puppers clearly understands he's not the baby anymore, they don't really care about the bairn. They're not interested, not jealous. They're pretty much completely ambivalent. Dealing with the handful that Limone is on a daily basis I have to say is not quite as tolerable as it used to be.

Sleep: We got our first 5 hour stretch recently and it was luxury. He's definitely fussiest at night, and we're certainly not in a groove yet, but we're happy. The sleep deprivation is pretty intense! But we've really been enjoying co-sleeping. So much easier for night feedings and so sweet for all involved.

Cloth diapers: We decided to not clog the local landfill with two tonnes of plastic, chemical filled diapers and go with cloth. And it's been a great choice. We've been using Fuzzi Buns and KissaLuvs (if you're curious, just Google it) and it's totally easy, cheaper in the long run than disposable, and the diapers are also really soft and really cute. We're using cloth wipes too and that's also not nearly the amount of work we were anticipating. I figure if we can handle it all for a newborn who poops everytime he eats (every 2 hours roughly) and pees twice that much...then we're good to go.

Well. I've just nursed the little guy into a milk coma and I see it's almost ten o'clock so I am going to go to bed too. I hope everyone reading this is happy, healthy and having a good day. I'll leave you all with some pictures.

Good night, eh.
xx

Ta da!







See pictures of him in utero in my latest set, eh.

T.xx

1. For any of you thinking about butting out, there's a Quit Smoking Group. SG sure does have everything, eh?

2. Ymonster recently came to visit. The day he arrived, we killed and ate another Ethel. Vonscotch tattooed him with a memorial/commemorative tattoo of said bird.


3. Updated the Diary of Tattoo Changes During Pregnancy thread again!

4. Question for all of you Juxtapoz type artsies: I have forgotten the name of the artist who does these wild little sculptures. He does these crazy little COOP body style babes, using roughly the same body style for each one, but each one has a different theme. He did a bunch of hula girls of different ethnicities, some are devil girls, some are lounge singers, etc. Can anyone name that artist or better yet, link me to his website? **alexj wins the prize: The artist is Spencer Davis!**

5. Chickens, chickens, chickens.




6. Oh wait, one more picture with chickens. (The picture is of Scott & Tim with two Ethels. Only the Ethels have no heads, so I'm putting it in a spoiler out of respect for my vegan friends).

7. SG member rosielee painted a beautiful painting of me.


8. Since I could be giving birth any day now, we've been getting a little bit beyond excited. Here's a little snap of Scott and Puppers testing out the Snugli.


9. tmronin (aka Steve Prue the Great) came to visit a few days after Tim did. (Two visitors from NYC in one week sure gave everyone something to talk about!) He took lots of pictures, including the requisite cheesy pregnant shots.



10. So yeah! Life out here on the farm has been great. Fall is definitely here. It even SMELLS cold out now. We really need to process our remaining few Ethels. Had a lovely surprise baby shower a couple nights ago. Getting geared up for our homebirth.

11. Still looking for another tattooer for ol' SugarShack. Scott's booking into January now, so we could really use another set of hands on deck. Busy custom shop, one of a kind location. Step out of rockstar city stardom and come tattoo in the country, eh.


Twwly Tidbit: The next time I update it should be with pictures of our brand new bairn!

**Warning: this journal update contains an image montage titled "From day old to dinner". Just lettin' ya know ahead of time.

1. I create my own reality. A year ago last friday I moved back to Canada. I had some goals. I wanted to be happy, sober, and focused. I wanted to be healthy. I wanted a life partner and a baby. So I changed my attitude. I worked the program. I worked out. I found God, and I don't mean some dude with nappy hair; I found positive energy in my rural environment, a renewable natural resource. I opened myself to love.

So last Saturday Scott and I marched with massed pipeband. Pipebands from all over Ontario and some from the US came, and I believe there were about 300 marching. With the whole town following. This is were I add: defiantly in the RAIN. We did the march and then settled under the tents set up in the park. One kid starts piping in amongst the benches and the beer. Slowly other pipers join in. And then a drummer. And then in a blink there were drummers standing on the picnic tables, pipes throughout the entire tent and the the most glorious music was made. So loud, so moving. Everyone was smiling and socializing and energy was primeval... And there I sat; healthy, happy, sober. With my husband at my side and our baby in my belly bouncing away to the hearty drum beats. It was magic.

2. Puppers keeps trying to lay in my lap while I type and work. Only he keeps getting squished by my massive stomach.

3. tmronin and ymonster are visiting me this month. I am a very lucky lady.

4. From James:


5. Picture from one of the monthly Drifters car shows. Last night was the last of the season and tonight is the last pipeband of the season. We find this (the picture) hilarious. If you do too, we'd probably make great friends.


6. There is still no conclusion on what the manky creature I found in the barn is. Nobody knows! It shall remain an unsolved mystery for now.

7. My dogs are still the cutest:


8. We've picked the last of our green beans from the garden. Zuchinis are currently making their move. Onions are almost done, as is garlic.

9. It's getting cooler now, so I'm actually starting to wear clothes again. (Could see my breath in the air 2 nights ago!) I have spent the last few months wearing only those rubber boots (complete with duct tape covering a split) and my undies. Yup. S'not hot. Hehe.


10. Self portrait time:


11. Added new pictures to the Diary of Tattoo Changes During Pregnancy Thread. Click the spoiler to read the update.

12. And now for the grand finale. The following photo montage includes the beheading and gutting of a chicken. If you don't want to see it, don't scroll down. I will say that the first to the chopping block was treated with all the respect and care you could possibly give a chicken. She ate fresh foods, had lots of room to run, and was calm in the moments preceeding her death (likely thanks to regular handling).

If chicken is a part of your regular diet and you find the process documented below appalling, I would personally challenge you to take a tour of your local intensive chicken farm, visit a processing plant, or at the very least, download a video online. From start to finish the process is inhumane for both chicken and consumer.

Food for thought: If you couldn't kill it, you shouldn't eat it.





Big thanks to our friends Steve, Shipley and Adam who were all an integral part of the process. We're now prepared to toddle off into the world of processing on our own! As you can see, we decided to decapitate and not bleed out. Steve pointed out to us that the chopping block was a definite end, where as none of us were entirely sure where a chickens jugular is.

Twwly Tidbit: I get to type a big long list today. I love lists.

1. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages! Wait a minute...maybe forget the children on second thought. Either way, step right up and bear witness to the mysterious mummified mammal I found in the barn a couple of weeks ago. I was in the middle of chasing a chicken out from the other side of her pen when I nearly stepped down on a massive piece of barn schmegma that had been rotting there since day one. I looked down as I avoided planting my foot on it and thought "Oh look! A baby monkey!" That thought was quickly followed by "Wait a minute, this is SW Ontario, people don't farm monkies here". Ears on the side of it's large round head, no tail, thumbs....after that quick 2 second glance over I grabbed ChickyPoo, tossed her back with the others and decided to head into town, hoping to find someone to convince my pregnant self that I was merely hallucinating what looked like a dead baby in our barn.

After scooping it out of the barn (thanks dad!) and taking closer look in daylight, it became evident that while definitely a mammal, it's thankfully not human. However. Weeks have passed, email polls have been taken, friends have come to gawk and gander (it's now living in the shed waiting for daddy ymonster to come and collect it) and nobody has been able to decide what exactly this beastie was.

Please toss in your opinion! The head it approximately the size of a large grapefruit, if you are wondering about its size. It does have thumbs as I mentioned.

Top votes are: groundhog, opposum, raccoon, very ugly pug, chupacabra. Its also been concluded to be the wrong proportion to be a cat.


2. And to balance that manky mug, here are some beautiful ladies who I miss dearly.


3. VonScotch and I have made about 80 jars of jam since I last updated. Peach, plum, plum/cherry, mulberry, strawberry, blueberry, apricot, blue/rasp/blackberry, rasp/blackberry, strawberry/peach. It's become our newest passion. I think we're "nesting".


4. The cover/article/poster coverage of me in Nordic Tattoo (all shot by the talented tmronin of course) was splashier and far more fun than I anticipated. Here's a small version of the article and little images of the rest are in my pics section if you're curious.


5. The chickens are growing steadily. They turn into pirhana over cobs of corn. We're waiting for the first girl to tip the scales on a frosty morning for our first adventure in chicken culling. We're likely going to go for the bleeding out method (as opposed to the head chop) as we've read it's less traumatic for the bird. I know killing it is not obviously the most humane option, but we want to eat chicken and we want to know that it has lived and died as best as possible. We could just ship them off to the butcher, but the thought of them scared and confused (well, they're always kind of confused, they are chickens after all) seems counterproductive to our whole operation. We're betting happy chickens fed actual FOOD that die peacefully taste better.

If you have any personal experience culling and processing birds, please leave your tips. (We're also waiting for the frosty morning so we can skin them easier, as we've read warm skinning makes the meat come off in strips. Avoiding the plucking process is preferred).


6. I've added new pictures to the
thread I started in the tattoo group documenting my tattoo changes during pregnancy.

7. And now for some photos of people who I love. (Yes, I love ME too, ya smartarse!)




8. Lovely farm pictures:



9. Hope you all commented on my most recent set, eh! It features a massive alien replica, pulse rifle and face hugger. Not to be missed.




10. Self portrait time.


Twwly Tidbit: I currently sleep in 1-2 hour stretches.


If you live in the Toronto Area, please click the spoiler:

SUPRISE!! My Alien set (featuring lifesize replica alien, face hugger & pulse rifle) just went up! Please go show it some love. It was shot nearly 2 years ago!






1. Quel suprise, I ♥ Tura.




2. The ever so witty working title for the following photo is "Life is Just a Sink of Cherries". Let me tell ya... Picking an entire sink full of cherries is fun. Pitting an entire sink full of cherries.... not nearly as fun.


3. A neighbor ever so sweetly has his chicken barn right where there are houses out here. From day old to 6 weeks, the barn doesn't get cleaned so you can only imagine the smell. (Maybe you can't, but let me tell you, it's not pleasant). At 6 weeks the truck comes to take them to slaughter. So they open the barn up. (And that unpleasant smell becomes unbearable; I literally have to leave the house and go into town). And instead of picking out the casualties, they scoop them up with the tonnes of poo and dump it on the feild DIRECTLY behind our property. (I'm all for using natural manure; we use our chickens poo for our garden...BUT). But as I mentioned with that manure comes loads of carcasses. And carcasses attract turkey vultures. I counted 18 of them the afternoon I took the picture below. ONE or TWO vultures.... kinda cool. Nearly 20 of them? Alfred Hitchcock.

Not only was the smell enough to make me throw up (you'd throw up too, even if you weren't pregnant), but the damn vultures were circling over MY happy free range broilers. Over my dead body was I going to lose one of the girls to a vulture thanks to my favourite neighbor, so I scurried to catch them all and put them in the barn. But they don't like going in the barn midday. It's not part of the routine. So they were being particularly hard to catch. I got 11/12 in and had a good chase with the last, which ended with a remarkably well executed lunge and grab on my pregnant behalf, but also the breaking of my brand new Birkenstock sandal. (I finally gave in and spent the $ on them because my back has been a nightmare in my little flip flops).

Talk about adding insult to injury. And the local shoe repair guy is on vacation and won't get to it for a month. I can't justify sending it to the city and spending as much as the shoe itself to get it fixed. And no place locally stocks Birks in my size. I am not a happy camper, nor is my back.


4. Zombie me by Spangler. Awesome!


5. Below are pictures of happy chickens, in case you were ever curious about what a happy chicken looks like. The pictures of the cute baby chicks I posted last? Yeah, this is them. We call them "The Girls" and since we don't get cable, they make for great Chicken TV.




6. Last night VonScotch hosted a Vice Magazine party at the shop. Free booze and music for friends and clients. It was a nice soiree, if I do say so myself. Alas I did not bring my camera as it was full of pictures from the Triathlon that my mother is race director of. It was actually nice to be out of the house for both occasions.

7. Speaking of my mother, here is a family shot from our wedding. I don't usually post pictures of the fam, but this is them. (My parents and Scotts parents). My mom is hot, huh? Yup.


8. Are you a tattooer looking for a change of pace at a new shop? My husband (....$*&#^!!!!!), VonScotch, is looking to hire a new member for the ol' Sugar Shack team. If you're interested, or know anyone who is, please direct them to his SG page for more information.




9. It ain't a wedding unless there are lucha masks, I say!


10. In doggy news, Puppers and Limone have done something incredible. They have taken to sleeping on a lovely big pillow on the floor and not on the bed. We realized, as I entered my third trimester, that "Hey! The baby will be here soon!" and since we are planning on co-sleeping it dawned on us that we better start weaning the dogs off the bed.

So we bought a lovely, cushy, gorgeous, big doggy pillow. We introduced it to them, and Limone promptly pissed all over it, as if to say "F-You, as IF I am sleeping on that monstrosity; who do you think I am?!" Our hopes for Project DoggyOffTheBed were soggy. So we wash the thing, and put it out on the floor beside the bed. As we were getting into bed, and without any expectation, I pointed to the pillow and said "Go to bed." And they both went to bed!!! And have slept there, without incident or complaint, every night since.

11. Just in case anyone is worried that I'm running out of pictures, my ever favourite tmronin will be visiting TwwlyCountry this fall for a photo extravaganza. Not that I've yet had time to process even 1/100th of the gorgeous pictures he took of the wedding.


12. For the very latest pictures of my increasingly rotund self, check out the Diary of Tattoo Changes thread. And click the spoiler below for a preggo update.

Twwly Tidbit: This weekend I will hit the local beach in my bikini. As a child, I spent a significant portion of the summer on the beach. I love swimming.

1. Still haven't gotten the big ol' tear in my screen window fixed. Where did the tear come from? Not from my 12 teradactyl chickens of the apocolypse as perhaps was your first guess, but from a beastly bandit of the night.

A couple of weeks ago, around 4am, tucked into bed with Scott, Puppers, & Limone, I'm woken by a funny noise. Not funny 'haha', but funny 'what-the-hell'. The noise goes on for a good 10 minutes. It's pretty loud. I think it may be the blind slapping against the window in the breeze. I think it's pretty annoying, but everyone else is sleeping through it. I wait ten more minutes, as I'm pretty uninterested in getting out of bed for the 6th time that night (thanks to pregnancy my bladder is about the size of an apricot).

I get up and start thumping my way into the kitchen, and the sound gets quieter. I think it's probably not the blinds then, since they likely wouldn't quiet up from hearing me coming. Low and behold I see CatCat on the kitchen table and right beside her, literally coming through my screen, a blasted racoon! I yell, Scott et al awaken, we shut the window, and as we stand there stunned the little brat comes back and continues to throw himself at my window. Thankfully I got up when I did, or there would have been quite the scene involving naked racoon chasing, dogs winding up getting distemper shots and damage to the house.

We bought a trap. Scott talked me down from sticking any racoon heads we might procure on spikes at the end of the driveway to simply nailing their tails to the barn door (I kid.... or do I?) but alas, after stuffing it with various surf and turf combinations, all we managed to catch were seriously pissed off feral cats.

And that's that.

2. The chickens are growing like mad. These cute pictures I'm about to post in no way represent their current state of being. Right now they are covered in white feathers, but still have their little yellow heads. They are big, they smell bad and I can't wait for them to get fully feathered so they can live out the rest of their life cycle in the outdoor pen and not in my work shed.

Day old:



Few days old:


3. And now for a couple of pictures of me in HellCity, with two of my main men:

Photographer Extraordinaire, Steve Prue:

Husband Extraordinaire, VonScotch:


Both pictures by Alyssa Brunelli!

4. I'm currently on the cover of Nordic Tattoo. Inside there is an article and poster, all pictures taken by Steve Prue. I have yet to get the mag and check out the article, but hopefully they come in the mail soon!


5. I've added new pictures to the Diary of Tattoo Changes During Pregnancy thread.

6. On June 17 Vonscotch & I got married! After months of mental planning, a morning of chaos for the groomsmen, a forecast for rain, everything went perfectly and there was not a cloud in the sky. The rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception were beyond expectation and it was so special to celebrate with so many of our close friends who came from all over Canada, the US and the UK. Even little Bobby Benjamin was awake and bouncing around in my belly during the ceremony!

We stayed relatively local for our honeymoon/getaway. Laid in a nice hotel bed and watched the hockey game while eating room service; went fly fishing; went for a little motorcycle putter. Nice and relaxing!

Here's a quick taste of the pictures (taken by Steve Prue of course!):

My maids of honor & me:


Us on our homestead:


Us & the kids:


7. Click the spoiler to read the preggo update!

8. Well it's now time for me to clean out the chickens and do some more work.

Twwly Tidbit: I'm about 12 shades of excited for the Scottish Festival here this weekend.

1. Okay, I can't keep up with everything! Everyone who left me posts last entry about sending art for our upcoming arrival, I will message you mailing info soon! Thank you very, very much.

2. Our little rescued Robin, Peepers (aka El Peeperino, aka TweetCheeks) has become increasingly independent (we were worried breifly that he would never "leave the nest", aka sit on the back door mat and peep until we fed him). The last few days, we have barely seen him, which means he's eating, and hanging out with other birds and getting up to all sorts of bird shenanigans. A+!

3. Scott & I went to Ikea the other day and pretty much bought ourselves a new bathroom. Ikea makes me feel a little faint. Canned air, people.... We felt like the typical young, hip Ikea family; browsing infant linen and saftey devices. It was definitely weird, but okay. Anyway. The new bathroom is a wood washstand sink (we currently have a huge pedestal sink that's a big waste of space) with great storage and a nice big shallow sink that's perfectly infant/Puppercini sized. Huge mirror and vanity of course. Should be good. We oughta have spare time to install it in 2010.

4. Can you believe how close Amina's face is to my butt in our new set? I got to be near her famous bazongas too (which recently celebrated their 5 year anniversary. Hooray for boobies!) Even Puppercini flew to Texas for that shoot. Awesomesauce. Amina's a great broad, one of the greatest I know and I can't wait to see her soon.

Our new set was shot by the fabulous LITHIUM_PICNIC. Please go forth and comment on it gratuitously.





5. We started construction on the world's largest and most structurally sound chicken pen in rural Ontario on the weekend. It's about 50x the size of the average chicken pen, with 4x4 beams and 2x4 frame. So if we get those crazy teradactyl chickens of the apocolypse, instead of the White Rock hens we ordered, we'll be prepared.

6. And now a Limone Appreciation Moment:



She's my delicate little flower. Thankfully our newly installed airconditioner in the bedroom drowns out her remarkable snoring!

7. Twwly Country Garden Update: Our potatooooes and tomatoooes are thriving. Our asparagus is frankly out of control. Our rhubarb is well into it's second cycle. Our garlic is growing well.

8. Click the spoiler for the preggo update:

9. A peony and iris, covered in rain.




10. The kids and I out in the yard:


Twwly Tidbit: I had a weird sex dream the other night in which I was getting it on with Jessica Simpson.

1. The Hell City Tattoo Festival was excellent. Great set up, artists, organizers. Top shelf I say, top shelf. Got to see three of my favourite people: Amina, ymonster & tmronin and meet some lovely, lovely new ladies. And by some I mean about 25+. I especially enjoyed meeting Fractal. Looking forward to seeing more of her, Nate and Chicken some day.

There was lots of holding hands and shaking babies. I mean....


2. Big thanks to everyone who commented on my new set shot by LITHIUM_PICNIC.




3. Here are some great snaps of our farm at sunset:




4. May Two Four weekend (first long weekend of the year) has come and gone. Like most MayTwoFers in my memory, it was cold and rotten. May 24 is generally the weekend that you wait to plant, as chances of frost happening past it are slim. But as it was literally freezing cold I opted to spread some more manure around the garden patch instead. Once I get all my schtuff in for invoice day tomorrow, I'll be out planting tomatos, potatos, our now massive sunflowers, and a whole assortment of veggies. Right after I till one more time. I need there to be two of me.

5. In the cold and rain we had our first BBQ:


6. And now for the tale of Peepers, aka Christopher Robin, aka the little robin who lived in our bathroom for three weeks:

First off I would like to say that in most US states it's illegal to keep wild birds in your house even if you are intending on rehab & release. Also most people wind up killing what they rescue by accident. Also the protocol should you determine any wild animal you find to be abandoned/injured is to call a wildlife rehabilitator. (For any inquiring minds: there is no wildlife rehab out here in the middle of nowhere).

So about three weeks ago we find the classic Lost Baby Bird. Clearly young, clearly no mommy bird or nest in sight, clearly unable to fly yet, clearly likely to be eaten in short order by a cat. We put the bird in a box, and wind up outside at midnight crawling around on our stomachs looking for worms and insects. The bird sure lucked out by finding Scott & I in the height of our maternal/paternal brooding.

So it's clear little birdlet needs pretty much constant feeding and can't seem to forage for itself yet. So. We wind up having to take a day trip a couple days later to Toronto (3 hour drive) to pick up Scott's wedding kilt. ...And being the bird parents that we now are, hand feeding every hour, we pack the bird up in a box, buy a can of worms from the live bait vending machine and head off to the city. Wormy, seedy, fruity mess followed, but the trip was uneventful and we all make it back in one piece.

Little Tweetums starts to fly, but cannot land. We give TweeterTot the run of the bathroom and take it outside for flying lessons which repeatedly conclude with stunned smashes into the barn, shed, truck, ground... And if/when Peepy did land, if it landed on something like the barn rail, it would fall off... and wind up tangled in the hollyhocks.

Scott & I go to HellCity, and Grandma and Grandpa get to look after both of my dogs, my cat AND Chirpy Bottom. They are GREAT people.

We return and Peepers starts to get the landing thing and the foraging on his own thing, so we stop hand feeding and leave him to "discover" snacks about the bathroom. ChirpyFace is free roaming in the bathroom, which means that despite wiping up feces upon every entrance... it's a bird poop, worm, fruit and seed encrusted mess. We wait for MayTewFer to pass (the cold long weekend) and the weather to look promising for a week and release Tweetums.

So Chirpy has spent the last few days outside. Flying, pecking the grass and all other normal bird things... except that everytime I open the backdoor, he flies over and lands at my feet. We're still supplementing his diet with worms strewn strategically in the lawn, but other than that, our Robin Rehab has been a grand success.


7. Click the spoiler if you want to read a preggo update!

Twwly Tidbit: I eat 2 big navel oranges every day. MMMM. Oranges!