Kangaroos, Koalas and Taz, Oh My!!

"In the southern hemisphere it's autumn right now, the days are shorter and the nights longer. What's something interesting you have found out about living 'down under'?"  That's one of the questions posed by JacBerKitsch for the current EtsyBloggers blog carnival.

When I think of  'down under' I think of Australia and all the fantastic animals that live there, animals unlike any I would ever come across anywhere here in the states. I have always held a fascination for koalas and kangaroos, but there are many other unique animals to find! And I found out some very interesting facts along the way!

Koalas have got to be the cutest animal on earth! They are marsupials and, like kangaroos, the baby koala is called a joey and is carried in its mother's pouch until about six months old. When they are older, they catch a free ride on mom's back! They like to dine on eucalyptus leaves and sleep the majority of the day.  Notecard - Wildlife Series Two - Koala by RMVera Studio.

Do you remember Taz the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil? Even though these little guys are cute, they are pretty vicious! Also endangered. And carnivorous. Watch out! They've got sharp pointy teeth, strong jaws, and ears that turn red when they are excited. They live in burrows or hollow logs, sleeping during the day and hunting at night. They can also climb trees and swim! Yikes! Tasmanian Devils Photo by PhotosAlegria.

Kangaroos are pretty fascinating creatures! They can hop up to a speed of 40 mph and uses its tail like an extra leg for support while standing. Most kangaroos can only move both back legs together and not one at a time. They are social animals and live in groups called "mobs."  The baby joey is carried in mom's pouch for nine months and then climbs in and out for feeding until 12 to 17 months. (Good grief!) Mom can have three babies at one time -- one becoming mature and just out of the pouch, another developing in the pouch, and one embryo in "pause mode." Oh my aching back!! And they all live in that pouch! Plus there are four teats in the pouch and each has a different milk for the different stages of development! Can you imagine?!!

Couldn't resist this guy! The title is "Honey, since you are up, bring me a beer" Typical male....

Kangaroo Blank Note Card by Postal Therapy.

Hope you learned a little bit -- and please check out the three photography shops! They have a lot of fantastic photos to look at!

Kitties and Lilies Don't Mix!!! Keep Your Cat Safe!!

Did you know that lilies are dangerous to cats? Well, I didn't!

I had thought of planting some, but not now! Although Oliver is a house cat, there is the chance that he might sneak out, plus we have visiting kitties in the yard from time to time. I wouldn't want anything to happen to our little visitors!

The lilies mentioned are tiger lilies, Easter lilies, stargazer lilies, and certain types of day lilies. Apparently, all parts of the lily are poisonous to our kitties and ingesting only a small bit is enough to cause kidney damage, possibly fatal. Even drinking water from a bouquet on your table or licking pollen from its paws or biting a leaf can cause a kitty harm.

Easter Lily courtesy of Pat on Flickr

If you like to decorate with Easter lilies as it gets closer to Easter, please be mindful of your little fur friend and maybe get artificial lilies!  Easter lilies are among the most hazardous.

Oliver says "Very Important -- Keep your kitties away from lilies!!"

and

Fox in the Yard!!

This morning I just happened to glance out the back door, and there was a FOX!! So entirely cute.... I quickly went to grab my camera and took a pic through the glass door.

 (and only got his tail)

So I got brave and slooowly turned the lock. CLICK! Mr. Fox snapped his head up. (OK, well it could be Ms. Fox but for now it'll be Mr.!) Turned the door handle -- slight noise -- he looked again. Very slowly I continued to open the door as quietly as possible, and amazingly, he didn't dart off.  Stuck my camera out the door, zoomed, and took as many pics as I could.

Actually, he is pretty close in these pics -- probably about 20 feet away. But I wasn't about to venture out onto the patio!

Bound to be something yummy here...
.

Wary... 

He gave me some great shots, one time looking straight at me -- definite eye contact! He wasn't skittish at all, really. And he's a few feet closer to me in this pic!

Hmmm, wonder what's on that side of the yard...

Think I'll have a little look-see.

Oh, yum!

He found a morsel of something and then licked his chops! 

Must have been a mighty good morsel!

And, with a few more looks my way -- he was gone. Zipped between the shed and the fence. (No, that's not the shed or the fence...it's an old beat up board I sometimes use when I take photos for my vintage shop! Just so you know.)

I hope he didn't go under the shed -- I don't think I'd like a fox den there. More likely he jumped the fence or found a way under it -- there's a small wooded area behind us.

Or maybe he's watching from one of the trees. Gray fox do climb, you know.

Do You Click?

I click on each of these sites every day -- one click is all you need to do and it only takes seconds.  I have a link to the Animal Rescue Site on my toolbar -- that page has tabs across the top which take me to each of the other sites.  Click click and I'm on to the next tab.  You will see small ads for their site sponsors who are billed according to the number of clicks on the site and 100% of the advertising fees goes to their charitable partners. 

The more clicks, the more dollars raised!!

Please consider doing this daily to help out -- easy, easy, easy!  (Scroll down and click on the purple paw print.  That will take you to the Animal Rescue Site and all the other tabs.)  Of course, you can link to whichever one is your personal interest; I just start with the kitties and puppies.

Thanks for helping!

Six More Weeks of Winter!!

Personally, I was hoping for Spring!

Here are some fun Punxsutawney Phil facts from the official website. Apparently Phil has been making predictions for 120 years (the same Phil) so he's pretty experienced in weather forecasting. We can count on Phil!!

While browsing Etsy, I found these cute groundhog goodies and had to share! There's a link to each shop, plus if you click on the photos, you will go straight to that listing.



Isn't this just the cutest groundhog you've ever seen? He's so chubby and adorable! (Punxsutawney Phil is so jealous) He is designed and crocheted by the artist. Check out the moonscreations shop and see the other wonderful amigurumi animals -- and particularly Moon Bun (just the sweetest bunny ever!) who apparently likes to play dress-up on occasion.



Since I love to embroider (but haven't in forever) this little groundhog caught my eye. Sara of The Split Stitch sells her patterns which are made from her own artwork -- and let me tell you, she is very talented! I really love one called "Bird Lullaby" with the mama bird singing to her babes; so sweet. And she's got a design for all you football fans .........

(insert GO SAINTS here -- that's me saying that...)

........that would be really cute embroidered on a little boy's overalls. Well, maybe not the spilled beer or the mug, but you get what I mean!



And this one from Laura at ClayCreationsbyLaura just kills me! I guess since Phil saw his shadow and there's 6 more weeks of winter, he'll be hitch-hiking to Florida. If you see him, give the little guy a ride -- his little legs are pretty short and he's really not too used to the highway!

Laura's shop is full of the cutest clay figures -- families, birthdays, all kinds of animals (love the elephants!) and dogs -- I told myself, "self, must remember the pug for a certain granddaughter!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ So, please check out these fabulous shops for some terrific handmade goodies! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

By the way, this is the kickoff of a weekly feature I'm starting called "Wednesday Wanderings, and the Shops Found Along the Way". OK, I know this is not Wednesday, but I didn't think Phil would wait that long to appear! I thought it would be fun to blog about whatever pops into my head and then find Etsy shops to tie in with the theme. Sort of a themed maze, puzzle, shopping trip. Should be fun -- so please plan to join me on Wednesdays!!

Meet Lily!

While spending some time at Silke's lovely blog Metamorphosis, I came across a link she had posted about Lily the Black Bear who is being followed in her den by the North American Bear Center. They have set up a "Lily Den Cam" to chronicle her time in the den with her newborn cub and they post updates to give info on Lily.

Photo courtesy of North American Bear Center


Watch the Lily Den Cam here! You'll have to be patient -- she does a lot of sleeping. But when the cub wakes and is demanding food, you'll see quite a bit of activity. The cub cries, mom shifts around and gets pretty animated, the cub nurses and makes these really sweet coos. I saw Lily's head once! She turned and looked right at the camera!

I showed the site to Noli and she was so excited when Lily started moving around and scratching. This began a whole bear discussion:

She's hard to see 'cause it's all black.
If she were white, she would be a polar bear.
Maybe she could be PINK or PURPLE and I could see her better. (much giggling)
Why is the baby crying? Is she hungry? (everything is a girl or "queel" in Noliease)
Is she cold in all that snow?

Fortunately, I had read up on my black bear facts on the site and we had a pretty good conversation. Bear (ha!) in mind that Noli is a month shy of 4 so our best talk was about the colors a bear should be. Pink and purple won out over any other color! After all, Lily IS a "queel" bear.