Trying out some other doggy distraction tech: wobble bowls. Conclusion: they like the treat, the wobble isn’t really a challenge, but the bumps slow them down a bit, and the bowls can’t be left down once they are done because the edges get nibbled off.
Little Missy’s isn’t quite comfortable in her Thunder shirt. The front strap has a very wide band of hook and loop that is quite stiff and when she is wearing it, she doesn’t like to lay down. So I unpicked half the stitches and cut the tape in half, then stitched it back together. I hand stitched it because it was a good excuse to sit and watch a show. First fitting after the sewing adjustment went well. We are going super slow on reintroducing car rides and other scary things. I’m taking an online course on dog reactivity, which has so much information that would have been good to know when we first had her, but at least I am learning now.
We planted some mist flower bushes (obtained from a local hardware store, so genus is suspect) in our front flower bed. Mist flowers are supposed to be a butterfly favorite. I’ve found skippers on the branches, and Sophie the cat likes to lounge under the foliage, but I’ve seldom seen a butterfly on ours. It went to seed last fall and the pods are quite pretty up close. The previous year the cold killed it off to ground level, but this year we didn’t get that kind of cold, so it could seed out, and now there are buds forming all along the branches. Yup, Texas, spring comes early here. I’ve even seen flocks of red-breasted robins in the neighborhood. I didn’t know they flocked.
I was introduced to the Puppuccino for dogs (whipped cream in a cup) by a popular coffee shop a while ago. My dogs love them, but with the reduction in car rides and coffee shops visits (now just of the locally owned variety), their occasional treat turned into a never treat. Until I remembered their Kong toys. A little whipped cream goes a long way in the bell shaped toy!
I thought I would give the chickens some acorn squash both for enrichment and varied diet. They have liked it in the past (and it is as close as I can get to pumpkin right now), but it takes awhile for them to peck away at the flesh. This time I baked it (and let it cool) before giving it to them, so it was easier to eat. I sliced the acorn squash in half, left the seeds in, and baked the halves cut side down in a pan with a little water at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes. They picked the skin clean in a day! And it did make hanging half the squash on the carabiner easier, since the flesh was soft.
You might notice that the hen on the right is more gray than brown. She had just been wallowing in the dust bath. Upon further investigation, she had a bumble on her foot and I wonder if because of the pain of it she wasn’t stable enough to have a good shake. I took care of the bumble and wrapped her foot and she was looking more like herself in a couple days.
Critters and Craft 