My eldest found the coolest looking snail in the back yard. This is not our typical slug or long coned snail! It looks like it could have a role in Hollywood. It was that bold too, it didn’t hide in its shell when she picked it up. Hm. There are parasites that change snail behavior. Perhaps that is this one’s story.
Little Miss Missy had to get a shot at the vet. I gave her Benedryl, rescheduled the appointment for after the sudden unexpected thunderstorm, gave her Benedryl again hours later, put her harness on while she tried to hide in a corner, and then carried her and her cuddle bed out to the vehicle. The cuddle bed helped her in the car; she at least stayed in it for the trip. I tried the windows down and she did sniff the air a bit, which was good. At the vet she shook like a 21-pound leaf, but didn’t growl or bark. Headed home, she again stayed in the cuddle bed on the seat, but didn’t want the windows down. She drooled and panted, but didn’t vomit. So that’s progress?
At home, when she has not been traumatized by a car ride, she is happy, engaged, and totally obsessed with her ball and giving kisses. We have been getting her in her harness and leash and doing short walks outside the back fence, away from the road and other walkers. She sniffs around (again, awesome), and plunges headfirst through the thickest grass (um trail?). Little steps. It will still be a long road with this small reactive dog.
I can no longer take things touching my neck. It started when my kids were little and I stopped wearing necklaces because being choked out by my baby was not on my to-do list. I tried wearing necklaces again when they were past the grabby stage, but could only tolerate light pieces or short sessions with heavier adornment. Then crew necks started bothering me. Sheesh.
In the heat of the Texas summer, many turn to cooling devices worn around the neck. I’ve tried, really, and after 5 minutes I simply can’t take it. I’d rather be hot than have the pressure on my carotid (or maybe it is the jugular, but nothing can brush the back of my neck either, so there we go.) So I took a “cooling” neck gaiter, cut it down, and resewed bits to fit my wrists. Wetting them down certainly produces a cooling effect, and having them arranged in wrinkles rather than folded increases the evaporation. We’ll see how they do for me this summer. If they do work, I need to make some in nicer colors!
My youngest has a small fish tank that has a very strong current. We tried tanks without aeration and filtration, but they really do give the poor fish a short lifespan. We put guppies in the tank, which do well, and are pretty, but struggle against the flow of the filter especially when they are small or have any difficulty swimming. When we lost the last guppy (there is also a snail, which does really well in the tank), I decided to see what I could do to break up the current. I cut off the top of the pineapple house with a band saw, sanded the edges smooth, and took two plastic mesh tubes (from buying wine bottles, those net sleeves? Very useful to keep around), and set those up around the intake for the filter. I used two nets and offset them to reduce the chance of a fish slipping through.
We then put guppies in the tank and it seems to be working. The fish have a larger area to swim, and don’t seem to struggle constantly with the flow (although the output from the filter’s waterfall does still impact their rhythm when they go through, but it doesn’t seem distressing). The filter pump is still working well and water flows through the system. Now we see how the little pond does long term.
Growing up with a gluten-free Mom has meant that my kids have never had home-made play dough. I never had gluten containing flours in the house. (Although they were provided a steady supply of the manufactured kind, so no real hardship.) Until now. We used the Heritage Wheat to make play dough and color it with gel colors following this recipe. This is NOT the way to make play dough cheaply, as the Heritage Wheat is not inexpensive, but it was quite interesting to actually make it (I didn’t realize it had to be cooked), and the texture is more satisfying than the canned variety. They had the most fun kneading it.
Critters and Craft 