Tuesday, April 7, 2009

All Creatures, Great and Small

Dear Mom,
We've never been one of those families that head for warm climates over Spring Break. Someone needs to stay home and take care of the neighborhood pets.
This year the kids have been responsible for 2 cats (Maxwell and Cassie), Penny the guinea pig, a beagle (Millie) and a gecko (don't know the gecko's name). Add one neighbor's mail and mowing a lawn to that list. They may not have tans when school resumes next week, but the kids will have made some spending money.
As much as we all love animals, I feel significant relief when the pet duties are over with no mishaps. I hope the gecko doesn't run out of crickets. The Young Lady is managing the gecko on her own admirably, but I did need to help her capture an escaped cricket earlier in the week. If we need to "reload" the gecko with crickets....well, I really hope it doesn't come to that.
And I feel bad for all the lonely animals. The cats that try to ignore you early in the week are meeting you at the door mid-week. And the beagle will probably come over to our house for a few hours today just for the companionship.
The photo above is our Lucy laying on top of Smokey, the rabbit who lives. HA! Lucy is On Top of Old Smokey. I thought perhaps Smokey had gone to the rabbit hutch in the sky since Lucy was laying on his neck, but he was just laying there, letting her. The guinea pig with attitude has dominated a rabbit.
Love,
Kim