A House Full Of Critters

As always, the most popular gathering spot is the kitchen corner, with its floor pillows and pet beds. This critter collection consisted of Clover, Bugsy and Daphne:

 Bugsy is shy and retiring, but very sweet:

 Sammy loves the soft life he's found here, complete with catnip filled glove-puppets to play with:

 Fergus had a guilty look on his face. Did he know something I didn't know?:

Another kitchen corner collection: Daphne, Fergus, Clover and Jack:

 The weather finally warmed up enough for me to open the front door and let air come in through the screen door. Sammy was fascinated:

 Jack, Clover, Caspar and Daphne:

 I also opened a kitchen window one warm day, drawing Sammy and Caspar to investigate. They are the reason I keep a baby gate in front of the screen. The black and white band hanging on the baby gate is Jack's belly-band, used to contain his pee. This house has concessions to the animals wherever I look:

All five dogs at the back gate, as anxious to come in as they were to go out:

 Ruby the Guinea Pig got her toenails clipped:

 And so did her fat sister, Meghan:

 I still have two Siamese Fighting Fish, and they are doing quite well. They seem to like it here:

Pets At Home

The indoor pets live a life of warmth and comfort. Sammy and Caspar love to snuggle together and play together:

And lots of the pets like to hang out on the yoga mat behind the chair to my computer desk. In this case, it was Jack, Seamus and Caspar:

Daisy likes to hang out there too, and she often rolls over to ask me to rub her belly. Of course I recognize that as a cat trick older than the hills and I know better than to do it:

Now this was a typical collection on the yoga mat: Clover, Seamus, Fergus, Daphne, Bugsy and Daisy:

When it's bedtime, the dogs rush up to the top of the stairs and wait for me:

Some or all of the cats sleep in the cat tree closest to my bedroom door. In this case, it was only Sammy and Bugsy. Some day I'll have my camera handy when all four cats are sleeping there, but it hasn't happened yet:

Meghan and Ruby also live a life of ease, with fresh shavings, pellets, lettuce and water each morning. They also get petted each morning and sometimes picked up:

My old fighting fish is still alive but not very photogenic. This is the new fish. He's still young and colorful:

All the dogs and cats eat together during breakfast, though Seamus has to eat alone because of his diet. The cats have their own food and water where the dogs can't reach them, but of course taking food from the dogs is its own reward. Luckily, I have no food aggressive animals:

Sammy discovered a bit of twine tied to the top of the rocking chair. He thought it made a wonderful toy:

Another photo of Caspar and Sammy. I think it's so cute that I keep taking pictures of them together:

And lastly, a kitchen corner collection: Clover, Fergus, Caspar and Bugsy:

Pets At Home

It's been unusually hot and dry again so we've all spent much time indoors where it is at least slightly cooler. The dogs and cats (and I) love to nap anyway, This collection included all the dogs except Clover and all the cats except Bugsy:

Georgette's new favorite bed is on a rocking chair in the computer room:

But the kitchen corner floor pillows are still the favorite spot for community napping. This collection included Daphne, Fergus, Clover and Bugsy:

And in the kitchen corner, the favorite soft spot is the giant green floor pillow. It can hold three dogs at a time:

And on a good day, it can hold three dogs plus Bugsy, the cat:

I put down yoga mats because Seamus was becoming unable to walk on the hard, slippery floors - but they've also become good napping locations:

Daphne and Clover are like sisters:

All five dogs in their fenced yard:

My last Siamese Fighting Fish has done so well that I brought home another, this time a pure white fish. I've never seen that color before:

They have their own small tanks but I pushed them together for a picture. Being fighting fish, they began to display their fins and colors when they saw each other. Normally, they can't see each other:

And the kitchen corner this time had only three dogs:

Seamus and Jack on the computer room yoga mats. They like to lean against my chair so it's difficult for me to move:

Dogs, Cats, Fish And Guinea Pigs

All is well with the household pets and the kitchen corner is still the favorite spot for the dogs. This collection included Fergus, Clover, Jack and Daphne:

Our weather was so idyllic that the dogs were happy outdoors also. In this case, it was Fergus, Seamus, Daphne and Jack:

I took some photos of the Siamese Fighting Fish one morning and, when I checked the pictures, was presented with a dilemma - which color was the correct representation? The answer is they both are, for the color he appears to be changes with the shifting light and how it reflects off his fins and scales:

A kitchen corner trio - Clover, Daphne and Fergus. Notice the sleepy smile on Fergus' face:

Outdoors, Seamus and Clover enjoyed the fresh air and the aroma of the Mock Orange in bloom:

Back indoors, the dogs went right back to sleep:

Except that Seamus likes to hang out on the yoga mats next to my computer. Daphne joined him on the day I took this picture:

Daisy likes the yoga mats too. I used to blame her and her toenails for the divots in the mats, but I've never seen her snagging them, so maybe it's Seamus' big toenails and heavy weight which is doing the damage. Whatever the cause, I've learned to live with it and to sweep up the detritus each morning:

Jack, Clover, Fergus and Bugsy:

Upstairs, Ruby and Meghan, the resident guinea pigs, live a very posh life. they get lettuce and a carrot each morning after I clean their cage and put down fresh pine shavings. What more could a guinea pig want?

They have a shelf beneath which they hide, or jump up onto for pelleted food:

Meghan has been drinking an awful lot of water lately and also spilling a lot of it. The pine shavings are wet every morning. She otherwise seems happy and healthy:

Happy Pets At Home

Clover is used to snow, and this small amount barely registered with her. We've had three nor'easters in a row, with great accumulations. Plucky little Clover handled them all with great aplomb:

 But as always, the gathering place is the kitchen corner. This collection was Daphne, Clover, Fergus, Bugsy and Jack:

 Bramble loves to push the boot trays away from the wall, sloshing the water bowls. I have no idea why, but he loves to do it:

 Daphne knows how to handle a snowy yard also. It's no problem for her:

 And when I'm using the computer, this canine collection often can be found right behind me. Clover sure knows how to find a soft, warm bed:

 Daphne, Fergus and Jack had decided they'd been outdoors long enough and it was time for me to stop the foolishness and let them in:

 The Siamese Fighting Fish is healthy and apparently as happy as a Fighting Fish can be. I put a calendar page behind him before I took the picture and the colors turned him on, causing him to display nicely. He would fan out his fins like this if he saw another male to fight or a female to breed with:

 Nap time in the bedroom. Jack was under the bed and Clover was behind it on the floor pillows. You can just catch a glimpse of Meghan (the guinea pig) to the right:

 Daisy follows me almost anywhere I go. At any other time, she can be found at the top of the tallest cat tree upstairs:

 Another kitchen corner collection - Jack, Daphne, Fergus, Bugsy, Clover and Bramble:

 Little Jack, playing in the snow:

I love this photo because Seamus was playing like a giant puppy. The vet told me that his ten year old heart may be failing. He also told me to start increasing his dog food, that he'd lost all the weight he needed to. Seamus is one of the dogs who seems to have an outsized love for me. I've had a lot of dogs in my life, but a few have stood out as exceptional. I've noticed that some of the most loving have also had independent streaks: