A nice sunny spot ...

What a joy to find a pretty, flowery respite in a crazy mad week of rushing around.  The sun is just a wonderful bonus.

 

 

Ever seen a signet stretching a leg?

Tiny, little balls of fluff.  Just days old, brand new to the world and full of life (when they are not resting that is).  I used to have a video when I was a child, all about wild animals and their young.  They had a song on the soundtrack "Everybody loves a baby ...", which is certainly true about fluffy baby things!  How can you resist these little cuties, just inches tall?   

There are three little ones and one of them decided to stretch out his little leg just as I was watching. He took his time, limbering up and then took the plunge, throwing his leg out far behind, his eyes closed with delight. Each tiny feather quivering with delight.  The small crowd that had gathered ooh-ed and aah-ed like there was no tomorrow.  There wasn't a heart that didn't melt, just a tiny little bit.

It truly is a real delight to see them, as not all of the local swans have been successful.  Another breeding pair close by have had year after year of tragedies.  The latest being the unfortunate rain we experienced a few weeks back.  It was unusually heavy for this time of year and managed to wash the swan eggs away.  Poor things.  Thank goodness for these little chaps!!

I'll leave you with a few more images of the fluffpots.

 

 

 

Another day, another trip to the vet ...

Just to keep you updated, poor Kiki had to be rushed back to the vets at 2 am (is this last night or this morning? I am so tired, I can't even begin to tell the difference!).  She had lots of pain and her stitches looked like they were coming apart.  She may have to have yet another general anaesthetic, which will be her third in just three weeks.  She is so small and I am so worried.  Praying that her wound will fully heal in time without it coming apart again.  As it is in such a delicate area, it is making her rather uncomfortable and we don't want this cycle to be permanent.  I don't think she could face it.  I know I certainly can't face seeing her like this.  We are already on friendly, first name terms with most of the vets, Kiki just needs her own private room we are there that often!  Please forgive my emotional speech, (and more than likely, more grammar), that's what three and a half hours sleep, worry and a panic attack will do to you!  Thank you for all the well wishes and kisses that she has had sent to her so far.  They really are much appreciated.

Just in case you've had a chance to forget how cute she is, I've included two from when she was really small.  I think she gets her love of pens and pencils from me ...

 

Just when you think she's getting better ...

 

It seems that I seem to start a lot of posts with "poor Kiki" and this one is no exception!  Just when she seems to be getting over her attack and subsequent surgery, she has another open wound about a cm away from the other 3 inch scar!  She had just started enjoying life outside again, particularly happy basking in the sunny weather at the weekend.  She was busy running around, jumping over walls and fences, playing with her cat friends and generally loving her freedom.

We even uncovered a secret of hers in the past few days ... she had a secret stash of stuff!  Apparently she had been hoarding things under the fridge freezer.  Is this normal for small cats or is she just a naughty little thing?  We found 3 toy mice, 5 rolled up balls of tin foil, a clothes peg and a pile of wood kindling (worryingly they were shaped like mini vampire stakes)!!  It's just a shame she hadn't taken to hiding valuable things under there or we could have made a fortune!

She was most certainly was almost back to normal, albeit with a 3 inch scar, until we saw a flash of blood red on her bottom again.  My heart dropped and we rushed her to the vet.  We were worried she had been attacked again and that the damage might be more serious.  Thankfully it turns out that the skin around the old wound had just burst and she only had to stay in kitty hospital for one night this time.  So, she's home.  All stiched up, with her old friend the buster collar again.  She is supposed to be resting but has been zooming around the front room like she has swallowed a rocket and I've just seen Rhid developing a game of throwing things into her collar!  The closest thing to quiet she has been was when she sat on my huge pile of marking, it's just a pity that she didn't get my red pen out and give me a hand!

 

Adventures from my corner ... the blossom edition

 

Under the blossom is where you'll find me.  From March through to May I'll be soaking up the blossom, as it floats gently onto my shoulders, capturing its' every nook, cranny and shade of pink.  You'll more than likely find me there with an assortment of cameras and a huge grin on my face.  There is a local place with forty or so of these beauties, where Rhid and I have my favourite date of the year.  We'll go after work, armed with an arsenal of cameras and a picnic, to wallow in the delicate blooms.  It is simply my idea of heaven.  These are from the Nikon FM2, I was trying out the 55mm f/3.5 lens and was very pleasantly surprised with the results.  Some of my very favourite blossom shots, from my very favourite date of the year.  *Sigh* if only it wasn't an annual date! 

 

 

15 neat little parcels later ...

I love baking and I have descovered that I love making pretty little parcels.  I started last Wednesday, with this birthday present for a friend and it spiraled out of control.  Since then I have made three lots of chocolate brownie and four batches of scones (a mixture of sultanas and cranberries), which resulted in 15 neat little parcels for family and friends.  I can see this becoming an obsession, I've already been thinking about making pretty gift tags and tiny bouquets of flowers (perhaps lavendar) to pretty them up even more.  Now I just need to see if they travel in the post well.  Guinea pigs anyone?  I already have a few of you in mind.


...I also have to work out how to photograph the cellophane without the light reflecting so badly!

 

The tragedy and an old gramaphone ...

It is always upsetting when an animal is poorly, knowing that you can't really make them any better, but it is ten times worse when you find they have been attacked.  Last Friday, tiny Kiki was savaged (the actual word that the vet used) by something.  We came home to her and tried to stroke her, unaware that anything was wrong.  That was until she started making an unearthly sound.  It was the same sort of deep growl that you hear in horror movies, you know the kind that emanate from the demon-possessed?  She wouldn't let us anywhere near her and we caught a glimpse of something that resembled a cut underneath her tail.  The emergency vet advised us to just keep an eye on her and bring her in the next morning.  It was an awful night, worried sick and hearing her in pain.  The morning couldn't come soon enough but what we saw at the vet was truly horrifying.  Our poor little kitty had truly been savaged, she had a gaping bite wound covering the whole base of her tail.  It was raw and we could see lots of her insides.  I just wanted to scoop her up and make it all better, but we couldn't even touch her without her screaming.  The journey to the surgery had been awful, she got into her box by herself (I think she knew we were going to a place that would make her better) and kept touching at me through the bars and mewling).  The vet was concerned, although it is quite a common wound in cats, as the bite was so large and it had caught her rectum.  We left her there and she had to stay in until Monday.  We now have a small cat, complete with a 3 inch scar, shaved bottom and a lampshade collar to stop her biting her stitches.  She has had a long acting antibiotic, a load of painkillers and is sleeping it off.  She certainly isn't the feisty kitten that she was before, wandering about, disorientated and wobbly.  Mostly today, she has slept close to me, occasionally went and stared at a wall and has sat looking, as Rhid put it, "like an old gramaphone".  Poor, sweet Kiki.  She can't reach any part of her body (apart from the very tip of her tail) to lick and has to make do with the inside of the lampshade, even though it makes her very grumpy (see photo!).  Did I mention she can't hear anything either?!  The sooner she is feeling herself again, the better.