My Puppy

Whenever I’m feeling like the entire world doesn’t understand me, or I think there is something wrong with me, I confide in my dog. He always makes me feel better. He still wiggles and waggles the same way he did when he was a puppy, which is really comical because he’s so big now.
He still loves to rub up against me; it almost makes me fall down. I keep telling him not to do that, one of these days he’s going to land me on my ass, but he doesn’t care, he just wants to be close to me. It’s sooo sweet!!
I still adore him just as much as I did when he was smaller than our little dog: Tippy; now if he stands on his hind legs he can kiss me on the mouth, though I’ve told him not to do that, ‘cause he’s a dog and that’s grows. I love, love, love, love him!
He likes to sleep beneath my bedroom window, so if the window is open and I’m listening to songs on my computer I can hear him sigh. These sighs are superbly timed, they always occur every time an angry rock song ends, then I play something softer, and I don’t get any comments from the doggy peanut gallery. I guess he doesn’t care for screaming and guitar solos.
So, I love him, he loves me, and all is right with the world!

Merlin, my puppy!

EEP! A Mouse!

So my Mama has seen a mouse in the house in the corner of her eye since Tuesday night, and last night while my family was watching Net Flix it made its grand appearance before us all. It seemed like it wanted to get out, so we opened the sliding glass door, and we tried to shoo it out, but it didn’t “shoo” so Papa set up the traps and this morning when I got up the traps were gone, and so was the mouse, now however Papa’s pretty sure he saw another one go into my little brother’s room. So (eww) it’s the only thing that’s (gross) on my (icky) mind right now.

  I got a job with Avon, so joy.

L.A. Zoo

Okay, first off, I love zoos. I’ve learned a lot about animals and the people who care for them thanks to zoos. I’ve also had a lot of fun there. I just got back today from a visit to the zoo with some my cousins, and we had a blast. But there are just some flaws about that zoo right now that I feel bears repeating, so that maybe the right person will hear about it and get it fixed.  I’m not discouraging anyone from going to the zoo, or specifically the L.A. Zoo, I just want the zoo to reach its fullest potential, which it is sadly falling short.

  At the present time, the L.A. Zoo is undergoing some changes. They are adding a building for reptiles, which is fine, except they have been at it for many months now, without much visible progress. There are also several other things that are being built, or changed, (I’m not sure what they’re doing) but their doing it wrong. I’m a carpenter’s daughter, so trust me, when I say something wrong: it’s wrong. There were so many things wrong I don’t even know where to start. It’s not going to fall down or anything horrible like that, they’re just wasting a lot of wood, layer upon layer it looked like.

  Also, while all of these things are going on, the paths are in desperate need of repair and maintenance, my cousins are quite young and we needed to push the stroller around potholes, large cracks, and tree roots.

  My suggestion: prioritize.

  Fix paths so people can walk around with their children without as many hazards. This will also help builders bring in supplies and workers carrying equipment not have to worry about stepping around hazards.

  Also, hire carpenters who actually know what they’re doing. I know the economy is hard right now, and going for cheaper labor is tempting. Just remember, cheap labor, is cheap for a reason. It’s always worth it to hire the guy who has a license and costs a little bit more so the job right the first time: which means the project will get done sooner and there will be little to no materials wasted. In the end, hiring the experienced guy will actually save you money in the long run.

  If the zoo isn’t always in the middle of building something, then a whole lot more people will come to the zoo and the animals won’t be bothered by the noise of construction for as long. Everyone will be happy, and that’s what matters.

A Bad Day at the Pet Store

Hanna gazed into the cube shaped fish tank. The dull looking fish with the unpronounceable name stared at her with its huge eyes with pupils as large as their stomach, or at least, according to the tour guide. The guide led Hanna and her group away from the tanks and into the furry animal section of the store. It was about time, he had started out with the snakes and tarantulas, which were things to be eradicated in her opinion, not kept as pets. By the look the guide, Chad, had on his face as he passed the slithering things around for Hanna’s classmates to hold (she had refused to take one) he had a different opinion. He talked like they were the greatest pets ever.


Fish came next, boring combined with high maintenance Hanna had said when the guide had asked what she thought of them; she hadn’t made it a secret that she didn’t like reptiles and bugs.

She cheered up as they made their way out of the fish section; leaving the stink of filthy tanks only to be replaced by another unpleasant smell.

“Mink,” the guide said as he proudly pointed them out to her.

“Rodents with silky pelts,” Hanna said covering her mouth as she headed out of the section. “At least I know not to work at a pet store,” she said passing the teacher. “I’d throw my chips if I had to smell all of this all day.”

“Shh,” the teacher snapped.

“What do you like then?” another student asked.

“Dogs, cats, you know, real pets.” Hanna fought back a cough.

She got some muttered agreements from other classmates.

“Unfortunately, our dogs and cat section in closed and the animals have been relocated to another store until the remodeling is done.” The guide said for the whole class to hear.

Hanna didn’t need to voice her disappointment her peers did it for her. She closed her eyes, like that was going to help her churning stomach.

She began to reflect on the day and wondered how else a trip to the pet store could go wrong, even if she puked.

That’s when she felt something hit her head.

“Eww!” her classmates squealed.

She reached up without thinking and her peers screamed louder as she looked as her hand to find it covered in bird poop.

She felt her teacher tug on her arm. Through the roaring in her ears Hanna heard the guide giving directions to the bathrooms.

Once they got there, Hanna bent over the sink without being asked and she felt the freezing water hit her scalp and it almost made her jump. Then she felt something crawl over her sandal and she did jump and she banged her head on the faucet.

“What was that,” Hanna asked pulling away from her teacher. Looking on the floor and clutching her throbbing head,she saw a scuttling lizard just as it ducked behind a stall door.

“Where did all these animals come from,” Hanna said backing away from the thing.

“We’re in a pet store, where do you think they came from?” The teacher retorted.

“They’re supposed to be in cages, not flying and crawling everywhere,” Hanna said not calming down.

“Sometimes they get loose. Now get your head back under the water, or we’ll miss the rest of the tour.”

“How did they get loose?” Hanna asked as she leaned back over again.

“I’m sure they didn’t plan it Hanna,” the teacher started to scrub.

“Just like I didn’t plan to get pooped on, don’t scrub so hard!” Hanna said through gritted teeth.

“Toughen up already.”

Hanna held her tongue, she wanted to think that this day couldn’t get any worse, but she didn’t want it to start raining in the bathroom.

The Lion

Agnes cautiously approached the sleeping lions. The African sun beat down on her as she raised her camera. Others would have used the camera’s zoom from a safe distance, but the picture quality was never very good, and she wasn’t afraid of the lions.
The gathering of beasts were lying beneath the shadows of a small group of trees. They were all aware of Agnes’s presence and they weren’t concerned at all. She was obviously alone, having left her jeep a good fifty feet away and her baggy t-shirt made it more than a little clear that she wouldn’t be any kind of a good meal, humans didn’t taste very good anyways.
Finding the perfect angle she started taking pictures.
One lion yawned.
“Oh perfect,” she whispered snapping away.The true essence of the lion during the day: a sleepy fur ball with a mouthful of teeth.
The sun was beginning to set when she was done, drawing her hand across her sweating forehead she unclasped the water bottle off her leather belt and took a long drink.
Taking one last look at the pride, she raised her bottle in a salute.
“Thanks a lot my friends.” She took another swig.
Slinging her camera over her shoulder she headed back to the jeep, satisfied with her days work.

Wolves - If everyone cared

I found this yesterday. I believe it to be a great representation of the beauty of these animals. Wolves have been greatly misunderstood for centuries. If we all learned to think with clarity and logic, we would all understand that the wolf is a needed animal in the wild to keep the balance of life and death. The elimination of this vital strand of the web of life can only lead to disaster. Not to mention the wolves serve as a reminder for us humans that all things of nature have a place and are beautiful.