KOI BABIES AND ARCHIE/SCRUFFY ARE FATHERS!

Hey Pals,

Man, we need a new secretary.  Mama has been out of commission for quite a bit lately with all of her doctor appointments, they - rope - peeeee sessions and more doctor appointments.  Then she'll be getting a big shot in her elbow next week, yikes!

The big news is that after we got all of the ponds cleaned up, then storms came.  And ya know what that means???  The koi always breed before it storms.  They were breeding for 3 WHOLE DAYS non-stop!  And who would guess, Koi ARCHIE & Koi SCRUFFY are now fathers, hehehehehehe!

Mama caught them in the act of chasing the female koi.  Mama decided to raised some baby koi from eggs again.  She has done it before, so it's pretty easy.  After they quit breeding, she collected a bunch of eggs from the pond and put them into an aquarium to hatch.  The babies hatched in the aquarium on May 25th and in the pond about a day later as the water in the pond is cooler then the aquarium water.

So Katie has been busy bottle feeding the baby koi, see:

Here are some close up pictures of the babies.  It's hard to get a photo of them since they swim and move around so fast.

We'll raise the babies indoors until next spring.  Then if they are big enough, they will go out into the outdoor ponds.  Mama hopes they will be over 6 inches long.  That way they will be large enough that the bullfrogs won't eat them.  Did you know that bullfrogs will eat a 6 inch koi??  baby ducks?  birds? snakes?  ewweeeeeeee!

When we were cleaning out the ponds, we caught many of the koi since we wanted to catch the ones that we were selling.  So here are the Koi Nurses and errrr ahhhh, Fathers.  The picture is deceiving for showing their size.  If you look at Koi Lacie, she is about 12 inches long now, so that gives you something to go by.  There were some koi in that tub 24 inches long.  Most were hiding farther down in the container.  Oh, and we hadn't caught Koi Nurse Agatha yet, so she is not pictured, sorry.

If you click on the photos, they should biggify so that you can see the fish better.  Guess it's time for Katie to feed the babies again.  I have to help her reach the aquarium.

Wirey Hugs, Purrz & Licks,
Butchy, Katie, Ruby, Sylvester, Scuby & Hootie

RUB MY BELLLLLLLY!

Hey Pals,

We've been soooo busy.  Mama and Papa have been cleaning out the koi ponds, besides other things.  So Katie and I have been helping.  Katie helps by just looking cute, hehehehe!

Katie is 12 weeks old now.  Can you believe it???

RUB MY BELLLLLY!

The catsies are all excited around here, ya know why?  We're going to be receiving a free gift certificate from CSN Stores.com .  They have over 200+ stores that you can shop from in one great place.  It's like shopping in  a mall, except your fingers do the walking instead of your paws!  CSN carries everything from pet supplies, to a sleeper sofa for your living room, to cookware for your kitchen!  We will be doing a product review on what we purchase to inform our readers.  Mama is thinking of buying something for the catsies, or who knows, maybe she'll buy something for herself.  We'll be receiving our product soon, so stay tuned for our review.

We have tons of photos that Mama has been taking of our flowers and ponds and koi.  Hopefully we'll find the time to post some of them.

Wirey Hugs, Purrz & Licks,

Butchy, Katie, Ruby, Sylvester, Scuby & Hootie

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL OF THE PET MOMMI'S!

Wirey Hugs, Purrz & Licks,
Butchy, Katie, Ruby, Sylvester, Scuby & Hootie

TAIL WAGON CUTENESS!

Hey Pals,

We have some new pictures of Katie.  Her face has really been changing the last few days.  She is sitting in our antique wagon made by Wagner Mfg. Co., in Cedar Falls, Iowa back in the 1910's.

Ok, now where is my treat???

Hey Bertie, are you coming by this weekend for our powker pawty?  I can give you a ride in my wagon, tee hee!

Wirey Hugs, Purrz & Licks,
Butchy, Katie, Ruby, Sylvester, Scuby, & Hootie

OH MY DOG TICK!

Hey Pals,

Mama is worried.  Look what Hootie was playing with on the floor yesterday,

THIS HOOOOOOOMUNGOUS BROWN DOG TICK! 

We think it is the Brown Dog Tick, but it could be the American Dog Tick.  They are very close in looks when engorged with blood, so it is hard for us to tell.

This is the underside:

Here it is beside a dime so that you can see how large it is:

Now Mama knows for sure that this tick was not on her or Katie.  She's about 99% sure that it was not on me Butchy as she has been checking us daily for these nasty critters.  This is one of the times during the year that ticks latch onto anything warm blooded outdoors.  Now, the catsies never go outside, but Papa has been finding quite a few ticks on him so we're thinking one probably came in on his clothes or Mama's clothes then hooked onto someone in the house, maybe onto one of the cats, or Papa, otherwise it wouldn't be this huge, swollen with blood.  Some people don't realize how large these ticks can get when filled with blood.

The bad thing is that ticks carry so many diseases now.  Since we have so many deer living around here in Iowa, Mama gets me Butchy (and soon Katie) the Lyme Disease shot for dogs.  Lyme disease is spread not only by deer ticks, but other ticks and small rodents now.

Here is a good link that tells all about the Brown Dog Tick: 
Rhipicephalus sanguineus Latreille 
This page also shows links to the American Dog Tick and the Blacklegged Tick.  So be sure to read the links about those too.

It shows detailed pictures of the tick in different stages of it's life.  The Brown Dog Tick is found WORLDWIDE, so be sure to check your pets for these nasty creatures.  The American Dog Tick is found mainly in the United States.

Cross your paws that none of us will become sick with something from this tick.

Wirey Hugs, Purrz & Licks,
Butchy, Katie, Ruby, Sylvester, Scuby & Hootie

VIDEOS OF BUTCHY & KATIE

Hey Pals,

Here are some videos of me & Katie playing.  We finally got them loaded onto YouTube.  They take so long...............











Have a great weekend!

Wirey Hugs, Purrz & Licks,
Butchy, Katie, Ruby, Sylvester, Scuby & Hootie