This is a crosspost from my livejournal. Here is the link:

https://mary-j-59.livejournal.com/111475.html

It was making me sad looking at my empty bowl and tank, so my sister and I went to Petco - I was planning to get a betta. While there, I saw something new to me: baby bettas in cups. Several of these little ones looked ill, or even dead; several more were lively. On impulse, I got a cute, lively little one from the middle of the rank of fish. As I said on twitter, he's so little I'm not even sure whether he's male or female, but I'm starting to think he might be a little boy. He's probably about two months old, from the reading I've done. And - I didn't realize it was cruel to buy these babies! The big chain stores treat their bettas cruelly, in any case, and I'm sure he'll be better off with me. But he was so little that he couldn't even manage to eat a betta pellet - not even when I chopped it up for him. I got some bloodworms and betta flakes, and he/she absolutely loves those, when they are broken into tiny pieces. That's one of the big problems with selling babies this young; they often don't get the right food so they fail to thrive. But he's doing well so far. Doesn't have a name yet - I've been calling him/her Babe, Minnow or Nipper. Deirdrej doesn't like those. Does anyone have any ideas for names? I just thought of Boromir, if he actually is a little boy (Boromir's kind of a great name for a betta, IMHO!), and Eowyn if a girl. 

Here he is, in his new gallon bowl -

Yes, it was snowing again yesterday, and they expect more tomorrow. But our neighbors are sugaring off, and I saw a northern mockingbird flashing his tail feathers as I drove to work this morning. Also, the crocuses by the bank are finally budding, and, this past weekend, the bluebird pair was investigating the upper nest box. The male's in breeding plumage - a rich, dark blue. Maybe we'll have baby bluebirds soon!

There is still ice on the pond at the bottom of my parent's drive, but, when I went for a walk, I saw a beaver swimming in the open water by the road. He was quite calm - I watched for several minutes as he swam in oval patterns, apparently chewing something, before diving under the slushy ice. Neat! This only the second time in my life I've been that close to a beaver. They used to be rare in CT.

A couple of scary events this past week - ( Read more... )

Here's a pic my sister took recently. There are three babies, and they are starting to look like little birds, not gawky, half-formed creatures. This little guy - I'm pretty sure it was this one - has started spreading his wings, and I think he and his siblings may take flight in another week. It's been neat to see them grow up!

I do think this is a cute pic, though I'm not sure about the heading. The picture is under the cut:
( Read more... )

Just a quick post - we saw another bobcat last weekend, this time no more than 100 yards from my parent's house. It was strolling along the edge of a neighbor's yard as we drove by, just like an oversized housecat! Really cute! But it was obviously a bobcat because of the coloration, size and tail. (Spotted with white and black on the ears, large, and about 6 inches long.)

Also, Deirdre bought a toad for the library. He's a firebellied toad, dark green with black spots and very active. His name, of course, is Trevor. Deirdre wanted to keep him, actually, but her cat got too interested (Trevor was flinging his pebbles about, and Misty was attracted by the noise and jumped up onto the table to investigate.) So he is in the library now.

And a couple more amusing locutions (or, can I still speak English? Have aliens taken over my syntax?):

1. Describing a berry pie: "The berry aspect is very good, but the crust aspect leaves something to be desired."
2. On hearing that there is such a thing as Artichoke flour. "I never heard of making flour out of artichokes. That must be a desperate enterprise."

Help!