I've been very naughty

It has been ages since I posted to my blog. Real life has kept me hopping lately, and what little spare time I've had has been taken up with commissions which I can't show anybody until the new owners have received them. One of the real life things happening here has been the arrival of our latest rescue, Sam the Galah, in April.

As you can see from the photo, Sam was plucking his feathers when he came, a condition caused by stress in captive birds. Sam is a very social bird, he was brought up in a household as a pet and is a great talker. Since he came he has spoken over 200 words, phrases and sentences! He even seems to know the context of what he is saying - he says things at the appropriate times rather than just 'parrot fashion'. The funniest thing is that he asks questions, and expects you to answer!! Thankfully he has stopped plucking his feathers since he came and seems to enjoy his new life in his extra large cage, he has bonded really well and calls us by his previous owners' names (he seems to think he thinks he's back with them). He should put on new feathers with his next moult and be a much prettier (and warmer) bird. I'm working on handling him so that he can have some time out of his cage too, he seems to enjoy the attention but still bites me every now and again. His favourite toys are those with wooden blocks, which he takes a great delight in reducing to sawdust.

Another reason for my absence is a furry friend who is staying with us for a time while his owner is overseas.

Ninja is an Italian Greyhound like my rescue dogs, he took a little while to settle in but has buddied up with one of my girls now and seems very happy. Here he is (top left) with several others enjoying the heat from our wood heater. These guys really love the heat. I have to move all the bodies before I can stoke the fire!

Last but by no means least, our dear little dog Banjo (nicknamed LoLo) lost a hard fought battle for his life in July and it has taken me until now to be able to write about it. He had such a hard life before he came here and consequently had many health and psychological problems and he was very old so he took more work than all the others put together. But he was worth every second of it and I would do it all over again a hundred times just to hold him in my arms again. For all the terrible things that human beings did to him, he was the sweetest, most affectionate little dog anyone could ever want, and he was such a character, he made us laugh constantly. Everyone who knew him said he was special, he touched a lot of peoples' lives in the three years that he lived with us. Through him, I have been fortunate to know many kind hearted souls. You can see one of the last photos I took of him above (he's the one on the extreme left in the front row), he was very ill here but was still enjoying lying on the sheepskin rug in front of the fire. Rest in peace, dear little LoLo, you will always have a place in my heart.

Photos of my menagerie

I had a professional photographer come to the house recently to take some pics of my dogs and bird.  Here are some of the results.  I should mention that over half of these animals are rescues - unwanted, unloved, sometimes abused and in desperate need of love and attention.  Rescuing Italian Greyhounds is something else I do when I'm not doing needlework and miniatures (actually it's more like the other way around!).

The two old boys you see below were a particularly bad case - they had to have extensive surgery done to their mouths due to their teeth having been badly neglected, and that's why their tongues hang out. They are father and son.  One has ongoing health issues, among them heart failure, and he's ancient for this breed. Neither of these dogs was expected to live more than a few months when I first got them. The good news is that this will be their third Christmas with us. The vet says their life is so good now they don't want to go anywhere!  They are such sweet and loving little boys, I'm so glad they came into my life.

This is Rosie, the first rescue dog to find her way to my home. She was siezed from a puppy farm and although young at the time, she had multiple behavioural issues, most of which have since been resolved. She clung to me the day she arrived here and remains a personal favourite of mine. She also loves to act up for the camera - a real pose this one is! 

Here is the rest of the canine rabble. We had a really fun time getting them all to sit still and look up for this photo! My original idea was to sit down with them, but that didn't work because they all thought it was playtime and wouldn't sit still, so instead they sat in the baskets and looked at me while the photographer did his stuff. He said he had never taken so many adult dogs at once.  All their cavorting around messed up the nice cover the photographer had brought for the shoot.

Left to right:  Rosie, Tia, Pharaoh, Teddy, Tilly, Samantha, Kimba, Banjo and Andrea

Last but by no means least, our little rescue Rainbow Lorikeet, Cheekyface Chopchop Honeyblossom Treaclebeak.  Cheeky to his friends and family (and believe me I named him for his personality!).  Cheeky came to us nearly twelve months ago, rescued from death row at a shelter.  He had no tail and badly damaged wing feathers and consequently couldn't fly.  He was a very scared little bird who showed signs of having been hand-tamed to a minor degree, but he was a fear biter and needed to improve his social skills.  I'm pleased to say that his tail has since grown back and his wings look much better than they did - he can fly a little now but not for a great distance.  He loves spending time perched on my hand, shoulder or head (or climbing up my clothing when he lands on the ground) and is showing signs of trying to talk.  He loves to have his head scratched and will preen my hand in return.  Although he is not allowed out of his cage while the dogs are around, he is quite unafraid of them and likes to lick their noses with his tongue through the cage bars.