Redbud trees

I could really use some of this colour right now, as the weather turns colder here and winter approaches.

Tennessee Cannas

Red Cannas
in the office garden.

More info on Cannas at PlantFiles

At the Lake - Carroll County TN

Keep your eyes open and you never know what you'll see.

View Large - tiny green frog

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View Large - this one is a brown frog.

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View Large - a water spider

Squint has flown to California!

See the first half of Squint's story here

In about a month and a half, he went from nearly dead, to a very lively and intelligent boy. He is such a lucky kitty! He has been adopted by a wonderful family from California, who flew on a plane to get him!

Thank you Kellen and Randy! I know he'll give you all of his love - I hope you get some of his luck too!


On July 25, 2006 he was found badly injured
unable to walk, cry or chew.
He had a large abcessed wound between his jaw and ear.
Our vet worked some miracles. He lost most of one ear, but a life-threatening infection finally healed. We fed him liquids from a push syringe until he could eat on his own.
This past weekend, at our office.
Under 2 lbs of pure kitten energy!
He still 'squints,' especially when he cries.
In the carrier near the Memphis, TN airport.

Have a wonderful life with your new family Squint!
We miss you, but you are in the very best of hands.

Squint is going to a new home!

Sleeping in an office chair

Squint is going to a new home in California! He flies out of the Memphis airport in September! It is a miracle, but he has found his 'forever family' who will make sure he is loved and cared for.

I'm gonna get your hand, just wait and see!
His new owners (parents?) seem like genuinely nice and caring people, who saw his story and pictures and said 'Yes, we'll take you home.' He did have four local offers in TN, but all fell through after seeing his pictures or hearing about his condition. I offered to drive him to Alabama for someone, but she too, said she really hadn't thought it was possible, and couldn't take him.

On Friday, he got pushed against the wall in the stairwell, accidently, by a coworker - and his scar split open a bit. He is perfectly alright otherwise, and was up and attacking things before we even knew what had happened.

He is already sealing up again. His scar might have been pulled too tight over the new skin - as there was very little blood and he didn't seem to feel much pain at all.

What's in your coffee cup? Is it for me?

He is eating a bit more than before, and even landed in somebody's chili bowl at work on Thursday! He got set outside on the porch for a ten minute 'time-out' after that -- and has been much more polite with other people's food since then.

One Eared Loving Kitten seeks Indoor Home

'Squint', a one-eared, 6 week old gray-striped
male domestic shorthair.
In this picture, you can see the laceration went all the way under his chin.

This is the story of a survivor, a tough little guy who has a loving heart. He needs to find a good home where someone can see past his missing ear, and love him. Do not respond to this unless you are willing to give him a loving 'forever' home where he will never be abused or neglected. Our vet says because of his open ear canal, he needs an indoor home to prevent dangerous ear infections.

Here is Squint's story.

On July 25, 2006, my husband and I discovered three half-starved kittens under a board outside of our office fence. The kittens were about 3.5 weeks old, and weighed less than half of a pound each. Their ribs were showing.

We knew who the kitten's mother was, but she had not been to the office for feeding for several days - and things did not look like she would be returning. One of these kittens was very bad off, with a large wound under his jaw/ear on the right side. He could barely move, and could not cry or chew. When we found them, it seemed unlikely that this particular kitten would live through the night.

However, he did, and all three went to the vet on the following morning. The vet lanced the wound, which had abcessed, and gave us an antibiotic to administer twice a day. She still did not give much hope that he would survive, and asked us to expect the worst but hope for the best.

These pictures are in chronological order
from Day One, up to Today.
As you can see, he was very weak.

But, with lots of extra feedings of milk replacer and the juice out of cat food cans, he began to perk up.
The antibiotics started to do their work, and a motherly dog at our office cleaned the wound out several times. Everything seemed to be falling into place for this guy to survive. His two healthy brothers were given away at 6 weeks of age.

He began to look happier, but it was obvious that his ear was badly damaged.

Even with more care, his ear was beyond repair.
All of his outer ear tissue had to be removed.

But this kitten was lively, despite all - and he developed such a sweet personality, we couldn't help but do all we could for him.

This is Squint today
He is happy, active and in need of a loving person to adopt him.
He is eating dry cat food, and is litterbox trained.
There is nothing wrong with his foot, that was a precaution to keep him from scratching his healing ear.

Although it still looks bad, the wound is now completely sealed, and Squint is re-growing fur in all of the area our vet had shaved.

We live in Western Tennessee, between Nashville and Memphis. You must convince us you have good intentions for this kitten - as we have been through 'hell and high water' sitting up long nights with him. We already have two cats, and my husband is insistant he needs to be adopted.

If you do adopt Squint into your home, we will deliver him within a 3 hour drive of Paris, TN, or you can come pick him up. We are offering to cover his vaccinations and neutering cost (up to the amount that would have been charged by our local clinic). He will need Frontline, but is still about one month too young for it.

playing with our cat in a suitcase we were unpacking
He is completely unaware he is anything but a normal kitten. He runs around and plays with other dogs and cats at our office. He is very fond of people, and loves to be near to humans as much as possible.

Please pass the word on about Squint, to caring animal people you know.

Prairie River Dam, Northern Minnesota

The Prairie River Dam is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The rocks here are glacial 'leftovers' - where the glaciers scraped the bedrock and carried large pieces of it some distance before dropping it along the path. As a foot traveller, you can walk down among these rocks along the river edge. This place reminds me of a more primitive place and time - somewhere humans rarely come. It is quiet and beautiful here - moving something inside me to an emotion akin to serenity, but also to joy.

Here it is, through my eyes, when the water was exceptionally low.

Orange Lake Road, near Johnson Lake Minnesota

Orange Lake Road, also known as County or Forest Road 2153 (CR 2153) (FR 2153) near Johnson Lake on Hwy 38 in Northern Minnesota. (472621N, 0933549W)

This is one of the more beautiful roads we have travelled in MN - especially so in the Spring. In Spring, the wildflowers are in bloom, among them a multitude of sweet-smelling honeysuckles (columbine). It is a scenic drive, with several stunning views of lakes, and paths that allow foot-travel down to public access.

Here are a few of the late Summer pictures we captured during this visit.