March 30, 2011

Dear Diary~How Do You Hug A Porcupine?

One of the things I love most about blogging is the memories it invokes for me. It is like a diary~with~pictures. A diary with secret thoughts that are shared for the world to read and see. I have always worn my life on my sleeve. Nothing is secret and who I am is out there for all to see. I have always said, 'if you want to know something about me, just ask.' If I know the answer, I will tell you. Sometimes I share too much for others comfort. Sorry about that!

Dear Diary,
Today I woke up after a restful nights sleep to the sound of Dalai making her "i want to go outside noise". Out we went into the brisk winter-like air and I prayed they would do 'their business quickly. Hot tea awaited me along with a big bowl of Cherrios. I usually eat only organic cereal, but yesterday while at the store I saw a huge box of Cherrios with a book peaking out from the cover. It was called "How Do You Hug a Porcupine" and I just had to get it for hubby. It was like a Cracker Jacks box with a free toy inside. For those that don't know this, we had a pet porcupine for almost 2 years. Her name was Penny and we loved her dearly. More about her in a minute.

I finished sewing the elbow patches on my MPB shirt and then sewed the bodice to the skirt of my Rose Print Dress. All this done before 11:00. Time for blogging! The afternoon did not end up as productive as the morning. I realized I was not a good girl scout and was not fully prepared. The nice vintage pink metal zipper I planned to install in the dress was too long. I don't think you can cut metal zippers down to size the way you do plastic ones. It is a 16" and the dress calls for a 10". I also have to use the Brother to install the zipper as I do not have a zipper foot for the Singer..I STILL can not get the tension right. There are loops all over the top no matter if I set it high, low, or in the middle. Could I have totally screwed the whole thing up? So Miss Rose Print is over in the corner in a time out for the moment.

This is hubby with a baby porcupine he saved from the mouth of a dog. Aren't they adorable?
 Our girl Penny

 Hubby gets a kiss!
 A still life "Cat and Porcupine Sunning Themselves"
 When she heard hubby coming home she would go look out the door for him. Food awaits!!!
 
Penny lived on our screened in porch ( the other house) and totally destroyed it with her chewing. She had been hit by a car and her hind legs did not work. In the photo above you can see her legs curled under her. She got around very well though and could climb up onto chairs and the screening on the porch. You can also see her tail has no quills. When she was hit by the car she had the most terrible wound on her tail which an amazing vet sewed up at no cost. She became so active in the days following, that she opened up the wound and hubby spent over 3 months putting a special honey into the wound and dressing it each day with gauze. The result was a perfect healing.

This is the wound after almost 4 months of healing. You can only imagine how bad it was to start.
Sadly she also had some pneumonia...and it never cleared up. She woke up one morning filled with mucus. Another trip to the vet and some antibiotics that she hated seemed to help. But it was not easy to give her medicine and we may have not cleared it all up. We woke up one morning and she was gone. She passed away 2 years ago today.

R.I.P. my prickly girl!

Remember yesterday when I said I was going to make hubby a nice dinner so he would be in the 'mood' to model the MPB shirt? It is almost 6:00 pm and I don't know what I am going to have for dinner. Sometimes I wished we lived within 30 miles of some sort of take-out food. See you tomorrow!!!

5 comments:

  1. OMG, how sweet! I want a porcupine...

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  2. So cute! I've always wanted a pet porcupine.

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  3. Ever since reading this post for the first time — over Peter's shoulder at breakfast yesterday — I have been unable to stop thinking about your adorable Penny. (Not to mention your adorable Hubby. Tell him not to worry; I'm still in the midst of George infatuation!)

    This post was so moving — to hear how you bonded with a wild animal and how you went to such lengths to nurture her back towards health. It seems as though both you and Penny benefited from your short time together, and now we can all benefit from reading about it. Thank you for sharing this touching story and the heart-warming pix.

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  4. Michael thanks. You can't imagine how much we loved her. They are really sweet, sweet animals. Shy and timid, nothing like their reputation. Scott LOVES animals (we both do) but he is amazing with them. He spent 5 weeks in Thailand a few years back helping at a refuge for Elephants. We had a Red Bat many years ago that he cared for too. It had fallen from a tree and broken its wing.I even took her to a Biology class I was taking and did a talk on her. We are kind of quirky..like you and Peter...it makes life interesting!!!

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I appreciate each and every one of your comments. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me.

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