Happy Halloween

October 29, 2013

 Halloween is only two days away. Are your pets ready?

If your critters are upset by the doorbell ringing, strange noises, or scary people in creepy outfits appearing at the door, now’s the time to come up with a plan.

1. Make sure your pet is in a secure area where it won’t bolt out the door. It may be better to keep them in a quiet room with some nice music playing.
2. Keep your cats inside for the night. Kids can play nasty pranks on kitties on this holiday, especially black cats.
3. Start putting Rescue Remedy into the water dish today to keep those anxiety levels low.
4. Tell them that there is going to be some strange noises and lots of knocks on the door and that they are safe and should just stay calm and relaxed. Send strong mental pictures of them snoozing through the commotion.
5. Candy is very tempting to many pets. Chocolate can be toxic to dogs and cats and those wrappers are impossible to digest. Keep that candy dish out of reach.
6. Put all burning candles out of reach. Curious pets can knock them over, start a fire, and seriously burn themselves.
7. Beware of decorations that can be ingested. It’s no fun to have surgery for an intestinal blockage.

 

Booooo!!  Now that I’ve scared the heck out of you, go out and have some fun this Halloween. If your pets enjoy dressing up there’s no better day in the year!

Theme of the week - Cat pee

October 24, 2013

Sometimes I’ll have a week or two, when I get a lot of the same consultations. Maybe it’s the same type of animal like golden retrievers, or it could be the same issue that keeps coming up over and over again.

The last two weeks I have had an unusually high number of cat clients that are soiling the house. What’s up kitties? And it’s not just me – I’ve heard the same thing from others in the animal healing/care business.

There are many reasons for this unwelcome behavior: physical problems or illness, territorial squabbles, stress, de-clawing, litter dissatisfaction, and even spirits in the house. Lately I’ve had many cats that are having territory issues and fighting among themselves. Other types of stress are also creating this behavior.

When I see a pattern like this, I stop to question it. Nothing is a coincidence, so I try to see if there is a common factor. We had a full moon last week and a penumbral eclipse. The movement of the stars and planets often affect sensitive beings and cats are VERY sensitive. We are also coming into the time of year where the veils between the realms are the thinnest – Halloween. Could this be making cats on edge?

Another possibility is that it’s a message for me. Where am I feeling stressed in my life? Have I been pissing (metaphorically) around my house?

I don’t have an answer for this recent trend, but I wanted you to know that if you have this issue in your life right now – you’re not alone. Maybe it’s time to pull out the Rescue Remedy or do a little emotional release work on your cats, or your self. You might be able to change the energy before it’s too late.

Human Nature

October 16, 2013

This morning I headed out to the preserve on foot; ready to enjoy the cool morning air. It’s fall now and as the weather has changed, the number of people using the park has risen. I imagine that it will be quite crowded this winter after all the snowbirds arrive.

Eastern Ribbon snake

As I walked in silence, I first met a small Eastern Ribbon snake. He was quite delicate, only about a foot long, with a bluish green stripe down his side. I’d never seen one before and stopped for a few moments to observe.

Further along I met a man who was photographing a horseshoe crab. He was very excited to have seen a bald eagle up close, so I told him where a ranger often has a spotting scope set up to see the eagle’s nest on the other side of the park.

As I walked on, a woman came up behind me and asked me how long the trail was. I told her it was 3 miles around and takes about an hour. She walked on, but kept stopping to look at things, and even showed me my tree friends ‘the lovers,’ remarking how interestingly they entwine. S

he went ahead and I was distracted by a 4-foot long Rat snake (yellow with blackish stripes) that crossed my path. I motioned to an oncoming biker to slow down so he wouldn’t hit it.

Robinson landscape

At the next bridge I caught up to the woman again, who pointed out some large fish in the stream and a Yellow-crowned Night-heron in the bushes. We walked together talking about nature and how healing it is, and how much we both enjoyed the park. I was thinking about turning around and walking back through the mangroves instead of doing the loop, when she asked if I wanted to be alone and silent. I decided that it might be fun to talk to her for a while, so we continued on.

This woman lives just down the street from me and is originally from Croatia. She had breast cancer this year and is still recovering. I hadn’t noticed until she told me, that under her loose shirt she only had one breast. This was the first time she had walked around the loop since her surgery, chemo and radiation. She feels good. We agreed that being in nature is very healing and enjoying the clean fresh air here is a wonderful thing to do. She also talked about how grateful she is now for the small things and for each day; a wonderful reminder for me.

So my walking meditation wasn’t silent today, but I still got a message from the universe. I am grateful that I took the time to connect and communicate with another facet of nature today – humans.

Robinson Preserve

October 10, 2013

Tower

When Bob and I were looking for our new home, there were a few factors that made us concentrate on NW Bradenton. Proximity to our favorite beach was first, and Robinson Preserve was second. The house we bought is only ½ mile from this 487-acre wonderland. I walk or bike there almost every day. Since I’ll be telling stories about my wildlife encounters there, I’d like to give you a little background.

Robinson Preserve features numerous recreational opportunities for the community. There are walking and biking nature trails that wind through open grasslands, mangrove forests and mixed forest along Tampa Bay. A section of the trail is paved and connects to a large highway that goes out to the beach. It’s only a short 6-mile bike ride

from the house to the sand on this path and I often encounter people walking on bikes or rollerblading. Other trails in the park are made of hard packed shell – great for walking or biking.

In the middle of the preserve sits a three-story observation tower that gives a fantastic view of St. Petersburg to the north, Anna Maria Island to the west, and the surrounding areas of the mainland. You’ll also find a group camping site, picnic areas, restrooms and a children’s playground.

There is a great kayak, canoe and paddleboard launch and plenty of mangrove lined water trails to enjoy. Fishing is allowed in certain areas and the mullet are usually jumping. Some waterways are crossed via wooden bridges.

Trail over waterway

Robinson Preserve is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Raccoon, coyote, fox, bobcat, rabbit and mice are the most common mammals. Birdlife abounds with wood storks, ibis, anhingas, kingfishers, hawks, osprey, bald eagles, herons, pelicans, gulls, plovers, woodpeckers, egrets, roseate spoonbills, cardinals, sparrows, mockingbirds and more! I’ve seen several species of snakes, frogs, lizards and geckos, as well as fiddler and horseshoe crabs.

Sunny asphalt trail

The plant life is varied too. Grasses, wildflowers, and flowering vines cover the ground, while pine, palms, live oak, mangrove, ficus and seagrape offer shade. I love the fact that the landscape is constantly changing. Right now there is a gorgeous purple grass blooming.

Shady shell trail

Robinson Preserve is a pretty special place and I’m so glad that it’s right in our back yard! 

Horseshoe Crabs

October 4, 2013

During my morning walk at Robinson Preserve today, I had an amazing encounter. There are several wooden bridges over inlets where the water rushes in and out of Tampa bay. I often stop and look into the water to see what kind of fish are hanging around.

Today, the tide was coming in and the water was quite high. I stopped to see what critters might be lurking in the watery shadows and I was astonished to see dozens of horseshoe crabs of varying sizes. There were several really large ones and they had smaller crabs holding onto them. It didn’t take long for me to realize that they were mating.

The crabs moved around rather quickly, occasionally piling up on top of each other and then separating. It was quite the party and I was very excited to take part in this new wildlife encounter. I think it was the first time I’ve seen them scurrying around, and to witness such an interesting activity was superb. I continued to see them for several hundred yards along the trail in the water.

Now I know that some of you are thinking, ‘what did they say,’ right? Well, I didn’t talk to them. I thought about it, but I realized that they didn’t need some big old human interrupting their love making just for idle chit-chat. It was pretty obvious what was going on, and that it was not the time to talk.

I took a few pictures (so I can talk to them later) and continued on my way, but decided to turn around instead of doing the loop. As I approached the crab area again, I wondered why I hadn’t seen any animals feeding on them. Suddenly I spotted a small female raccoon, chomping away on a crab and I could see several shells behind her. Further along I also found an ibis pecking away at another crab. It seems that I needed to come back to see how the whole cycle of life was playing out today in the mangroves.