Random Nature Pictures

    I really enjoy being in nature and also photography. Here are some pictures I have taken...some are recent and some are a year or so old.

Sunrise on a glorious morning

The rocky shoreline on Lake Michigan

Ducks!

This was a really beautiful butterfly that was wounded

I'm not sure if this is actually an albino frog but it was real and it was white!

Spring when the apple trees are blossoming.

These are tadpoles swimming around water in a marshy area.

Any Suggestions?

       As I have said in a previous post, my future goal in life is to attend a prestigious veterinarian school and become a vet. Lately, I have been researching different things that help people to get into pre-veterinarian programs and veterinarian programs;therefore I know that it is really important to have exceptional grades and to be active in extra-curricular activities. I was wondering if there was anything else I could do or participate in that would help me get accepted? Also, I was wondering if it would be a beneficial idea to take both AP Biology and AP Chemistry, or if one is more helpful? If anyone has any suggestions, please comment! I would really appreciate it!

Bunny Walking!

     As you know, it is very important to keep your pets in good shape so they can live happy, healthy lives. With my rabbits, I like to put their harnesses on and take them for "walks". We use harnesses because it provides more security and they can't slip out of them. Pie and Midnight like to be with each other when they are out in the open because they feel security is in numbers. Midnight usually is very timid when she is on her harness and mostly just likes to lay by me or Jimmy and just relax. On the other hand, Pie is the adventurous sort, running around and exploring everything that interests her. Most of the time, she doesn't pay attention to me when I am holding the leash, but every once in a while she gets bothered by the leash and tries to chew it! When walking a dog, you go where you want to and the dog usually follows, but when walking a rabbit, the rabbit goes where they want to and you follow them! Zig-zagging through trees, open spaces, under lawn chairs and across driveways we go...chewing grass and leaves along the way! It's a great source of exercise for my bunnies and it is quality time spent doing something fun.

Pie trying to chew her leash

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

From Sunny, Charlie, Pie and Midnight!

Create a Join Button?

     I was just wondering if anyone has any idea how to create join button? Please comment if you have any helpful tips; I'd really appreciate it!

Award from Voices For Rabbits

First of all, a HUGE thank you to Voices For Rabbits ( voicesforrabbits.blogspot.com for nominating me for this award! It's very kind of you:)Here are the answers to the questions:

1. If you could change one thing, what would it be?
• If I could change one thing, I would probably change the way that certain people treat animals...the people that are cruel and heartless towards animals.

    2. If yo could repeat one age, what year would it be?

• I like my life the way it is right now, so I guess I would just stay 15.

    3. What is one thing that really scares you?

• Talking in front of people, like doing speeches and presentations.

    4. What is one dream that you have not completed, and do you think you will be able to complete it?

• Becoming a vet, and most definitely!

   5. If you could be someone for one day, who would it be?

• I think it would be cool to be a airplane pilot for one day because you could see the ocean and a whole bunch of beautiful natural wonders while flying over them!!

The blogs that I nominate for this award are:

Two Bunny Blog: http://www.twobunnyblog.com/2013/01/the-creed-of-house_5553.html

Charlie...sensitive?

Ever since my family got our dog Charlie about a year ago, he has had this special quirk....he starts to howl if he hears loud noises. Noises such as the clinking sound when you are putting away silver ware, or the clicking when the gas in a burner is turning on in a stove, my other dog barking, etc bother him for some reason. Another strange habit he has is to run towards the sound that is making him howl...which doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever. He doesn't have anything wrong with his ears such as ear infections or anything like that, so it is a mystery why he howls so much. If anyone else as this same issue with one of their pets, or if they have a reason why this happens, I would really love to hear from you.

Fashion Show!

Sunny all happy with his scarf

Cool glasses!

Charlie is ready with his jacket

Sunny is just so happy for pictures!

Charlie will be seen during hunting season!

Brrr!

Charlie knows how to bundle up!

Sunny with his gangster style

 I personally believe my dogs are very adorable, no matter how scruffy their hair cuts are or how much dirt they accumulate while romping outside. Because of this, I decided that I would do a little "fashion show" to showcase their cuteness. These are some of the pictures that turned out the best....many did not! Anyway, Charlie and Sunny had a great time as you can see in the pictures where Sunny is "smiling", but it was partly because they got treats after they stayed still for a picture. Charlie surprised me by being still for most of the time and staying sitting when he was told. Most of his pictures, however, did not turn out on account that his dark eyes and dark fur blend in together.

DIY Doggie Hair Cuts

      When my family first got Sunny about 8 years ago, we always took him to the groomers whenever he needed to be shaved for the summer. Although the groomers did an impeccable job, the price was a little bit high, therefore my mom and I decided to do it ourselves....how hard could it be? Very hard.

      Purchasing a Wahl clipper kit and watching the tutorial video was the easy part, physically shaving Sunny was the more challenging aspect. On the video, the dog being groomed looked as though he had been sedated he was so calm and well behaved. The lady just scooped him up every time she needed to shave some other part of his anatomy and he didn't move a muscle. Also, he was already very nicely groomed so there were no knots to try and work with.

Sunny with his new doo

Sometimes he needs a little pony tail to get the hair out of his eyes!

     Sunny, on the other hand was not so lucky. First of all, his fur was quite knotted since he spent all winter romping through the snow and his hair always got tangled. Second, he was not so keen to get his hair cut as we might have hoped. The clippers scared him, naturally, so he tried to get as far away as possible from it. I really felt bad for the little guy because shaving a dog is much harder than one would assume.

Charlie gets quite hairy during the winter

     My mom and I ended up having to shave most of Sunny's hair one day and take a break and finish the job the next day. The experience wasn't all bad for Sunny because he got numerous treat breaks and praise for being our guinea pig. My mom and I also shave Charlie, who is very calm and is usually very well behaved with the occasional trying to bite the clippers.

Charlie gets goo on his eyes when his hair is too long...yuck!

     Although our dogs never come out looking like pampered show dogs, they shed their winter coats and are cool throughout the summer heat.

Junior Boiler Vet Camp

For all of you future veterinarians out there, this camp is the camp of your dreams! This camp, operated on the Purdue University Campus in Indiana, is the perfect opportunity to experience what it is like to be a vet and also what it is like to go to college/vet school. During the camp, I met many new friends and learned a lot about what veterinarians do. There is an admissions process of sorts where you answer some questions about why you want to become a vet and there is also a fee if you are accepted.

 It was a one week camp the first week of June, and it was for kids entering grades 8 and 9. We all stayed in dorms, guys on one floor and girls on another. The 50 kids are separated into groups and each group has a camp counselor that is a student in the Purdue Veterinary Medicine program.

Throughout the week, we do many things that veterinarians would do:

•  visit an animal blood bank and learn how to take blood
• dissect a pig heart
• visit a dairy farm and get a tour and also see calves being born
• learn restraining techniques on cows
• getting to reach inside a cow's rumen
• visiting a pig farm and getting to hold baby pigs
• hypnotizing chickens
• diagnosing an animal and explaining the treatment plan in a presentation

In addition to all of these activities, we also had free time where we played basketball, beach volleyball, football, counselor activities and dodge ball.

I highly recommend this camp since I had such a memorable experience doing something I love.

This is me holding a baby pig

Here is the official website of the camp: http://purduevetcamp.com

Adorable Bunny Picture...

http://cdn3.blogs.babble.com/pets/files/adorable-bunnies/01.jpg

When I saw this picture (which is not mine or a picture of my rabbit), it immediately reminded me of my rabbit, Pie. In the picture, I see a mischievous rabbit, and that is the very description that can describe Pie. Along with her escape skills, Pie is also skilled at getting her way, which sounds weird because she is a rabbit but it is true. For example, if she smells yogurt chips (which are her favorite), she will repeatedly bump her nose into the bag or put her little paws up on your leg and try to get your attention. She is almost impossible to deny. In the past, Pie has also dug her way out of her cage, and  jumped up onto the shelf in her house(which is about 4 feet high).

Escape Bunnies!

      I have realized that my rabbits are masterminds in the escape department. Numerous times, I have glimpsed my rabbits outside of their hutch and they were not supposed to be out. First of all, their hutch is large and is made out of 2 by 4s and ply wood. Rabbits' teeth are constantly growing so they need to chew on wood and such to allow them to file down their teeth. A couple of times, my rabbits have chosen to ignore the wood meant for chewing and to utilize their teeth on their home.

      Once this past summer, I was passing by the window that overlooks the rabbit hutch and I noticed a black and white rabbit hopping about. At first, I thought it was a wild rabbit, because my house is situated in a rural area, until I figured out that wild rabbits are not black and white. As I freaked out, I ran outside and started to try and shoo my rabbits back into the now apparent hole in their hutch. Midnight, being a naturally skittish rabbit, ran right back into her house and stayed there. I have a feeling that Pie was the one who chewed the hole and Midnight just followed.

      Pie, on the other hand, was not quite as willing to give up her freedom. After basically running circles around me, Pie scooted underneath her hutch and stayed put. No amount of coaxing would trick my little bunny to come out. After a couple of hours, it was apparent that me and my brother needed to go to desperate measures. We ended up digging a hole next to the hutch and placed a carrying case in it, which was filled with carrots and yogurt chips which are Pie's favorite. As we stood by and waited, Pie slowly entered the carrying case and freedom was ended.

Midnight

Pie

       After that little incident, my bother and I put another layer of mesh and ply wood on the floor of the hutch and Midnight and Pie have not gotten out since.

Top Animal-Related Books

I am a person who is big into books and reading. My favorite type of books to read are obviously animal-related. Here are a list of my top picks for best books dealing with animals. I'm definitely sure that there are many other great books out there, and if there are any that anyone would like me to add the list, please comment!

Top Books

1. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater                                                                                   
2. The Black Stallion's Blood Bay Colt by Walter Farley
3. The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
4. Secret of the Night Ponies by Joan Haitt Harlow
5. the Seekers series by Erin Hunter
6. Phantom Stallion series by Terri Farley
7. East by Edith Pattou
8. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
 

Other Great Books

1. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
2. Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen
3. Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky
4. Torn by Amanda Hocking
5. Switched by Amanda Hocking
6. Ascend by Amanda Hocking
7. The Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

 

 

My Pets

Charlie.....my 2 year old Shih Tzu

Midnight...my 3 year old sweetie pie

This is Sunny....a 12 year old Maltese Bichon mix

Hello! This is my very first post on this blog. First of all, I love animals! My pets include two rabbits and two dogs. My two rabbits, Pie and Midnight, live outside year round in a hutch that my two brothers and I built about three years ago. My two dogs, Sunny and Charlie, live inside year round and make me smile every day.I am aspiring to become a vet some day and my goal is to get into a  

 prestigious veterinarian school.

This is Pie....my 4 year old  trouble making bunny