Old Friends and New Friends

(or: I finally figured out how to get pictures off my camera and onto the computer at work)

First the "old friends"

Trevor is a bit of a daredevil. He's just about one growth-spurt away from having thumbs, and can get into any cabinet in the house, and if there is trouble to be had, he'll find it. This is one of his favorite summer hang-outs - on the very TOP of our kitchen cabinets. That ceiling is about 4 inches from his head. He's a nutty guy, that Trevor. He's bouncy, and high-strung, and fickle, and unpredictable.

Aslan on the other hand is unshakeable. He doesn't startle easily, he has no fear of thunderstorms, or vaccuums, or dogs, or any of the other stereotypical cat fears. But he's not an adventurer. He takes what comes to him completely in stride, but he doesn't go looking for trouble. So last night's adventure was a rare occurance. Trevor had left the room, and Aslan decided to see what the fuss was about.

He found his way up (and back down again) to Trevor's lair, and spent the rest of the evening battling bugs and chasing toys and walking around with his little chest puffed out as though he'd climbed Everest. I guess, for him, he did.

And not to leave anyone out, a picture of a sleeping position that looks like I broke my dog, but I promise he did this to himself.



Now the new friends!

As I mentioned at some point in the past few weeks, for some reason one of our schools of fish has been dwindling. They aren't going fast enough (or acting weird) for me to think it's a sickness, they're just sort of slowing dying off, so it might be an age issue. But we got down to just one of that particular school, and the sole remaining "student" was looking a little depressed.

Yes, fish can look depressed, why?

Anyway, I decided to go to the store to get a few more of his particular breed so he'd have some buddies (since the ghost catfish were apparently blackballing him) but they didn't have any of that kind. So instead, I tried to get something close in color, and also got some Neon Tetras, for an alternate color to add a little more zip to the tank.

And zip they did - in no time the fish were all darting around the tank like old pals, playing chase or touch football, or whatever little guppy critters do for fun. The tetras seem to find great joy in gang-rushing the catfish (who all just hover at the middle of the tank facing the same way like they're suspended in jello) and making them split up and rush around the tank in a panic until they find their ways back to hovering again.

And the final new friend is this guy:

(this is an immense close up, he's under an inch long at this point)
He came home Saturday and has been given the name "Twisty Boy" in honor of a loved one. The snail is completely assexual, and will reproduce on his own... so in a way, Twisty Boy will never really be gone...