Introduction: Sophie-Mo

Greetings, readers! I hope you all are having as wonderful a day as I am.

The sun is shining, it's warm out but not freakishly so, and I have a houseful of things that love me.

I would like you all to meet my Sophie-Mo.

Of all of the creatures that I have had the good fortune of knowing in my years, Sophie-Mo is the sweetest, gentlest being that I have ever crossed paths with. Over the years she has just gotten sweeter, and more wise and humble. Whenever I see her, pick her up, or even when I just hear her wheeking, I can't help but smile. How did I come to share my life with this loving little spirit? A little bit of luck, and a lot of chance.

In the spring of 2008, I was Bundergrounding [to transport a bunny from place to place via a chain of pick-up/drop-off points, usually involving multiple rescuers] a feisty little lionhead bun from the Stevens-Swan Humane Society in Utica, NY to my hometown of Syracuse. At the time, I'd been trying to adopt a pair of guinea pigs for a little under a year and had basically given up hope. The first thing I did when I got to Utica was to get very lost. Then I finally found my way to the shelter.

Upon walking in, the first thing I noticed was all of the guinea pigs! They had at least 6 [two to a cage] in the little foyer. I retrieved the bunny--whose name was Fufu--and while I was signing him out, asked the woman at the desk how much the adoption fee for the guinea pigs was. "You want one? Oh, you can just have them. They've been here so long." I went over to check out a pair of texels that were very cute, but skiddish as all get-out. After a few moments, I decided on the pair that was against the back wall, a fluffy white pig and a tri-color covered in cowlicks. Their names were Mo and Sapphire.

Driving home, I just couldn't stop looking at them. I couldn't believe it. Guinea pigs were in my car. They were coming home to me, to stay and live with me. I decided to name them Olive and Sophie, but almost immediately started calling Sophie "Sophie-Mo," Because both names fit her very well.

Sophie and Olive were my very first guinea pigs and I'm happy to say, two years later, they're still with me. At first we thought that they were sisters, but these days I'm not so sure. Most guinea pigs don't really show that they're aging, but Sophie-Mo has certainly slowed down. We have had her checked for heard disease, but the results were inconclusive.

As many of you know, Sophie-Mo [and Olive and Natasha] got pregnant in the summer of 2009. When Olive was less than two weeks to term, and Sophie about three, I had to make a very difficult decision. I knew that if I just let them have the babies, someone would die--whether it was the mothers or the babies, it would be impossible to tell in advance. Sophie and Olive were two years old, at least, and had never birthed before. But an emergency spay could lose all of them as well.

I took all three girls, heavy with young, to my vet to get her opinion. She seemed very confident that they would survive the surgery. So with a very heavy heart, I kissed my two girls good-bye, wished my vet and them the best of luck, and headed home with one very pregnant Natasha. I called off of work that day, explaining to my boss that two of my friends were fighting for their lives and I could focus on nothing else. I'm lucky it was Scott.

Dr. Roach had promised to call me once the surgery was done, and at 6:30pm I was starting to get anxious. I called the hospital and explained that I'd dropped my two cavies off that morning for emergency surgery that morning, and just needed to know that they were okay. "Oh, Amy! Yes, they're fine! I'm so sorry for not calling you sooner--Olive's babies are still alive.. they're not doing too great but all the vet techs are doing their best to keep them going. They're such little dears. You can pick your pigs up tomorrow morning, honey, I'll call and let you know how the babies made out when my shift ends at 9, okay?" The woman on the phone was a nurse whose name I can never remember to this day, but she [and pretty much everyone else in that hospital] absolutely loves me and my pigs and bunnies. It turned out that the babies didn't make it, they had barely any fur and a necropsy showed that their lungs were under-developed. They would have had very hard lives.

My girls' impregnation was a complete accident, and I in no way promote breeding of guinea pigs as '"education for the kids," or for any other reason, but there's no denying that some creatures are just born to be mothers. I saw how proud and confident it made my Natasha. And I can't help but be a little sad that Sophie-Mo didn't get to raise her babies. Being with Tasha's babies gave her such joy, you could just see it in her eyes.

I could write novels about what a wonderful and caring soul my fluffy white girl is. But if I don't get up and do the girls' laundry, I will have five very disgruntled sows on my hands. So, I'll be going now. That is the story of my little Sophie-Mo. I am grateful for every day that I get to wake up and share my life with these seven guinea pigs and two rabbits. And you folks. Please do have a wonderful evening.

Cutting Back, Episode 3: Veggies

Hello all, I'm back from the North Country! And man, I had such a blast and learned SO much. If you want to see photos from the trip, they are here on my Flickr page.

So this episode of Cutting Back is all about veggies. And I'll be honest, a lot of this is common sense stuff that many of us don't really think about. I've been back from the North Country for a week and a half now, and I've been working on this post for a while trying to compile all of the little stuff.

It seems obvious, but that isn't alway the case..

Know your veggies. It is definitely important to know your veggies. Too much of something, like spinach, kale or silverbeet [swiss chard] can be bad for guinea pigs. If you don't memorize well, I recommend you print out Ly's Nutrition Charts from Guineapigcages.com and keep them in your purse/wallet or bring them to the grocery store. In a nutshell, your pig's menu should be lettuce-based, with a good variety of leafy greens each week. My guinea pigs usually get 1-2 kinds of lettuce, one dark leafy green and one or two kinds of herbs each week. I know my veggies very well because I have been doing this for a long time. Practice makes perfect.

Stick to your budget! I spend between $19-$21 each week on greens for my 7 cavies and two rabbits. More than that, and I know I've simply bought too much. Less, and I know I'll be back to the grocery store later in the week. Make a budget, and stick to it. This goes a long way with helping you to cut back on your expenses.

Prep your veggies ahead of time. Many of you are familiar with my post on prepping salads. If you need to cut down on the time that that prep takes, you can cut out the washing/spinning step, which takes the longest and can be done at the time that the salad is served. I do this when I have a busy weekend and don't have two hours to devote to making 10 boxes of salads.

Prepping your salads in advance allows you to portion out your greens so that you're giving your pigs the amount that they need, and you're not using too much and running out early, messing up both your budget and your weekly routine.

Grow your own. I'm not suggesting you go all-out and flood your balcony with 21 heads of lettuce, 3 tomato plants, 2 bell pepper vines and a 2 window boxes full of spinach. Though it you want to, by all means. The more you grow, the more you'll save. I grow about 1/3 of the greens that my cavies eat in the summer time. If you have space on your steps, your porch, your balcony or, if you're lucky enough, some backyard, I encourage you to get your hands dirty and grow some food for your pigs.

Get it locally/in bulk. Things like carrot and celery greens are something that most farmers remove before selling their product. Contact a local farmer and ask them for these perfectly nutritious, delicious greens. I also recommend shopping at the farmer's market when greens are in season. The prices there are much better and the money you spend goes back into your community.

If you have a lot a lot a lot of green-munchers, you can buy a box [about 20-25lbs] of greens from the grocery store for around $20. I know many fosterers who do this. Just be sure you can keep the greens cool. They won't last longer than 7-10 days at the very most.

Storing veggies

I have a lot of green-munching mammals in the house, and I am lucky enough to have two refrigerators. But it has not always been this way. There are many ways to store your veggies.

Coolers. While I was boarding my animals over this past summer/fall, I kept a large cooler in their room so that I could keep their food as close to them as possible. The downside was that, especially in the summer, I had to change the ice at least once a day.

An old chest freezer/fridge. I am a big fan of repurposing old chest freezers and refrigerators. These are very hard to 'recycle' and often they're doomed to hundreds of years in a landfill until Wall-E discovers a plant in a shoe inside one of them. You can use them just like coolers, except you have much more room! If you buy your greens in bulk this is the way to go.

Your ventilator drawer. If your house isn't overflowing with guinea pigs, you can just use the ventilator drawer of your fridge. Really, anywhere that is between 40-55F will do. Many people just keep greens in their basement.

Oh no! An Apology.

Folks, I gave up my search for my memory card tonight and got a new one with double the memory of the old one. Obviously, I will not be making a post between now and when I leave [5:30am tomorrow morning]. But I will tell you what's in store for you when I get back...

+ Firstly, the third episode of Cutting Back, this episode is regarding veggies and greens.

+ Also, a new series called Tiny Tips, which will just be a series of relatively small posts, each containing one or two helpful tips that don't require their own "episode-style" post.

+ An introduction post for Sophie-Mo, one of my two original guinea pigs.

+ The second episode of How Do You Do It?!, about my many cage setups--past, present and future. Future being free-range.

So my sincerest of apologies, and I hope you all enjoy the next couple of weeks; here in Central NY the weather has just been beautiful. I hope it continues.

Hang in there...

Folks! I would like to apologize for the lack of posts lately. I know this blog is fairly new but my goal was to make at least one post a week. I've unfortunately been backed up with a truckload of work.

There has been much going on in the yellow house the past few weeks. Things have slowed down now but I unfortunately cannot make the posts I wanted to because my memory card for my camera has gone missing. I assure you, we have every member of our team searching frantically for it. Once it is found, you'll be the first to know. Aside from, you know, the person who found it.

I wish I could sit here and give you a more thorough update on how things are going here, since it has been pretty exciting. Especially for the pigs. Unfortunately I am still playing catch-up on a quilt order that I absolutely must finish by Monday morning. I promise I'll make a proper update and a post or two before March 13th, when I'll be leaving to volunteer on Bittersweet Farm in the St. Lawrence River Valley for two weeks.

For now, please accept these semi-cute photos I snapped and uploaded before my memory card went missing. You may recognize a photo or two!

Here and also here.

How Do You Do It?! Episode 1: salads.

I can't count the number of times I've had this exact conversation: "How many guinea pigs do you have?" "Two. What about you?" "Seven." "SEVEN?! How do you do it?!"

In honor of that ever-present question, I'd like to introduce y'all to a new series called How Do You Do It?! [fear not, penny pinchers, I still have plenty of money-saving tips to share with you.]

Episode 1: Preparing Salads.

With all of the salad-eating critters in this house (currently there are ten!), the sheer idea of preparing a fresh salad every morning and evening is exhausting. I prepare all of my salads for the week in one fell swoop for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it saves a boatload of time. It also allows me to budget better, since I can portion everything out in advance for the week, and I'm never stuck making that late-night run to the supermarket because we ran out of parsley. I always know days in advance just exactly when the food supply will run out. I like to mark this day on the big office desk calendar on the side of our main refrigerator.

So here, just for you, is a set of step-by-step instructions on how I prepare my salads for the week.

Step 1: Assemble your containers.

To store my salads for the week, I use big plastic containers that once held salad mixes. In Upstate NY, these containers are not recyclable, because they are stackable. But, so long as you are not using them to store a cold liquid or anything hot, they make wonderful storage containers. I use them for everything, from dishwasher detergent to Bunny Chow. One of these big containers holds about 8-10 cups of packed greens. So it is perfect for my 7 guinea pigs. I give them half of a container in the morning, and

half at night. You can also use tupperware containers, ziploc bags or any container you'd like, really.

I keep all of these containers in our spare refrigerator, which also stores our local meat [frozen], big meals, and other non-everyday stuff. Putting a piece of paper towel or a washrag in the bottom of the container helps to keep your salads dry while they are being stored.

Other essentials: A cutting board, a salad spinner [your salads will not keep if they are soaking wet], additional containers, sunglasses.

Optional: a bucket for your scraps--for compost!

Step 2: Cleaning Your Meals-to-be.

Give your veggies/greens a rough chop and throw them in the strainer part of the salad spinner. Spray them with a mixture of 1 part distilled white vinegar and 1 part water. This is especially important if you are not using organic vegetables. Pesticide poisoning is real and it has claimed too many lives. Rinse thoroughly with cold tap water. Shake out as much water as you can. Spin them through the salad spinner and, when they are as dry as can be, set them aside

in one of your extra containers.

Repeat this for all of the veggies and greens in your salad.

And don't forget to chop up your worm food nice and small for those tiny mouths!

Step 3: Distribute.

You can do this one of two ways:

If you are planning to use one container per day, you can lasagna-layer your greens.

If you plan to use one container for a few days in a row, you can toss the salad to ensure that everybody gets a bit of everything.

Here I have shown the lasagna-layering in action, as it is the method that I use.

Close up your containers and stash them in the fridge.

Step 4: Treat yourself.

Congratulations! You've just saved yourself some pretty valuable time by preparing all of your salads for the week all at once! Don't forget to mark your calendar, and help yourself to some of these cherries that I bought mostly for the guinea pigs. Mostly.

A word about local and organic.

As a future farmer, I am very passionate about choosing foods that were grown or raised sustainably by farmers I know--locals. More and more people are choosing local and/or organic foods to boost their health; why not for your pets? Your guinea pigs should be getting most of their nutrients from their fresh foods, as these are much easier for their little bodies to absorb. Local and organic foods are richer in antioxidants and their vitamin/mineral contents are higher than those of conventionally-grown veggies.

Keep in mind that even though many small-time family farmers may not be USDA certified, they likely follow a similar--sometimes a much more strict--set of guidelines for their farming practices. Most family farmers know that it's best to work with nature, not in spite of it.

My heart has joined The Thousand

...for my friend stopped running today.

As some of you know, my roommates are more than just cavies and environmental canvassers. The yellow house is the home of rabbits, fish, and at times, a select few of the neighborhood cats.

My dear friend Newman recently came down with an Upper Respiratory Infection. It went downhill very quickly. Last night around midnight, I was falling asleep when I had a sudden thought that maybe Newman needed another dose of sub-cutaneous fluids. When I got him downstairs and was preparing to stick him with the needle, he went slightly limp and took a deep breath. I rushed him upstairs to my room. I cradled him and rocked him. I begged him not to leave. After two more heavy sighs he stopped breathing and went completely limp. My friend was gone.

I laid down on my back with Newman's body on my stomach. I cried for a very long time.

I adopted Newman and his brother, Benner, on Earth Day of 2007. Newman was the sweetest rabbit I have ever known. He always had a look about him that was so very knowing and wise. Everyone who met him instantly fell in love with him. My mother's daycare kids talk about him all the time. They loved visiting him when I lived in Westcott Nation.

When I rescued Bella in November of 2007, She too fell in love with Newman. But not so much with Benner. The year that followed was rough on the three of them, trying to make a bond work between them proved to be darn near impossible. Benner passed away suddenly in November of 2008. I had the same reaction. I was jerked awake at 6:18 AM. I had plans to go for a morning walk with my mom, so I thought my body was just anticipating that. I went. When I came home, I found Ben lying

underneath my bed, stiff. I now know the real reason that I was awoken was because he was leaving me.

Newman was one of my very dearest friends. He was five years old when he died. He was a pretty sickly bun. His mama, Marshmallow, and two of his five sisters, Hyacinth and Edelweiss, are still in foster care.

Bella and I have never been close, she was rescued from a cruelty/neglect situation as a young bun and had never trusted or liked people very much, despite how much I worked with her after I rescued her. I toned down her cage aggression but she still has a lot of mental trouble. I know that I will probably have to get her another friend eventually but for now, it's just going to be her and I. And the cavies and the fish. And when he gets back from Florida, my roomie, Scott.

This is the last photo I took of him.

Goodnight, sweet bun. Thank you for sharing your life with me.

Introductions: Natasha

Natasha, for whom this blog is named, would be my favorite guinea pig if I had favorites. She was born in March of 2009 as part of an accidental litter. I adopted her and Maybel, her sister, in April '09. Since then she has practically been my sidekick.

In the summer of '09, I ran into a fair bit of housing trouble. I had to move my herd of 4, and all of my other animals, in with my mother for a while. I traveled to Dallas, TX, where I canvassed for Texas Campaign for the Environment for three weeks, as a training exercise for my job as a Field Manager with Citizens Campaign for the Environment. When I returned, I noticed that three of my guinea pigs were very, very fat. And the fourth had a look of guilty pleasure about him. That's right, Maybel was a boy. He developed very late and I was not around to notice it.

Natasha spent the next two weeks getting all the special treatment she wanted from me. She got all the good treats, I took the bus at 5am from my apartment across town to see her, she got all the lap time a girl could want (Tasha is quite the lap pig, especially when she was preggers). A few days before I had to leave for Columbus, OH, Tasha gave birth to three beautiful pups: Laika and Ferdinand [female] and Winston [male]. All were happy, healthy and tiny; baby guinea pigs may be the cutest things on the planet. There is nothing like holding a two-hour-old cavy in your hand. The weight of a creme puff, I tell you.

Since becoming a mother, Natasha went from being the shy, quiet pig who faded into the background to the cornerstone of my sow herd. She is the one pig whom everyone likes.

She has been known to restore peace, protect Sophie--who is at the bottom of the pecking order--from Laika--the boss--and she is always the first one to start wheeking when it is mealtime.

As for Tasha's markings, they are quite unique among guinea pigs. I have yet to see another pig quite like her. When I adopted her, she'd been called "Snickers", which does fit her coloring quite well. But the moment I saw her, I knew she was my little Natasha.