The Quintessential Birder/Philosopher/Poet/Singer

Jerry carries his guitar or a spotting scope for Birds...he blended right into this Maine landscape from a trip he made this past summer...ah the tranquility of an unprecedented East Coast earthquake followed by an unprecedented East Coast hurricane! Yup, that was one tranquil woodland experience.

Cyndi Craven Music

Cyndi Craven Music

^^^PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!

One of the things we hope to do in 2012 (if mom stops calling it 1912)
is introduce you to our fine family of amazing friends: The ones you
think about and your heart smiles before appearing on your shining face.


Jerry Brunner (pictured at right) has been my best pal since I was 19
years old and living in Atlanta, teaching and practicing meditation.
He taught me birding, sounded so close to Dylan when he sang if we
closed our eyes he may as well have been Dylan and we took many
trips with our two other birding pals all over the swamps of the Deep
South, camping, paddling, listening to Jerry sing over the campfire,
hoping alligators didn't like candy bars we forgot to leave outside
our tents...He used to bring up a record player to the little green
wallpapered attic I rented with copies of Richard Burton reciting
poetry and introduced me to Wordsworth, the most mystic of all
American poets...on the record player we would hear things like
"The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" but after that it was hard to
really love albatrosses even though they weren't to blame.
AND: He is the only person I know who actually attended the 
Original Woodstock Festival AND the reunion all in one lifetime!
Jerry, my spiritual brother, poet, philosopher, birder, singer,
and the kind of friend that makes life beautiful for having him
in it. Cyndi has recorded CD's with him but he's too humble to
admit it and makes his own tracks for me, still...


Love you, my brother. "May You Stay Forever Young!"

Guinea Pig Wheelchairs Assist Pets With Limited Mobility - Guinea Pig Today

Guinea Pig Wheelchairs Assist Pets With Limited Mobility - Guinea Pig Today

We are so happy to see this because Edwin also designs

prosthetics for dogs and it's nice to know he cares, he's there,

and he can do these, too. So cool!

Raj Mahal's BAD HAIR DAY

OH NO, you so don't want to hear this story...
Once upon a time, Coconut Pie stole the "Commons Runabout" private, one piggie-hut. Which might have been O.K. since we received yet a (second!) generous donation with which mom ordered more huts, tunnels, the works. Right? Of course, right.

Raj Mahal here, having a VERY BAD HAIR DAY!

Raj, I am LOOKING everywhere for it! The new
huts HAVE to be here somewhere, mom went to the Post Office to pick them up...gotta be here.

Not gotta.
They haven't arrived.
Fairy, he cleans up good, Raj does,
just give him a little more thyme...

FAIRY'S HOUSE

Please allow us to introduce you to Fairy's Dad, affectionately known as "The Shovel Man" as you would understand, dear
readers, for we recently gave you an opportunity to tour the
nearby hamlet of Lincolnshire with him as our tour-guide!

Could YOU LIVE HERE?
Please take special notice of the Guardian Cavies, Big Mavis and Big Wilma, though we're not quite totally conclusively positively
certain who is whom...but quite the garden for grazing and
NO "STAGNANT AIR ADVISORY ALERTS!" to make
mom sick, lots of fraternizing with Fairy's mates, M & M
and - by our reckoning - only four miles away!
Pip-Pop, we are already packing our magic carpets!

Fairy Bares Her Feminine Wiles!

"So, Raj Mahal, you won't consider a bath? Look at me, just look!
What if I never took one?
What then?"

Raj's Holiday List?

What's love got to do with it?

Raj has been shopping online for a designer bath!
We are flabbergasted.
They are thousands of dollars.
We were more flabbergasted.
Then he tossed his head in a way that caused his mussed Coronet crown to resemble Elvis Presley and simply added:
"And I'm worth it!"

O.K. Would the prankster who stole our Raj and replaced him with, with...this...please return him.

PSSssssst, mom?
What?
We think Love Stole Him...

"Oh Fairy, Sweet dear, may we invite you for a cozy spot of tea this afternoon? Seems we have 
"a situation."
Thanks, precious. See you at four!

Keep Guinea Pigs Safe from Toxic Holiday Plants - Guinea Pig Today

Keep Guinea Pigs Safe from Toxic Holiday Plants - Guinea Pig Today

As most of us are slaves to one species or another, we felt this worth

posting since many, if not all of these plants are also poisonous to

dogs, cats, fish, and angels who have fallen from heaven with a

broken wing...

IT'S OFFICIAL! PLEASE INFORM FAIRY'S MUM AND "THE SHOVEL MAN"

ARE THOSE REAL
WEDDING RINGS
TUCKED IN WITH FAIRY??????

Dear Friends,
We are finally prepared to put all rumours of romantic love between Raj Mahal and Fairy, Princess of the Cottage Near Lincolnshire, to rest!
THE TRUTH SPEAKETH
ITSELF IN SYMPHONIC RHAPSODY
NO DRAMA, FANFARE,
NOR ATTENTION-GRABBING
HEADLINES...
ONLY ONE HUMBLE TRUTH:
Raj Mahal, of the tiny port hamlet of
BellingHamsterShire,
DOTH DECLARE WITH
only honorable intentions and
TWO GOLDEN RINGS OF
LOVE TUCKED COZILY
INTO THE BEDCHAMBER
OF HIS FAIRY,
THAT HE TRULY LOVES HER
AS HIS SOUL-MATE AND,
ALTHOUGH STILL A BIT
DISHEVELED AT (all) TIMES, 
& STILL A BIT O'HOOLIPIG,
& STILL A BIT O'PIRATE
(DUDE, AT LEAST BRUSH YOUR CORONET! HONESTLY!)
WE FORGOT.
OH, PIP-POP: 
RAJI LOVES FAIRY.
WE ALL LOVE FAIRY!
WHeeeeeeeeeK!!!

Wisdom from a new friend...

While the guinea pigs court-and-sort, negotiate and dream of procreate, we are borrowing this beautiful art created by a new friend of ours and altered slightly by mom. We don't have her email so do not know how to ask for her permission, so her name is Simrata Kaur and she and mom meet on an Indian social networking site that, naturally, mom does not understand...nonetheless, we felt it was good to remind ourselves that in matters of the heart, both hearts must be receptive to either accepting the "unacceptables" or the "unacceptables" must become receptive to change...and sacrifice.

Will Raj allow mom to trim his tailfeathers for his Fairy Princess? And, if so, who will collect the
dust-bunnies he gathers for her from our "clean" kitchen floor? You think human relationships are complex? Try having four legs with four toes on the front, three on the back, no tail (only tail-feathers) and...

Basically, the heart wants what the heart wants...

And don't even get us started on YumYum and Millie Bea...

Good night so we can all be with Meme tomorrow...with all our hearts, all our souls, all our love.

Guinea Pigs Row Tiny Boat - Extended Version - GEICO commercial - YouTube

Guinea Pigs Row Tiny Boat - Extended Version - GEICO commercial - YouTube

^^^PLEASE ENJOY WITH OUR COMPLIMENTS!

Row.

Row.

Row.

Was it tough? Oh, you bet it was!

Row,

Row?

Row.

Row?

Row...but, after six months, six months of

hard work, and here we have 'em...

they all have a lot to be proud of.

Take THAT electric company!

LONGER, EXTENDED VERSION
Republished by request.

(not really. it just Keeels us to watch

it over and over again: Row.)

FOR GMARCH! FIVE TAILS UP!

Dear Friends...

{Black Sheep Avatar in middle hand-drawn by Meme as we fomented "The Black Sheep Rebellion of C1"} we tell time by Clutch numbers, C1, C2...


Respected Readers,

You all remember our MOD friends, right? From Molly the Owl, when we watched her raise two clutches and stayed up all hours of the days and nights together...complete strangers from across the country - from across the WORLD - all becoming wacky friends in the wee hours of the night as we learned to negotiate TWITTER and USTREAM and social networking in general? And how we became closer than anyone has a right to be...and how we all either bought ourselves or were gifted flannel owlie pajamas from TARGET that one winter season and they couldn't figure out why THOSE PAJAMAS, of all the things you can buy at TARGET kept getting sold out? But it was because we had Molly Owlie Pajama parties and cyber-snacks and Molly Movie Night and Typonese when we got so sleepy we got too Stupis to even know where the owls were? On the screen or outside? (In this case, on the screen and INSIDE as Taj Mahal learned to IMITATE Molly scaring the #@! outta mom one night when she heard Molly NOT coming from INSIDE the laptop...) Until she did some research and discovered there are "pigs with benefits" who can actually chirp like birds but they are usually
female but not TAJ! AND WHO COULD FORGET THE GREAT BLACK SHEEP REBELLION?

Centered here is Meme's Black Sheep Avatar she drew herself. Around her, animals and an owl...and all of us...
who love her very much.

Wednesday, Meme, you will be in our prayers...and your mom will be taking care of you. We know it for sure.

We need you. We love you. And, Lord knows, not many people understands our mommy the way YOU do!
Takes a Southern woman to "get" a Southern woman! (Not in the Biblical sense, mind you...)

Meme, Angels Surround You. Light surrounds you. Please let us all hold you in our hearts until yours is fixed.
Same thing goes for Christine, Giz, and all you peeps in peril, pain, and heartache as many of us have lost loved ones this year and this is our first holiday season without them...HAND us the oars and let us row for you. And if you believe in God, we will hand Our oars over to Him or Her...we will all sit in the boat with you in Those Rough Waters...and Hold You as Our Very Own.

So don't EVEN THINK ABOUT MAKING US CRY OR WE WE WILL COME AFTER YOU ON our naughty MAGIC BROOMSTICKS!

row...
row...
row...
it really is easy.
you just say: row.