We just found out that Zoey is crate trained..... her foster mom never mentioned it, and told us that Zoey was used to having free run of the house. Zoey is now accustomed to using a crate as her bed, but we've never actually closed her in there. My wild imagination worried that Zoey would rattle around in the crate and scream like a banshee, but we were pleasantly surprised when we decided to close the crate door behind her. We had my folks and one of my sisters over last night for New Year's, and decided we'd put her in her crate while we were eating dinner (we don't have a dining table yet, so we balanced plates on our knees). So, I tossed a Twist 'n' Treat filled with her fav cookies into her crate, and she followed it in and didn't even know I'd closed the crate door behind her. Turned out we left her in there for 2 hours during the 3 hours my family was there, and she was as quiet as a church mouse. I even popped into the bedroom, where the crate is, a couple times to use the master bath, and she didn't make a peep. When I finally let her out, she was deep asleep, zonked out with the empty treat holder next to her. After the treats were gone, she probably just thought it was time to go to sleep, since that's what she's used to doing in her crate. Anyhoo, this is good news! Everybody was right when they said a dog has to have a place of their own to feel safe.

"Southern California had its massive orange groves" We moved from Whittier (Los Angeles County) to Placentia (Orange County) in January 1964. My parents had bought a brand new house before construction began, and when it was finished, we moved in. At the end of our street was a massive orange grove. I can still remember how wonderful it was to have the windows open at night to be able to smell the orange blossoms. If time travel were a reality, I would travel back in time so that I could meet my great-grandparents -- to be able to see what the country was like when they immigrated, and just to be able to talk to them and find out so much about my ancestors and what they went through.

Yes, but, if Zika is driving your decisions about where to go, you want to try to look forward. In other words, maybe 6 months ago (?) if you were planning, you would have said don't go to Brazil but Florida is ok. WHO also forecasts where it is likely to appear next by analyzing where conditions are favorable for that particular mosquito iirc. That said, one can go a little overboard I suppose. In fact, by some of the maps we should all just evacuate now. : ) Perhaps ask the health care provider who made the stipulation?

We were on the Delaware bay about 8 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest breeding ground for horseshoe crabs in the world. Right outside our beach rental. They are crucial to making vaccines and medicines safe. "...That’s because these animals’ milky-blue blood provides the only known natural source of limulus amebocyte lysate, a substance that detects a contaminant called endotoxin. If even tiny amounts of endotoxin—a type of bacterial toxin—make their way into vaccines, injectable drugs, or other sterile pharmaceuticals such as artificial knees and hips, the results can be deadly." Link to the article, HERE Top three pics are mine. A female laying eggs....males are smaller and lock in to the female. The hight tide surf can flip them over and also a larger predatory bird can flip them over...(did not know the eggs are blue like their blood) With the locals, we spent our sunrise and sunset walks flipping them over and setting them into the water....freedom. Migratory birds need the eggs for long flight...other birds need the flipped ones for fuel...but declining numbers is troubling.