Fill-Ins and Frankenwhat?

Hooray for Friday! We're thinking everyone is just as happy for the weekend as we are. We're also happy because Fridays also mean the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by Ellen of 15andmeowing and Annie of McGuffy's Reader.

I'm one of those people who finds things like these fill-ins incredibly fun. I always look forward to seeing what each week's will be, and this here are the ones our hosts crafted for us today:

1. _________ is one of my _________.
2. I _________ to _________.
3. I have a hard time _________.
4. _________ is easy for me.

As always, here's how I fared:

1. Blogging is one of my favorite hobbies.
(When I first started this blog, I wasn't sure I'd even enjoy it. I love to write, and I love animals, but all things technology and interwebby are massive weak points in my life. Once I got used to how to maintain our blog, though, it became one of the fondest, funnest things in my life. What's more, now we have friends in all of you!)

2. I look forward to mowing.
(Does this make me weird? I'm thinking the answer to that might be yes. I love being outdoors in nice weather. I also enjoy being active and, believe it or not, sweating. Mix all of that together, and I really want Mother Nature to get her act together and let the grass grow so that I can mow it already.)

3. I have a hard time watching television these days.
(Though I do enjoy having a decent show or movie playing on the television, I rarely actually watch it closely or focus on it anymore. I've become one of those people who turns on the TV, and then blogs, writes, draws, or even reads rather than actually watch what I put on the television. I guess I just sort of outgrew the thrill of the television.)

4. Being an early bird is easy for me.
(This used to not be the case, at all. As a kid, I was a night owl, and then I'd sleep in when possible. Then, especially as I went through college, I was a night owl and an early bird, and I lived on unspeakably minimal hours of sleep. Then I reached legitimate adulthood, and I realized how much more I got done in life if I went to bed at a godly hour, got ample sleep, and then got up early. Now I love being an early bird and greeting the day before anyone else is up and at it.)

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On to the next feature of the day, we have our sixth installment for the A to Z Challenge.

Today it's all about the letter F. For this one, I was able to use one of my favorite classic novels. And that novel is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Except, it's no longer Frankenstein.

We present to you Frankenswine! Now, as many of you probably know, Frankestein isn't really the name of the monster, but rather the doctor who created the monster. Nevertheless, for our version, we'll go ahead and call this little piggy monster Frankenswine. We're rebels like that.

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We hope we're not boring you all with our incredibly long posts these days. Blog hops and challenges are things we quite enjoy, and which always offer us so many ideas for content for our posts. The thing is, we like to do so many of them, that our posts often become quite long. We apologize if we ever bore you to death.

That being said, Eddy of course gets her usual time to shine on Friday! She is becoming a creature of habit, and yet again decided to (sort of almost) pose on her favorite cat tree, showing off her gorgeous snaggletooth.

I think Eddy is the furbaby I have the most trouble with when it comes to lighting and pretty all things photography. She so scarcely sits still, that I often just point and snap a shot without changing any settings or worrying about lighting and angles. With this wild child, I've learned to just take what I can get.

Happy Friday, friends!

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Our Tip of the Day:

We just finished our series of tips on heartworm, in honor of April being Heartworm Awareness Month. Since we're on the topic of pesky parasites, we're going to keep it going. Today, we'll be talking about fleas.

When it comes to fleas, it's important to realize that essentially any and all animals are susceptible. Even indoor-only cats and dogs can get fleas, such as if the tiny pests come into the home by hitching a ride on humans, or on other animals who go outdoors. What's more, fleas can be present even when you might think they aren't, even in the winter. If fleas have already made their ways indoors, they can thrive in the warmth of a home any time of year. Even outdoors in the winter, though, they can still potentially be present. Especially if there are warmer days here and there, and if you're starting to see some green grass outside, then there is always the chance that fleas can be present and active. So, this is just one reason to keep your furbabies on flea prevention.

To really drive home this tip, though, we're also going to remind you of just some of the side effects that can come with fleas. First, of course, fleas can cause all sorts of itchiness. In some cases, an animal can even have flea allergy dermatitis, which is of course when a cat or dog is allergic to flea bites and can therefore display significant itching, hair loss, lesions, and so forth. Itchy skin is not the only potential result of fleas, though. Fleas can also lead to a tapeworm infestation in your furbaby, something which we will further discuss tomorrow. In addition, anemia and other bloodborne and potentially dangerous diseases can result from fleas and their bites. The health and safety of your furbaby is of course, therefore, an incredibly good reason to be sure that you keep up with that flea prevention year round.

We will also note here that you should discuss with your veterinarian which flea preventative is likely to be both the safest and most effective for your furbaby. Not all preventatives are created equal. Some cheaper, generic, over-the-counter versions have even been found to cause incredibly dangerous or even life-threatening side effects. This is not something for which it's worth risking your furbaby's life, so discuss preventatives with your veterinarian, and select a quality, safe product. Also, in the event that your entire home needs to be treated for fleas, also be sure that you discuss this with your veterinarian, so that you might get tips from them on safe methods for this extensive type of treatment.