Reading with Rosie

Monday, May 7th, will mark 3 years since I said goodbye to my sweet calico angel Rosie. I shared 21 wonderful years with her, and I still think about her every single day. She was and always will be one of my greatest inspirations and muses in life. That's why, in her honor, the next few days of doodles will be all about Rosie.

This bookish doodle starring my Rosie has a little to do with how Rosie was my reading buddy growing up. Her brother Sammy was also one of my reading buddies when I was young, until, sadly, he passed away at the young age of 5 from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Rosie and Sammy both sat by my side countless times as I went on so many fun and fantastical adventures by way of books. That's why it seemed only fitting that Rosie get to star in one of my doodles in our current bookish series.

Do you all remember this photo that I shared some time ago?

That's young me and Rosie's brother Sammy. In case you were wondering, yes, kid me is indeed wearing an eye patch in that photo. This was due to a childhood eye condition I had, for which an eye patch was the treatment. Anyway, what you can't see in this photo is that, just on the other end of the couch, is my sister reading next to Rosie. Rosie and Sammy made the best reading buddies.

Rosie's bookish doodle up there is of course also our entry into Athena's Caturday Art blog hop.

Don't forget to visit Athena so that you can see the art that all of our friends have created!

Happy Caturday!

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Our Tip of the Day:

In yesterday's tip, we discussed keeping our furbabies at a safe distance from those bird feeders we put out for the wildlife. This got us thinking, and now we've decided to do a series on feeding wildlife, and interacting with wildlife in general. While we all certainly love animals, and so might very well enjoy visiting with them and feeding them, this is something you nevertheless always have take into careful consideration. It is important to determine whether feeding wildlife in a certain area is wise, or even allowed. There are some areas where feeding wildlife is prohibited, for a variety of reasons.

One reason why it might not be wise to feed wildlife in certain areas is that, of course, some human food is not healthy for the wildlife. Some foods can even lead to sickness in such animals. In addition, feeding wildlife can lead them to lose their fear of humans or predators, and that can be dangerous for them. They can especially be put at risk if they are fed near roads or other high traffic areas, where they can lose their fear of cars and other such dangers. Also, feeding wildlife without caution and care can lead to disease transfer. For example, some wildlife carry diseases that can be contracted by us humans or our furbabies. This means that not only can we be dangerous for wildlife if not careful, but they can be dangerous to us.

In known, controlled environments, such as your own back yard, feeding wildlife is of course more safe. Then again, you still have to be cautious of what and how you feed these animals, so that they can remain healthy and safe, and so that nearby humans and their furbabies can remain safe. We already mentioned yesterday putting bird feeders and food for wildlife out of reach of your furbabies, for their own safety as well as that of the wildlife. Over the next couple of days, we'll be discussing some tips on what to feed wildlife, so stay tuned if that is something that might interest you.