Friendly Fill-Ins, the Letter I, and Eddy's Aquamarine Eyes

Hello and hi! We're ready for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, and we'd love for you to join us. My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.

1. I never want to forget _________.

2. I have a recurring dream about _________.

3. _________ is the strangest thing in my computer's search history.

4. I wish I could turn my _________ into a paying job.


My answers are below in bold.

1. I never want to forget any of my loved ones who have passed.
(This goes for my both human and furry family, of course.)

2. I have a recurring dream about missing every class of a course until finals week.

(I just turned 37 years old. I haven't been in school of any sort for 15 years. I rarely have or at least remember my dreams, but when I do, the most common ones indeed involve me forgetting I'm enrolled in a class, missing every lesson, only realizing this error during finals week, and all that jazz. There's nothing like the relief of waking up from such a dream and realizing I'm way past caring about coursework and grades.)

3. "Garret the tummy acher" is the strangest thing in my computer's search history.
(I honestly have a lot of weird searches like this in my history. They usually stem from me trying to figure out how I want to draw some fantastical creature. In this case, Garret the tummy acher is a character from the fantasy series of books I've been creating fan art covers for in the April A to Z Challenge. He's actually on the cover you'll find below in today's post. In these books, a tummy acher creature is often described as a meatball-like thing with short legs and no arms. I needed a reminder of what he looked like for my own fan art of these books, and so now he's part of my search history.)

4. I wish I could turn my weird art into a paying job.

(I love to draw and write, and I consider both of these forms of art that I'd genuinely like to turn into more than just hobbies. I know my creations are often really bizarre. I won't ever deny that. Even so, I'd still like to try my hand at sharing them with the world in even a slightly profitable way, because why not. I've mentioned this before, so this perhaps not a surprising answer at all.)

Now it's your turn!

To add your link to the Friendly Fill-Ins Linky list, just click HERE!

You can also click on the badge below to add your link.

You are also welcome to complete the fill-ins in the comments below,

or in the comments on Ellen's blog, 15andmeowing.

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Second up today is the April A to Z Challenge.

Not to chronically repeat myself, but here's just a little reminder that, for this year's alphabetical challenge, I'm creating fan art covers for some of my favorite books. What's more, my covers will all star cats or another animal.

Today I have yet another book from my newest favorite fantasy series, which is collectively known as Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. Though the main character is technically a man named Carl, the true star of the show is his talking Persian tortie cat named Princess Donut. She is of course the star of my covers for these books, including the one for today's letter I, that being This Inevitable Ruin (I didn't want to count the word "This", so I indeed used the letter I for its second word).

[Reminder/Disclaimer/whatever you want to call it: This is not a real, true cover of this book. My name is also not Matt Dinniman, and so I am admittedly not the author of this book. I'm just someone who likes books and cats and so drew this unofficial feline version of the book's cover.]

That there is the seventh book in this series. Princess Donut indeed gets her very own tower in this one, and it also has quite a few scenes with that tummy acher character I mentioned in my fill-ins above. The eighth book comes out this May, and I cannot wait. You'll see my cover for that book later this month, though I have no idea how accurate my artistic liberty will be as I unfortunately can't read a book that hasn't yet been released.

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Now, of course, we're going to grace you with the little lady known as Eddy.

Even though Eddy refused to look at the camera during this photo shoot, you can still see how gorgeous her aquamarine eyes are.

Happy Friday, friends!

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Tip of the Day

 

Our parasite talk today is all about ticks. These nasty little guys can find their way onto your kitty or pup (or yourself) from wooded areas, shrubs, and tall grass. They can make their way into your yard, especially (though not limited to) if you live near a wooded or other similar area. This means that animals who go outdoors can always be at risk for ticks. Then again, it is not impossible for animals with limited outdoor activity to pick up a stray tick as well.

Ticks pose more danger than one. First, to put it simply, they suck your furbaby's blood. It would most likely take a good deal of time for a tick to cause anemia in their host, but this is still something to keep in mind. What's more, ticks can transfer dangerous, sometimes life-threatening diseases to a cat or dog (or human, or other animal). Lyme disease is one such disease, and it can cause swelling, pain, and arthritis in the joints. Another disease that ticks can transmit is Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can result in fever as well as lameness, similarly to Lyme disease.

Obviously, for reasons such as those listed above, you certainly don't want ticks on your furbabies. Especially if your furbaby goes outdoors, and most especially if they visit areas with lots of trees and tall grass, the best way to protect them from ticks is by way of preventatives. There are indeed preventatives on the market that cover ticks, often while at the same time preventing against other parasites we've already discussed, such as fleas and intestinal worms. So, discuss these options with your veterinarian. Again, as we've said before, it is always safest to purchase quality products, such as those offered at your veterinarian's office.

We'll also take this time to note that, if you see a tick on your furbaby, don't just start pulling at it. Ticks can attach themselves, especially their heads, very securely to an animal's body. This means that if you pull on them, you might very well remove their bodies, all while leaving their blood-sucking heads still on your kitty or pup. For this reason, if you see a tick on your furbaby, assess the situation and determine if you know how to or are able to remove it safely and in its entirety. There are some tricks and even products, such as tweezers specifically designed for tick removal, that can assist in removing a tick completely. However, if you are not positive that you can manage this, as it is not always an easy thing, then contact a veterinarian and seek assistance in removal of the tick.

How about a bonus tidbit? Possums are known to be incredibly efficient tick-eaters. It has even been said that one single possum can consume over 5,000 ticks in one season. So, if you have possums in your yard, leave them be. They could very well keep that tick population down, leaving your furbaby and yourself safer for it.