Two baby birds

I was driving my dog to the park a few days ago, and I looked over and saw a couple people kicking what looked like a bird nest on the side of the road. So I made a U-turn and told my husband to jump out and check if there were any eggs inside. He came back to the car with two baby birds in a nest. The third bird was already dead with ants all over him :(

I rushed them home and put them on a heating pad. I told my husband to monitor them while I made a run to the pet store to get some baby bird formula. I am happy to say that they are both doing very well! I believe they are finches. Once they learn to fly, I will release them into a nice forest area.

Buttered Hot Apple Cider

Since I live in Hawaii, it pretty much never gets cold. That being said, I just wait until it's "winter" season here and pretend. So my husband, sister, brother-in-law and I all gathered around in my little living room to wrap presents, watch Christmas movies, and drink cider.

Here's the recipe I used as best I can remember. I made it virgin for the sake of the children who were there :)

Buttered Hot Apple Cider

Heat together

7 cups organic apple juice

&

1/3 cup brown sugar (more to taste)

Put these in a tea strainer or cotton tea bag:

Whole Cloves (about 10-15 to taste)

Whole allspice (about 2-3 to taste)

Add 1 cinnamon stick.

Let ingredients simmer until the taste is to your liking. Maybe about 10 minutes. Then add these to each separate mug:

Vegan butter (about 1/2 Tbsp per mug)

Cinnamon stick (1 per mug)

I have this obsession with wanting all the food that I make to be "the best you have ever had". My husband would always talk about how his friend's mom made the best cider ever. So I was determined to top hers. According to my husband, this is now the best he has ever had! Yay, I win!

Cat Care Sheet

I wrote this simple cat care sheet for all adopters through SCARShelter, but thought I would just share it with everyone. Hope this is informative :)

Cat Care sheet

General

Cats need daily interaction with you to make them feel happy, safe, and secure. Cat’s are NOT to be disciplined the same way dogs are. They respond to a different type of discipline. Hitting or yelling at your cat will only make your cat hate you. Water bottles are a great training device. Simply fill with tap water and spray cat if they are doing something bad, such as climbing where they are not suppose to or scratching the furniture. Along with getting micro chipped, we highly recommend you buy your cat a breakaway collar with a name tag with phone number on it. Breakaway collars are important so that your cat does not choke or hang itself if it ever gets outside. They sell these at walmart or Petco.

Diet

Cats are carnivorous. Feeding your cat a good quality brand of food is important if you want a happy healthy cat. Brands we recommend are Wellness Indoor Formula, Wellness Core, and Natural Balance. Try to avoid any cat food that has ingredients such as follows: water sufficient for processing, meat by-products, and artificial preservatives (BHA/BHT, ethoxyquin and propyl gallate.) Fresh water should be provided daily.

Housing

Cats should be kept inside for health and safety purposes. They can go outside occasionally if supervised. They also love to sit by windows and look outside and be able to "sunbathe". Clean litter box daily. (If you have more than one cat in the house, provide one litter box per cat.) Litter we recommend is Feline Pine and Costco’s Litter Purrfect. If not one of these, then any other dust-free natural brand would work. Scratching aka sharpening claws is a necessary and natural behavior. Scratching posts are highly recommended to avoid damaged furniture. (Tip: Sprinkle a little cat nip on the post.) If you are really worried about your cat scratching things up, then we recommend you buying Soft Paws.

Grooming

Cats are very clean animals. They groom themselves for the most part. We simply recommend you purchasing a good cat brush. You can brush them up to a few times a week to avoid hairballs. If you have a long hair cat, then they will need to be brushed daily. You also may need to occasionally take them into the groomers. Cats need help cleaning their teeth. If you feel comfortable with it, you can brush their teeth with a safe natural cat toothpaste. (Please ask your vet how to properly brush your cat's teeth first.) If not, then they can be taken to the vet or groomers to get this done. Provide them with teeth cleaning treats, such as Greenies.

Warning Signs

Please consult the vet immediately if you think your cat is sick. A few warning signs are diarrhea, vomiting (not hairballs), eye or nose discharge, lethargic, or raspy breathing.

Written by: Carissa Fajardo- President

Saving Creation Animal Rescue Shelter

Nap time

Koko & Nano taking a quick cat nap.

My big nano boy.

...Don't change the channel. I like this show!

Cat's rule! That's all. Good night.

Blooming Tea

I just recently discovered this and I absolutely love it! My husband bought me some and I was totally mesmerized by it. I just sat there watching it bloom, and I think it is enchanting and fascinating! The tea that I tried is green tea with jasmine. Right after it bloomed I couldn't stop starring at it. I told my husband, "I want to do another one already!" I definitely recommend buying this as a gift for anyone you know who loves tea.

Guinea piggin' it

They hung their stockings, and they are now ready for Christmas.

Two pigs chompin away!

(Chippy looks like such a little lion in this pic!)

Pancake using her litter box and Chippy eating dinner :)

I love my piggies.

Guinea Pig Food

I was just wondering to myself today, why have I not written a blog about guinea pigs yet? I love my pigs so I thought I would write a short blog on what to feed your pig. It is very important to not only feed your pigs pellets, but give them plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. As far as pellets go, one of the best brands is Oxbow which you can buy online. Oxbow has plenty of timothy hay, soy products, and wheat. I don't recommend giving your pigs any pellets that contain alfalfa in them. This can cause urinary fact infections and bladder stones. Also make sure that you give them fresh timothy hay every day.

These foods will make your guinea pigs squeal with happiness!

Pancake & Chippy's favorites so far are kale (they fight over this), any other leafy greens, cherries, apples, ANY berries, carrots, and grapes. Here are some more suggestions though:

Vegetables

Kale
Red pepper
Celery
Fresh Grass
Cucumber
Baby Tomatoes
Corn
Green pepper
Yellow pepper
Carrots
Romaine
Parsley
Broccoli
Dandelion Greens

Fruits

Melon
Apples
Oranges
Cucumbers
Grapes
Bananas
Strawberries
Oranges
Pears
I also give mine cherries & blueberries sometimes and they love them!
(Some veggies and fruits should not be given as often as others though.)

Do not EVER give them:

Anything that is NOT vegetarian, they are herbivores.
So no meat, dairy, or fish
No chocolate
No bread
No raw beans
No ANYTHING spicy
No potatoes

Christmas thoughts

Random thoughts leading up to Christmas:

• Bought a tree .

• Bought a miniature tree for my work station.

• Bought my cat's there own "tree" aka cat grass. They still try to chew on the Christmas tree.

• Cat's knock half the ornaments off the tree every night while I'm sleeping.

• Bought Sonic a gentle leader. It works!

• My sister & husband are going to be here in 7 days! This will be the first time I meet him.

• Silk Nog!!!

• I think I officially own almost every Christmas movie that there is.

• Need to buy a goat for Kossinger.

• Wonder if I am going to do angel tree this year.

• I don't have stockings for all my pets yet. I'm missing Rahjah's, Sonic's, Pancake's, & Chocolate Chippy's.

That's all for now :)

Indian Pudding

This is a good nutritious dessert recipe! It'll give you that calcium, iron, and fiber that your body needs!

• 2 cups almond milk
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/8 cup vegan butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg replacer
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1-2 Tbsp flax seeds

Preheat to 300. Bring milk to simmer, then slowly add cornmeal. Stir constantly. Continue to cook, about 15 minutes. Slowly stir in molasses, then remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients and pour mixture into the prepared dish. Bake until pudding is set and top is browned, about 1 hour.