CritterQueen's photostream

Here's another shot of my neighbor's puppy...he's very cute! I still haven't gotten a good shot of the two puppies together, but maybe someday! One of them is a bit shy and tends to run when I come around...

On our trip to Chincoteague we heard and then saw this newly-fledged baby cardinal. Daddy was nearby, following him around and providing meals. The little guy could fly short distances. What a cutie!

On our trip to Chincoteaugue several weekends ago we stopped at the Dutch Gap Conservation Area in Chester, VA to look for birds and other wildlife. We found this little baby snapper near the parking lot. He was headed in the direction of the swamp, but between him and the water were scores of school children on a field trip and some buses. We decided to rescue him by escorting him across the parking lot. My daughter Kayla picked him up...she was holding his shell with her fingers as far towards his rear end as possible. The little guy stretched his neck out as far as it would go and started to bend it around to try and bite her, but thankfully, he couldn't reach. While we were there, we also found a mother snapping turtle who had dug a hole in the dirt and was in the process of laying eggs. See the pictures below.

I went to Chincoteague National Wildlife refuge 2 weekends ago with my 15-year old daughter. We counted 109 species on the 2 day trip and had a wonderful time. Although I have seen a stilt like this before, it was from quite a distance. This time we got a good look. They are fascinatingly beautiful. I only wish I had a bit more zoom and a faster lens (this was taken with my Nikkor 80-400mm F5.6 lens).

Our family has sad news: we lost our beloved cat Tiger. We've known for some time that we wouldn't have him for too much longer. He was diagnosed with feline diabetes several years ago and even went into remission for awhile....Here's the link all about that if you are interested: www.flickr.com/photos/rlechols/2695680188/in/set-72157604...

Anyay, his diabetes returned with a vengence about a year ago. It was so severe that even with large amounts of insulin given twice a day, his blood sugar levels were almost always over 300. He was severely dehydrated and always hungry. He would sit in front of the refrigerator most of the day and constantly beg for food, including waking us up at 4:00 am to cry for food.

He was obviously insulin-resistant, as the insulin wasn't helping much. Without insulin, his body couldn't push the energy from his food into his cells and he literally was starving to death. He felt like a bag of skin covering his bones and not much more. He began to develop keto-acidosis, which means he was breaking down his muscles for energy. He had several severe seizure-like episodes, the last of which we weren't sure he was going to pull out of.

Out of love and compassion for him, we decided to have him put down. He passed away peacefully with his head resting on my arm on May 7th.

It has taken me awhile to post this dedication to him; I miss him but am glad he is at peace. We buried him out in the yard and planted what we call "Tiger's Lillies" for him there.

Thankfully, we have another sweet little kitty named Kozmo. He is healthy and athletic and has eased our sorrow for Tiger. I've posted more pics of Tiger below.