Tired border leicester ewe coming in for a landing

What's your favorite kind of car?

Do you like video games? Which is your favorite genre? Specific favorite game?

Favorite dog breed?

What's your morning routine?

Favorite writing space?

Best fictional character of all time?

You have a microphone that makes you heard around the world. You can say one thing. What will you say?

Okay, I honestly don’t… care much, for cars. They’re just meh to me. I like bikes better :D

I used to play Mario Galaxy and Mario Kart and Super Mario Bros Wii alllll the time when I was little, and to this day they’re still incredibly nostalgic and hold a lot of good memories. I think I was… six, when I played Mario Galaxy for the first time. My dad played Mario and I played the little player two star—it was freaking awesome, and always something I looked forward to. One of my favorite things to do was collect star-bits for my dad, and freeze enemies. It was just… awesome. So much fun.

However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve liked video games less and less. My brother is the video game guy, and he is a hekkin nerd about it XD

I don’t really play any video games now, and haven’t played any for years, BUT! Zelda Breath Of The Wild has amazing cutscenes and a great story and ZELDA IS VERY LIKABLE and LINK OH MY GOSH LINK MY BELOVED!!! HE EATS ROCKS FOR FUN!!!

I went through a phase a year or two ago where me and my sister came up with loads of fanfic ideas for BOTW, and I still want to write them!! I think it’d be really fun! I’m just preoccupied with DSMP at the moment :)

So long story short, I’m not a video game person, but I really really like BOTW for the story (and also Tears Of The Kingdom).

Favorite dog breed oh goshhhh

I love golden retrievers (special dogs, and also the same breed as Shadow from Homeward Bound, which is my Most Nostalgic Movie and I need to see it again) and I also like golden doodles (same breed as my dog Ginger <3) and I also like german shepherds (really cool dogs they look so awesome) and I also like great pyrenees (giant fluffy darlings the lot of them and they protect sheep)

But I also really really like wolves :D

I don’t have much of a morning routine, to be perfectly honest; I’m a night owl, and mornings haven’t ever been my thing 😅

I guess they’re… chill? I don’t know, not much happens. I don’t even eat breakfast, most of the time.

FAVORITE WRITING SPACE I LIKE THIS QUESTION!!! Okay, so until just a couple months ago, I didn’t have much of a writing space. If I wanted to write, I usually wrote on a very uncomfortable chair in the living room, or sometimes in my bed.

But at the start of this year, I (somehow) got into a writing routine; every day at 8-8:45pm, I’ll sit down at the tiny table in the kitchen, where I stay until 10pm. It’s been my writing place for a while now, and it’s gotten to the point where I feel wrong when I write anywhere else 😅

So definitely that! Actually here’s a picture:

Now you get to read part of my romance story ajsgajsvjav I honestly had No Idea what I was doing as I wrote it

I can and have written other places—a park bench, a cabin, the notes app on my phone—but I much prefer the kitchen table!

Best. Fictional. Character. Oh boy. Deathy. I will probably ramble. Oh boy.

I gotta start with Ghostbur, of course. My beloved, the ghost of all time, lover of the color blue and sheep, Innocent, weirdly relatable, wearer of yellow sweaters… the perfect guy <3

The way cc!Wilbur treated him is criminal. cc!Wilbur needs to be tried for his crimes and found guilty of malicious intent, murder, enjoyment in other’s sufferings, and Far More.

AND THE FANDOM!!! DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THE FREAKING FANDOM!!! People either see Ghostbur as an overgrown toddler who can’t understand anything, or they see him as this strange mystical Being who is serious all the time and never smiles and is always sad and depressed.

Neither are true! Stop it! It’s annoying and terrible! Freaking stop!

Ghostbur didn’t deserve what happened to him, and he doesn’t deserve the awful fandom interpretations.

Ghostbur deserves the whole world, and all the sheep in the world, and the softest sweaters imaginable <333

I also really really like Wilbur, Tommy, Tech, and Maul :D

Oooh… hm. That’s a tough one.

I think I’d say…

GOSH DEATHY THIS IS HARD!!!

I’d want to say something about Christianity, but there’s so much to say, and I’d want to make sure people understood and didn’t get confused, and I wouldn’t want to say the wrong thing and give people wrong assumptions.

Oooh… maybe I’d share some of my story, like when I dealt with doubts about my faith. That might help people. Oooh :0

Thank you soooo much, Deathy!! This was quite fun to answer :D

Hey, do you have any "long" (30k up only) hannigram fics, with hannibal's pov (preference, but not absolutely necessary) of AUs, like the best long fic AUs you can think of, like time-travel, different meetings, abo, etc.

No vampire, mermaids or werewolves au tho.

If you can, of course. Thank you alredy 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

I’m not sure if these are all Hannibal’s POV, but here are a list of all my favorite long AU’s (sorry if I included too many LOL). Also if anyone’s interested here are links to the mermaid and werewolf fics

Palace of Dreams by MaiTai1327 [words: 41,986]

A lonely boy at a Lithuanian orphanage creates a memory palace for him to hide away from his despicable circumstances and the nightmares haunting him. In his dreams, his palace becomes reality. And one day, he finds another boy hiding in one of its rooms.

Our Stars are the Same by beforethedawn, ConstructFairytales, Destinyawakened [words: 42,578]

Someone’s moved into the old creepy, supposedly haunted, mansion down the way from Will Graham and his family. Will never expects to befriend the new family’s son.

Vena Amoris by PaperPlaneChemTrails [words: 55,596]

Will Graham is a producer on a Bachelor knock off reality TV show. Against his protests and better judgement, Dr. Hannibal Lecter is cast as the primary love interest on the show. Despite his many initial misgivings, Hannibal is a hit, and Will finds himself as drawn into the story Hannibal is creating as everyone watching at home. Everything is going well until Will becomes suspicious that he is the real object of Hannibal’s affections, and all of a sudden contestants start to turn up murdered.

Little Arts of Vice by drinkbloodlikewine, whiskeyandspite [words: 44,991]

Cruel Intentions AU. “Tedium draws me to observation,” he murmurs. “Contemplation.” “Manipulation,” Mischa adds calmly, tilts her head when Hannibal narrows his eyes at her. “You wouldn’t deny it, Hannibal, you’re proud of that one. And in truth you do it well.” “There is little to manipulate when watching a dog chase a bird.” It starts with a bet.

A Past of Plank and Nail by gleamingandwholeanddeadly (something_safe), printersdeadly, printersdevils (tuesdaysgone) [words: 87,821]

Hannibal needs a kitchen remodel, and his colleague and friend Alana knows just the guy to help him with his rundown new home. Enter Will Graham, carpenter and contractor extraordinaire, and devastating addition to Hannibal’s daily life. When he starts running out of new projects to keep Will around, Hannibal fast realizes his infatuation is more than simple attraction - and that getting Will to agree to dinner is only the first hurdle.

Redemption by houseofcannibals [words: 132,427]

After very publicly losing his mind and murdering three young women in an unconscious state, FBI consultant Will Graham is sentenced to serve three consecutive life sentences in the notorious Shawshank State Prison. Upon arrival, he is unsettled to find himself in a cell neighboring that of infamous serial killer Dr Hannibal Lecter.

Carnivore, Won’t You Come Digest Me? by HigherMagic [words: 64,019]

Role Reversal AU: Following the execution of Garrett Jacob Hobbs, Hannibal is forced to see Doctor Will Graham for a psychiatric evaluation before he can return to the field. Once cleared, Jack insists that Will shadow Hannibal in the hopes of catching the Shrike’s copycat. Hannibal has become a master of making sure the FBI stays blind to his extracurricular activities, but Will is a man who sees far too much, and won’t be so easily overcome.

Page Six by ThisBeautifulDrowning [words: 66,839]

Crime reporter Will Graham’s column on page six of the Baltimore Sun garners him the attention of many: fans, hobby detectives, the FBI…and others. Hannibal cut off a piece of meat with surgical precision. “I find your company rather engaging.” “Maybe I don’t find you all that engaging.” Silence. Hannibal grinned. “I see that it will take more than one dinner to earn your forgiveness. Challenge accepted.”

Falls the Shadow by littlesystems [words: 72,455]

AU where Bedelia is Will’s psychiatrist instead of Hannibal, Will makes a series of increasingly questionable life choices, and no one should ever take Bedelia’s advice. Ever.

Rescues by drinkbloodlikewine and whiskeyandspite [words: 99,552]

Mischa is living with PTSD, and Hannibal seeks out a service animal to help her. He meets Will, trainer of therapy dogs - cue puppies, adorable interactions and lots of dogs. And smut. Of course.

Where the Albatross Crash-Lands by HigherMagic [words: 40,220]

Everyone has two marks on their arm: one is the name of their soulmate, the other is the name of their mortal enemy. There’s no way of knowing which is which. This same trick of fate makes it so that your Marks are the only two voices you will ever hear when you go deaf at sixteen. Hannibal has a nice voice. Will hopes he’s his mate. He hopes he never hears the voice of the Chesapeake Ripper.

Provenance by drinkbloodlikewine, whiskeyandspite [words: 62,735]

A delightful AU about a rare book dealer, an owner of a high-end coffee shop, and murder. This does involve Hannibal Lecter, after all.

A Fortunate Wound by starkaryen [words: 83,312]

Will Graham, a police officer in Baltimore, is shot while he’s on duty. The surgeon on call in the ER is Hannibal Lecter.

Until I Met You by Dormchi [words: 33,990]

Detective Will Graham needs an expert and Fire Lieutenant Hannibal Lecter happens to be available. Basically this is just arson, murder, coffee, and fluff.

Canvases by thatviciousvixen [words: 36,660]

When Hannibal meets a handsome artist with a keen interest in death he knows he’s finally met a kindred spirit. All Will needs is a little push.

In Sickness and in Health by BonesAndScales [words: 67,450]

Everyone knows that Will and Hannibal are married. Not everyone knows that they are married to each other.

The Escapists by whiskeyandspite [words: 35,368]

Will’s cellmate said nothing, and Will didn’t venture. He had been prickly enough as a lecturer, where human interaction was mandatory, and prison was not the sort of place one made friends. One either made allies or enemies, or stayed quiet enough to avoid both. Will doubted he’d be that lucky; far too easy to rile up especially when stupidity was the catalyst. Prison, Will thought absently, was similar to college.

Sweeter Bitter by wormsin [words: 89,503]

Will is an awkward student and Hannibal an intrigued mentor.

Before You And After You by ache_for_him, Breakmybones (CarterReid), CarterReid [words: 33,734]

Hannibal and Will had a past: a dirty, bloody, violent past. Will was sure he’d never see his own personal monster again - then he walked into Jack Crawford’s office.

Ethics & Aesthetics by fragile-teacup [words: 106,330]

Pride and Prejudice omegaverse AU

Look, Mother! The Sheep Have Devoured the Wolves! by HigherMagic [words: 102,934]

Hannibal and Bedelia are married, but unable to have children. At Margot’s insistence, Hannibal agrees to meet the Omega that was a surrogate for her and Alana. Will is rough-edged, unrefined, and everything Hannibal shouldn’t desire. This arrangement promises to be clean, and simple. Of course, nothing concerning Will Graham is ever simple.

Wings of Wax and Feather by BelladonnaWyck and raiast [words: 55,947]

“Did you just smell me?” "Difficult to avoid. My apologies, I didn’t realize there were any Omegas in this section of the prison.” “Most get sent to the Omega Holding Facility two counties over. But then, most don’t get done in for rippin’ out an Alpha’s throat in the middle of the street.” or Hannibal Lecter had always known the winding road of fate may one day lead him straight to a prison cell. He’d never imagined he’d find his true mate there.

Truly, Madly, Deeply by slashyrogue [words: 52,811]

They meet by chance at a Christmas Party and share a kiss that seals their fate.

Purity by PixieDust291 [words: 130,528]

Will is cast aside by his alpha and sacrificed to the Wendigo that hunts in the forest. However, after confronting the creature Will then finds himself in the home of Hannibal. The alpha lives alone and seems to have taken it upon himself to nurture Will back to health. Over time Will grows comfortable with Hannibal and slowly reveals the reasons for his abandonment. Hannibal, being a pure bred alpha of the highest caliber, is well aware of just how rare and valuable Will is and decides to take the wounded omega for himself.

Quatervois by stratumgermanitivum, whiskeyandspite [words: 33,226]

Will is an Omega who desires independence and freedom. Hannibal is an Alpha who finds his mind curious. They make a deal: if Will can convince Hannibal that he is worth more than breeding stock, and can go through his heat without begging for his Alpha, Hannibal will not mate him, but make him a ward instead; Will could go to college, get a job, do anything he wanted. If not, then he will be Hannibal’s mate, bear pups, and accept his role. But is it really as simple as that?

Authors Notes ♡: WHEW I LOVED THIS I had a time trying to come up with an idea and then it hit me : a princess being saved by fantasy au! Dabi. I’m still nervous with my smuts but heh I enjoyed this a whole bunch to write . Dabi is my favorite villain and I just love him so much, I tried to make him a soft inside and hard outside man in this , I Had fun for our free for all collab and I hope I help give it just a fun twist to fantasy and Halloween spirit ~ I hope you enjoy reading this and much as I did writing it ~ bunny ❥

Warnings :UH NSFW! Demon dabi has two dick (and their thick) , pet names, unprotected sex , a tad bit of a size kink? , a bit fluffy at the end but I think that’s it!

Word count : about 2k give or take!

Paring(s) :Dabi x F! Reader

Even with this being NSFW I had to make it a soft fluffy ending I’m sorry ♡

———————————————————————

Enchanted flames

Dabi

“If you have found this letter the Princess of Yuei needs your help. Meet me in the Enchanted Woods tomorrow night. Ill escape with you if you can save me from the proposed wedding - Princess [ ]”

With a sigh [. ] dropped the letter out of her window hoping someone, anyone , could save her from the doom that awaited her from an arranged marriage that had been planned from her kingdom to be to the neighboring ones prince, a smaller and very...purple hot headed boy by the name of Mineta who was unsavory for a lack of words. Sighing as she watched the paper fall she secretly wished her type of prince would come save her from this hell she expected.

As the night approached she slipped past her guards, telling them she was going out for air in her garden. The two towering men who looked down at her agreed, moving at the way to let the young woman past them and out into the halls, her dress dragging behind her as she headed out the giant doors to her garden. Taking in a breath she climbed over the perfectly managed hedges andddd off into the forest adjacent to the castle, roaming through the woods to her chosen spot to hopefully meet someone who could save her.

“Hello there little sheep, you called for help, correct?” A low, raspy voice called out as [ ] turned around , looking into the dark abyss in front of her. “ Hello? Helloooo? Who's there?” the girl called out as she heard something heavy land behind her. Turning to her right she saw bright blue eyes look back at her from the shadows. Before she could react a rather warm hand covered her mouth as the person or thing dragged her throughout the woods , the two of them slipping into the night. As soon as [ ] woke up her eyes adjusted to a dark but brightly lit and beautiful chasm, cyan and turquoise crystals of all types surrounded the room as she felt intense heat from everywhere around her. Standing up on shaky legs she felt eyes on her from behind. Letting out a deep breath she turned only to run into a barely covered chest.

Looking up from the revealed purple and pale skin , she saw those same blue eyes , lit with curiosity. “Ah you're awake..welcome little sheep to my...well..living quarters” The mystery man spoke as [ ] blinked at him, a grin spreading over his face as he continued to speak “Well i guess the princess doesnt know she isn't in her little castle anymore. Haven't those guards of yours realized they can't leave royalty alone or guys like me come along and take them out of their cute little homes” He said as [ ] gave him a suspicious look , her own thoughts taking over her face as a sense of calm rested over her features “Ohhh so you're the one who found my note..” She said as he gave her an unreadable look , soon walking away to leave the girl in her own world. “I guess he did” she thought to herself as she heard the male come back, a pile of things in his hands. “Here; a change of clothes and something to eat. I tried to be gentle taking you out of those dreaded castle grounds and through the woods but your dress isnt the smallest thing in the world” he said as [ ] let out a giggle , picking up the dark shirt and skirt he had given her along with the meal : some type of rice and meat with soup. Before she could ask the man answered “No i didnt steal it, i told you this is my home , its only natural id have something in this god forsaken place to eat.” He said as he pointed down the cave. “Theres a waterfall ahead if youd like to freshen up there.” And with that [ ] walked down the empty carved walls, finding the waterfall he was talking about.

Once she was finished getting cleaned and dressed she headed back the way she went, seeing the male now cloaked in a dark cape , fiddling with a pile of wood before setting it ablaze with a bright blue flame. “Ah i see you're finished , ILl be heading out , i'm gonna find us some more wood so you don't get cold. Theres a pot over there where you can reheat your food and get more if you like.” As he finished he proceeded to get up and head down another pathway, presumingly to the opening of the chasm “Wait!” [ ] called out as he stopped, turning to the girl with a questioning look back at her. “Yes princess?” he responded to her as she felt a unnatural wave of heat spreading to her face from simply calling her by her actual title. “What can I call you? And how long will you be gone?” She questioned. “Aw are you worried about me?” He cooed as she puffed out her cheeks “I was just curious” She lashed back as the male in front of her laughed , giving her a crooked smile. “ The names Dabi, and i won't be gone too long, an hour or so” Dabi said, giving her a smile as he started to leave again.

“Oh yeah , and there's a spare jacket in the back if you get too cold or that fire goes out.” and with that he left [ ] by herself as she finished up the dinner he had made which was exceptionally good, even better than what she tended to have at the castle. While she waited around for dabi to come back , [ ] looked at her royal dress, the red and pinks making her want to revolt as she pushed the fluffy tooled pile up into a blanket of sorts, covering her legs as she sat there thinking about her predicament “I really ran away...but what else can you do when youre gonna be married off to someone years older than you for land and alliance” she thought with a sigh as footsteps came from behind her , Dabi pulling his hood from his head as he smiled to himself at the girl in front of him “Im back princess” He declared as she turned to him, giving him a small smile as she stood up, dusting off her dress , coming up to Dabi “So...whatcha find?” She started as he pulled the bag from behind him , dumping out different goodies for the two of them. An array of food, wood and fresh buckets for water collections. “Here, this is for you too” Dabi said as he passed her a well woven balck dress, better than the two piece he had first given her. Taking in a deep breath he spoke up “I didn't want you to struggle with rags , so i got you something a little more comfortable and well...suitable for a run away princess” and with that she looked up to him and giggled which was heaven to his ears. ‘Why thank you Dabi..i'm flattered” [ ] said as she took the black dress , running to a hidden corner to change as Dabi smirked “Oh boy..what have i signed myself up for”

Weeks later and multiple posters for the lost princess later, [ ] had a rhythm living with Dabi. They cooked together and he left out to get things from shops ans out in the woods. Word spread that the princess had been stolen and the ugly grape himself had put a reward out for her safe return. Unknown to everyone she was quite content with the dark demon mage Dabi and his home in the woods. He explained the chasm as his work space, a place he could hone in on working with his flames and different elixirs that people needed. He was a half breed of human and demon, his father ridding of him to hide his affair with an otherworldly being, to keep the peace of his people and the overworld people as well. He really wasn’t a bad man, just someone who stayed in the shadows and kept to himself. And [. ] ‘s heart went out to him, as his did out to hers as she explained her own situation. ”Well damn sweetheart at least i saved you hm?” Dabi said as the two of them laughed together about their lives and what they'd like to change.

As the night drew on and they had their fair share of drinks and food that night “Thank you Dabi..for everything” [ ] said randomly as they relaxed by the fire he had started , [ ] wrapped into the oversized fur Dabi made her as the male laid against a log watching the tired girl mumble to him. She gave him a sleepy smile once he put his warmed hand on her face. “You're cute yknow...i'm not gonna let anyone get to you okay?” He said as she shook her head, moving herself closer to him , laying her head on his lap as he rubbed her head until she fell asleep, him soon realizing he was in love with the rogue princess in his lap.

As the next month rolled around , the princess and her demon mage had started a loving relationship, the two of them growing fonder and fonder of eachother. [ ] noticed that Dabi had tried avoiding being around her when she was fresh from the shower or even roaming too close behind her, he even took more time to come home with more ingredients or even sleep opposite to her. She didn't understand the switch from wanting to hold and hug her to avoiding her all day. One day she was able to catch and trap him with her. “Yes princess…?” Dabi ased as [ ] crossed her arms around her chest , the simple movement making him turn from her. “Did I..do something…?” She asked, her eyes bouncing between his as the turquoise she learned to love ignited with heat.

”Oh no doll...you haven't done a thing but make me want you even more..”

And with that comment her eyes widened. “What..?” She questioned. And with that Dabi picked the smaller girl up, pinning her to a crystal wall as she gasped, wrapping her arms around his neck.”Dabi…….?” [ ] called out as he started to kiss her neck ,running his rougher hands up the soft flesh of her thighs. “I think i'm in love with you doll..youve been invading my head or a while and all i can think about is making your cute little body want me the burning way i want you...I wanna make you cry out for me all night long...make you mines forever.....is that okay?” He whispered in her ear. With a shudder she agreed , letting him kiss the swells of her brest as he gave her a lopsided smile, picking her up and taking her to a pile of pelts and wool they made into a bedroom to rest in. Placing her down lightly he towered her , taking off his vest to reveal his toned and scarred body “Youre quite a beauty yknow...im glad you trust me…” He said with a smile as [ ] herself smashed her lips against his, cutting off his mushy talk. With a groan he pushed her dress up , letting her breast bounce out from the top. Pulling away from the kiss she helped him take off the dress over her head. With a shy smile [ ] covered ehrslf and laid back, spreading her legs lightly to expose her glistening lips to him

“Well damn, i havent even toughed you yet and youre this wet..what a little slut you are”

He growled out as he leaned back over to give her a kiss , pulling her lower lip as he licke dhis was down between her legs, giving her clit a hard suck as she whinned , closing her legs over his head as he slurped away at her pussy, making sure to watch her through hooded eyes, a tail whipping from behind him as a pair of horns appeared from atop his head, one mangled and cracked the other long and curled “Surprise” Dabi called out as his voice dropped octaves, it coming out as a low rumble as [ ] felt her walls clench at the sound , a chuckle coming from him. Going back to slurping and sucking on her labia and clit , Dabi watch with glee as the gilr under him started to shake, her hips rolling back to his mouth as he bit lightly down on her lips and pulled away from her , laughing at her pleas and whimpers “Turn sound baby and let me show you how much i love you” Dabi said , watching as [ ] rolled over arching her hips back as he smacked her ass, loving the moan she let out. Pulling down his pants he pulled his throbbing member out, rubbing it hard against her clit as she felt her heart jumped at the feeling of how thick he was. All of a sudden she felt hands pull her cheeks apart as a finger rub around the tight rings of her ass. With a gasp she looked back to see not one but two swinging dicks between the burning up male, a feral look in his eyes as he let a low rumble come from his chest “ Sorry babygirl..when I change there's more than just one of me to deal with, i promise i'll be gentle” He said as he rubbed her tight muscles just loose enough to put in the tip, her lower lips drooling as he slid his true size into her throbbing walls, moans and grunts tearing through the chasm as he pulled his hips back , starting to set a rhythm to his hips. While he picked up the pace, [ ] felt herself being full as the two dicks of his stuffed her. She could help the feeling of her walls getting tighter as she came once then twice and not once did Dabi stop, he laughed as he gave her more and more , pushing himself deeper in her as he let out what sounded like a howl of pain as he doubled in pace, reaching down to rub her clit as she screamed, soon feeling a hot and warm gooey feeling flood her senses. Dabi slowed his hips down as he pulled himself from her ass first, then from her pussy and cum started to leak from her holes.

“Shit...im sorry princess I didnt mean to go so rough…” Dabi breathed out as [ ] turned around giving him hr own lopsided smile as she saw him transform backto himself, those turquoise eyes softening as he saw the woman he had fallen for spent out from his own actions. “Geez when you said you were a demon i didnt think it was true…” She laughed as he scratched th back of his neck “Ive never transformed like this around someone….especially during sex but that means I trust you a lot….well doll..let me clean you up and then...we can go fro round two hm?” He smirked as he watched her pussy clench and relase more cum once he said that. “Mhm...clean me Dabi then we can have some more fun..”

Wolf and its sheep

Genre: smut, werewolf au, slight enemies to lovers 

Words: 2273

Paring: Werewolf Hoseok x witch reader

Warning!:Mentions of alcohol, blood(not grafic), fingering, pet names, slight degrading, biting, rough, unprotected sex(use protection), making out, doggy, breeding kink, knot

a/n: Would anyone want a smut series with different monsters for halloween?? Btw hope you have a great day :)

Gif is not mine 

“What the hell?!”staring at the mope of dark hair, filled with bad neon streaks, you hissed.

The boy only smirked, eyes trailing down your wet shirt. He spilled his drink on you and had the audacity to laugh. This is why you hated werewolves, especially the one named Hoseok. He had been the bane of your existence ever since you got to know him, that first day in highschool. Being a witch, you weren’t loved by everyone but oh god, you wished to not be the lamb to the wolf.

“Sorry sorry, didn’t see you witchy..”his looped sided smirk sent anger boling in your blood and if you could, you’d curse him right then and there, force him to turn into a chihuahua every full moon instead.

“Yeah right..”you wanted to scream mut at him but his pack was lurking around to your right, snickering like they always did. Fuck this guy and his friends, you hated them all.”I hope you can see further than your thick skull next time..”

Pushing past him, you purposely hit his shoulder, glaring daggers into his golden eyes. You knew from the beginning that you shouldn’t have come to the party but of course had Mina convinced you, even when you pointed out the extent of werewolves which would come. 

-

Two weeks later you were sitting in the library, reading some text about the half moon, when the chair in front of you was pulled out. Lifting your eyes, you instantly frowned at the brown hair with just a stubborn neon green strand left.

“What do you want?”poison laced your tone and Hoseok only laughed.

“Why? Can’t I just visit my favorite witch?”you had seen him smile before, something which seemed to soften his face, but every time he looked at you, would it only be a shit eating grin. 

“No.”

“Oh come onnn!”he whined softly, leaning towards you from his chair. You could see the bubbling mischief in his eyes, the dread  of what was to come making you swallow.”We are having a party on Friday and I want you to come. You’re free right? Or are there some blood ritual you need to do under the full moon? Curse a poor child?”

Frowning at him, you stood up from the wood chair, the friend keeping your aching legs company. Hoseok watched with amusement, lips partying to speak again but you left before he could take a breath, thinking about cursing him under the full moon. 

-

“Why won’t you gooo?!”Mina’s voice rang in your head, her sentence just an hour old. 

She went to the party, she was drunk, she had fun, but she wanted you to be there, she would never understand. Mina wasn’t a witch, only bearing fairy blood and not the kind which made you what you were. It also meant she didn’t experience the hate you received. Some blamed witches for turning humans into monsters but you didn’t believe that, no one could have that power. 

A knock on your door broke the spiraling late night thoughts you had, heavy eyes opening wide. 

Mina was the first name to cross your brain but she wouldn’t knock, probably scream instead. But if it wasn’t her, then who? The clock had just struck  11 pm and when you glanced out your window could you see the full moon in all its glory.

“Yes?”instantly was your whole apartment smelling like alcohol and something sweet.”Why are you here?  I thought I already told you no..”

Hoseok actually smiled sheepishly towards you, cheeks a little rosy, pupils slightly blown. His hair was wild, like he ran here, and his clothes were covered in some sort of paint. You were pretty sure he was drunk but you had read about werewolves getting the same effect from the full moon.

“I know but I’m here anyway..”his voice was lower than usual, pupils almost taking over his irises. It didn’t sit right with you, a feeling of dread spreading through your stomach. He would never do anything, at least you thought so…”And Mina said it was a good idea to visit.”

Why would she say that?

“I don’t believe she did that..”Hoseok frowned, leaning forward into your personal space. 

Heat radiated from him, reaching for your exposed skin. You swallowed too hard, heart picking up speed and if Hoseok would have had ears, they would have flickered towards you. He heard it, no doubt, but you could still keep your mask. Can’t he just leave?And maybe stop making your heart rush at lightning speed…

“But she did and I think you aren’t as mad as you try to be..”he was fast, like every other werewolf, soon standing inside your apartment, back against your gaping form.”I think you can’t hide anymore..”

Turning around, the door closed and you were pressed up against it. His normally brown eyes glowed red and when he smirked were canines shining sharp. The moon fell over him, his breath mixed into yours. 

“Tell me Y/n…can you hide? Can my little sheep run?”you gaped at him, gaze rolling around his face, the confiance which painted every feature.

“H-Hoseok what are you doing?”you tried to sound mad but your voice came out breathless, a shiver crawling down your spine when he lifted a finger to stroke over your jaw.

“I’m claiming what’s mine…”leaning forward, his lips placed a wet kiss on your jugular, sucking ever so softly. You felt his teeth scrape against your skin as he moved up to your ear.”I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time baby…let me have a taste, yea?”

You were getting lost, eyes losing focus as his voice seemed to set you in a trance. This wasn’t the annoying Hoseok you knew, this was a predator catching his prey and you were it. 

“Tell me Y/n…can I have a taste?”he moved away, left you cold and aching, but Hoseok refused to touch you before you said yes, only glaring you down. 

“Y-yes..”his smile was wide but there was nothing gentle about it, hands slowly creeping up your arms until they found hone right under your ear, thumbs lifting your chin. 

Hoseok kissed you, hard, pressing you against the door until you thought it would break. He seemed rushed, lips moving fast like he starved for them, tongue messing with your own. There was no time to breathe, not as your hands moved up to his soft locks. You tugged on them, scraping his scalp, electing low grumbles from his chest. Hoseok was absorbed with the way you felt, fingers traveling to your pajama covered legs.

You suddenly remembered that you weren’t really prepared for this, wearing not so sexy underwear but at the same time…you didn’t really think Hoseok would come bursting through your door and start making out with you. 

“Jump..”his low growl made you break from the kiss, legs falling around his hips while his hands squeezed the flesh of your butt. He smirked, licking swollen lips. Why was he suddenly so hot?”Such a good kitty, listening to everything I say..”

He moved across the room, letting you stare at his neck and peeking collarbones, the sweat forming on his hairline, but you didn’t get to kiss him. Hoseok was determined to make you want him as much as he wanted you.

“You’re my pretty girl, right?”your back dropped onto the not so glamorous bedding you slept on, Hoseok between your thighs and eyes still glowing. He was fighting the wolf but it would be worth all the time it would take. The possessiveness in his voice gave you  butterflies when it probably shouldn’t, heat spreading to your cheeks. His fingers snaked down to your nape, grabbing the hair so you had to arch your back. A breathy moan escaped you when you felt his teeth against the front of your neck, a growl coming deep from his chest when he spoke again.”You’re mine..”

Somewhere in your head, you knew he would mark you but the lust had taken over, left you a mess of his hands, his breath, his mouth. Hoseok could smell you like never before, mouth nipping at the flesh of your no exposed shoulder. He was losing patience and tore the t-shirt you had on, smirking like a devil, like a wolf, at your perky nipples. 

Dragging his fingernail down the valley between your breasts, eyes on you,  Hoseok smirked. The strong willed witch whom he played around with, whom he annoyed, was falling apart under his hands. 

“Here…”he whispered in your ear, hand resting on your stomach.”Here will my puppies be…”

Goosebumps scattered around your body, breath picking up as his fingers slid further down. You were warm and dripping, feeling so small under his moon lit figure, but it felt good, it felt like you could melt from your bones if he touched you. 

“You’ll be a good girl and take them, right?”his breath fanned down your neck, heavy and hot. Hoseok was staring at the skin over your collarbone, staring at the untouched flesh where his mark should be.”You’ll take them all..”

You had been so distracted by his mumbles, by his nipping at your earlobe, you hadn’t noticed his hand slipping into your bottoms. Not until his finger dragged across your pussy, collecting the pooling wetness.

Hoseok felt it, he smelled it. It was intoxicating to say the least, the way you screamed for him without using your words. The simple curle of his fingers in you managed to get the real sounds out of you. 

You gasped out a moan and saw stars the more he coaxed your orgasmn to come closer. A squealing sound left your pussy, something you didn’t have time to be embarrassed by, but it made him hard in his pants, the wolf in him howling. 

Leaving you on the edge of pleasure, Hoseok ripped your pajama pants in two, forcefully parthing you slightly trembling thighs. His mouth watered at the sight you were, teeth growing sharper as his nails pierced your skin. It made you exhale loudly, back arching just a little. He smiled at the way your body was so ready for his cock, his knot to sit deep inside of your pathetic pussy. 

“Oh can’t my little kitten wait? Does she want my cock and puppies so bad??” the moon made him crazy, eyes gleaming red like the blood dripping down the inside of your thighs.”Look at you…leaking all over your bed like a little slut.”

He growled, made your lower stomach combust in need. You whined at his teasing, at the way he so painfully dragged out time. The fact that you could be full now but weren’t made you annoyed. However, Hoseok flipped you around and before you could protest again, did you feel the head of his cock dragging between you swollen folds. He hissed himself and let go of all the control, letting out a final exhale before he bottomed out in you. You could feel him so deep, almost kissing your cervix, but it felt good, it felt amazing. All the anger you fely for him was gone, replaced by your high moans as he moved in and out, replaced with searing hotness. Hoseok could see wetness shining on your thighs, mixing slightly with the blood. It made his wolf growl mine. You were his and nobody else’s, his to hold, his to destroy. 

Your arms were shaking so bad you could hold yourself up, chest falling down onto the sheets. Somewhere along the line had Hoseok ripped his own clothes off, dragging his hands up your sides until they found your neck and hair. He forced you to sit up while keeping his speed up, cock pistoning in and out of your poor pussy, making you feel so good. 

“G-good girl…taking me so well..”he groaned by your ear, squeezing lightly around your neck while you bounced up and down. You were reaching the end, eyes blurring and back arching borderline painfully.”You want it, right? Want all my cum..”

Hoseok was close as well, mouth kissing featherlight on your shoulder, prepping the place where he would bite. He could feel your walls give a final squeez, milking him for everything he got. His teeth pierced your skin and you screamed,  pain and pleasure becoming a big mess of emotions. Hoseok came as well, arms holding you up, resting over your chest. Cum pumped into you, so much so a little bump formed over your lower stomach. 

You weren’t completely there when his knot grew, keeping the cum in your quivering pussy, but Hoseok was. His body fell onto your bed, trying to hold you up until you laid on the messed up sheets. He was breathing hard, watching your chest rise and fall, staring at the wound on your shoulder. You were his now but he was yours as well. 

Hoseok really didn’t think this through because if you rejected him…it would hurt worse than hell for him but you would be fine. He really fucked up..however, at the same time was he happy to finally have you. The wolf was done with pretending and playing, he just wanted to have the one the moon choose for him. 

Tomorrow, he thought as he covered you and himself, tomorrow will he care but tonight are you his and he is yours.

Ok, @topaxi said they’d like a post of all the animals I’d like to get so here it is.(under the read more because I am insane and there is so much)

This is a lot (and I know I’m not going to get everything on the first go so this is a work in progress) so let’s start with the smaller categories.

The first category is something I will never actually own because A) I am autistic so a lot of loud noises is something that I CANNOT handle and B) I don’t have the time to devote to them that I would need to keep them happy.

Birds: African Grey Parrot, Cockatoo, some kind of dove or pigeon, and a chicken. As you can probably tell, I haven’t put a ton of thought into these because I know I will never really own a birb.

Reptiles: Tortoise, preferable and African Spurred, but I’d take something smaller. I just think they’re neat. A bearded dragon because they’re hecka cool and cute. I really want some type of snake but my sister is deathly afraid of them so they’re a no-go if I want her in my life even a little bit. 

Amphibian: Axolotl. Have you seen them? THey’re awesome. I don’t want to maintain an aquarium, otherwise I’d have one by now. But maybe someday I’ll be patient enough to have an aquarium pet. 

Cats: An Oriental shorthair. I like long faces and they have a dumb meow. I mostly want a white one right now, but that might change and I might want another if I do get my white guy. I’d also take a maine coone, a savannah cat, an ocecat, or just rescue who is just right. I’m gonna be honest, I’m not much of a cat person but I believe they’re closer to the supernatural than other animals and I’m terrified of anything supernatural so when I move out on my own I’m gonna need a cat of my own to help me out with that stuff. Mostly because i like pets to be guardians and protect me just as much as I protect them and the most and least I expect for protection is warning when there is something there that shouldn’t be.

Rabbits: I will probably never get another rabbit, honestly. Larry is my entire world and I adore my other two rabbits, so I can’t see me being able to move on and get another rabbit if any of them pass. And they are a lot of work that I just am not sure I want to commit myself to again with the dogs that I want to get. However, I do still dream of having a sandy and fawn flemish giant (gotta catch ‘em all), a rex, a french lop, a holland lop, a dutch, and probably any other breed that I see.

Foxes: I just want a fox. I’m not picky. I just think they’re cool. Again, I never will because they’re too much work and require too much time and aren’t really good with any other pet, especially rabbits, but I can dream.

Farm animals: I want a cow, a goat, a couple sheep, a pig, and a horse. I’m not picky about what kind for any of them. Except maybe the horse. Let me do some research and get back to you. But, unless I win the lottery, they’re just not financially viable and, again, I don’t have the time to give them the care they need.

And now the big category, Dogs.

First is another collie. I’m not sure I’d stop at just one more because they’re great dogs, but I also can’t imagine owning more than two at once because I work in a grooming salon so I know exactly what they need in that regard and there’s only so much work that I want to bring home. But, specifically, I’d ideally get another sable merle, or just sable, from the same breeder I got Barkley from. Preferably same parents and everything so they’re siblings. I think that’d be cute. Oh, and I want a girl this time. 

Then, I want to rescue a greyhound. They look so dumb and are so funny and I love them. They’re super fragile, though, or at least that’s what I’m told, so I need a lot more financial stability before I can even consider that. Plus more room. I believe our house is big enough for another dog, but not a greyhound. 

Borzoi. Named Z. Because I have a friend who, for a while, really like that “the birds work for the bourgeoisie,” meme so I think it’s funny. Plus, I was watching Ocean’s 8 and the ex-boyfriend is shown walking two of them for a moment and I thought they were beautiful dogs that look like number 1 and number 2 on my list mixed together so I immediately thought that I need all 3 so I could have the whole trilogy.

A border collie. They’re probably my favorite breed but I have a mental block that I can’t get one without replacing Midnight so I want a blonde female to get as opposite from him as possible. (Her name was going to be what I’m going to name my next collie, but it’s more fitting for the collie now that I’ve decided to get another) There are generally more health problems for blonde border collies, though, and you’re almost guaranteed to have to buy them from breeders, which I don’t especially want to do. I mean, I’m fine with going through a breeder for collies but I’d rather rescue for other breeds. I don’t know why but that’s where I’m at right now.

Great Dane. I want a horse dog. I’ve always loved big dogs, in general if an animal has a large size I want it. And there’s this one named Pip who comes to my work and he’s so big and so much fun and I adore him so I want one now.

Irish Wolfhound. I think wire hair looks really cool and, again, I like big dogs, so I’ve wanted this breed for years. About 10 years, to be specific. One named Castiel comes to work for nails and I talked mom into letting me brush him out one time and damn, did he look good.

Smooth Saint Bernard. Purely because of a dog named Daisy who came to my work and she was the sweetest girl. She recently passed, about three months ago I believe, and I cried when I heard.

Standard Poodle. I don’t really want a curly coated dog because that doesn’t seem like fun daily maintenance, but I really love the way black standard poodles look. Especially with a clean face and clean feet. Plus there are so many fun, cute haircut options to play around with. 

Shih-tzu, Maltese, or Japanese Chin: I won’t actually own a small dog, until maybe when I’m old, but they’re all real cute.

Pit Bull. They’re so cute and sweet and I love them so much. 

Old English Sheepdog and/or Bearded Collie. They just look like such big dumbs and I love that in a dog.

Bull Terrier. I’m a sucker for long faces and they’re basically nothing but a long face.

Afghan Hound. They’re similar to Borzois to me, honestly. Just long face skinny bois with long hair. Which I like.

Smooth Collie. Specifically blue merle. I hate the way that color pattern looks on rough collies, but I think it looks fly as hell on smooths.

To be honest, I would love to own any herding breed other than a german shepherd. And I have a type, I love the long, sleek, skinny bois. (And american eskimo was never on this list, nor would it ever have made it, but I love Oso to death and he has made it so I have the most patience with eskies at work because they need to be handled a specific way and he has taught me the correct way)

🌟 Stardew Mods #3: Animals, Animals, Animals! 🌟

Hey everyone! It’s been a while since I made one of these mod masterposts (#1, #2), but I’ve started playing Stardew Valley again recently, so I figured I’d try to share some more of my favorite mods with you guys. For this post, I’ll be focusing on animals of all sorts - from livestock to critters! 

Essentials:

SMAPI - needed to use Stardew Valley mods

Content Patcher - needed to run mods with Content Patcher dependency

Paritee’s Better Farm Animal Variety (BFAV) - needed for mods that add more animals to the game (as opposed to simply retexturing existing ones)

Livestock: 

🌟 Wee Highland Coos - replaces vanilla cows with adorable Highland cows (XNB mod)

🌟 Elle’s Coop Animal Replacements - provides a ton of options for replacing vanilla chicken, rabbit, and duck species/coloring 

🌟 Elle’s Barn Animal Replacements - lots of options for replacing vanilla cow, goat, and pig species/coloring (including deer, alpacas, and horned goats)

🌟 Elle’s Horse Replacements - lots of options for recoloring the vanilla horse to look like different horse breeds (including  a unicorn retexture too!)

🌟 Pigeons and Doves - replaces chickens with grey pigeons and white doves (XNB mod)

🌟 BFAV Crows - adds crows as a coop animal, includes an optional file that makes crows produce pearls and driftwood

🌟 Cuter Fatter Cows, Sheep, Pigs, and Goats - exactly what it sounds like (XNB mods)

🌟 Friendly Magical Vegan Truffle Bears - replaces pigs with truffle-hunting bears (XNB version here)

Pets:

🌟 Ragdoll cat replacements - replaces the vanilla cat with a ragdoll cat, features lots of color options

🌟 Yet another dog mod - lots of options for replacing the vanilla dog (including corgi, borzoi, cocker spaniel, and more)

🌟 Tokiri’s Pet Replacements - lets you replace the vanilla dog with a fox, vanilla horse with a wolf, or vanilla cat with a red panda (XNB mod)

🌟 A Weird Cat - replaces the vanilla cat with a possum

Miscellaneous: 

🌟 Mi’s and Eemie’s Butterflies - replaces vanilla butterflies with beautiful detailed butterflies (Note: this links to an unofficial update for Content Patcher, click through to the Nexus mod page to see the butterfly designs!) 

🌟 Cat and dog at the same time - not a mod, but a simple guide to editing your save file to give yourself more than one pet!

🌟 Junimos to Totoros - replaces junimos with chibi-Totoros (Note: this links to an unofficial update for Content Patcher, click through to the Nexus mod page to see what the Totoros look like!)

🌟 Elle’s Critter and Butterfly Replacements - allows you to replace some of the animals that pop up around town with new species of butterflies, squirrels, and birds

‼️Warning‼️ Please take the time to read the mod descriptions so you can be aware of dependencies, conflicts, existing bugs & future updates! I also recommend checking the comment and bug report sections for user-reported errors.

​Innerview: Effie Lin / ​DPI Magazine (Taiwan)  

November 2009 - January 2010

Photo: DJG (2009) by Cayla Kennedy (Age 5)​

Note: Interview for a magazine feature.

0​1) What is your philosophy in your art world? I have to be a human first and a maker of things second. Sometimes the two court together really well. Sometimes they pick fights and choose sides. I sort of have a get up and go method and plan to always be working on my life and work, and to my best ability, given the resources at hand. It’s not that I have a complete lack of care, responsibility or feel disenfranchised or on the outskirts. Though, I do have my moments. Even in bad moments, when it’s probably not a good idea for me to be around me, I try to eventually spin a positive from that experience. They can be the most crucial moments as I learn a great deal once I get beyond their borders. I think that’s part of the process. Process is a big deal and we’re all a part of it. And there is such a thing as bad process equaling a positive in life and work. All I know is that I need to be honest and pure with how I speak inside and outside of the work I am putting on and off the table. Anyway, I’m not really a grouch or a slouch in both areas of life and art, but it is a constant work in progress. I think that thinking too much about it, or the idea of it in the larger spectrum, can become damaging, unhealthy and grow bean stocks further from the truth. Though, I might add that I understand how hard it can be to keep from big ideas and big thinking, it is. I like where it is that I’m at right now and it all stacks up to here. I just need to be making things until I move on to something else. And that something else will probably involve making things too. I love what I do. There is a bigger component to the little pictures that I’m here presenting. I just need to keep up and in the know of the tip toes and perhaps leave some behind in the only way I can try, that means being something like me. ​0​2) What is your favorite medium and why? I feel that maintaining and manhandling a single medium would be quite overwhelming. I admire those that can do it, and do it skillfully. Not that I’m a special breed, but I don’t understand how some people can milk the same cow every day, for years. Every day is a little different inside and out and that fuels my mood of operation. I think that I suppose there is a definition when one looks at the work I’m doing, and the way I go about it, to easily pin me to a favorite medium. I like to use my hands and things around me to tell my stories. But, I don’t know much other than the day-to-day as my mind and energy wanders much on the map. I wake up and see what weather we’ve got. I believe much of it comes from growing up on a farm and spending a lot of time alone. A lot of people think that time is at a stand-still on the country clock. It wasn’t for me as there wasn’t really a cap on the kind of external culture and entertainment I could in-take and fuse with country living inside and out. Everything was a big pot of soup for me and it still is. I was always doing something and I still am. I also watched my Grandma make a lot of things by hand, and although not really an “artist”, she’s been a big influence on the work I’m doing. Another thing, I can’t be as involved with my work when there is a computer screen barrier involved. I can use a computer, but it is only like a nail gun to me. In my college studies while struggling with the introductory marriage of technology and design, I almost quit completely. Funny, before even getting on a computer I naively claimed to tech-savvy peers, “I am going to take the route that doesn’t employ computers.” Anyway, computers are cool and all but it is not how I like to really play. It didn’t help that around this time in my early 20s, I also had doubts about my artistic talent and identity. I also never felt comfortable visiting the design firms of my possible “future”. Some people find a home in them, but I couldn’t and wanted to be in a sense, a stay at home mother to my art. So, these factors led me to re-learn and go back to being a kid locked up inside and/or getting that kid to come back out…becoming an adult can be crippling. I started putting my identity back in the work at this time by leaving my human elements and story behind. I was also exposed to new kinds of external stimulus with art and culture and that helped me see things better too. I eventually had a calling to do my own thing completely, dropped out of school, moved to a big city and mixed it all together. Cities are big cooking pots anyway. But, on a personal level, I’m not done cooking yet. I’m kind of “mild” right now compared to most. I’m just one more guy carving a name on the cinder block and trying to pay the bills. ​0​3) Could you talk about the exhibition post of “Showing My Sheep”? Could you talk about your creating concept? I was born and raised on a farm. We raised sheep and showed sheep at county fairs. I used to have a basketball court shared with the sheep lot. As a youngster I spent some time wanting to be a farmer and in many ways now I kind of am. I’d like to live on a farm again someday, mostly for quiet space, to have more animals and to have a big barn I can work in. I did my first retrospective art exhibition called “Showing My Sheep” after five years of working on my art odyssey. Yeah, that’s not a long time for a life or career overview, but it was important for me to show my whole flock of work together like that and up to that point. And in truth, a 5 year old sheep is middle age. The image on the exhibition poster is a quick scribble of me (or something like me) in sheep’s carcass/dress. I’ve always wondered silly about sheep walking upright and maybe a bit of my love of Gary Larson “The Far Side” comics is shining through just a bit too? But, there is more to this one as it is a tribute to my upbringing as it represents my sheepish nature and approach mixed with the “wolf in dress” image that I think we all catch and can’t catch up with, at least every now and again (notice the front legs and how they are also a wolf snout?). Another idea in this sheep image is how zombie-like an artist, anyone for that matter, slaves to their nature. I rummage a lot of thrift shops for unique papers and board game “play cards” to print on. Paper can add another dimension to something like a poster, in this case adding to the idea of the game of life and art I play. The board game this paper came from is called “Facts in Five: The Game of Knowledge”, thus adding to all the pieces of art and life that added up to the making of my 5 year retrospective. There is also the handwriting element of an anonymous other’s involvement that I find fascinating. Plus, there is the “grid” pattern that reflects a panel fence to keep the sheep in and out…breaking fences, doing my own thing, so to speak. If you squint you might even see sheep pellets, or what I used to refer to as M&M’s, as they would make for an interesting game of basketball. Did you get all that? There are lots going on in this one. Almost another 5 years after that exhibition and I wonder if I’m nearing the end…hmmm. You never know. ​0​4) Which one of your work is your favorite? Or which one made you spend the most time and effort? What’s message you would like to convey through this work?? Favorite Work: My favorite piece of personal art was stolen at an exhibition in late 2004. It is the only thing of mine that wasn’t/isn’t documented (scanned, photographed) and I can’t recreate it. It is a simple little broken pen scribble drawing of a mentally handicapped water bison. His name is Mortimer. I made him in a couple minutes while on hold on the phone with the phone company. I busted a pen and let the ink spill. I’ve tried other drawings like it, but they turn out different. I have a lot of favorite works, but that one is the winner and loser. Time & Effort: I don’t think you really need “time” or “effort” to make something stick or feel, or even get something done. In fact, once I’m in the creative moment there is no such thing as “time” and “effort”. If you do something enough and love it, then it becomes another extension and you’re a paint brush for something bigger. Though, the words do become tangible when “life” stuff is thrown into the mix. This can’t be denied. Due to my so far 8 year schedule of day jobs, night jobs, marriage and the general day-to-day, I’ve always worked fairly fast and in small slots of time and many things at once, lots of things. It’s as much mental and military discipline as it is anything else and I just go for it. If it ever starts to feel like a chore, I try to take a short break or study up in other areas. If it ever becomes a chore out of my grasp, I’ll find something else to do completely. It can be struggling at times, but there is something good about the “life” stuff that I feed from. It can add fuel to the fire and makes me realize that I’m not always first in line. Sometimes it can be rough sitting on my hands while at the day job, but I’ll make up for it. In truth, there are never enough resources for the things I’d like to leave behind before I’m called quits. But, I sure try to make the best of “time” and “effort” while I’m here. I’ve made many posters and I love the fact that the poster has a shorter shelf live than something like the CD. I like experimenting with posters because if it gets swatted down, it only lived for a couple weeks and another will come along. They are kind of like flies. At three to five sessions, I try to court CD packages a lot longer. There are instances when an image instantly clicks in my mind when I’m told of an upcoming CD and that’s the final product, but most of the time I have to make them incubate and mature. I’ve always been fascinated with productivity and the human mind and mood, at least in my path. I often look at my timeline of work, wondering how different some of the things would have turned out had I did them on another day or even a minute later than I did them. The past few years, my music design output has shrunk some. I reached a certain point after 2006 to where I realized I needed to step back. I still do a few music projects here and there, but mostly just make a lot of visual art for myself. Which, I’ve always teetered on visual art. Maybe I’m trying to make up for Mortimer? I did start something different for me and in a medium that I’d love to pursue more. It wasn’t until this year (2009) that something really consumed me and that was a music video. It has been a great thing for me to be more patient with a project. Now, that’s a whole different extra innings of “time” and “effort”. ​0​5) Which one of CD cover/album artwork is your favorite or make you really proud of? What is the concept? Could you talk about your creating process? Did you listening to the music when you working? I’ve been asked this question a lot. I always answer with: “Whatever Makes You Happy” by The Elevator Division. It’s something to feel proud when you accomplish anything, but even more when it is all done and duplicated by hand in one night. 250 CD packages were made out of hand-cut cardboard, spray paint, stencils, rubber stamps and glued inserts. The concept is a hand shooting off a missile finger. The music themes revolve around relationships on and off the battlefields of life and war and the cover image relays the idea of shooting off one’s options, as in, “Whatever Makes You Happy”. Conceptually (design-wise), it might be the best thing I’ve got in me and inspiration came at the last minute before production and during a great Midwest thunderstorm. Upon the last spray of paint in my basement (yes, I was stupid enough then to spray paint in an unventilated basement), there was a crack of lightning and I flew upstairs and out the door of my home and slid down the well-watered front lawn and into the gutter of the street with red spray paint all over me. The squatters on the porch at the supposed drug house across the street got a kick out it. It was a massive affair and I swore I wouldn’t do it again and then I did a near repeat 4 years later for another band, but not all in one night. I swore I wouldn’t do that again-again and then I kind of did it again two years later. So, I must be due up for another one soon. In the case of The Elevator Division, the band lived with me and practiced nearly every day directly outside my basement studio door at our home. There were several bands that this happened with. I usually don’t listen to albums that I’m designing very much and I rarely listen to them after they are a finished product. This is especially so when it is blasted in the flesh right next to me. ​0​6) Why is sound/music important to our life? What is the most important for designing the album/CD cover? I’m not a fan of a lot of “noise”, but I like sound and I love music and I like some noise music. I love the idea and image of the album cover and making an album “feel” on the outside and giving it an identity. I find I have a detachment from the music and the memories when it is fused in our current in-between stage right now of technology and mp3 land. Even if they have a digital image shroud, they lack a hard identity to me as they float out in space and it makes me a little sad. I prefer a physical collection/body of music, with identity. I don’t want to get too far into this topic and I’ll add that both formats have their good and bad. And I love walking to and from work with a pocket overflowing with Bruce Springsteen songs (I have the records at home too). Along the same lines, I think that the idea of “cover art” or something physical isn’t going to die 100%, at least not in my lifetime. I do hope it doesn’t get even more eclectic-expensive like it kind of is looking. I love album art and I can’t really afford it. I just remember one of my earliest memories being the apple on records by The Beatles. That was/is important to me. I bit that apple and it has been good to me for 30 years now. ​0​7) What had been the most challenging thing to you in art world, and how did you overcome it? I think I have challenges and things to overcome and then I tune into the news or watch certain documentary films. I realize there is nothing for me to complain about after that. Of course there are some personal issues that challenge me and my little world. A major one of is overcoming some of my social phobia. It’s made me who I am and probably factors to why I make the way I make, but it has kept me from getting in the ball game as much as I probably should have. Though, what is “probably should have”? Technology makes great networking devices, and is “the now”, but at the same time I always feel so exhausted and behind with it. I also don’t have resources to keep up with it (money, time and mind) but I’m trying bit by bit. Another thing I’ve always carried a heavy lump with is a day job. But, it’s the only way for me to stay afloat. Every year I spend more money than I make with art (currently, I have 24 cents in my DJG Pay Pal account). One way to overcome this is to stop entering high-cost art and design competitions, which was one way of being social with a lot of people. Well, from a global publishing stand point. Competition fees are rising so much these days. Another challenge is the business end of the art. I stink at business. Though, a lot of that has to do with not having enough time and not being the best at problem solving and math, plus always being broke. And I would rather just make more art. I’m a happy camper though and constantly doing my thing. ​0​8) What are your future goals in the art world? Naturally, anyone who feels they’re sitting on something at home is going to set their sights on doing their own thing full-time and for full-time income. But, even if I never get there, I will be punching my own time card in some form or another. I’ll find peace. I’ll always be working on something and working on myself. I could easily keep my head down all day, dragging my wagon (and I kind of do), but I love the idea of sharing my work on a larger, global scale too. It is global on the internet, yet I easily butt heads with technology as it can get quite beastly. But, I appreciate it greatly as even a decade ago you probably wouldn’t have found out about me to get an interview like this. Thank you! I’ve met a lot of my initial goals and it’s easy to sit here and think about tomorrow but I need to work out today to make it there. I’d love to eventually put out an officially published book or lots of them (any bidders?). I plan to start with some handmade ones very soon. I’ll also finally be selling things on my web site soon. I’m currently working towards a 10 year retrospective show of my time in Kansas City, MO USA. I plan to show everything. Also, I will be working on more and more visual art in the coming year. I’d love to exhibit my physical work in more nooks and crannies of the world. I’ve been fortunate to do this a little bit, but nothing on a massive scale. I love the idea of ideas and imagery inspiring people. I also love the idea of relaying an interpretation of the world, while we’re all down here in this together. It’s kind of neat to think I’m leaving a little trail behind in this way and sharing that. Though, I’m not so confident art can change the world on a large platform, I do think it can help a little bit. Even if that means muscling up a smile that you can say was honestly spent. -djg

Axel: In Loving Memory of a Guy Who Was One in a Billion — or 50 Billion

Each year, more than 50 billion chickens are slaughtered for food worldwide — a number that, if you attempt to break it down, seems impossible. Hundreds of millions of chickens in the meat industry perish even before they are sent out to slaughter — and they are still just babies.  

Many of the birds above will have died before they even reached 2 months of age. An industry that bases its profits on fast growth and no individualized care is no place for any living being. 

And like every cow, sheep, pig, dog, cat, or human, each of those billions of birds, when pulled out and met on their own terms, is an individual with their own personality, their own quirks, and their own needs.

Sweet baby Axel arrived sick, frightened, and injured — thankfully, fate brought him to Farm Sanctuary. 

Chickens referred to as “broilers” by the meat industry are actually a breed called Cornish, which, over decades, has been changed genetically and selectively so that the birds have become giants — a far cry from the birds they came from originally (jungle fowl).

Jungle fowl are the original chickens and a far cry from the new, very genetically changed chicken used in the meat industry. Jungle fowl (shown on the left) weigh 3-4 pounds when fully grown. The white “broiler” breed, shown next to the jungle fowl, weighs around 5 pounds when sold at just 32-42 days of age. Full-grown broiler chickens weigh between 8-18 pounds on a restricted diet. 

As a young bird headed for slaughter, Axel was in a transport accident on the Staten Island Expressway. Transport trailers are crammed full of birds in crates, and not carefully, because there is little value placed on the birds. 

Many of the chickens died on impact; others were so severely injured that they had to be humanely euthanized. Axel was understandably frightened and tired when he arrived at our New York Shelter. 

This haunting photo by Jo-Anne McArthur shows how broilers are shoved and stuffed into open-air crates for transport. These crates can come loose, propelling already very fragile birds onto the highway. Sadly, this is not uncommon.

Many of the birds we rescued that day had compound fractures from the accident. Axel had broken and torn-up toes, but thankfully, he had survived this terrible crash that took the lives of so many of his friends. 

With birds who grow as large as these Cornish crosses, the loss of a toe, or the tip of a toe, can make arthritis set in quickly.  

Axel was one of the heaviest members of this group of newly arrived babies, and a sweet boy who had a splayed-out leg and broken toes. Even so, he was feisty and bossy with the other chickens, despite having health issues that, had he remained in a factory farm full of other birds, would have cost him his life right away. In the crowded barns of the “broiler” industry, a downed bird is a dead bird.

With terribly overcrowded conditions, which get worse as the birds grow, being unable to walk can quickly become fatal. Thankfully, Axel had his health issues here and was able to live for years at Farm Sanctuary. 

He was also one of the bowling-ball-shaped birds that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. Some of the Cornish birds are tall and large, but others look perfectly round. Axel was a prime example — in his case, not just round, but round with huge feet, short legs, and a waddley run. He looked like a Weepul (if you cannot remember or you are super young, see below). 

I had a whole lot of these Weepuls around my room as a kid, and Axel looked like a Weepul — without the antenna, of course. 

Thankfully, he grew out of most of his bossiness and became a very sweet, goofy rooster. He and guy friends Jack Sprat, Brownyn, Puck, and Robot made a great crew of funny men — real comedians who, although they were all male, never fought. Instead, they enjoyed their outside time, eating apples (Axel’s favorite activity), hanging out together, and even visiting with their human friends — the caregivers who ensured that all of these birds who’d arrived downed, injured, and sick got back up on their feet and became active and happy. 

The boys enjoying a nice summer day. Chickens, like all animals and human animals, love to play. This is chicken play!

Unfortunately, Axel had some major health issues. With his strange build, his legs were always a problem — both because of genetics and likely from being injured in the accident. And although the majority of the family of birds he arrived with live on, we lost this amazing bird this year to sciatic nerve degeneration and, like so many birds of this breed, to heart disease.  

Unlike the other boys from the rescue, Axel never got the giant comb or wattles and always had some health problems. Here he is covered in dirt with a touch of grass — likely from pecking at apples in the yard all day. 

Axel did his best to stay as dignified as possible at the end of his life, but soon he was unable to walk and we had to make the sad decision to let him go. Before that, he stayed with us at our onsite Melrose Small Animal Hospital — still greeting incoming animals, still enjoying the company of the humans who loved him, and still loving those apples. This boy was one in 50 billion!

Axel’s last few days were spent with his beloved human caregivers, and even little lamb Lucus came to say hello. We miss you buddy!

Top Things To Do In Tucson AZ

This article Top Things To Do In Tucson AZ had been originally submitted on: the DC Roofing Company blog

Tucson Offers So Many Options!

 Saguaro National Park

Tucson is well-known for its plethora of giant saguaros, a type of cactus that can grow to be over 40 feet tall. These majestic plants, found only in a small portion of the United States, are protected by Saguaro National Park on both the east and west sides of the city. You can drive, hike, bike, or horseback ride through either park.

University of Arizona Art Museum

Art lovers need look no further than the University of Arizona Art Museum to satisfy their art cravings in Tucson. Operated by the University of Arizona, the site also includes a museum and has permanent exhibitions that include over 6,000 exhibits from all corners of the art world such as sculptures, textiles, prints, and hand drawings. The art on show here is diverse and focuses on both European art as well as American art.

The Tucson Desert Art Museum

The Tucson Desert Art Museum is one of the best things to do in Tucson AZ for art lovers. The collection of paintings includes some of the biggest names of the Southwest: Peter Nisbet, Thomas Moran, Maynard Dixon, and Ed Mell. The Museum is a rare and enticing establishment where one can learn about the history of the region through its peoples art.

The Arizona Inn

A popular historic Tucson hotel is the Arizona Inn. This charming boutique hotel spans over 14 acres of gardens, fountains, flowers and lawns. Centrally located, it's a great place to stay if you plan on traveling to all parts of town.

Old Town Artisans

One of the main tourist attractions is the Old Town Artisans , a restored 1850s marketplace. It includes an entire city block of galleries and stores all set in unique buildings. The stores offer selections of art, jewelry, crafts, home decor, and other items by artists from Tucson and around the state. Other items you can find here include pottery, paintings, metalwork, photography, Native American wool rugs, and carvings.

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum offers an intimate look at the desert landscape around Tucson. This museum is a wonderful family outing with a zoo, natural history museum, and botanical garden all in one. Displays showcase living animals and plants native to the Sonoran Desert, including some endangered species such as the Mexican wolf, thick-billed parrot, ocelot, margay, jaguarundi, desert pupfish, Sonora chub, bonytail chub, razorback sucker, and Gila topminnow.

Transcript

I'm Coyote Peterson, and today we're going behind the scenes at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. - This morning we made the beautiful drive across the Sonoran Desert to arrive in Tucson Mountain Park, which is home to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, established in 1952, by William Carr and Arthur Pack. Their vision was to create a living museum, where visitors could come see animals living in completely natural looking environments. Since childhood I have been visiting this location, enthralled by all of its animal species, and inspired to live a life of adventure and animals. Today I'm lucky enough to walk the grounds with Will Bruner, the museum's curator of animal experiences, a job that as a child, I could've only dreamed of. The first stop would be the mountain lion exhibit. This elusive desert cat has been an ambassador for the museum since 1952. Wow, look how beautiful that cat is. - His mother was killed. He was found as about a four month old cub in California. Obviously, too young to survive on his own in the wild, so that's how he came to us here. - So, this cat weighs about 100 pounds now, and will grow to be about 200 pounds. - Yeah, almost 200 pounds. - So, almost double in size. It's amazing even from this distance you can see how big this cat really is. - [Will] The great thing about this exhibit is that one of our goals is not only to create naturalistic, but also to create interesting environments for the animals. We vary sometimes feeds, we'll vary placement of food. So, this gives him a lot of choices, and choices are a really important thing to an animal in its environment. - [Coyote] Is that kind of why you hide food throughout the enclosure, so it forces him to almost have to hunt, and search out what it is he wants? - Exactly, we want him using all of those natural abilities. The ability to track his prey by scent or visual. He can actually work those muscles as if he were taking down prey, basically stimulating their environment. Even putting scents in here might cause him to actually go and scent mark, which is another behavior he would do in the wild. - [Coyote] So, what's he snacking on there? - [Will] A little bit of everything. We feed a variety of diets, but sometimes the favorite treats like whole animals, a ground meat product that's specifically made for wild cats in captivity. Believe it or not, one of his absolute favorite treats is cream cheese. - [Coyote] On bagels, or on ground squirrels? - A little bit of both. - [Coyote] Yeah. You guys, he's going up into his little den area there. He says, "I've had my snack, "now it's time to take a nap." Okay, so Will, I feel like I'm standing right in the middle of the Sonoran Desert right now, but we're really just in part of the museum at this point, and it's amazing. I mean, you guys have designed this place to feel like you're actually in the environment. - [Will] That's one of the missions of the museum. We want you to really appreciate this area because the Sonoran Desert is like nowhere else in the world. It's a little bit of a microcosm of all the Sonoran Desert habitat here at the museum in a small space. So, you can do the whole Sonoran Desert, which would take you months to walk it, if you did it, but here at the museum you can do it in a couple of hours. We're a natural history museum, as well as a zoo, and a botanical garden. All of those roles play a really important part in the museum's mission to educate people about the Sonoran Desert. - Wow, cool. Alright, well let's go find some more animals. - Great. - So, right now we're working our way down. I can see them over there by the side of the fence, Javelinas, this is like one of my favorite animals that lives out here in the Sonoran Desert. What I know of javelinas, Will, is that they are these little power houses of muscle, and ferocity, and I mean, I can clearly see them, I mean, this guy's no bigger than a golden retriever, but he looks like he's built like a tank. - [Will] They are, and actually they're incredibly powerful little animals for their body size. Literally, just the muscles on the head, and the neck, and the shoulders support that, you know, the large jaws. They work together as a family to defend themselves, and defend their territory as well. - Now, I just saw two of them. They were kind of like rubbing each other's butts on each other's head's. What were they doing there? - They actually, that's a social behavior. They have a musk gland, or a gland on the top of their back they'll rub as a way of sort of coating everybody in the same scent, and that's the way they identify themselves, so it's like a social grooming, and a bonding behavior. - So, what are javelinas typically feeding on out here in the desert environment, and then do you guys provide them with any sort of food, or they just eat what's naturally here in their habitat? - No, we do actually provide them with food, and the desert food is often seasonal. So, the prickly pear fruit, which you'll see, which they do really like is only around this time of year. - [Coyote] They have real tough skin on their noses, and spouts right, so those little spines, it doesn't bother them at all. Look at those tusks. Now, do they use those tusks for anything defensive, or for eating? - Yeah, they're defensive. They're basically used in any social altercations, and also for defense. Those tusks are actually amazing. The way they line up in the javelinas mouth is that as they move back and forth, even with the open and closing your mouth, they're constantly sharpening those tusks. - [Coyote] Wow. We're gonna take a short cut, one of the perks of being behind the scenes at the Desert Museum, on our way to go see the Bighorn Sheep. Now, this is a very important part of the conservation work that you guys are doing here. Tell us all about these sheep. - [Will] Well, these are Desert Bighorn, and they are native to the area, but we're also part of a captive breeding program with this species. We've just recently received a female from the Los Angeles zoo. She had a lamb about six months ago, which continues our breeding program, but also both her and her mother are unrelated to our male, which means they can continue that captive breeding program here at the Museum. - [Coyote] This is the lamb right here, right? - [Will] Yep, this is the youngster, and she's done amazingly well. - When I think Bighorn's, I always think of that famous opening scene from Marty Stouffer's Wild America, where you have the two males, just boom, crushing heads with eachother. - [Will] In the wild, they would break into male and female groups outside the breeding season. Within the male groups they would start jousting, and basically establishing who was gonna be the dominant animal to breed. - [Coyote] So, what then is the ultimate goal of this species survival plan? - [Will] It's to maintain a genetically diverse population within a captive setting, but not only for exhibitory, and zoological institutions, but also in the event of a population crash in a wild population. - [Coyote] There is so much to experience at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and more animal and plant species than we could ever pack into a single episode of breaking trail. From rescuing animals to species survival plans, Arthur Pack and Willaim Carr's original vision of a living museum has truly grown into one of the world's most renowned natural history, and zoological establishments. Will, I can't thank you enough for taking the crew and I out here today. Truly a once in a lifetime experience to get behind the scenes, and see all the amazing conservation, and education work you guys are doing here. I had a fantastic time. I'm Coyote Peterson. Be brave, stay wild. We'll see you on the next adventure. If you thought that was one wild adventure, check out these other animal encounters, and don't forget subscribe to follow me and the crew on this season of Breaking Trail. This episode of Breaking Trail was brought to you by the BuyPower card from Capital One. Every purchase brings you closer to a new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, or Cadillac vehicle.

I have now fostered 177 dogs, 7 cats, and 1 sheep.

No, really.

Last night, as I was putting the final touches on a pizza for the grill was heating up on the deck, my oldest son yelled, “Hey, there’s a sheep or goat or something outside.”

Of late we’ve been having an ongoing battle with deer that have eaten nearly all my dragon beans, given the lettuce patch a crew cut, and recently begun munching the blueberries that are ripening on the side of hill where Brady said the sheep/goat/deer was, so I assumed he had spotted another deer. We aren’t used to seeing them come so close to the house, but this year seems different, plus it was storming so maybe it was hard to see clearly.

“I’m sure it’s just a deer.”

“It’s wearing a collar,” he said, heading out the front door.

I grabbed a slip lead and followed. When more thunder rumbled, the animal bleated, so clearly it wasn’t a deer. I wasn’t sure if it was a goat or a sheep – but it was scared and took off up the hill at the sight of us. We crept up the hill slowly. The animal, which turned out to be a sheep, was in the woods in a clearing where Nick split and stacked our firewood. It was brown and nearly camouflaged against the wood.

When I walked towards it, it skittered away, dragging a blue wire, the kind you used to tie a dog outside. The trailing end had another clip attached to a small bolt that had obviously come loose from whatever structure had been keeping the sheep contained.

Now, I have never been around sheep. Never. A goat a few times. A cow, more than a few times. But this was my first sheep. My first observation was that it had a long tail and every sheep I’ve ever envisioned had that small nub tail. This one’s tail swished as it moved away from me with every move I made.

I decided to treat it like a lost dog. Ian grabbed a flake of hay from the barn, and I got a handful of carrot chips (all I had in the fridge I thought a sheep would like and would be safe for it to eat).

This time I approached slowly and crouched down nearby, shaking the hay out. The sheep stared at me, but since starring directly at a dog is a sign of aggression, I kept my eyes down and away and angled my body sideways. I made soft sounds, reassured the sheep that I meant no harm, and waited until it looked a little more settled. Then I crept closer and tossed a carrot chip to it. The sheep sniffed the carrot chip and then ate it. I continued to toss chips, and it came closer and closer. Finally, it was within reach, but when I shifted to reach for its line, it turned to trot away. I jumped up and stepped on the line. We wrestled for a minute and the collar was almost over its tiny head, so I backed it against a stack of wood and looped the sliplead over its head.

Caught! But now what? I know nothing about sheep. And the sheep wanted nothing to do with me. Ian walked behind and shooed the sheep and I pulled and coaxed it forward by feeding it carrot chips. We got the sheep into a stall in our barn (which Nick quickly modified so she couldn’t escape under the gates), gave it more hay and a water bucket.

Obviously, the sheep belonged to someone. I posted on Nextdoor and Facebook, but all I got were bad puns and sympathy for the sheep. Then I remembered my new neighbor who reminds me of me when I was younger – organic, earth-focused, and creature loving. Could it be her sheep? I texted and she came right back with, “Yes, it’s ours. By any chance did you catch it?”

We kept the sheep overnight and the next morning Shea walked over and explained that the sheep was a bad decision—they’d agreed to keep it for a friend. Someone else was going to take the sheep on Friday. Any chance we could keep it until then? My horse True is fascinated with the sheep; they seem to be bonding. She’s no trouble, so we’ll have an extra boarder for a few days.

Shea kept apologizing and thanking me, which I told her was unnecessary. It was a fun family adventure; I learned a little about sheep, and of course, as I always think when odd things happen around here—it’ll be great material.

Okay, enough with the sheep interlude. Back to dogs…

Tito was adopted this past Saturday by a woman who told me, “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I dreamed of him.”

I told her I didn’t think that was crazy at all—I believe our animals find us. I do think she has a big job ahead of her, though. Luckily, she seems to understand that. Plus, she has an incredible older dog named Louie who had perfect manners and was completely nonplussed by Tito’s overtures to play. When the adopter asked Tito to sit for a treat, he was too excited to focus on her request until Louie stepped in and sat beautifully. Then Tito sat right beside him. I wished I’d gotten my camera out quickly enough for that picture, but here’s one of Tito sitting nicely.

Anyway, I’m happy for the big guy. Sad, he can’t be ours, but happy he seems to be with his ‘person.’

So for now, we are fosterless. Which is probably a good thing since my new book comes out two weeks from today!

On Thursday, we will welcome a former foster dog back to stay with us for two weeks while his family is vacationing and Fanny is very much looking forward to this guy. He was one of her favorite playmates! Watch the Another Good Dog Facebook group to see their reunion.

And while you’re on Facebook, please consider following/liking the book’s Facebook page, 100 Dogs & Counting. (It’s also on Instagram!) I will post there regularly this summer, sharing live videos, readings, reviews, and some virtual visits with a few of the dogs (and people) in the book!

Thanks for reading!

Cara

If you’d like regular updates of all my foster dogs past and present, plus occasional dog care/training tips from OPH training, be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog.

For information on me, my writing, and books, visit CaraWrites.com. You can find even more information on my new book, One Hundred Dogs and Counting: One  Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues, (Pegasus Books, July 2020) on the book’s very own Facebook page and Instagram account.

And if you’d like to know where all these dogs come from and how you can help solve the crisis of too many unwanted dogs in our shelters, visit WhoWillLetTheDogsOut.org.

Our family fosters through the all-breed rescue, Operation Paws for Homes, a network of foster homes in Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and south-central PA.

If you can’t get enough foster dog stories, check out my book: Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs . It’s available anywhere books are sold.

I love to hear from readers and dog-hearted people! Email me at [email protected].

Many of the pictures on my blog are taken by photographer Nancy Slattery. If you’d like to connect with Nancy to take gorgeous pictures of your pup (or your family), contact: [email protected].

    Newest foster dog is a sheep! (Not kidding) #animalrescue #thatincludessheep I have now fostered 177 dogs, 7 cats, and 1 sheep. No, really. Last night, as I was putting the final touches on a pizza for the grill was heating up on the deck, my oldest son yelled, “Hey, there’s a sheep or goat or something outside.”

Saunders Island – a wild land of birds

Nestled down at the bottom of the world you’ll find one of the most stunning and surprising places – Saunders Island.

Never heard of it? Don’t worry, most haven’t, me included. Here I go again spilling the beans on one of the world’s best-kept secrets.

One of the largest islands that comprise the archipelago of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Saunders Island is often one of the incredible stops on a voyage to the subantarctic with Quark Expeditions. And did I mention the best part?

Saunders Island is home to some of the most incredible birds on earth. Also it’s a sheep farm – it multi-tasks.

The curious story of the Falkland Islands

A veritable nature lover’s paradise, Saunders Island is a must-visit for fellow bird nerds like me.

While South Georgia nearby often gets all the attention, and usually included on the same itineraries that cover the Falklands, Saunders Island is a bit of a dark horse and is guaranteed to delight and surprise.

These are my favorite places to visit – when you have no expectations and are blown out of the water.

A place so remote that Wikipedia lists its population as four. Yes four, but five in summer, Saunders Island is tiny but mighty, owned by the Poole-Evans family, who will likely come out to say hello to you in their trusty Land Rover Defenders when you make port.

The elusive Jarrad Seng spotted in the wild

First settled in 1765 by the Brits on their international plan of world domination, less than five years later they were booted out by the Spanish and over the next century shifted ownership until the Brits were victorious in 1833 ever since, though don’t bring this up to anyone from Argentina unless you’re ready to have your head bitten off.

But back to the birds.

With the human population is less than ten, the bird populations have managed to soar, in spite of a sizable rat problem.

Falklands (Malvinas) and South Georgia: Islands of the Southern Ocean

With stunning white sandy beaches and blue waters, it’s not what you might expect from such a wild and remote place. Most of the expedition ships like with Quark call into “The Neck” where the highest concentration of wildlife co-exists along with some sheep.

Here penguins rub shoulders with rare seabirds in a place unlike I’ve ever seen before or since. It was the perfect introduction to the subantarctic and absolutely blew me away.

Here are some of the birds you’ll meet on Saunders Island in the Falkland Islands  – enjoy!

Gentoo penguins

Ah the gentoos, the classic of the classic penguins, and the most likely to greet you as you step off the zodiac onto the beach at Saunders Island.

With an estimated 6,700 breeding pairs on Saunders Island and around 100,000 on the Falklands, you are definitely going to see these guys waddling around you. While the origin of their name is unknown, it’s pretty cool to note that gentoos are the only penguin on earth whose population and home is increasing, especiall in Antarctica.

Yay! Long live the penguins!

10 things that surprised me in Antarctica

Striated caracara

Far from one of the most popular birds on the Falklands, the Johnny Rook aka the striated caracara is a scavenger, that breeds around the penguin and seabird colonies, living off dead stuff and even newborn or weakened sheep, which led it to be persecuted by farmers in the past.

Luckily times have changed and while they are far from abundant, these smart and fearless birds of prey have no qualms about us visitors, and aren’t even phased.

You’ll see them lurking about the beaches, as if oblivious to us humans wandering around ooh-ing and ahhh-ing all of the penguins.

King penguins

Wow wow wow, now let me just say, nothing will prepare you for how blown away you’ll be the first time you clap eyes on a king penguin.

Magnificent and beautifully colored, I thought we would only see these guys in Antarctica, but boy I was wrong. Saunders Island on the Falklands is home to them too, and we were lucky enough to see them on our visit.

I plonked myself down in the sand for ages watching them, and I could barely believe my eyes when I saw a little chick peek out from underneath one of them – squeee! What a delightful moment!

Request a quote to adventure to the Falklands and South Georgia with Quark Expeditions today!

Black-browed albatross

With over half a million breeding pairs on the subantarctic islands, on a visit to the Falklands you’ll likely to meet one of my favorite birds – the black-browed albatross.

Albatross are simply stunning creatures. Monogamous and living up to 70 years old, these guys mate for life, and there is a tremendous colony you can visit on Saunders Island.

Rockhopper penguins waddle through their nests above the sea, and the chicks are just enormous, fluffy grey balls surrounded by their parents. Beautiful and smelly, I adore albatross.

They are just enormous, watching them try to land is frankly terrifying as they often can crash and look almost like little airplanes soaring above you on the cliffs.

Magellanic penguins

As if I haven’t mentioned enough of the incredible creatures you’ll spot on Saunders Island, there is yet another penguin mingling amongst the masses – the magellanic penguin.

Named after, you guessed it, the explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who first spotted them in 1520, the classic black and white penguins reminded me a lot of similar species I’ve seen in South Africa.

Rather shy, you could see them hesitantly make their way up the beach to their nests from a day at sea, waddling along with their friends.

Honestly, I don’t think you can watch penguins walk around and not smile! Go on, prove me wrong!

Rockhopper penguins

Ok, if I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be these guys. I mean, come on, look at them.

They are the rockstars of the penguin world. With incredible yellow feathery eyebrows and a rather bemused expression, these little rockhopper penguins are hard not to love.

One of several types of crested penguins, you’ll find them on Saunders Island, and these are the ones that swim so fast they can launch themselves out of the water and land on their bellies. I spent a long time observing their colonies on the Falklands absolutely mesmerized by these colorful little penguins.

Book the Falklands and South Georgia today and use promo code LIZ150 for $150 onboard credit that can be used for purchases on board at the polar gift shop, or, cough cough, the bar

In New Zealand where I live you’re very lucky if you see even one of the similar Fiordland-crested penguins, and here I was surrounded by thousands. One even walked right by me as I sat frozen in awe; it was so close I could have kissed him. But I didn’t.

Man, penguins are so cool.

Have you ever considered visiting the Falkland Islands? Would you love to see some of these incredible birds up close and personal? Share!

Many thanks to Quark Expeditions for helping get me to the Falkland Islands, like always, I’m keeping it real, all opinions are my own, like you could expect less from me!

The post Saunders Island – a wild land of birds appeared first on Young Adventuress.

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25 photos that will inspire you to visit Antarctica

I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever been more exciting to share a post on here before.

Guys, guys, GUYS, my ultimate travel dream has come true. And no, I am not just saying that. This time I really mean it!

I finally made it to Antarctica. HOLY CRAP!

The last continent. The great white south. Land of penguins and ice. And this Antarctica travel happened in January with Intrepid Travel, who share the same key goals and values as me, the leader in powerful transformative trips and small group tours around the world.

Crossing the Antarctic Circle via Falklands & South Georgia

And wow, oh wow, what can I say? I’ve got off the ship in Argentina about a month ago, and my mind is still reeling. It was so incredible and life-changing, it’s almost been hard to process. Without a doubt, Antarctica is the coolest place I’ve ever been and I imagine, ever will be privileged enough to travel too.

Photo by Jarrad Seng

Since I’ve returned everyone has been asking me about what Antarctica was like, and ironically, I, the writer, the lady of endless words, has been at a loss for words. I’m still not sure I’m ready to describe the experience or really be able to articulate what it meant to me. But, I’ll give it a crack, as we say in New Zealand.

Profound wilderness like you can’t even begin to imagine. Epic landscapes that are hard to wrap your head around. Icebergs bigger than buildings. Penguin colonies in the tens of thousands. ZERO polar bears (they live in the Arctic, guys). Silence. Life, death, it had it all. It is a place that has the power to change your life in many ways. I think I can safely say that everyone on the ship returned home changed, inspired, in awe and happy. Deeply happy.

From over 20,000 photos and over three weeks at sea, I’ve managed to whittle it down to 25 of my favorite shots in the hopes that it might inspire you to make the journey too.

I just can’t help myself but I have to say it: I’ve been trying to go to Antarctica with my blog for over three years and it always fell through and never happened, over and over, again and again I was disappointed. I can’t begin to thank Intrepid for believing in me and my work, and trusting me to share my stories and adventures there with you all. And also to Jarrad Seng, an old friend of mine and absolutely legendary photographer and videographer for coming with me on this adventure. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Our trip to Antarctica began from Ushuaia before sailing to the Falkland Islands onto South Georgia before heading back south towards the Antarctic Peninsula and along the west side down towards Adelaide Island into the Antarctic Circle – Next year’s trip is on sale here

Falkland Islands

Our adventurer began by boarding our ship in Ushuaia from the bottom of Argentina to the Falkland Islands, or Las Islas Malvinas, depending on who you’re talking to. About a 500 kilometer journey, it has a population of less than 4,000 souls and is a wild and stunning bit of land worth visiting on its own.

With vague memories of learning about the war between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands from high school, I arrived with minimal expectations. But as it turned out, it surprised and delighted me over and over again.

A beautiful, quirky land of wild beaches, lots of wildlife and few humans, it was a perfect introduction to our Antarctica adventure.

Gentoo penguins on the Falkland Islands.

The Falklands was my first introduction for the incredible wildlife on this trip. While I’m used to visiting birds here in New Zealand and overseas, I had never experienced colonies of the same scale that you have on these islands. Hundreds and thousands of birds that you might never see anywhere else, it was just incredible.

A local farmhouse in the west Falklands where we had afternoon tea in a warm sunny garden. Are you as surprised as I am to see such a green and inviting looking place?

Southern rockhopper penguins on Saunders Island, a sheep farm and the 4th largest island on the Falklands

Stanley is the tiny capital of the Falkland Islands and home to a surprising number of Land Rover Defenders, of all shapes, sizes and colors. Photo by Jarrad Seng. 

Sailing away from the Falklands on our way to South Georgia after being hit with an enormous storm.

South Georgia

Holy crap. South Georgia. What can I say?

I’m not sure, but I think I might have liked South Georgia MORE than Antarctica. It’s a place few journey too because it’s so far (and expensive) but let me tell you, it’s worth every penny. It’s well out of the way, so most voyages there are much longer than just down to Antarctica and back, and obviously cost a lot more.

However, that being said, South Georgia is the BEST PLACE EVER ON EARTH. Period. No arguing. If you love nature and wildlife, South Georgia is the place for you.

The place I was most excited to visit on the entire voyage was St. Andrew’s Bay on South Georgia, home to half a million king penguins. This is a place you might have seen on David Attenborough documentaries or on National Geographic, and yes, you can visit there too.

The abandoned whaling station at Leith Harbour on a sunny day.

At the beginning of the 20th century, South Georgia became a hub for the whaling industry. An unpleasant and very dangerous place to work, with some of the worst conditions and weather on earth, more than 100,000 whales were killed here over the decades, vastly reducing the world’s population of whales.

Now you can see the remnants of the abandoned stations in the sheltered harbors on South Georgia, rusting and creaking in the sun, with whale bones scattered everywhere, taken over by penguins and fur seals. They are just as creepy in real life as they come across in photos.

Photography was a huge part of my adventure around Antarctica, if you can’t tell. Jarrad and I both are longtime Canon users, tough and dependable gear that was able to endure the incredibly harsh conditions of Antarctica.

Though all of my gear needed a thorough service and clean after three weeks of ice, snow, salt water, dirt and penguin shit. It all still worked at the end!

My main gear consisted of two Canon 5D Mark 3 bodies with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens on one and a 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens on the other, and a 16-35mm f/2.8 lens in my bag. Jarrad preferred to shoot with a 100-400 lens.

Photo by Jarrad Seng of me at St. Andrews Bay

Young, and if you can believe it, small, male elephant seals battling it out on a beach on South Georgia.

Three wandering albatross soar high above Prion Island on South Georgia, a breeding colony for these magnificent birds.

The wandering albatross is one of the biggest birds in the world, with a wingspan over 10 feet long, and to watch them soar close to you on Prion Island, one of our first landing sites on South Georgia, was an experience I’ll never, ever forget.

Molting king penguins at St. Andrew’s Bay – in addition to the incredibly huge king penguin population here, its location couldn’t be more picturesque, surrounded by glaciers and mountains, and home to a lot of elephant seals

The Antarctic Peninsula

And finally the highlight of the adventure, making our way down to Antarctica proper.

We had dark and stormy weather as we sailed from South Georgia to Antarctica, with a stop at Elephant Island, which you might know as the desolate tiny island where Ernest Shackleton’s expedition was stuck on in 1916. I’ll be talking more about this next week on a project with the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust so stay tuned.

I knew Antarctica was close by as we began to see more and more colossal icebergs drift past the ship the further south we voyaged.

Antarctica is a fascinating place for many reasons, but one of the main ones being that it has no native human populations and is governed by the Antarctic Treaty, which was signed in 1959 with 53 countries currently as members.

There are many different territorial claims but back in the day, 12 main countries got together and agreed that Antarctica should be set aside for science and research. That means that there are no arms or armies there, rather scientific research stations and bases, all generally working towards the same goals and helping each other out.

And while there is tourism practiced in Antarctica, any reputable tour operator is a member of IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators) and adheres to safe and responsible environmental practices in Antarctica.

Humpback whales feeding at sunrise.

I woke up ridiculously early the day we were due to arrive in Antarctica. Looking out the window, I could see a few humpback whales right next to the ship as the sun was rising. I grabbed my jacket and boots and ran outside only to be greeted by the most glorious sight.

We were surrounded by dozens of humpback whales and their calves feeding on the surface of a very calm sea. All around us were snowcapped mountains and glaciers, turning red with the sunrise, in a place like I’d never seen before.

It really felt like the end of the world and it was something I got to experience all to myself before the rest of the ship woke up.

The Antarctic Peninsula is the most northern part of the Antarctic mainland, closest to Argentina.

It is home to some of the most dramatic scenery and wildlife in all of Antarctica and it’s where the vast majority of expedition ships journey too.

Photo by Jarrad Seng

A leopard seal growls and drools on an iceberg. They are one of the top predators in Antarctica, over three meters long and huge, with massive heads and jaws and a face that looks reptilian.

They are scary.

Me and our ship on one of the many zodiac boat cruises in Antarctica. I’m cold and oh so happy!

Our journey was extra special because we traveled all the way down into the Antarctic Circle, not all the Antarctic expeditions go that far south. Located at 66 degrees south, it was snowing and freezing when we finally crossed it, though still many of the landings were thick with pack ice.

Photo by Jarrad Seng

I never got tired of photographing or watching the icebergs in Antarctica. All different shapes and styles, they were just beautiful. Some were huge and some tiny, some from glaciers and some were enormous walls of ice that had broken off the ice shelf.

These channels carved in the snow that lead up and down from the sea to penguin colonies are called penguin highways. I could have sat and watch these guys waddle up and down for hours.

This was probably my favorite iceberg, a triple arch. We watched it for ages hoping it’d crash into the water but it lived on to another day.

Hanging out on the front of the ship on one of our first days on the Antarctic Peninsula. This is the helicopter zone in case someone needed to get rescued, though that wasn’t likely to happen as there aren’t any rescue places in Antarctica, really.

Photo by Jarrad Seng

One of the many scientific bases in Antarctica. They aren’t usually manned all year round, and those that are there in summer are often glad to say hello to visiting tourist ships, as after all, they don’t really get any visitors.

A curious gentoo penguin says hello on our last day on the Antarctic Peninsula.

These are older chicks and often are rather cheeky and curious. If you let them, they might even get into your lap.

And yes, you get covered in penguin poop. It’s unavoidable.

On most voyages to Antarctica, you sleep on the ship – remember the Treaty – there are no hotels or places like that in Antarctica, and you need consents and permits to land almost everywhere. Instead you do landings at different sites and locations depending on the weather and conditions.

Zodiacs (these inflatable boats) are lowered down from the sides of the ship, and you board them to go visit land or to cruise around on.

Photo by Jarrad Seng

Two Adélie penguins on an iceberg. These penguins are just beautiful, right?

We saw many types of penguins on our trip to Antarctica and islands, from rockhoppers to kings to gentoos and chinstraps, I never got tired of seeing these guys in the wild.

Some thick pack ice that prevented us landing at Paradise Harbor.

On any trip to Antarctica you have to be really flexible. The expedition leader and team work tirelessly with the captain and crew to make fun and special landings for us, though the weather and ice often plays a big part in changing plans.

After all, getting stuck on land because of thick windblown ice or even getting the ship stuck like Shackleton is far from ideal, and which, by the way, still happens.

Have you been to Antarctica? Is it on your bucketlist like me? Have I inspired you to blow all your savings on a trip to the last continent? Share!

Hanging out with the gentoo penguins in Antarctica. Photo by Jarrad Seng

Many thanks to Intrepid Travel for hosting me on my dream trip to Antarctica – like always – I’m keeping it real. All opinions are my own, like you could expect less from me!

The post 25 photos that will inspire you to visit Antarctica appeared first on Young Adventuress.

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