sometimes the humans need a vacation, and its hard to go on a vacation
if you are worrying about your weasels. a cottage vacation can be a
bit of a crap shoot because of the weather, but a lot of cottages do
accommodate pets. I've been on cottage vacations with the ferrets
before, but there's something new this time - a dog and a 10 month old
baby. this vacation would have been quite a bit better, if Quasar,
fierce protector of the weasels, isn't completely terrified of a 10
month old baby (and if she isn't equally terrified of swimming). the
weather also left much to be desired, we had a few stormy days, and a
few beautiful, part sun, part cloud days, only 1 of which is actually
warm and wind still.

we did make the most of our one good day. once again, the prevue ferret
playpens are awesome for keeping the weasels confined. everybody except
Kaie, who was sick, got to do a bit of swimming. with 7 weasels, not
everybody got to do everything, for example, Ina and I were only
comfortable taking 2 ferrets with us when we did a little kayaking
around the lake. during the kayak trip, we came across a tiny island
in the middle of the lake. it was quite fun just letting the Mochi &
Lollipop loose on it, although there were brief moments of panic when
one or the other disappeared under a rock. I think we'll bring leashes
next time. later in the afternoon, Ina pointed me to a piece of rock
jutting over the water about a 5 minute swim away. we loaded Monkey &
Aurum in the ferret boat, and started towing them towards the rocks.
this rock was much safer than the island we visited in the morning, it
was all flat and there were no holes that the ferrets could disappear
under. it was a long stretch of rocks, with parts submerge, but almost
shallow enough that the ferrets could just walk between. we could have
hung out there a bit longer, except that it was getting a bit chilly,
and Aurum was getting a bit impatient. we left the ferrets on one part
of the rock so we can try and get some stranded island ferret pictures
(yay for waterproof cameras!). Monkey didn't much like being there, but
there were no hammocks for him to hide in. we'd put Aurum on the far
stretch of rocks, and he decided he wanted to get back to the boat.
so he started walking towards it, got his feet wet, and then started
swimming to the main part of the rock all by himself. however, the
little blow up boat didn't offer all the comforts of home, so to our
amazement, he looked at the dock, its quite a distance, and then
launched himself in the water towards it! at that point, Ina and I
decided we should accompany him, we did put him in the boat for a bit,
but we also let him swim part of the way home. what a weasel!

I'm not sure that the ferrets enjoyed our trip, but here are the
pictures of their "enrichment"

https://picasaweb.google.com/107549797049756791444/Cottage2011

the backyard, the beach, and the cottage are some of the few places
where we have the ferrets in enclosures. we do take them out
occasionally on a leash. there are 2 of us, and we try to be very
careful, but we are definitely aware that accidents can happen. on
a cottage trip 3 or 4 years ago, Cola escaped from our rigged up
enclosure. we found her on the stairs heading towards the cottage.
back then we were keeping track of 13 ferrets, this last trip we had
7, and we are so happy with the enclosures. with the enclosures, we
make sure that it sits on grass in the yard, if its on bare dirt,
sometimes the ferrets will dig there, and they could probably get out
from underneath. on the beach, we try to have a few pieces of large
driftwood on one side, and we pile sand around the edges. we keep an
eye on dogs nearby, we've had one or two that are very interested in
the weasels. on the dock, we tie the enclosure down where we can. the
main lesson we learned from Cola's escape a few years ago, is to always
have an area where the ferrets feel safe and can hide. if we have had
their carrier in their enclosure back then, she would have just gone
in there and fell asleep. we keep a carrier in there now and plenty of
hammocks, the weasels crawl in there and sleep instead of trying to
escape. the umbrella also covers a large area and makes them feel much
more secure, we use it now even if it is shady enough for them.

someone asked me how we do it. they are paranoid about losing someone.
the above is what we do. we are paranoid about losing someone too,
but we decided we'll feel even worse if the ferrets never get any new
experiences. as it is, we feel like we don't take them out enough and
they could use more stimulation. you may just want to start with one
ferret on a leash, and if you have a few, you definitely want a ferret
savy friend where at least one of you is keeping an eye. count them all
the time. make sure they have their safe place to hide, not just by
putting a hammock out, but by watching them and seeing that they go in
there rather than frantically trying to get out. give them their treats
and make them comfortable. enjoy outside with the weasels, and share
your stories here!

Selina, Mochi, Jolt, Cola & Aurum

p.s one more thing. its not just the young and restless that enjoys it,
it really depends on the ferret. Kaie, the almost 8 year old cancer
patient that has since left us, was one of the ferrets who liked lying
and digging in the beach the most. of course, it could be because we
never dragged him out to swim!

[Posted in FML 7201]