Well, this is bye-bye for a few weeks (no comments) as I take the Magical
Museum Tour.  Lots of you requested I drop by, and I will make every effort
possible, if even for a few hours.  If I don't show up, you can be sure it
was for a good reason, and I apologize in advance.  It may take a bit longer
to collect my data than I expected because I discovered how to really goof
up the innerds of a PC laptop.  Until it comes back from the shop, it's just
a paperweight.  <Sob> No electronic caplipers--I'll have to do it the old
way <whimper> (And don't rub it in Gina!)
 
Regarding ferrets running free in the back yard.  Theoretically it might be
all right, but don't complain if they never return.  They can be "collected"
by passersby, they can become dinner for a squirrel-loving hound, they can
become disoriented and get lost, or they can impersonate a flat cat with the
help of a passing auto.  Yes, I was raised on a farm, no, I don't think pets
should roam free.  Besides the possiblity that the animal may turn feral (a
real danger in cats and dog, much less so in ferrets), they can simply
contact too many diseases, fleas, ticks, chiggers, and other stuff of a
nasty nature.  I wish I could remember the reference, but I recall reading
that animals allowed to run free had lifespans 1/3 the normal, on average,
due to increased accidents and illnesses.
 
I take mine out, but they are always supervised (just like Bastet the cat).
Usually they run when I BBQ or work out with weights in the back yard, so
they get out quite often.  I created a maze out of cinderblocks and plastic
PVC pipe, and they all run to the area when out the door.  We never let them
out of sight, mostly because it's so fun watching them play.  Or you could
do what TLE did, which was to create a ferret-proof outdoor enclosure, then
cut a hole in the back door for the fuzzbeans to use at will.  Just keep an
eye out for digging.  (BTW, I've seen TLE toss ferrets to the futon like
fieldworkers toss potatoes in a trailer.  Not a pretty sight....well, pretty
funny!)
 
For those of you that asked, both Foster and Tori are doing well.  Tori is
picking fights again, but a nip to the butt sents her running.  Foster is
walking much better now that its warmed up, and loves to play in my bone/lab
toolbag (Loves to carry off the brushes I use to clean the dirt off the
bones I study).  Many of you sent advice on arthritis treatments; when I
return, I'll compile and post them.
 
Oh yes, I'll be stopping at the infamous San Juan Islands while I'm in the
Northwest.  Wanna bet the "ferret sightings" are light-colored mink?
(Exculding the occasional lost ferret) I'll bet anyone a dinner, and not
Taco Bell either.  I'll do a preliminary survey to check, and if it looks
promising, I'll do a more extensive one later.
 
Oh yeah, I misplaced the addresses to my two Vancouver B.C. fiends, er, e h,
friends.  Since I'll be getting stuff from Simon Frazer and the Royal
(whatever) Museum, I'm in the neighborhood.  I'll look up the shelter number
when I get there.
 
Kelleen wrote and said if I visited, I could confirm to the FML that she was
wacky.  Well, Kelleen (and David) I'll drop by (although I have no idea why
I would want to be in Idaho) but I don't need a visit to be able to tell
that I'm not the only wacky person on the FML.  Anyone who runs a shelter is
wacky.  They may be loving and nice and sugary and all that, but they're
wacky.  I know TLE is.  (And when she see's me, not only will I be wacky,
but also wacked!)
 
Take care my friends, and don't forget to weasel wrestle from time to time.
 
Bob aready missing his 13.
 
"Ferrets aren't fun; they're a necessity, like air or food or baseball."
[Posted in FML issue 1559]