Madagascar!

We have been in Madagascar for about two and a half weeks now and we are coming home in six days!! We went to Madagascar for Christmas and now I will write a quick overview of what we have been doing.

Week #1
Our flight from Paris to Madagascar arrived at about 1AM local time. We were really tired but made it through. When we got to the house we feasted on croissants, baguette and chocolate croissants. Then Luka, Tristan and I went to bed.
The rest of the week we explored, played soccer, swam, played piano, rode the motorcycle and played to our hearts content. Later on in the week I went to Le Cot for the first time this trip. Le Cot is a horse riding, swimming and tennis club. I only go there for the horses. The first horse I rode was named Valarian Star and the second was named Sheridan. I cantered jumpsnthat we 2'8" tall! It was really fun.

Week #2
This week we went to Anjajavy! It is a hotel in the north-east of Madagascar. It is awesome there. The pool is warmer than a bathtub, the ocean has waves and is also warm and the best of all..... It is home to four different lemur species! We saw the Coquerel's Sifaka, The Common brown lemur and the Sportive Lemur. On the way back from Anjajavy we met one of the worlds best lemur expert. His name is Russell A Mittermier. He gave Luka and I copies of his book.

Week #3
Now we are in week three with two days left of our vacation and we just came back from Antalaha where the majority of the vanilla is grown in Madagascar. We got a tour of the vanilla business because my grandpa owns the company. We got the see the vanilla plants in flower which is really rare and we also got to see how and where is is processed.
Now we just got back from Antalaha but we aren't going anywhere in the next two days so thats really all that happened besides Christmas but why bore you?

The worst part of this vacation is that I miss Tuggles SOOOOOOOO much it's killing me!

Lily

PS go to this link to see some pictures!

http://madagascartripfraise.blogspot.com/

Tuggles Is All Healed!

Tuggles is all healed! He is running around the backyard playing, chasing sticks, playing with toys and having fun! He jumps onto the sofas and beds and jumps over our rock wall! We are all so glad and so happy and we couldn't ask for a better dog leg and all!

Tug and me

Beaver

Snakey

Bone

Lily

Tuggles Out of Cast!!!

Tuggles doesn't have his cast on anymore! His leg has healed enough that his leg doesn't have to be in a cast anymore. He went to the vet yesterday and they removed the cast and also removed the staples! He is doing great! We have to keep his cone on for another week or two until its healed and he doesn't have a chance of licking it open. He is very happy right now!

Lily

Our Rube Goldburg Project!

This is the video of our Rube Goldburg project that we made at the Great Hollow Homeschool Coop! We spent ages on it and we are proud on how it turned out! Please Watch and Enjoy!

-Lily

Wow what a story!

    
 Meet Molly. She's a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana, USA. She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes.
 But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight, and didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic.
 Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there.
 This was the right horse and the right owner," Moore insists.
 Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood (that) she was in trouble. The other important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse.

 Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana . The little pony gained weight, her mane felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.
 The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports.
 And she asks for it! She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too." And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. "It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse", she laughs.
  Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers . Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people. And she had a good time doing it.
 It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life", Moore said, "She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others."
 She's not back to normal," Barca concluded, "but she's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself."
 
 

 

   
 This is Molly's most recent prosthesis. The bottom photo shows the ground surface that she stands on, which has a smiley face embossed in it. Wherever Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind!

-Lily 

Tuggles Update

My dad took Tuggles for a bandage change and a x-ray of his leg today.  It is healing well with no noticeable difference for good or bad, which is good because it means he didn't break it again by jumping the baby gate! Yay! He has got a cool new blue bandage on that wont slip! Another yay!

Lily

Him Chewing Bone in the Backyard

New Bandage

Cookie is Home!

The poodle I've been taking care of for two months went home today! Her owner was sooooooooo happy to see her after being away for such a long time.... I miss her but I know she is happy to be with her owner again.

-Lily

Cookie in the Grass

Another of Cookie in the Grass