Happy Second Birthday Fairy!

You guessed!!!!!
For those of you that didn’t (humph!), here’s another little clue. . . .

‘F’ is for . . . . . tra la-laaaaa!

Yes – it’s my BIRTHDAY!
Time for my official portrait. That’s me on the right – and I am not so little now thank you very much. I am TWO you know!

Oh wow! All my special online friends have remembered!

I have been having a lovely day.
I went on a grand tour all round the garden with my Daddy.

He passed on all your Birthday kishes!

And this afternoon I went for a special ride on Big Mavis.

Then we had my Birthday tea – indoors.
It was quite windy and I was worried my Birthday salad would all blow away!

Marigold and Mariella invited themselves and, err, helped.

We had a very quick game of ‘Pass The Salad’!

Look! I told you – Marigold DOES have legs!

Pull, Mariella!

umph – looks like we’ve almost run out.
That didn’t last very long did it?

That was a bit greedy, Marigold! Fancy eating everything in sight . . . .what about the rest of us? Grumph!

Oh well. Now you two sit all nice and quiet and look photogenic while I check out all my Birthday presents.

Nice wrapping paper. Very tasty.

Oh heck, Marigold, is that what I think it is?

WOW! My very own extra special cucumber!

It’s from all my Mousey friends – I’ll keep it safe until Marigold has gone to bed.

Look here, Fairy, you’ve got another one to unwrap. You get two presents when you are two.

Thank you, Mummy and Daddy! A perfect little Fairy-Fur-Brush!

Looks like the pair of you could do with a heavy duty one. What a pair of scruffs.

Oh-ho! Look!! Candles – Mum . . . . can you light them for me, please?

Big breath in, and, Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuufff! Good, I can make a Birthday wish . . . I wish you could all be here to share my special day.

I’ve had a super Birthday, thank you all for everything. I am a very lucky little girl.
I love being all grown-up and everything.
Can’t wait to be three now!

Flowery-Fairy!

Snow, snow and more snow! I expect you thought that is what you would find here today. Well, you were wrong! Nasty cold wet stuff that sticks to my whiskers – brrrr! So instead I am bringing you a little bit of summer. Sit down on a nice comfy chair, put your paws up and chill(!) while I show you a few of my favourite garden flowers.

My love of flowers can be traced back to the Big Royal Mouse Wedding Of The Year where I, among all my other important and complicated duties, was co-opted to do the wedding flowers. Remember Minty’s spectacular bouquet? A pretty little posy of Sweet Williams with some other little whatsits thrown in for good measure. Fairy-sized flowers, delicate, sweet and mini – just like little ol’ ME. A triumph!

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Look! They are jolly snazzy.

If you need me to do your wedding flowers I am sure it could be arranged.

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If you are going to a sophisticated wedding, you can always find a suitable hat hidden amongst the flower petals. This jolly posh hat was just the job for the famous Mouse Wedding of the Year. An occasion made all the more enjoyable by my meticulous planning and superior organisation skills. Oh and a particularly good Cheese-cake!
That reminds me, I must invite Minty and Monty round for tea, it’s ages since we got together!

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Have you ever tried lounging around in the flower bed? Daisies are particularly comfy and quite handy to hide among, their being white and everything!

No time for loafing today though. Let’s be taking a look over yonder . . .

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. . . err . . . I am in here. HERE! Can you see me ok?

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Pink! My favourite colour! Mummy says it has something to do with my ears, I think . . . not sure what though.

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Now then . . . where was I? Oh yes, flowers.

The very best kind of flower is of course, the edible non petal flower – more commonly known in horticultural circles as ‘grass’. Not only is it comfy to loll about in, it also makes a tasty and nutritious snack. Yum!

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Fairy And The Tumultuous Tower Of Cosy-Comfort Device!

We find our pals busily sitting around happily doing nothing – but all is not as it seems.  There is a simmering mood of discontent coming inexorably to the boil, emanating from the hairy occupant of the cheese chair.

Hummph, Hummmph and thrice Hummmmph!

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What ails you sweet Fairy? You don’t appear to be your usual bouncy, jovial self today.

Well Marigold, thank you for asking but – if you don’t know, I’m not telling you!!!

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And as for you young mousey type babies, shouldn’t you be busy sweeping chimneys or plaiting sand or doing something equally useful? And be quick about it!

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Err, *whispering* Marigold.

Yes Mariella, what is it?

I rather suspect that our international superstar sister is in one of her . . . moods!

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Oh goodness, what ever can the matter with her be?

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We think we know.

Err Auntie Fairy, can we borrow your highly developed cleverness skills for a moment, please?

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We want you to test our latest invention – it’s a tumultuous tower of cosy-comfort device.

What do you think of it Auntie Fairy, do tell us please? Oh yes, Fairy! Please do tell!

‘It will do’, proclaimed our furry hero.

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Fairy loves it! Yippppppeeeeeee, hurrrrrrrrrrah and various other squeaky outpourings of delight.

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Fairy had been peeved because everyone was sitting on her favourite comfy pads.

Of course, she believes passionately in sharing everything snugglable, just so long as her share is a little more equal than others.

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Hedge-pigs!

Have you looked at the hedge in your garden recently and thought how characterless and unexciting it looks? A monotonous stretch of repetitious green – if you are lucky! Many garden hedges are threadbare and unkempt. Regular. Conventional. A barrier between your garden and your neighbour. Boring, dull, lifeless! Functional, unexceptional, middling and ‘hedge-like!

What you need is a Hedge Carving! When my ‘topiary-handy’ hubby asked what creature I would like to see in our hedge I suggested a pig. Naturally I was thinking something along the lines of this little madam:

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What I got was THIS! We call him ‘Gloucester’!

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We also have a Mavis-face. Mavis herself had a very distinct white mask and here it is reproduced in full bushy green colour – in a hedge!

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And ever the romantic, he created a heart hedge!

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I haven’t ever seen anything quite like them before and I think they are magical! All we need now is a spare hedge to create a Fairy carving!

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It’s Cold Enough For Snow!

Although May 1st was beautifully warm and sunny, today it is decidedly chilly here in our part of the UK. Fairy is safely snuggled up in her favourite Cuddle Cup enjoying a relaxing afternoon nap in the warm kitchen.

I have just returned from a brisk walk down the lane for ‘grass collecting’ purposes – it is far too cold for Guinea Pigs to be grazing on the lawn! In fact it feels cold enough for snow!

Fairy’s experience of the snow a few months ago was from the handy strategic positioning of a bowl full of fresh, clean white snow on the kitchen table!

Look! We’ve been busy building a snowman!

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Mr Bear, there seems to be something missing . . .

Fairy and Mr Bear build their snowman snow scene

. . . Muuum! Can we have a hat for the snowman, please?

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There! We all look very smart now!

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Haha! Take THAT, Mr Bear!

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Ow!! You got me!

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C’mon! Will it go any faster?!

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All this playing has tired me out . . . . . zzzzz

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Baby Fairy!

Fairy was born on June 11th 2009. Brillo, her mum, was among five guinea pigs we rescued from an intolerable situation. She gave birth to 3 babies, Fairy, Flash and Jiff, a little boy piggy. It didn’t take long to realise Fairy was blind and a few days after that it was apparent she had no sense of hearing either. She had problems eating too, and no wonder! Her top incisors were non existent and her lower ones projected forward. All her food had to be sliced up into bite sized nibbles and we hand fed her many times throughout the day, every day for probably the first 6 months of her life. For the first week or so it was difficult to encourage her to eat anything at all but gradually she realised how tasty fresh salad and vegetables were, and also how scrumptious fresh picked grass was. Then she discovered hay! Not only could you eat it but you could play in it too!

Her siblings were thriving but Fairy remained around half the weight of them. Her little head with its large pink ear flaps, seemed very narrow and was often tilted to one side. Then there were the occasional ‘seizures’ or ‘fits’. I wasn’t sure what was wrong, and I took her to the vet. After a cursory glance she suggested we ‘put her out her misery’. She wasn’t in pain and it didn’t seem right to end the life of such a beautiful creature without at least understanding what was wrong with her. It was only by trawling the internet after a friend mentioned the term ‘Lethal’ that I discovered exactly what was the problem was.

Fairy is what is known as a ‘Lethal White’ Guinea Pig.  She has a genetic condition due to certain ‘Roan’ genes present in both parents. ‘Lethals’ can often have short, difficult lives and are a lesson to us all that we should never, ever breed from our Guinea Pigs. You can read more about Lethals by searching the Guinea Lynx Forum. This article is very informative too. Casper is a very special Lethal White, her story is also on the Forum.

Careful nurturing, regular trips to a trained Rodentologist for tooth correction, the best food possible, lots of patience and even more important, lots of love, Fairy is now a happy, healthy, wilful, loving and very special guinea pig – she is magic!

Looking back, we didn’t take many photographs of Fairy during the first few weeks of her life. Jiff and Flash, her siblings, were due to go to their new forever home in July, along with their Mum, Brillo. We knew it would be hard saying ‘goodbye’ to this beautiful little family and were reluctant to become too attached to them.

3 days old, Fairy facing the wrong way, with her brother, Jiff.

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4 days old – Flash, Jiff and Fairy.

Piglets 4 days old

In a different order – Fairy always seemed to be facing the wrong way!

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And here she is aged about 4 weeks.

Fairy being cute

She was very shy!

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Getting the hang of nibbling some lettuce at 6 weeks of age!

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Going for a romp!

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This was a favourite photo from that time.

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A Romp In The Park!

A glorious Spring day and Fairy and her pals are off on a picnic!

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C’mon you lot, it’s time to get out!

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Well, it seems Pandora and Peregrine, Minty’s Brother, are getting along fine and dandy.

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It’s nice here, isn’t it?

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Lovely place to enjoy a spot of sunbathing.

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What a marvellous hat, Monty! I love your scarf too, Minty!

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The grass is scrumptious.

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What do you reckon to that Church over there, Mariella? I wonder if they do weddings!

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Maybe we should pay a visit to see how to book one!!

Busy Baking!

Now then you two, I’m glad you could come over today – we are going to bake a cake. I like your pinny, Minty, just the job! Let’s get on then, it will be a certain person’s Birthday soon, so you need to know what to do.

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This IS going to be fun!

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Now, where did I put my rolling pin?

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Oh! Here it is! Give that a good mix, Minty!

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Let me check . . .

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. . . . yes, it’s very flourery!

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Careful, Monty, the oven will be very hot . . . . it is ready for . . .

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. . . the cake to go in now.

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Just time for a quick nap!

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Ooooooo! Can I smell burning?

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No! It is alright – look, your cake is perfect.

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What a productive day we have had – well done!

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That tomato looks tasty!

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Now then, can you guess what comes next? The washing up! You should always leave your kitchen clean and tidy.

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I think we have earned a well deserved nap . . . . . zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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