Gabby’s Great Escape, or how to make Joyce nervous

Over the weekend I moved my little corn snake (Gabby) from the boaphiles rack back into a glass tank. I felt like she was getting shy from having a little tiny window in a deep dark cage and did not have enough room in her 1/4 of a level anyway, I could not afford to give her more space in the rack so I bought a secondhand glass cage with an “aftermarket top”. There was a small gap that I thought I fixed (the cage should have had one of those screens that slides into the top like a drawer, but that was missing and the edges of the slides looked like they had got a little melted from a heat lamp so trying to find a replacement would not have worked anyway), and the lid that fit onto of the cage was very secure, plus I had a strap around it so I figured she could not get out.

I was wrong.

Came home last night and checked on her first, and found she has escaped. TERROR and PANIC set in. I have two cats, and two ferrets (ferrets spend most of their time in the playpen in the living room). My little cornsnake could easily be mistaken as nothing more than a fun toy for them. I was MORTIFIED. I close the door to the office/snake room and start looking around, not really expecting to find her. Fortunately, she was under the boaphiles rack and I only spent maybe 5 minutes in this agitated state.

Put her in her strike box, along with all the other snakes into their strike boxes (the stack of rubbermaid tubs I have for this specific purpose is a bit comical), fed everyone, and though the others went back into their respective homes, Gabby is still locked in her strike box which I know she cannot escape from. I gave her water, put some nice heavy items on top of the strike box (just to quell my nerves, the strike box actually locks), and will fix that glass cage edge over the weekend to totally eliminate that little gap in Gabby’s cage.

August Update, part 1

Sunday marked one year since we arrived in Fairbanks.

We have bought a house, and really made Fairbanks our home. (click here for more photos of our home )The only other place I could want to be would be Colorado, and that is mostly so I could be with my great friends Susan, Maria and Jon. I miss them a lot. They need to come visit, and I need to visit them too. 2010 will be the year to make that happen.

Today marks one week until I open my Studio.

I have so much to do still and wonder how it will all get done. But, the building owners have done a great job installing the floor and the changing area, and I am so grateful they did that part of the studio; I really could not have done it myself. We have a small amount of chairs ready for the First Friday and Hafla, my merchandise is ready to be put out, we have retail racks and display cases and it will all come together. And then I can rest on Sunday Sept 6 after a month of no weekends off. Well, only rest a bit since I need to paint at our house before the snow falls….click here for more photos

This past weekend we added a new ferret to our family. She is still trying to fit in. click here for more pet photos

I started a Ballet class yesterday. Ballet was hard. And I was definitively the old lady that stuck out like a sore thumb in my yoga gear among the most teenaged dancers (who were all very nice). I need to get a black leotard and some pale colored leggings (I do not wear tights!) for next week. But I am going back

It’s been a busy year. And the last month seems like it has been busier. And the upcoming month is going to be really busy with the new studio. I have lots of ‘catch-up’ to post to my blog and hope to get a couple up this week. I so dislike being behind. Michael says I am chaos. I just think I flourish in a chaotic environment.

Snake Stack, done!

Finally, all the snakes are in the snake stack! Moved Ares into the bottom level last night, after having to reglue the track that the glass sits in. Now, we just need to make a base for it all to stand on since right now getting to the bottom level to get Ares in and out is a bit odd. Still considering getting a taller cage for the bigger boas, but they do have an entire level each so this will have to do for now!

Just need to get some nice rope lighting so I can see my pretty babies!