The Baby Nutt Chronicles: Baby Nutt says "Hello World!"

                                     The Baby Nutt Chronicles: Baby Nutt says, "Hello World!"

                                                       written by: Lisa Morgan   2/28/2017

Baby Nutt

It has been a rather warm February this year despite a few cold snaps that lasted a mere one to three days. Today was no exception with the mild temps, thus I decided to open the backdoor from my master bedroom leading to the veranda (that's back patio for those above the Mason Dixon line). My dogs had just finished their afternoon snack & were eager to stretch their legs while doing some business outside. The fresh air welcomed itself into my master bedroom & I was obliged to prop the door open with a chair, so the wind would not slam the french door shut, when I turned my back on it.

I noticed one of my tuxedo cats named Nemo scurry into my master bathroom. Nemo is a gentle giant of a cat, who is basically still a kitten although he is 18 months old. After maybe five minutes I noticed Nemo had an object he was playing with on the bathroom tile floor. Nemo stood next to what appeared to be a dead field mouse. It dawned on me that Nemo had scurried inside with a prize, which I was going to immediately dispose of properly. Nemo then scooped up the rodent with his paw & threw it on the floor. I saw it move slowly. I shooed Nemo away with my hands & I then eased closer to assess the situation. Upon closer inspection, much to my surprise the field mouse was an infant squirrel.

I gently picked up the squirrel with a clean washcloth. I observed there were no cuts, blood or visible injuries to the tiny light grey baby squirrel. My next move was to place a chenille blanket around the baby squirrel to warm him or her up, as the infant was cool to the touch. I told my husband & he immediately went to the most knowledgeable & nosy busy body on earth to get further information....Google. What do you feed a baby squirrel? How often do you feed baby squirrels? What formula do you feed a baby squirrel? Sol my husband had found a website www.squirrelnutrition.com  that had a wealth of information on the topic of rescuing, feeding & loving squirrels. Who knew? The all seeing all knowing busy body Google that's who knew. William Sells & Squirrel Haven Rescue many thanks to you, for your helpful information on squirrels. I read as much as I could on baby squirrels in between his first feedings.

Luckily we had whole milk, coconut oil in the house & my husband only had to purchase heavy whipping cream from the store. The formula is 1 cup whole milk, 4-5 tablespoons heavy cream 6-7 drops of coconut oil or about 1/2 teaspoon, then you heat all ingredients in a boiler on low heat until it starts to get frothy. You will need to stir often while cooking to keep the formula from scalding. Remove the boiler from the heat & allow it to cool to room temperature. As with a human baby you will need to test the temperature before placing the formula in a syringe to fee the baby. Never feed a cold baby squirrel You must have the squirrel warm before heading him/her.

I swaddled the baby squirrel & placed him/her in a pink milk crate atop a twin sized ivory colored chenille blanket. My brother had once raised a baby squirrel & he also gave me tips for the newborn. My next move was to heat up a bag of uncooked rice for a minute & then place the rice in a small cotton zippered pillow cover. It was warm & would bring the baby squirrel's body temp up & stabilize it, while I mixed & heated the milk recipe to feed the helpless creature. I mean how hard could this be to keep this helpless animal alive? You feed it, keep it warm, stimulate it as it's mama would to encourage it to move it's bowels & kidneys & you repeat. Wow I'm attempting to nurture this squirrel to save it's life. God please help me!

Baby Nutt being fed by syringe in my studio

Baby's need food, diaper changes, to be warm, to be held & loved. I can do this because in the past I have raised three kittens with eyedroppers, syringes & bottle until they were old enough to eat food. Surely this could not be much different. I know the routine of 2 hour feeding around the clock & setting my alarm to wake & feed the kitten or in this case squirrel. Luckily for the squirrel I don't sleep more than two to three hours at a time nightly, without waking to the urge to go potty, thanks to menopause & being just slightly over 45. Whatever...I'm 53 but I digress from the story. I can handle this responsibility of keeping the new edition to the Morgan funny farm alive. Our animal menagerie just grew by one more. Lord above please guide me & bless this baby squirrel to survive.
I decided that if we named the infant, then we would be attached to it, as if I weren't already at first sight. Since the mama squirrel never showed back up, we named the new edition "Baby Nutt" & it appears he/she may be a boy. Baby Nutt gripped my finer as I fed him, while I sat on the floor of my art/writing studio; afterwards he slept until the next feeding.

I repeated the routine to heat up his pillow of rice, heat his formula & allow it to be warm to the touch before attempting feeding number two. As I picked up Baby Nutt he screamed at me like a puppy or kitten would, which I took as a sign of determination & possible hunger. I fed him but he was not as eager to eat as he had been initially. Despite Baby Nutt's less than receptiveness to feeding number two, I proceeded slowly urging him to finish his 2 cc of formula. I cradled him in my cupped hands to give him security & warmth. Oddly enough I gently swayed him like I would a baby, then I kissed his tiny head, after which I placed him on the warm rice pillow & covered him back up with the chenille blanket. Day Three I remembered that I had a heating pad in my bedroom dresser drawer. I placed the heating pad on the lowest setting & replaced the warm rice bag with the heating pad. It did work better, but if you don't have a heating pad then the rice in a cloth bag will work. 2 cc- 3 cc every 2-3 hours around the clock until baby is 4 weeks old then he/she will up the feeding amounts to 4-6 cc every 3 - 4 hrs until the baby's eyes open at 5 weeks of age. Then you can feed 8-10 cc every 4 hrs, but the baby will vary slightly with amounts but 8- 10 cc is average. If baby wants more to eat then allow him/her to eat these are suggested amounts to make sure baby does not get dehydrated & is healthy.

How weird is this that just as I was wondering what do with my afternoon today, God gave me the answer. Today you will do your very best to save the life of an infant squirrel. Now here we are at sunset with Baby Nutt resting in his pink milk crate in my art/writing studio. Well I suppose that's the way life goes. We never know from one minute to the next what will happen. We can make plans, schedule appointments but life will intervene to remind us that we are not ever in control. I'm fine with he acceptance of God's plan over any idiotic plan I had. Life is about to get more interesting with the addition of Baby Nutt.

 I wonder if Baby Nutt likes music. After all Sol is a musician & I listen to music everyday in my studio, while I'm cleaning house, in the car or outside in my backyard. Music soothes all creatures large & small, so it would make logical sense that Baby Nutt would enjoy some music turned down low. Let's try my favorite stand by album Laid Back by Gregg Allman, as the beginners introduction into music for Squirrel 101.

Apparently Baby Nutt either is enjoying the blues music or maybe his ear are not open yet or possibly he's deaf, but either way he is sleeping as the Laid Back CD is playing. Who knew Baby Nutt was a blues fan? Just call #BabyNutt the Allman Joy Nutt...LOL, then again maybe it's my way of justifying listening to the Laid Back album yet again. It relaxes me what can I say? I'm going to put on some Etta James music to see how Baby Nutt responds. Nobody sings the blues like Gregg Allman, Ms. Etta James, Marvin Gaye or Ray Charles. After Etta finishes "At Last", I'll have Ray Charles sing few tunes. Does that sound nuts?

If anyone has ideas, tips or stories to share on their experiences with rescuing, saving or raising infant squirrels please let me know by adding them to the comments or adding them to my Twitter @thebeachwife  & use the hashtag #babynutt to your posts or comments. I'm going to do my best to ensure this small furry baby has a chance at life. I appreciate all information that might assist me in nurturing Baby Nutt. Are squirrels supposed to be blues fan? Am I a little squirrel-ey? Maybe so! Stay tuned for the next installment of the Baby Nutt Chronicles.

 Thank you for taking your time to read this blog,
Lisa Morgan
Author of the reality check humor book "Get Beach Slapped" available on Barnes & Noble, Google play, Amazon & other book outlets. Download the ebook. Follow my Twitter page @thebeachwife

#RT #squirrels #BabyNutt #EttaJames #RayCharles #GreggAllman #animalrescues #author #blog #life #funny #farm #nuts #MarvinGaye

SoulShine on Valentine's

                                                           Soulshine on Valentine's

                                                    written by: Lisa Morgan   2/13/2017

 Link below is to SoulShine by the Allman Brothers Band, quite possibly the best band ever!

https://youtu.be/pDIQ7Otf1mw 

Valentine's Day was a day created to shame men into buying flowers, candy, jewelry & cards for the women they adored or lusted after. The St. Valentine's day massacre was a lousy day for those men who got whacked at Capone's behest. Let's put it in perspective folks. Don't get depressed, stressed out over it...it's a Tuesday. I quit stressing over holidays a few years ago because it's not worth the hassle of expectations, emotional roller coasters. Here's some sage advice for you: Feb. 14th 2017 is a Tuesday, so be kind to each other & at the stroke of midnight on the 14th, it will be Wednesday the 15th, don't stress just live & let live.

Do not allow society to dictate when you say I love you, or spend time reminiscing, or sharing time with the one you love. If you are alone, then know that it is better to be alone than to be in a bad relationship. Spend time doing something you enjoy or doing nothing but being still. Call Valentine's Day the day you do something nice for yourself. Life has too much stress, don't allow society to place even more pressure on you.

Take a walk, look for the beauty around you, adopt a dog or cat from a shelter or rescue. Animals give love 365 days a year & do not care if you have a bad hair day, gain weight or if you have bad breathe because animals have those issues too, but the difference is they love unconditionally. We humans could learn from the animals. If you have someone special in your life, tell them they are special & not just because society says you have to do so on Feb. 14th or else you're a loser. Give yourself a break. Hey fellas before you ask me, yes you should forward this or share it with the lady you love, so she can get pissed at me for being honest. (giggles)

The link below is for Queen of Hearts by Gregg Allman from his first solo album Laid Back. Do yourself a favor & buy the CD. If you listen to the songs on this blog & you're not moving, then honey you might just be dead.   (Queen of Hearts by Gregg Allman)
                                                       https://youtu.be/iyrFpR59_vQ

   

 

 I prefer to listen to good music & unwind with memories. Neither of them cost anything unless you purchase new music. I personally listen to my trusted favorites, that I purchased on 8 tracks, then cassettes & finally CD's. I prefer my soulful southern rock & bluesy rock bands. Allman Brothers, Wet Willie, Little Feat, Tedeski Trucks, Boston, Bob Seger, Marshall Tucker Band, Lynryd Skynrd, 38 Special, Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Black Crowes, Marvin Gaye. I suppose I'm still searching for my elusive misspent youth. I've said it before, "looking for my misspent youth is like searching for an ice cube on the beach." I listen to the tunes I like & then unwind. If my husband falls asleep in his chair watching a TV that he has seen 4 times already & he snores too loud; then I say,"all is well as it should be in my home, no worries. I'll just kick back with a glass of tea & some Allman Brothers tunes. I don't sweat that which I can not control such as taxes, death, laundry or the weather.

Life is good indeed, life is very good. Spread some love." 

The link below is "Never Knew How Much" by Gregg Allman & I must say this is my favorite.

https://youtu.be/itnrjDZnM_E 

Take time to purchase a CD or Download an album  from the Allman Brothers or 

Gregg Allman & show your love for the boys in the band!

Thanks for stopping by to read my blog,

Lisa Morgan

Author of the reality check humor book GET BEACH SLAPPED

#GetBeachSlapped #RT #love #ValentinesDay #music #AllmanBrothersBand #GreggAllman #blues

#soulshine #AllmanBrothers #Boston #Bonnie Raitt

Reality Checks are the Answer to Selfies

written by Lisa Morgan                     7/15/2015

Is everyone on earth as sick & tired of seeing selfies as I am or am I the only non narcissistic person left on the planet? Surely I jest! No I'm very serious about this topic. There was a time not that long ago when another person would take a snapshot of you, but now it's all the rage to take selfies doing absolutely anything or nothing as the case may be. I personally draw the hard line in the sand over the selfies sticks. Really people? Do we really need to take selfies of ourselves enough that someone devised a stick...a stick I said that holds your phone in order to get a better selfie or group pic on your cell phone. 

Wow! We are a world of self indulgent people who are nothing more than lab rats for corporations. 

"Make it & they will buy it"  should be the slogan for Americans. We need a technology intervention, especially when it comes to selfies because I do not want to know nor do I care about what you are eating, what your expression was when you woke up or when you got drunk at the local pub not to mention

everything in between.

Being self centered has gone to an all time high and an all time low at the same time. What ever happened to flipping open your wallet to reveal a four foot long trail of pictures of your family, pets & friends? Most people only had a picture of themselves on their driver's license in their wallet back before smart phones. Don't get me started on the "smart phone"! Now people have more selfies on their smart phone than they do of family, pets or friends, as a general rule anyway. This is a sign of the times & yes the times are changing my friends. Change is not always a good thing, in fact it can lead to falling hard. I just hope when people wake up from the selfie nightmare that they have had some common sense knocked back into their heads, when they fell back into reality. Reality checks do bounce you know! I for one know that reality checks bounce. When your reality check bounces make sure you Get Beach Slapped with humor cause you're going to need it. Falling on your butt is never fun but if you were traveling on the road less traveled, the dirt road when your stormy days encompassed you just before your reality check, then your fall on your butt may have been softened by the puddle of mud that the storm you were in created. You see God will always leave you a way out if you trust in him, which does not mean you will never fall, you most certainly will because you are after all human; it just means your fall may have a bounce to it. So don't worry about that last five or ten pounds you've been trying to lose because you may need some padding on your butt the next time you fail & have a reality check. A thud is always worse than a splash! 

I suppose you get the picture on my opinion of selfies, no pun intended.....actually it was intended. Let's see a picture of  the beach instead of a selfie. I hope you like this one and it helps to put your mind into a state of Soulshine, which is by far the best state to be in, sorry Florida you are my next favorite state.

You gotta love it!

Here's a picture that needs no words.

 Get Beach Slapped!

Thanks for spending some of your time with me, your time is more valuable than money,

Lisa Morgan

Author of the satirical reality check book Get Beach Slapped 

www.getbeachslapped.com

Get Beach Slapped: to get slapped with a wave of information or a Reality Check

 

Have you been Beach Slapped? GET BEACH SLAPPED today! Beach Slapped is like a reality check with injections of humor. Life lessons do not come without a price & this one is probably on sale somewhere. This book was written at a time when after losing my Dad, being married most of my adult life, I was trying to find myself. I started writing after a long hiatus and I discovered that my brain wanted to speak out on a whole laundry list of topics, even though my mouth never seems to cease talking. Apparently my brain may not always be engaged when my mouth is conversing. Well imagine that?!

Get Beach Slapped is basically an introduction into my world. The Beach Chronicles will be a 3 part series of books filled with reality checks, stories, humor, one liners, life lessons and hopefully usable wisdom. My mother always said,"Learn from the mistakes of others, you can't live long enough to make them all yourself." Learn from my mistakes & of those around me that I write about, believe it's much easier than living through the chaos.

 The short version is my name is Lisa Morgan aka The Beach Wife and I'm in the "F'ers" Club (over Forty-Fifty Club), married  27 years to a professional  musician, that I've been with for 31 years. Can I just get an applause & a cheers to that statement? We live with our furry children of whom almost all are rescues. Just when you thought life was going according to your plans, Boom life throws you a curve ball or in my case a ball of clumped cat litter. Read on & it will make sense.

                    

At last count we have 5 dogs, 3 of whom are 5 1/2 lbs or less so they really are more like rats than dogs, 1 is about 11 lbs & one is about 80 lbs. The 11 lb. rescue was put on a plane from Cali & flown out to me, so she wouldn't be euthanized. I still am not sure that I ever actually said," Sure go ahead & fly me dog on a Delta flight & I'll pick her up at the airport." It just somehow happened that I got a flutter of texts & the next thing I know the new arrival is to be picked up the following morning at the airport. Now do note that the day of her arrival was my hubby's birthday, which made it easier to break the news to him. It also helped that she took to him immediately & started sitting on his lap in his recliner to watch TV.

The two cats both have identity crisis's, one is 17 years old & has come to think of herself as a dog and she also views the newest rescued feline as a nuisance. The newest feline is a whirling dervish who's only a year old now and she is a country girl at heart who rolls in the dirt.  She loves to play football & wrestle with the dogs when she's not running up a tree. When the whirling dervish cat was about 10 weeks old she started throwing her litter box clumps at me, after she had done her business in the litter box. Mind you, she went directly to the litter box on day one of her rescue & she was only 5-6 weeks old. I thought at the time she wanted a clean litter box, No she wanted to play. She mounted aerial assaults at me every time I entered the bathroom & she would get annoyed when I scooped out the litter box removing her urine clumps or as they came to be known the "pee balls". She finally out grew the tossing of pee balls, thankfully. She does sometimes sit on the toilet though. Never a dull moment at Morgan manor. Life threw me a clumped up pee ball with 2 more rescues, but I love them both dearly. You can never map out your life according to your GPS because sometimes your GPS loses signal. God will have a totally different route planned for you. I found it to be much easier to follow God's planned route for me, than to deviate from God's route. Inevitably when I would take my route there would be pot holes, washed out roads, traffic jams & accidents. It's much easier to daily ask God to lead your way & his will to be done. You will have bumps in the road mingled with dark storms but God will show you a way out, for God's GPS does not lose signal. Learn from the mistakes of others, you can't live long enough to make them all yourself.

                                           

                    The Whirling Dervish feline on her throne, she is a royal pain sometimes but I love her!

This is starting to feel like one of those moments, when someone pulls out their wallet & out falls a plethora of pictures of the family. Actually I just truly dated myself severely. No one carries pics in their wallets anymore, they carry cell phones filled with selfies. Silly me! Color me old school.

 Now you know why I write, for my sanity. Keeping my sense of humor also is for my sanity and for those around me who enjoy the serenity of silence while I'm writing. I read somewhere that writing is an introverted profession, which is true. You listen to your own thoughts, your brain contemplates what your fingers will do next as they type. Believe me my brain and my fingers do not always agree and sometimes that is not a pretty sight.

Let me post one more pic just for the fun of it. The lovely beaches of Florida where I call home. Life is a beach & my alter ego when I write is the "beach wife". Thanks for reading my blog & remember to rescue, adopt or foster animals. Animals give unconditional love 365 days a year; they do not care if you gain weight, have a bad hair day or if you forgot to brush your teeth because their love is unconditional.

  

www.getbeachslapped.com is the web page to find all the links for my book Get Beach Slapped

Download your copy from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Google Play, Apple itunes 

Thanks for spending your time to read this blog, your time is more valuable than money.

Lisa Morgan aka The Beach Wife 

Follow me on Twitter @thebeachwife

Follow my Facebook page Get Beach Slapped