76 thoughts on “Bunday Open Thread: Who Goes There?

  1. birdcage November 22, 2015 / 8:20 am

    Was super excited for my parrot to wake up this morning because I had a pomegranate for the first time this season and it’s just about his favorite thing to eat. Woke him up early because I couldn’t wait to see his face. Lovely sunny day here in Southern Ontario. The last of the fallen leaves need raking. I’m looking forward to heading outside …

  2. birdcage November 22, 2015 / 8:24 am

    Also, was starting my Christmas shopping online and I found a pretty pinwheel whirly gig thing that I thought my mother would enjoy for her urban garden. Right before I hit the “buy” button, I read the dimensions and realized that it was 8 feet tall with a wingspan of 5 feet. It was designed for the yard of a farm. Good thing I checked. That would’ve been a big box to wrap for under the tree.

    • Nanosmom November 22, 2015 / 8:29 am

      “Some assembly required “

    • Saffron November 22, 2015 / 8:50 am

      *waves Hello! to Canada*
      Gee, now I kind of want one of those….

    • TrixAndSam November 22, 2015 / 8:18 pm

      I so like reading your posts! I love birdies.

      Um, small favor: can you share a link to this huge pinwheel thingie? I think my husband needs to get one for me for Christmas and my dogs need something big to bark at.

      • birdcage November 23, 2015 / 8:33 am

        The whirlygigs were on the Plow & Hearth website at the following link. Just check the dimensions! Some are small for urban gardens and some area clearly windmill-esque for people with bigger plots of land!!!!

        http://www.plowhearth.com/phsearch.htm?tSearch=whirlygig&go=

        • one cranky lady November 23, 2015 / 1:39 pm

          oh wow, those are GREAT…I might need one of those.

          Thanks for the link!

        • TrixAndSam November 23, 2015 / 6:21 pm

          Thanks!! I never imagined there could be so many!

  3. myiglets November 22, 2015 / 8:28 am

    I’m still enjoying the site, but I’m only in it because of the hover texts. 🙂

    • Phred's Mom November 22, 2015 / 10:28 am

      Iglets? Bebeh Iggles?

      • myiglets November 23, 2015 / 6:58 am

        Italian Greyhounds – Iggies, Iglets, Piglets and on and on. 🙂

      • myiglets November 23, 2015 / 6:59 am

        And now Iggles – love that!

        • Phred's Mom November 23, 2015 / 9:58 am

          “Iggles” is how the locals pronounce “Eagles”
          in these hyar parts (S E Pennsylvania). After
          yesterday’s game, what they are called would
          land me in the ol’ Mod Lounge.

        • Faye November 23, 2015 / 10:11 am

          Pictures please?

          • myiglets November 23, 2015 / 12:40 pm

            I took this pic when they were trying to act all nonchalant and stuff because I had the vacuum cleaner running, but they were shaking like, um, leaves!

            Mah Iggles!

          • Faye November 23, 2015 / 12:56 pm

            There is no reply link below. Beautiful IGs. Names, ages? Lovely colors too.

          • myiglets November 23, 2015 / 1:05 pm

            Why thank you! Rosie is on the left, Sukie is on the right. They are four and five years of age.

  4. Gigi_the cat lady November 22, 2015 / 9:00 am

    Taking it easy this morning, recovering from an evening out to a nice restaurant with friends last night.

    P.S. the bake brie starter with pesto and red pepper jelly was to die for.

  5. 29000Planets November 22, 2015 / 9:22 am

    I have a story with a happy ending! A few months ago I spent a weekend trying to trap a feral kitten spotted in the area and I took her to a local clinic to get her spayed and vaccinated. I have my own Crazy Cat Lady Starter Pack (buy 6 get one free) at my house and so they said they’d try to find her a home. After socializing her a bit, they adopted her out. Yesterday, I happened to be at the clinic when her new mommy brought her in for her checkup!! She is growing up all plump and sassy and beautiful and is no longer the frantic, terrified feral. She and her new mom obviously love each other bunches (her mom went face first into the kitten belly for snorgles)! Anyway, I thought it was a really neat coincidence that I happened to be there when she came in and so what’s up with me today is that I am happy she is doing well 🙂 Hope everyone else is doing well too! PS, long time NTMTOM fan as a lurker on the other site! *waves*

    • Phred's Mom November 22, 2015 / 10:27 am

      Kitteh Karma!

    • Lucy's Mom November 22, 2015 / 10:43 am

      Well, that story makes my day! I don’t think it was mere chance that you and your former charge were at the same place at the same time. Nope, it was meant to be. Ain’t rescue just the bestest thing ever?!

    • Stephanie November 22, 2015 / 11:42 am

      That’s a wonderful story. I didn’t get to my ferals in time to get them socialized and I feel bad about that, which is why my patio is currently covered with shelters. My house is also full of stray cats plucked out of my yard, so I’m way past the starter pack.

    • Blue Fairy November 22, 2015 / 12:59 pm

      It’s so nice to be a part of a group that doesn’t think it is weird to have a house full of feral cats. I gave away a kitten once and saw it at the Vet for his first year checkup. It is lovely to see them all grown up and happy.

    • Blue Fairy November 22, 2015 / 1:06 pm

      I’m in ‘sunny’ south western Pennsylvania. It isn’t really sunny but since light is coming in the window it counts. We don’t get a lot of sun here until you try to drive at sunset and then it is full blast in your eyes. Later this afternoon I will attend a last minute wedding of dear friends but for the moment I am enjoying the titmice at my feeder.

  6. Julie November 22, 2015 / 9:44 am

    Hi NTMTOM –

    Some comments on the ads:

    1. When I clicked on an ad, it took me to the advertiser’s page (as it is supposed to do) but instead of opening a new window, it redirected me from the existing window. Most sites keep the origin window and open a new one for the advertiser. I was using an iPad / safari for this.

    2. I clicked on the ad because it showed me something I was interested in, so nice job! So much better than FB that only shows me ads about weight loss tonics and wrinkle erasing creams that are “guaranteed to make my man stay”, despite that I have never, ever, not even once clicked through on one of these ads and try to consistently let them know I do not want to see such ads. Makes me want to change my birthdate in their system. Of course, the ads directed to 20 somethings might be much worse! Ha ha.

    Julie

    • Not That Mike The Other Mike November 22, 2015 / 10:13 am

      Thanks for the tip. I’ll see if there’s a setting to generate a new window; there might not be, but I’ll look. It’s possible that the window behavior might be different on touch devices than on desktops.

      Regarding the relevance of the ads, you can thank Google AdSense for that. Google seems to know everything about us. Nothing scary about that, nooooooo…

      • whawhawhatsis November 22, 2015 / 6:17 pm

        I’m married to a guy who’s been in computers since 1967, back before they even had machines to “type” up punchcards and had to poke them out by hand (yes, I’m dating us both rather badly!), and he assures me that it’s FAR too late to worry about the internet knowing too much about us, so I normally don’t mind Google’s tracking. But recently, on my birthday, when I got a personalized happy birthday Google Doodle? I will admit to being a little freaked out.

        We just moved to allegedly sunny Florida (ha! it’s rained nearly every day) and are still unpacking, and we moved with no furry family members — we lost our pup just before Christmas last year, Isaac, a 12-year-old yellow lab, and then Emily, my 19.5-year-old tiny tortoiseshell kitty, in April — so we’re just trying to get unpacked enough to not terrify any new creature coming into a house full of boxes and disorganization. But we met a lovely little cocker, Robert, yesterday at a local festival who was recently found on the streets and adopted by the folks who found him. Yay! for sweet little rescues. We’re going to check local kill shelters before going to no-kill places to try to find a new family member who would otherwise never find a home. I’ll send in pics as soon as we adopt, promise!

        • Faye November 22, 2015 / 7:01 pm

          Looking forward to pictures. Good luck!

    • Deb November 22, 2015 / 12:28 pm

      I changed my search engine from Google to Duck Duck Go because they don’t track like Google does. They have gotten millions of more users since the tracking has been revealed. So the ads that come up aren’t necessarily related to my searches. Just a suggestion in case anyone is interested.

  7. Not That Mike The Other Mike November 22, 2015 / 10:18 am

    As long as the subject of advertising has come up, a couple of notes for my readers:

    1. If you find any advertising offensive, please report it to me. I can block individual ads or entire ad categories.
    2. DO NOT click on advertising “just to be nice” — I’m not allowed to encourage readers to click advertising, and any behavior that makes it appear that I have could backfire and get me kicked out of the AdSense program. Only click on advertising that is relevant to your interests.
    • Faye November 22, 2015 / 2:54 pm

      One puppies for sale came up. Can u block that category please.

  8. bunnylove50 November 22, 2015 / 10:27 am

    I enjoy this site very much, thank you! I live in Manchester, NH, but I am a California girl. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area/East Bay.

    Animals and clever wit always make me smile.

    So this site is a perfect match! 🙂

    • Not That Mike The Other Mike November 22, 2015 / 11:54 am

      Thank you! I’m a longtime Californian, and although I live in Florida now, I still consider myself a Californian. And San Francisco is a great city.

      • Lois M. November 22, 2015 / 12:30 pm

        Hi Mike
        We’re fellow Floridians!! I’m in Palm Bay. We retired here in 2006 and love it. Illinois was great when we were young but the thought of shoveling one more snow flake became more than we could bear thinking of. Sunny today with temps in the 70’s, wearing a tank top and being barefoot!! Can’t get much better than that.

      • tinychih November 22, 2015 / 2:36 pm

        I have 5 rescue doggehs. I volunteer with 2 local no-kill rescue programs, and my husband and I adopt the senior, blind, deaf or otherwise gimpy and unadoptable doggehs. We love the older doggies because they’re so sweet and grateful to have a home. We’re in beautiful northern Virginia now (foreign service family), but I lived 15 years in the Silicon Valley–what an amazing place that was. Loving the site and the community you’re gathering, all in the name of cute, NOMTOM!

  9. Phred's Mom November 22, 2015 / 10:34 am

    NTMTOM, I tried to leave a tip to allay my
    guilt feelings of enjoying w/o anteing up,
    (PBS affects me that way, too), but can’t
    get the darn thing to activate on my IPad
    Mini. I will try again later. Really, I’m
    not a deadbeat.

    • Not That Mike The Other Mike November 22, 2015 / 10:36 am

      Thanks, PM. What’s the specific problem? Can you describe it? (Others may be having it too, so I really want to solve it.)

      • Phred's Mom November 22, 2015 / 7:44 pm

        I touch the wee box per your instructions,
        to get to the payment page,. The box kinda
        blinks, so it does “feel” me, but nothing happens,
        I’m still on your first page. I will try again
        tomorrow. Otherwise the check will be in
        the mail if I can figure out where you are.
        Really. Maybe it’s something in Settings
        that is preventing my getting to the next
        page.

        • Not That Mike The Other Mike November 22, 2015 / 7:49 pm

          Oh no! If you have a PayPal account, you could email a tip directly to ntmtom@notthatmiketheothermike.com. But please don’t go to any additional trouble, and please don’t feel badly. Your presence here is more than enough, and I’m glad you’re here.

          • Phred's Mom November 23, 2015 / 10:02 am

            You are so sweet, NTMTOM.

  10. N. Fritz November 22, 2015 / 10:47 am

    Hanging out in the outback of Austria (A-U-S-T-R-I-A… no kangaroos!), correcting papers for Monday and waiting for the first snow of the season. There’s snow in the mountains all around me, and I can see it snowing in the next village over, but all I’ve got are green fields and freezing temperatures. Oh, and I’ve got blue tits and great tits at the feeder (is that gonna get me sent to the Mod Lounge?!)

      • N. Fritz November 22, 2015 / 12:21 pm

        darn. I was hoping to nosh on some of those olive cheese balls and wash them down with a dry vodka martini!

    • Gigi_the cat lady November 22, 2015 / 11:32 am

      I live in Québec, Canada and we get a lot of snow in winter that I do NOT enjoy shovelling. Somehow snow sound a lot nicer in the mountains of Austria.

      • N. Fritz November 22, 2015 / 12:25 pm

        Shoveling also not my thing, especially when my 24 year old neighbor simply looks on while my 68 year old neighbor and I (50-something) nearly heave a geevey trying to clear our courtyard cum parking place. BTW, I spent a honeymoon with my starter husband in Montreal!

        • Gigi_the cat lady November 22, 2015 / 12:55 pm

          Small world I work in Montreal and live just outside the city.

          • Phred's Mom November 22, 2015 / 7:48 pm

            Gigi, do you know the Inspector Gamache
            mysteries? They are set in Quebec, with a
            base in Montreal. Great fun.

    • Deb November 22, 2015 / 12:33 pm

      That sounds absolutely gorgeous! Sigh…

      • Deb November 22, 2015 / 12:33 pm

        That was supposed to be under the description of Austria, or so I thought!

  11. Deb November 22, 2015 / 12:31 pm

    By the way, the Bunday bunny is adorable!!!

    • 6rabbits November 22, 2015 / 11:11 pm

      Such unusual coloring! Too cute!

  12. Patty November 22, 2015 / 1:38 pm

    I just want to say I love this site. I love the old one too, although not so much without NTMTOM there. I rarely commented there, it seemed like a hassle.
    I’m in Kansas, and I have a 10 (or 12) yr old Pomeranian, that my then 13 yr old HAD to have. We adopted him from the animal shelter, and they estimated his age at 2, but the vet estimated him at 4. I also have a 14 yr old grey tabby cat. Until 2 weeks ago, I had a 25 yr old cockatiel, that I got when he was 3 months old. I really miss the noise he used to make.

  13. Deb November 22, 2015 / 2:28 pm

    I am in beautiful downtown Brooklyn, NY. I live in Park Slope directly across the street from the Mayor when he’s not living in Gracie Mansion. No pets, unfortunately, none allowed in my building. I do have a lot of plants though and I live not far from the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

  14. Faye November 22, 2015 / 3:09 pm

    Also in NY state. One hour from Manhattan on Long Island. Moved inland after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Grew up in and worked as a Librarian in Long Beach, NY. A barrier beach along the south shore of Long Island. Currently working at being a very happy retired lady.

    I am also a kept woman. A 6 year old Tuxedo Cat named Dorothy adopted me (enslaved me) after my soulmate chihuahua (my avatar) named Sammi Girl passed away last year at 14. I hadn’t had a cat for awhile so I was easy prey.

    Very happy to be able to comment directly to you all and love it here. Having so much fun seeing NTMTOM getting the recognition he deserves.

  15. Alison November 22, 2015 / 5:05 pm

    Just another manic Bunday. ?

  16. allein November 22, 2015 / 5:22 pm

    I’m in central NJ, doing laundry and listening to podcasts, with no fuzzy things to keep me company (unless you count the lint from the dryer…).

    • Phred's Mom November 22, 2015 / 7:52 pm

      Moi aussi, lintwise, here in beautiful
      Bucks County, PA, surrounded by
      farms, history, art, and a short train
      ride to Philly for all the good stuff
      it has to offer, Y’all come!

  17. Sixkatlady November 22, 2015 / 5:50 pm

    Kentucky native here. Live in the country about 30 miles south of Lexington – prime horse & bourbon territory. As my nickname implies we have 6 kitties that share our humble home (all rescues who found us). We also have 3 regular ferals that we feed & give shelter to on our back deck.

    Love the site NTMTOM and the feeling of community you are creating!

  18. jlamusings November 22, 2015 / 6:29 pm

    So neat getting to hear about everyone! I’m avoiding grading this weekend because it’s too frustrating sometimes (note: I teach a lot of remedial college writing). My cats are totally unhelpful too. They just lay on papers or block my view of the computer screen. Not to mention snorgling them seems soooo much more appealing than trying to decipher some of these sentences….

  19. Lili November 22, 2015 / 6:47 pm

    Love the new site…the photos, the copy, the feeling of community in the Comments Section. I almost never even read comments on most sites because of Trolls and snark, but this site is great.

    Out here on the West Coast of the US, Autumn is upon us, the leaves are a thousand colors of gold and auburn. Gearing up for Thanksgiving like everyone else, lots of shopping and cooking to be done. I enjoy coming here and seeing entries like the hungry hedgie taking down the dinosaur a few pages back, excellent work NTMTOM. My only issue is that I cannot use the Vote Up/ Vote Down buttons. I am doing this with an iPad and the buttons simply do not respond. Happy Holidays everyone!

    • Faye November 22, 2015 / 7:05 pm

      I’m using iPad as well. They work for me. ?

    • Not That Mike The Other Mike November 22, 2015 / 7:09 pm

      Good to have you with us, Lili! I will check out the issue with the buttons and see what can be done.

      • Phred's Mom November 22, 2015 / 7:57 pm

        Thanks, my vote buttons react to my
        touch on the IPad Mini, just like the
        tip jar buttons, but do not register a
        vote.

        • Not That Mike The Other Mike November 22, 2015 / 8:00 pm

          Well, that makes two “votes” for this being a lousy voting system, and I need to look for a better one. Thanks for letting me know.

          • Tinychih November 23, 2015 / 11:48 am

            I’m able to use the “Like” button just fine with my regular iPad and also my iPhone.

  20. Claire November 22, 2015 / 8:02 pm

    This is just such a delightful comment section! I’ve spent most of my day writing a paper in the company of two feline friends. One (Chloe) is a snoring lump and an excellent paper writing companion. The other (Dr.Acula) is a mischievous old lady who won’t settle down, except for the times when she wants to take a seat on my laptop or notes. She also insists on meowing constantly and licking my nose regularly. It might sound like I’m complaining, but all in all it’s a pretty great way to spend a day.

  21. TrixAndSam November 22, 2015 / 8:13 pm

    I’m 3 weeks into healing from total hip replacement surgery. Best part: Trixie and Sam are swapping turns being nurse dog and they’re doing an awesome job. I Look forward to being able to get down on the floor again to wrestle and play with them.

    That said, I’m beyond excited and happy you’re doing this site NTMTOM! You have a loyal following.

    Any sign of Oakley yet?

    • Stephanie November 22, 2015 / 8:44 pm

      I had THR two years ago – the best thing I ever did. Such a life-changer! I had (only) two cats at the time and they enjoyed sleeping with me on the couch for the first two weeks after surgery. Good luck with your recovery.

  22. joods November 22, 2015 / 9:13 pm

    Love. This. Website. Reading the posts each day is like opening another gift. Thank you NTMTOM for being the gift bearer of this site. 🙂

    I live and work in Central Massachusetts. It’s been chilly today with some rain showers. The once glorious colors of autumn leaves have pretty much faded away. Has been a great day for making Burgundy Beef Stew and an apple pie. Yum! I’ll put the leftovers in the Mod Lounge. 😉

    I’ve been enjoying reading the posts and comments. Such a creative and thoughtful community of people. Today has been especially wonderful learning about each other. I LOVE that we can once again speak to each other in the comments.

    My husband and I are the well trained house-staff for “Lola The Wondercat”. She’s been our benevolent overlord for about 13 years. We rescued her as a kitten. We found her one day as we were driving down a rural road in our area. No houses around and there she was, this tiny furbaby sitting by the side of the road. I’m sure if she had a thumb she’d have stuck it out. DH stopped the car and I got out. Lola walked right up to the open car door and looked at me as though to say, “Human! What are you waiting for?! Pick me up and take me home!” So we wrapped her in a blanket and obeyed. <3 <3 <3

    • Faye November 22, 2015 / 9:24 pm

      Lovely story.

  23. 6rabbits November 22, 2015 / 11:04 pm

    I, too, am glad we can comment to each other here! The only other site I ever commented on was CO. (There’s too much ugly in the comments on most sites.)

    I live in northern Indiana and we just had our first snow of the season, which is late for this area. We’d had such unseasonable weather it didn’t feel like the holidays were approaching! I just moved to a town home so I am looking forward to NO SHOVELING this season!?

    I have been a slave to numerous buns since 1989. Most of mine have been rescues–which is why at one point I had 9! I’m down to 3 now; it’s getting too hard for me to take care of so many?. I have to stay away from places when they have “adoption days” now.

    I am so pleased NTMTOM started this site, he cracks me up!, and I enjoy reading about everyone’s furry/feathered companions.?

  24. Kar November 23, 2015 / 2:43 pm

    Longtime fan, I remember when there was only one Mike and y’know what, there is still just one Mike.

    In Georgia, enjoying the remaining sun before Old Man Winter hits us with the hockey stick of ice.

  25. Maggie November 23, 2015 / 3:29 pm

    Hey all! Sorry I am a little behind.. I have an adorable little turtle named Jean-Claude! She is turning 7 years old and we both are currently in North Dakota (but from Northern New York), where I am in graduate school. We both enjoy this website, it helps so much with the daily stresses. Thanks!

Comments are closed.