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headspace-hotel · 1 year

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some times i see people talking about the Earth and climate change saying things like "now i know it is difficult to deal with utter hopelessness, terror, and visiting the thoughts of death"

and it's like wow I am so deeply sorry about the suffering. but...concern. Concern. Tell me, am I missing something important? Why do I feel a sense of hope for our planet? Am I a lonely fool? Have I been consumed by naïveté and misguided optimism?

That would be weird. It feels weird. It feels like I would be well suited to despair. My natural temperament is Mortal Terror making my body crushed for a thousand years at the bottom of the deepest trenches of the ocean. I've thought before "I can't live any more. This exceeds the tensile strength of the human spirit."

And then? After irreversible catastrophic failure of the soul, there is...what?

We try to imagine the future where we fight to save our home and it is very painful. The resistance feels so small and the machine of death feels so vast. But something's missing.

Everyone else is missing—the plants, trees, bugs, beasts, and creatures. Hello? Are the other humans seeing this? Nature wants you to know that she is not a princess in a tower. Look! Look at the chaos moving through every cell! Iterating! Adapting! Becoming! Thriving! Watch the pollinators tirelessly at work, observe the mycorrhizal network in the forest floor distributing the rich fruits of decay and photosynthesis for every inhabitant! Pay attention! We belong here too. They feed and shelter us, give us the very air we breathe, and in return we plant and propagate, cull, thin, and burn, shape, trample, till, shepherd and sprout seeds. Our species can look toward the future, to the world of our descendants. We can call every plant and animal by name and teach our children to use and care for them responsibly. We can feel this anger, pain, and grief on behalf of the family of Life, OUR family, and we can love the smallest beetle and the humblest moss.

Look at it! This thing is nothing like me, it does not benefit me, it has no use or purpose for me, but LOOK at it! Look at its intricate structure! Look at the marvelousness of its behaviors and biological functions! Look at its uniqueness throughout the whole universe! Look at it, and see its infinite value!

I saved a baby tree from the scorching hot gravel of a parking lot. I watched it grow and thrive in the hands of its caretaker. Many more followed, trees and herbs and flowers, rescued and carefully placed in cups and old tubs that once held yogurt and sour cream. This is so strange, I thought. They're everywhere, offering themselves for free, and no one thinks to take them. Everyone thinks transplanting a tree is hard and that nothing grows on the edge of the pavement but weeds. But it's so easy??? This is weird. Plant Nurseries Hate Her: Get Free Plants With This One Weird Trick.

I protected an old barren garden patch where nothing had thrived from being mowed and weed-whacked, and transplanted little plants that I found. I marveled at the bees that came. Chicory bloomed, then asters and goldenrod. I shed actual tears over a spicebush swallowtail. I ordered some milkweed from the internet, and the monarchs came for them. Less then twenty-five bucks for a divine experience like this. Wow, everyone else really needs to know!

I started volunteering at a nature center, and was allowed to transplant flowers where they sprouted in inopportune locations. I collected tons of seeds all fall and winter long.

There is much, much more, all of it bigger than I ever would have imagined. But this spring there were more birds, in number and in species, than I'd ever seen in my back yard before. Chickadees, swallows, finches, nuthatches, jays, cardinals, warblers, sparrows, woodpeckers of every kind...I remembered just a couple years prior when all I ever saw out there was a couple grackles or starlings or robins, with the occasional sparrow. Those birds come in flocks rather than couples now. And then the bumblebee arrived. An American bumblebee, endangered now, a queen. For a few days she was always out there, would fly out and buzz around me when I came out to tend to my now-innumerable plants. It's nesting time for them. She chose this place I was creating. She saw that this place would take care of her.

A week ago, I discovered wild strawberries growing in my Mamaw's driveway. I found lyreleaf sage growing beside a gravel road. I've become a master of transplanting; I took several of each home. Yesterday, I saw a tiny, metallic blue bee, an Osmia mason bee. Today, I saw an oriole and a strange, very fancy fly. I see something new almost every day. Every day I am being irreversibly changed as a person. How did I ever fail to see how much this matters?

I said I feel hope...do I feel it? I don't think it's a feeling, I think it's a practice. It's being part of our communities and our ecosystems. Nature's interconnectedness is both reality and example: to survive, we take care of one another. And when one member of the community helps another thrive, it creates a cascade that increases the thriving of all. Just by existing, you help us all survive.

You can only take care of so many plants before you have to give some away. You can only hold so much knowledge before you have to give it away. I gave seeds to a dozen different flowers to my next-door neighbor and she invited me inside and wouldn't let me leave without food, and we talked about plants and trees. A family friend lets me have goats' milk and heirloom vegetables in exchange for help around the farm, and I listen to him talk about trees, bugs, and soil and learn so much I feel like I'm about to explode from knowledge.

Being a caretaker is unavoidably a community-oriented, community-forming thing. You can't grow plants all by yourself. Your garden will make too many tomatoes. Share them. Your milkweed will make hundreds and hundreds of seeds. Spread them. Wild blackberries invite you to take and eat. Your lonely retired neighbor invites you to talk and keep her company. Once you grow delicious fruits or little oak trees, you always have a reason to greet someone and say, "Look, it is a gift!"

We're not alone. We are not separate. We take care of each other. Every species, every individual. A single action of caretaking creates a cascade effect of thriving. A single unapologetic love for a creature creates a blossom of curiosity and fascination in everyone surrounding. It's so powerful.

As my chemical romance says "I am not afraid to keep on living"

#nature #community #plants #gardening #you are not separate from every other thing #the wonders #caretaking #plantarchy

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vandaliatraveler · 9 months

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A hike in the Cheat River Canyon on a hazy, mid-summer day brings a great many rewards, both large and small.

From top: Fractured and pitted sandstone gives testimony to the canyon's ancient struggle with the elements; black cohosh (Actaea racemosa or Cimicifuga racemosa), whose towering flower spikes stalk the old woods like magical beings; the colorful rock harlequin (Corydalis sempervirens), an endangered fumitory that haunts the canyon's rocky outcrops; pinesap (Monotropa hypopitys), a parasitic plant closely related to Indian pipe; spotted St. John's wort (Hypericum punctatum), which is distinguished from the invasive St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) by the numerous black dots on its flowers and leaves; downy rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera pubescens), a shade-tolerant terrestrial orchid that favors oak-hickory woods; shrubby St. John's wort (Hypericum prolificum), a mounding, deciduous shrub of open, sandy woods; orange-fringed orchid (Platanthera ciliaris), a stunning late summer beauty of Appalachia's moist meadows and open woods; a hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe) visiting a late-blooming milkweed; a silvery checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) drinking up the nectar of a butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa); an American green crab spider (Misumessus oblongus) stalking a black-eyed Susan for its next meal; a large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) being perfectly beautiful on a lazy summer day; and last but not least, a hulking patch of eastern Jack-0'-lanterns (Omphalotus illudens), which contrary to what field guides say have never glowed in the dark for me (I love the toxic little beauties nonetheless).

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mousetoe-wc · 7 months

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I Got bored one time awhile ago and made a list of every prefix plus some into organised sections so I thought I might as well share.

All the ones that aren’t cannon to warriors, yet at lest are bold

Describing names

Colours: red, russet, copper, golden, amber, yellow, green, blue, violet, pink, white, gray, black, ebony, dark, pale, silver, brown, tawny, fallow

Pattern, Texture + Size: spot/ted, dapple, speckle, freckle, brindle, patch, mottle, ragged, tangle, kink, bristle, fuzzy, curl/y, wooly, soft, sleek, little, tiny, small, slight, short, tall, long, big, heavy, crooked, broken, half, stumpy, shred, torn, jagged

Actions + Character: flip, pounce, bounce, jump, hop, crouch, down, low, drift, flail, strike, running, fidget, mumble, whistle, snap, sneeze, shiver/ing, shining, flutter, fallen, lost, rush, fleet, quick, shy, sweet, brave, loud, quiet, wild, hope, wish,

Other: claw, whisker, dead, odd, one, spike, fringe, echo, song, hallow, haven

Elements

Time + Weather: day, night, dusk, dawn, morning, sky, sun/ny, moon, storm, lightning, thunder, cloud/y, mist/y, fog, snow, blizzard, ice, frost, dew, drizzle, rain, clear, wind, breeze, gale, shadow, shade, bright, light,

Earth/Water/Fire names: stone, rock, boulder, slate, flint, pebble, gravel, sand/y, dust, mud/dy, meadow, hill, rubble, river, ripple, whorl, float, rapid, shimmer, lake, swamp, marsh, wave, wet, bubbling, splash, puddle, pool, creek, fire, flame, flicker, flash, blaze, scorch, ember, spark, ash, soot, cinder, smoke

Plants

Trees: alder, aspen, birch, beech, cedar, cypress, pine, elm, willow, oak, larch, maple, bay, rowan, timber, bark, log, wood, twig, acorn, cone, seed, spire

Berry/Nut/Fruit/Herb: juniper, elder, sloe, holly, yew, mistle, bramble, hickory, hazel, chestnut, nut, apple, cherry, cranberry, olive, pear, plum, peach, chive, mint, fennel, sage, basil, mallow, parsley

Flowers: aster, poppy, primrose, rose, bluebell, marigold, tansy, pansy, briar, cherry, daisy, dandelion, daffodil, tulip, violet, lily, myrtle, thrift, yarrow, heather, lavender, blossom, bloom, flower, petal

Other: leaf, frond, fern, bracken, sorrel, hay, rye, oat, wheat, cotton, reed, pod, cinnamon, milkweed, grass, clover, weed, stem, sedge, gorse, furze, flax, nettle, thistle, ivy, moss, lichen, bush, vine, root, thorn, prickle, nectar

Animals

Mammals: mouse, rat, mole, vole, shrew, squirrel, hedgehog, bat, rabbit, hare, ferret, weasel, stoat, mink, marten, otter, hog, wolf, hound, fox, vixen, badger, deer, doe, stag, fawn, sheep, cow, pig, lion, tiger, leopard, lynx, milk

Birds: robin, jay, cardinal, thrush, sparrow, swallow, shrike, starling, rook, swift, dove, pigeon, crow, raven, duck, goose, heron, wren, finch, swan, stork, quail, gull, lark, owl, eagle, hawk, kestrel, buzzard, kite, hoot, feather, bird, egg, talon

Fish, Reptiles + Amphibians: pike, perch, pollack, trout, tench, cod, carp, bass, bream, eel, minnow, fin, snake, adder, lizard, turtle, frog, toad, newt

Bug type Names: bug, lady or ladybug, moth, spider, ant, snail, slug, beetle, bee, wasp, dragon or dragonfly, bumble, worm, maggot, cricket, fly, midge, web, honey

Skyclan + Warriorclan: Bella, Billy, Big, Harry, Harvey, Snook, Ebony, Monkey

#warrior cats #wc

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ilovescaredysquirrel2 · 2 months

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I was the first person in America to watch Butterfly Tale!

Okay, so Butterfly Tale and Migration are both the BEST animated movies of 2023 in my opinion and you can't even compare them to the others!!! I wish Butterfly Tale got released in America and other countries because it was amazing. It makes me so mad that Disney can use A.I on a movie yet it still beat an original and adorable story about friendship and self confidence.

There are a lot of things I loved about Butterfly Tale, which I literally been waiting months to see, but let's start with the creative story and characters! Can we all just appreciate the "funny" villain tropes for a sec? I mean, I don't like these stereotypic evil cackle, mustache twirling villains like in old Disney movies. I like the funny, silly villains that aren't super threatening, but threatening enough to know they're the bad guys. The villain birds in Butterfly Tale were actually pretty creative! It's giving Gabu's pack from One Stormy Night, mixed with the Greasers from CatDog, and I'm here for it!!! Like, one of the birds was even missing an eye like Giro did in One Stormy Night, that also happened to be bitten off by the main character's dad. Like, there's no way they weren't inspired by One Stormy Night a little bit! I'm so happy. I also loved the designs too (I thought they were magpies at first but they were colorful and they were big enough to be hawks so idk what they were) but it was mostly the girl who was colorful. They didn't give her the stereotypic female design with big eyes and chest, they just made her more colorful. Even though the Butterflies also had human like designs, nobody was sexualized! The designs also looked good against the backgrounds and it blended in so nicely. You gotta love Marty's design and how he was as a caterpillar and as a butterfly. I also like the symbolism as turning into a butterfly is like puberty for caterpillars, instead of having adult caterpillars which doesn't make sense (**cough cough** Disney Bugs life).

We also got to appreciate the mother-son aspect with Patrick and his mom, and the symbolism for Patrick's disability is that one of his wings is smaller than the other. His mom was trying to protect him so much, kind of like Mei's grandma was in One stormy night. I found it most sad when Patrick got separated from his mother in the movie, (i don't wanna give spoilers tho). I also love Margaret's design too, she's a super sweet mom! This movie has a lot of girl power too, not just with Margaret, but with Jennifer and Lily's relationship, and also with the chief of the butterflies being a woman! I know it's not a big deal anymore, but I like seeing girl power. Speaking of Jennifer and Lily, they were adorable characters and Lily was such a supportive friend. I also like how they made Jennifer strong and confident but also gave her a soft side with her being afraid of heights. She kind of reminded me of Scaredy Squirrel in a way (there were a few characters who reminded me of Scaredy Squirrel too tho). Jennifer also learned to face her fears, sorry if that's another spoiler.

This movie was so adorable, the humor was also really good and the songs were too! I actually loved the "one liners", ike the little jokes that background characters made. This is another reason why I love foreign animated movies that are dubbed, the background characters will sometimes say really funny things. (Example, like when Marty said he fell asleep in the trailer that was full of the milkweed, one of the guys in the background were like "Who sleeps in a trailer?" and also one of the birds were like "Don't you know anything about politics?" after they lost direction). Pink Parrot is also a pretty underrated company, and I bet this is their best movie. I haven't seen Snowtime yet, but that loos cute and fun! I love Oops Noah is Gone (which was also titled "All creatures Big & Small" for some reason... not to be confused with Big & Small, the puppet show with the toothpaste meme). ScaryGirl doesn't look like that good of a movie though, but I'm not a fan of spooky stuff. I think I'll stick to Butterfly Tale and Oops Noah is Gone.

Anyway, tell me what you think! If you have the streaming service Crave, PLEASE WATCH BUTTERFLY TALE! It's so worth it! I wish this could have been nominated for 2023 Oscars but no.... Migration didn't get nominated either which I think is equally an amazing movie (although Butterfly Tale appeals to me more personally, they're both my type of movie tho). Also, if you're in Canada and was lucky enough to see this amazing movie in theaters, share your thoughts!

#butterfly tale movie #butterfly tale #le légende du papillon #butterfly tale 2023 #animated movies 2023 #animated movies 2024 #my thoughts #pink parrot

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arachnophanatic · 6 months

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Small milkweed bug / Lygaeus kalmii

#insects #bugs #seed bugs #Lygaeidae #my photos

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onenicebugperday · 2 years

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@dykesamus submitted: i've seen these guys outside my home in saratoga, california for my whole life but i never knew what they were! these two appear to be stuck ass-to-ass. i worry i've interrupted an intimate moment

We are indeed witnessing an intimate moment! I hope they make lots of little baby bugs. These amorous amigos are small milkweed bugs :)

#animals #insects #bugs #submission #true bugs #small milkweed bug

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someguyiguess · 7 months

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was trying to teach myself to draw Lygaeus Kalmii (the small milkweed bug) a while ago but the point is moot now so have the drawings that came out of that, and the reference images they came from. I took the ref photos too btw.

#lygaeus kalmii #someguy draws #bugs #insects #l. kalmii #art #pencil drawings

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clannfearrunt · 5 months

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Oh I forgot to show y’all the animal I think. Small milkweed bug (it sure can small)

#Con stop yapping #bugs #insects

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hyssopandbee · 9 months

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Saved a small milkweed bug today from a bucket of water! Go be a funky insect, little dude. Also saw my first cricket today!

#gardening #gardeners on tumblr #gardencore #milkweed bug #summer

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kindheart525 · 5 months

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Which characters in the Auraverse and Thirdverse have pets?

I thought this was such a fun question that I decided to draw out my answers! Right now I’m only answering for the Auraverse because there are a lot just for that ng, and thus it might be less overwhelming to show the Thirdverse pets in a separate post.

1, 2, and 3. Each of the ColorOak sisters has their own cat, and they reflect just how different (and alike!) the sisters are. Red Cedar has a big, fluffy Maine Coon named Mint Bliss. He is just as majestic and noble in attitude as Cedar likes to imagine his namesake is, and his name reflects her strong grounding in her own faith. In sharp contrast, Blue Velvet has a hairless Sphinx cat named Velour, to go with her own name. This kitty is spoiled rotten and put in all kinds of outfits for aesthetic photos (which she accepts; Blue wouldn’t make her do it if she fought against it). I mustn’t forget her little corn snake Precious either, who has become Velour’s best friend. Velour loves to chill out with Precious wrapped around her like a sweater as if it’s the height of luxury. Much like her own position between her two sisters, Violet’s kitten is a middle ground between the other two cats in being a regular domestic shorthair. As a black cat, often thought of as a harbinger of bad luck, he was the last in his litter to get adopted. But Violet took one look at him and fell in love, naming him Maestro to reflect the kind of greatness she saw in him. He’s also registered as her emotional support animal to help with her anxiety, and he is very good at doing so.

4. Varmint Venom works with snakes of all shapes and sizes for a living, but only two of them permanently belong to her. You’ve met them before, but here we have Bartholomew (green) and Brenda (brown). Brenda is a real escape artist, never able to be left alone unsupervised even when she’s sealed in a tank. Bartholomew can be a feisty one, always watching for potential prey and flicking his tongue in anticipation, but Varmint knows just how to keep him tame and happy, being the snake whisperer she is.

5. After getting her career back on track, River Morganite eventually gets to a place where she can relax and pursue other interests, which includes adopting a macaw for companionship. Her name is Regina, which is short for Princess Regina Pluma Corona the First. She’s not quite as much of a diva as her name would suggest, as blue and gold macaws are known for being quite sociable. But she still wants to be the center of attention at all times, which is fine by River as they make quite a fabulous pair. She loves letting Regina perch upon her horns like she’s her crown…but she may have also accidentally taught her some curse words. Bloody hell.

6. Due to a mispronounced chant during one of her witch coven’s biweekly meetings, Milkweed has found herself the “mommy” of a giant, carnivorous plant that was once naught but a tiny sprout. When she tried to make the plant grow she didn’t expect it to grow this big, but she doesn’t regret this mistake one bit. Itsy Bitsy is as sweet as can be…to her at least, and to those that she has made clear she trusts. She wouldn’t let him hurt a fly though…I mean a pony, because he does eat flies. She loves to sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider song to him while feeding him spiders, flies, and other bugs and small critters, as their special nightly tradition.

7. Eclipse’s best friend is a little hermit crab named Io, named after one of Jupiter’s moons but much preferring to hide from the great big universe around him. A feeling Eclipse can relate to all too well. They feel like the little crab understands them in this way and that brings them comfort. When they talk to Io about their day to get stuff off their chest, he just sits there with his cute little claws folded and listens, which is all Eclipse could ask for sometimes.

8. While not one individual pet, Snowcone is a friend of the butterflies, having started raising them as a form of therapy. It brings her great joy and comfort to be part of something bigger in contributing to the health of butterfly populations, but she also loves to watch them flutter around in freedom and peace for the sake of each individual. Glasswing butterflies are her favorite, looking so delicate yet being some of the most beautiful of all!

9. Rosemary has an ant farm! When she’s not out playing with Sandpiper, or visiting her grandparents and cousins, she loves nothing more than to sit down and watch her ants roam around, sometimes for hours. It’s so fun to see the inner workings of their lives in such a small box, and it’s a quiet activity that she sometimes prefers over the constant activity of family time.

10. Also not really a pet, but Amour Étreinte really has a charm with the birds and other woodland creatures! Almost everywhere she goes at least a few of them are following her, even in the Crystal Empire which doesn’t have any real forests. And every note she sings has the birds tweeting along in perfect tune. There’s something absolutely magical to it, a surprise and delight to many even in a world where magic is the norm. She’s a true Disneigh Princess!

11. Duchess Daisy Lace Raspberry III is the only dog who has ever been worthy of Best in Show, and anypony who even dares suggest otherwise is a jealous, vindictive bitch. She’s Southern Belle’s pride and joy but everypony else’s nightmare, with a nasty bark AND bite and a trail of slobber following her almost everywhere except when she has to look nice for the cameras. Even other dogs whine and cower in her presence. But Southern Belle is fine with that, in fact she’s downright proud of her dog’s reputation. That only means she’s the best of the best, just like her owner.

12. One might think that a high-society, somewhat snooty filly like Ingenue would have a sharp distaste for rodents, but that couldn’t be further from the truth when it comes to rats. They’re very clean, sociable and intelligent animals and she sees through all the myths that suggest they aren’t. She even has three of her own, a trio of sisters named Dolly, Dora, and Donna. Yes they look kind of alike, and yes their names are remarkably similar, but Ingenue will still get extremely insulted if you dare get them confused. If anything, their little tutus should be a dead giveaway to their individuality (and their owner’s fashion taste).

13. If anyone would be the type to have a spoiled little dog who’s literally ancient and racks up thousands of bits in vet bills, it would be Saltwater Taffy. Little Gumdrop has hardly taken a single step outside of her purse in his 21 years of life because Taffy wouldn’t dare make him get his tender little paws dirty. Nor has he eaten a single bite of brand-name dog food because he deserves much better than that. (I’m exaggerating with the walking bit, he does get adequate exercise and is legitimately well taken care of despite also being coddled.) If Taffy dares leave him to fend for himself alone in her big, lavish castle, even for 10 minutes, he is absolutely beside himself. And in true Taffy fashion she enables all of it. But the arrival of her daughter meant welcoming another new furry friend to the family. For Spring Palooza was born with some disabilities that required more assistance with mobility and pain management to help her achieve her best life, assistance which could be best provided by a service dog. Enter Jellybean, the slobbery, constantly-shedding, yet eternally easygoing Saint Bernard tasked with meeting Pally’s caretaking needs. Taffy didn’t expect to be the owner of a dog like this after choosing such a tiny, prissy little creature for herself, but it’s the breed Pally chose among the options presented for a service dog. And Taffy would do anything to make her little girl happy. As for Gumdrop’s opinion, Jellybean is his sworn enemy, but Jellybean has not a single clue about this feud.

14. Because of Stockholm’s love of all things historical, Discord thought it would be a great idea to gift her a real life prehistoric animal as a pet. Now. he could have been extra chaotic and pulled a Jurassic Park with some dinosaurs, but after seeing her get emotional over the evolutionary relationship between Joshua trees and the now-extinct giant ground sloth (Megatherium), he decided that was what he would create for her. Stockholm couldn’t be happier with his selection, loving nothing more than to lounge in the sloth’s favorite tree with her new friend who she’s named Coconut.

15. For as long as she could remember, Slumber Party had always wanted a cuddly little pet to call her own, but she couldn’t have one in the orphanage. But in her free time she did do some reading and decided pretty early on that she wanted some guinea pigs. So when she got adopted, it didn’t take long for her to successfully convince Luna to take her down to the pet store to pick out her new best friend. She settled on a bonded pair, who she’s quite fittingly named Snuggles and Cuddles. She could sit in her room for hours just watching them play and giving them lots of love!

16. As a young adult, Etheria decides to really lean into their gothic and intellectual side and get a pet raven, just like in the poems of old. Edgar lives up to expectations in being extremely intelligent, able to solve puzzles and even use tools to aid Etheria in her work. In her true blunt fashion, Etheria likes to pit their pet raven against her brother Raven, even though the latter is plenty intelligent in his own right. It’s all just affectionate teasing.

17. When he reaches his teenage and young adult years, Meteor Shower follows his mom’s hoofsteps in being a lover of reptiles and gets a badass-looking bearded dragon as a pet. Many reptiles are considered stereotypically masculine pets, especially when the owner is such a guys’ guy like Meteor, but despite his friends’ confusion his little lizard is actually a girl! Pepper is obviously completely indifferent to what she’s called, and is content being part of his aesthetic because it also comes with companionship and quality care.

18. After seeing how much Sahar adored the sea and all the colorful life teeming within, Heavenly Glow decided to give her the ultimate surprise for her birthday and commission a personal fish pond to be built just for her. Needless to say Sahar loved it; in fact, it’s one of her favorite birthday gifts she’s ever received! She loves to watch the fish explore their colorful little habitat, and Heavenly loves watching her love enjoy herself. Although, as something of a half-fish, Heavenly is surprised to find herself feeling slightly jealous when Sahar picks a favorite fish from the pond.

19. The apartment building they live in isn’t particularly welcoming towards pets, but even if it was, Minted Glacier and Blueberry Sticks probably wouldn’t have room to take care of one after putting all their time and money into raising Mint’s daughter. But a pet found its way into their lives anyway when a raccoon fell through their ceiling one day and Mint was unable to deny the begging of his daughter and sister. The young CheBe named him Stripy, but Blueberry has her mind in the gutter with her choice of spelling. Unsurprisingly, this literal wild animal soon proved to be too much to handle, so after less than a week Mint finally put his hoof down and “gave him to somepony with a bigger house” (released him in the wild).

20. Meet Polished Antique’s prized purebred Pekingese, the latest in a long line of esteemed show dogs. Her name is Priscilla Pearl (AKA PeePee), and she is the daughter of Jet Set’s dog William Warwick (AKA WeeWee). PeePee lives a very pampered life with only the most expensive dog food and most luxurious beds. But her whole lifestyle goes out the window when she finds anything even slightly edible on the ground, including literal garbage. Which is what Polly’s cooking looks and tastes like, but he doesn’t seem to realize that even when it sometimes sets the smoke alarms off. In his mind he’s just making his precious girl a special treat. And of course, her eager approval of such putrid sludge tells him absolutely nothing about the actual quality of his dishes.

21. While she doesn’t have a pet of her own, Luster Dawn has a pond behind her house that’s a popular attraction for ducks. When she’s not busy studying or spending time with Flurry, she likes to sit by the pond and meditate on its stillness during her breaks. When she’s lucky a duck will come by and accept her offering of corn and peas that she tosses into the water, and sometimes even a family! Seeing the little ducklings follow their parents reminds her of herself in a bygone era, but in a heartwarming way. She’s happy for them.

22. Following his family’s legacy, Bumblebee has healed many ponies and woodland creatures alike, but one case is extra special to him. One day he found an injured baby squirrel with no parents in sight and vowed to do whatever it took to nurse him back to health. He always tries to follow proper protocol to not hurt their chances of returning to their proper habitat, but he just couldn’t help but fall in love. He even gave the little critter a name, Theodore (AKA Teddy). The time eventually came to release Teddy back into the wild, despite how much it broke Bumble’s heart, but it only took Teddy a couple days to return and make it clear that he was staying. He wasn’t physically incapable of surviving alone, he just didn’t want to. Now he’s Bumblebee’s little companion and helper, and neither would have it any other way.

23. After her father died and it became clear that her family would be spending a lot more time at the rock farm, Limestone decided to buy a rooster for the place to keep everypony’s schedules on track (really because Applejack wanted a piece of Sweet Apple Acres there and she couldn’t say no). She named him Igneous as a homage to the late patriarch, even though this rooster is a lot more loud and boisterous than his namesake ever was. He technically belongs to the whole family, but aside from his parents, Mountain Peak is the one who enjoys interacting with him the most. He just needs to invest in some earplugs!

24. As if the universe didn’t hate Summer Beauty enough, it also made her allergic to literally every furry animal. Yes, even the hypoallergenic and hairless ones, it is possible. And she doesn’t particularly care for reptiles or fish so she hates that those are her only options if she doesn’t want to be sneezy or hopped up on allergy medicine all the time. Applejack (despite her own disappointment) tried giving Winona away to another branch of the Apple family when Summer was little and her allergies were first showing up. However, the filly was so utterly and despairingly beside herself that AJ realized Summer really would rather sacrifice her sinuses for her mental health. So Winona came back and now the family has another dog named Ryder, who Summer insists is “the only one around here who likes me anymore.” She loves him the most out of all her siblings and cries the hardest when he dies, and the allergies are only a small price to pay for his love.

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