Journee's Critters

HEY! Merry Christmas! (And a happy New Year!)

I hope everybody had a great Christmas this year. We sure did.
I'll probably (maybe...) post some pictures later... but first I'm gonna tell y'all most of what went on.

Firstly: We got some great and most wonderful gifts. We are very, very blessed.

Each of me and my siblings got a different Wii game. I got Rabbids Go Home. Which is fun, and rather hard to explain. But it's the Raving Rabbids's newest game. (There also being Raymond's Raving Rabbids and Raving Rabbids TV Party)
I got a little MP3 player, dunno what type it is, but it's really cool! (Quinn got one too)
I got a book. Called: The Dragon Book. It's got a bunch of short stories about dragons in it, each written by a different person. (Very neat)

I got a DVD about the NASA missions. I have not watched it yet, but I'm sure it's going to be good.
I got a few other things, and some candy (which, was, of course, yummy)

My grandparents and uncle came over to visit. I got a owl necklace with Hedwig on it (from Harry Potter) it's very pretty, and I like it very much. It has real silver and stuff. Bought from Dragon Weave Jewelry.

My mom made (Sewed,) me an really nice little bag, and she put in it a nice little sketch pad, a pen with blue ink (awesome!) some chocolate, and she also made me a bookmark. It has a cute little owl on the top, and it has the name: Bluestorm, embroidered(? Don't know if I wrote that right) on it.

Bluestorm, for those who don't know. Is my main dragon that I have created. It was very nice of my mom to do that for me! (Thank you so much!)

My dad gave each of us our OWN BOX OF COKE! Yeah! I wonder how many kids got a bunch of Coke this year!?!?! Thanks dad!

However, I do have bad news.

My sweet little chicken, Thunder, died Christmas morning. I'm very sad. She (or he?) was my favorite of Cottontail's clutch. (Don't tell Sparky!) And was a very good bird.

I have many pets.
I have a rabbit, two goats, a bearded dragon lizard, several chickens, and a dog.

Yesterday I brought my rabbit - Midnight - into the house.
I gave him some yummy snacks (as you can see above), and he hopped around my bedroom for a few hours.
Then I put him on my bed and stroked his soft little bunny fur, and read a book to him. (Strange, I know. But he seems to like it)


Zelda had to get in her crate. She has never jumped at him, but I really don't trust that dog enough to let her run around the room with my rabbit.


Zelda wasn't real pleased.


Norbert got some yummy (?) collard greens and a few crickets to munch on. He also ran around my room for awhile.


Thunder. My newest baby. Sat on my bed in the "chicken bag" a really neat little knitted(?) bag that I got from my aunt.
I have carried all my baby chickens around in it. I even brought one of my baby roosters (Snowy) into Walmart, in the chicken bag.

Yes.
I know.
Call me crazy.

Today is my dad's birthday.
And I just wanted to say this:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

(Hopefully he will see this post)

And, I wanted to tell him that I love him very much; and that I think he is the greatest dad in the whole wide world! <3

My dad is smart, funny, and real nice. He has showed (or maybe taught?) me the awesomeness(?) of good humor. (Whether he wanted too, or not!)
He has always taken care of me, and all my family! Watched over us, and helped teach us the ways of life. (He has also taught me and my sister how to properly play Halo. LOL)

I love you daddy! :) <3

You know.... Family is a wonderful thing. Brothers and sisters - you can make such memories.

Like.... Have you ever had one of those days when you and your oldest sister are both assigned by your father to give your little brother a bath?

And then you - the eldest - decide to absentmindedly read the back of a body lotion bottle (yes, this eldest girl likes to read) and you sister has this great idea to stick a hair-roller in your already curled-with-hair-gel-hair.


Then you, feel a sharp pain in your head. And turn to see your sister tugging at your hair.
Then you look in the mirror to see a pink hair-curler thingy stuck tight.

Yeah.

Then after running to your mom - asking her to please get it out - you take a picture of the final look.

My sister - Quinn - is very, very, proud of herself. (She was laughing, like: Bwaahahaaaaaaaaw!)

It's been a long time since I posted pictures of Cottontail's chicks.
This is Thunder. The youngest of the small clutch.
I brought this little baby inside because she was limping: badly.
I looked at her leg; she seems to have been stepped on by one of my goats.
(Very cute!)
(Awwwwwwww!)
The skin has been torn, right above the joint. She won't put any weight on it.
I haven't figured out if it is broken yet. But I'm keeping her inside. She has a little cage in my room now. And besides: she's just a baby!

I'll probably keep her in until she can walk really well. I don't want to give a hawk any chance to pick her off. Especially at this time. A hawk around here will take anything he/she can get!

Thunder is a real good little chick. I'm hoping it's a girl... though her tail feathers and little comb suggest that she is a male....

(Andrew, me, and Chris. Enjoying ourselves despite the cold)

Saturday was WAA, Wreaths Across America. It's a great volunteer service. My Squadron was there. We placed over one thousand and four hundred wreaths on the graves of the fallen.

It was freezing! Me and my mom, and my sister Quinn all got up at 5:00 am, and went on down to the cemetery.

Here's Quinn. She said she had a good time, drinking hot chocolate and watching me freeze.


It was worth it. The freezing part.

We did some drill also. The cadet on the far right is commanding us.

We made sure NOT to walk on the graves. Although I saw some people walking on them... I don't think they really liked me telling them not too.
Everybody in uniform saluted the gravestones.

Here's my friend Andrew saluting.

Many thanks to my mom for taking all the pictures!

O.K.
Yes, another cat.
I'm having fun drawing these....And coloring them!

This is Sootflower.
She has a flower on her left thigh.
Yup. Really realistic.
Her legs are a little bit awkward... but other then that, I like her!

This is Sandwhisker.
I used the same body that I used for Mudpath, so I guess you could call that cheating....

I think the paw-print is a dog's.... Oh well....

As you can probably see ( hehe) he's blind in his left eye. And if I wrote the Warriors books, I'd put him in ShadowClan... or WindClan.

Anyway....

This is Mudpath.

I read this series called Warriors. written by Erin Hunter.

It's about a bunch of cats, that live in Clans.

There's a leader, the warriors (who hunt for their Clan, and defend it) the queens (who are females that are nursing or expecting kits) the elders (whom are retired warriors, queens, or leaders) the apprentices (warriors in training) and the kits (young cats) and a deputy.

In the books, there are five Clans.
ThunderClan, WindClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and SkyClan. There's also StarClan, but that's the Clan in heaven, for cats after they die.

Each Clan has its own territory. They fight battles with the other Clans, and stuff like that. They get messages and prophecies from StarClan....
Its one of those books that you need to read to understand. You have to read them, to understand the Clan customs, and fit into the cats' world.

The kits (kittens) take the name 'kit' like, Mudkit.
Then, when they are six moons (months) old, they become apprentices, and take the name 'paw' like, Mudpaw.
then, finally, when they are trained enough, and old enough, they become warriors, and take a different name, like Mudpath, or Mudpelt, Mudfoot, etc.
If the cat becomes a leader they take the name 'star' like, Mudstar. and they are also (normally) granted nine lives by StarClan.

I normally name my dragons stuff like that. I'm very good at coming up with names and information for them.... I think its fun!

They are real good books. But certainly aren't for everybody. I would say they are more of a kid's book, to young adults.

So anyway.... Yeah, this is Mudpath. She is a warrior in status. If she was in the books, she'd probably be in RiverClan. (They live by the water, mud, mud, and more mud!)

I'm not too happy with her muzzle.... But I like her eyes!

Well, Christmas is on its way, and the weather is turning very cold!
Our land frosts over each night, and in the morning I have to defrost all the water bottles and bowls. Ice, ice, and more ice!
We had some snow a few days ago. We don't often get snow, so it was a lot of fun. We got wet, cold, and wet again! We had snowball fights; we built tiny little snow people; and then came inside to drink hot cider. It was great!

We've been decorating the Christmas tree, hanging stockings, and listening to Christmas songs.

I have Wreaths Across America (WAA) this Saturday. And for those who don't know: it's a thing my squadron in C.A.P do. We buy a bunch of wreaths (when I say 'we' I mean, we buy a wreath or two each, then we hand out forms so other people can buy wreaths). Then we place them on graves. Its a great way of honoring the soldiers that have fallen protecting our freedom. we salute each grave also, in respect and thanks.

My family has been faced with a bad head-cold this month, and we are all trying to get better. I'm feeling pretty sick, so we will probably be staying home for the rest of the week. (Doing school, then watching movies!)

The cat drawing you see above... I drew that a few moments ago, then Photo-shopped it.
Her name is Tsinga. I'm not real happy with the markings and color-job. So I may redo it soon....

My sisters have set up some small Christmas trees in their bedrooms. And my dog, is already trying to chase the shiny little balls we use to decorate them, across the room!

My two baby chicks: Sparky and Thunder, are doing very good out in the cold with their mama. I'm thinking about moving them into the big coop soon, so they can start getting used to sleeping with my goats and other chickens!

Nope, I've been trying out other forms of drawing. And the one I am practicing right now is wolves. Magic wolves.

The wolf above is named Nertu.
He is a the first wolf I have drawn. Of course I Photo-shopped him, and since I don't have a tablet for Photo-shop, and I absolutely no idea how to do layers, the shading is a bit rough.


This wolf's shading is also a bit bad.
Her name is Solaara. I really like her nose! Her right ear was torn in a dogfight... dunno where I got that idea!



The blue wolf you see above is Floot. He's a younger wolf. And I guess I really should of drawn a shoulder bone or something.... His tail looks like a fox's. (And I just HAD to make snowflakes!)



This is my newest one. Raevyn. She kinda has a Mohawk style going on.... The area of her chest, to the shoulder is a bit wide. And her ears are just slightly in the wrong places.

What do you think? Eh? I still need practice. But I'm working on it!


The basic info on these wolves: (because I wanted too)

(Wolf number 1)

Name: Nertu.
Gender: Male.
Pack: Evergreen.
Status: Average.
Family: Sister is Midnyte, from the Windrusher Pack. Mate is named Moony.
Magic: None.
Type: Night.
Notes: Is fair, well reasoned, and calm at heart. Prefers not to fight.


(Wolf number 2)

Name: Solaara.
Gender: Female.
Pack: Evergreen.
Status: Healer.
Family: Mother is Ryne, and two brothers are Hawke and Zix.
Magic: Can sense the feelings of others.
Type: Sun.
Notes: She can be a little skittish. Lost part of her ear in a dogfight with a rival Pack; she lost, and gave up fighting.

(Wolf number 3)

Name: Floot.
Gender: Male.
Pack: Windrusher.
Status: Apprentice.
Family: Icesha, his mother, is the Pack Leader. Father is a warrior named Flaze.
Magic: Fangs can cause frostbite.
Type: Ice.
Notes: Hates hot weather. Loves to play in the snow, and is a good swimmer.

(Wolf number 4)

Name: Raevyn.
Gender: Female.
Pack: Night-Spirit.
Status: Warrior.
Family: Has two sisters, Falke and Hazorro.
Magic: Can cause temporary darkness.
Type: Night.
Notes: Is a bit of a daydreamer. Hates the rival Pack, Flame-Walkers, for the death of her father.

Welllllllllllll....
I hope everybody had a GREAT Thanksgiving. Tomorrow my family is going up to my grandparents' house to have dinner and play with our cousins. It will be soooo much fun!

November 3rd is a big day for us. It's mine and my youngest sister's birthday.
We celebrated a bit late, because me and Quinn were out of town.
But yesterday: all my grandparents, my uncle Phil, my Aunt Amy, and cousins Sierra, and Garrett, all came to sing happy birthday, play, and eat Death by Chocolate. Yum.

I had the Death by Chocolate, it was made by my mom, and was absolutely awesome.
Rosie had a real yummy cake with sprinkles and My Little Pony toys on top.

And just in case you can't figure this out by yourself, I turned 14, and Rose turned 4. but hopefully you knew that!

Guess what? One of Cottontail's bantam eggs hatched!

This is Thunder: the newest hatchling of Cottontail's clutch.
This little chick is just as tiny as Sparky, and I'm thinking it's a frizzle cross.
So so cute!
Thunder has amazing marking, and beautiful feathered-feet; and Thunder also seems to have a bit of a beard.

I have not posted in awhile, I know, shame on me.

So I decided to post a pretty picture of our hound dog Arwen.

And tell you what has been going on with our animals.

OK? Here goes:

1. Our chickens are refusing to lay more then 10 eggs a day. Must be the cold weather...hmmm.
2. My bantam hen, Cottontail, is sitting on 4 eggs, that are due to hatch just before Halloween.
3. Zelda, my bulldog pup, is going to get spayed soon, but is currently sitting by the fireplace, the warmest spot in the whole house.
4. We have lost 2 of our 3 bunny rabbits. One got loose and ran away, and one died of a mystery sickness. Bless their little souls.
5. Duke has found a new enemy: the new "jumping stick" in the backyard. He loves sitting out there and barking at it.
6. Norbert, my bearded dragon lizard, is trying to hibernate, or at least sleep all day, and then wake up and try to eat all the crickets I have!

That's what has been going on.

And we've been planing for Halloween of course! And my mom's birthday! And mine and Rose's birthday! Yeah!

These two little roosters are up next!
Little Dude and Tonks.


We are going to start with Little Dude.
Here he is. He is a sweet little thing; his brother, Obi-Wan, torn of the bottom part of his beak in a fight. He can't eat right, so he is in the chicken nursery, at least until his beak gets clipped.
But the real problem is, he's been in the chicken nursery for a long time. And Obi-wan HATES him! Every time I put Little Dude in a pen, Obi-wan comes up and tries to fight him through the wire!
So I will have to try to move him back into the chicken lot slowly.

Little Dude's past has been rough. He was hatched in the chicken coop, by his foster mother Cottontail. His sister was pecked to death by the full grown hens. And Little Dude was ALMOST killed, until I brought him inside. Sound familiar? Yup, Little Dude, is Helga. I changed his name when he started crowing, which I normally don't do.

This is Bunny, my black silky bantam rooster.

When I first got bantams, Bunny was my favorite.
He was the runt of the clutch. And (of course) I thought he was a hen, until he went through a major growth spurt, and started crowing.
I named him Bunny, because of how fluffy he was, and how he 'hopped' instead of walking.



He's just not a posing rooster either, I just can't get a good picture of him!

I don't have any pictures in the computer of him as a baby, because our computer crashed sometime last year.

In case you don't know; C.A.P stands for Civil Air Patrol. It's a auxiliary of the Air Force for children that are 12 and up. And for adults too.
It is awesome! And I love doing it.
Tonight we had our weekly meeting; and we had drill and ceremonies.
We also had the monthly promotions. I was was supposed to promote to sergeant, but didn't. Because of some mistake, (darn!) instead I will be promoting next month.
But my friends, Andrew, and Chris, did promote tonight, (congratulations again!)
Andrew promoted to Cadet senior staff sergeant (I was going to promote to that rank) and Chris promoted to Cadet airman first class! Really great y'all, we are all getting higher in our ranks!

(Please note this picture was not taken today, it was taken LAST C.A.P meeting!)

Left to right.

C/Ssgt Andrew Braud: C/SA Journee Martin (Will soon be a C/Ssgt!)
C/AB Michael Braud: C/A1C Chris Braud.

(That's a lot of Brauds hunh?)

One of the oddest dragons I have ever made.
No arms, wings, and long body parts. Really.
Her name is Spottedfern; she's a rain forest dragon (she lives in the rain forest)

As you can very well see. I have not photo-shopped her yet.

She has small-ish feet, pointy hair/spike thingies. And straps that are attached to her body.

I will never run out of ideas.
Well, I MAY run out of GOOD ideas.
(Colors!)