Getting There

The Lorax is getting bigger.

He's growing!

He's around 3 1/2 pounds.  He is supposed to get to 4 pounds so he can have his surgery.

He is still having to be bottle fed with a special nipple on the bottle that acts for the roof of his mouth that isn't really there.

It's a bit comical and a bit wistful to watch him as he watches the other kittens that are big enough eating the kitten kibble.  He will stand next to the kibble bowl and stare at it, then at them, watching with his big eyes as they pick up a piece of food and eat it.  Then he heaves a big sigh, walks over to me, and swipes at me with his paw to say he's hungry.  If i don't get the message the first time, he jumps at me, trying to dig in and climb me.

His formula is the usual kitten formula with canned cat food pushed through a strainer so that, when mixed with formula, he can drink it from the bottle.  That way, he's learned what food is supposed to taste like, not just formula, and it adds to the calorie count.

As big as he is, though, he's still nothing more than a big baby.  He follows me around like a puppy, and skitters across the floors chasing shadows.

Then he comes back for another bottle.  It won't be too much longer, though, and i'll get to hand him over to his new family.

That will make the work worth it.

 

Today is:

24 Hours of LeMans -- Le Mans, France (the biggest sporting challenge for car manufacturers, as they have to be the best over a 24 hour period; through tomorrow)

Badger State Summer Games -- Appleton, WI, US (Wisconsin residents of all ages and skill levels can compete this weekend and the next two in a fun Olympic-style sports festival)

Betty Picnic -- the Betty Club, founded by Betty Wilder and Betty Patterson of Grant's Pass, Oregon, began hosting a picnic for all with their name in 1987, and want Bettys all over the world to have a Betty Picnic on the second Saturday of June each year

Big Mac Shoreline Spring Scenic Bike Tour -- Mackinaw City, MI, US (weekend bike tours of varying lengths along the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline, with a concluding ride over the Mighty Mackinac Bridge; through tomorrow)

Billy the Kid Tombstone Race -- Fort Sumner, New Mexico (racers carry an 80 pound tombstone through an obstacle course! a tribute to the number of times the tombstone has been stolen over the years; there is also a triathlon)

Dollars Against Diabetes Days -- always on Father's Day weekend, with information here

Family History Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, urging people to brush up on family history during summer family reunions

Feast Day of Elisha the Prophet -- Christian

Flag Day -- United States

Freedom Day -- Malawi

International Young Eagles Day -- Experimental Aircraft Association members and chapters focus on providing introductory flights to children 8-17

Lailat al-Bara'ah (Shab Barat) -- Islam (Night of Forgiveness, or sometimes Night of Records, a preparation for Ramadan; began at sunset yesterday, local custom dates may vary)

Leinapaev -- Estonia (Mourning and Commemoration Day; remembering those deported under Soviet rule)

Liberation Day -- Falkland Islands

Magic Circles Day -- marking the founding of The Magic Circle, a society of amateur and professional magicians

Missing Mutts Awareness Day -- to help families whose beloved pets have gone missing

Mourning and Hope Day -- Lithuania (remembering those exiled to Siberia under the Soviets)

National Bourbon Day -- celebrating America's "Native Spirit"http://www.nationalbourbonday.com/

National Strawberry Shortcake Day

Pause for the Pledge Day -- US, in conjunction with Flag Day, all citizens are asked to pause at 7pm EDT to recite the Pledge

Pig Callers' Day -- no clue where this came from, or why; any pig callers out there want to weigh in?

Pop Goes the Weasel Day -- and just as no one knows for sure the origins of the song or it's meaning, no one knows why it is celebrated on this day

Rice Planting Festivals -- Sumiyoshi Shrine, Osaka and Izawanomiya Shrine, Mie Prefecture, Japan (rice planting at sacred fields, some rites date back over 1,700 years)

Rumor Sunday -- Fairy Calendar (usually held on a weekday)

Runic Half-month Dag (day) commences

Sandpaper Day -- Isaac Fisher, Jr., of Vermont, was issued the first US patent for sandpaper on this day in 1834

Sovereign's Day/Queen's Birthday -- British Virgin Islands; Pitcairn Island (leave it to the descendants of mutineers to celebrate on a different day from the rest of the Commonwealth, and convince others to do so, also!)

St. Basil the Great's Day (traditional date in Roman Catholic Church, current date in Episcopal Church; Patron of education, exorcisms, hospital administrators, monks, liturgists, reformers; Cappadocia; Russia)

St. Castora Gabrielli's Day (Patron of difficult marriages, widows)

Trooping the Colour -- UK (military celebration of the monarch's birthday, one of London's biggest and most colorful celebrations))

World Blood Donor Day -- International (2014's host country is Australia, and the emphasis is on "Safe blood for saving mothers")
     Blood Type Awareness Day -- while donating, make sure you know your type, and that of your loved ones; in an emergency, it's good to know

World Juggling Day

World Wide Knit in Public Days -- better living through stitching together! through the 22nd


Anniversaries Today:

The United States Army is founded, 1775
Munich, Germany is founded, 1158


Birthdays Today:

Daryl Sabara, 1992
Lucy Hale, 1989
Kevin McHale, 1988
Diablo Cody, 1978
Steffi Graf, 1969
Yasmine Bleeth, 1968
Traylor Howard, 1966
Boy George, 1961
Eric Arthur Heiden, 1958
Will Patton, 1954
Eddie Mekka, 1952
Donald Trump, 1946
John F. MacArthur, 1939
Jerzy Kosinski, 1933
Joe Arpaio, 1932
Marla Gibbs, 1931
Che Guevara, 1928
Pierre Salinger, 1925
Gene Barry, 1919
Burl Ives, 1909
Alois Alzheimer, 1864
John Bartlett, 1820
Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1811


Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Cable Guy(Film), 1996
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves(Film), 1991
"The Gong Show"(TV), 1976


Today in History:

Kublai Khan defeated the force of Nayan and other traditionalist Borjigin  princes in East Mongolia and Manchuria, 1287
Richard II in England meets leaders of Peasants' Revolt on Blackheath and the Tower of London is stormed by rebels who enter without resistance, 1381
Margaret Jones is hanged in Boston for witchcraft in the first such execution for the Massachusetts colony, 1648
The Stars and Stripes is adopted by Congress as the Flag of the United States, 1777
Bounty mutiny survivors including Captain William Bligh and 18 others reach Timor after a nearly 7,400 km (4,000-mile) journey in an open boat, 1789
Whiskey distilled from maize is first produced by American clergyman the Rev Elijah Craig, who named it Bourbon because he lived in Bourbon County, Kentucky, 1789
Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Ismail Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, ending the existence of that Sudanese kingdom, 1821
The village of Henley, on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, stages its first Royal Regatta, 1839
Trade unions are legalised in Canada, 1872
Norway adopts female suffrage, 1907
John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown depart St. John's, Newfoundland on the first nonstop transatlantic  flight, 1919
Action Comics issue one is released, introducing Superman, 1938
The Canadian Library Association is established, 1946
UNIVAC I, the world's first commercial computer, is dedicated by the U.S. Census Bureau, 1951
The European Space Research Organisation is established in Paris – later becoming the European Space Agency, 1962
The Vatican announces the abolition of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, 1966
The 1994 Stanley Cup Riots occur after the New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup from Vancouver, 1994
The Wallow Fire becomes the largest wildfire in the history of the US State of Arizona, 2011
Australia announces its plan to create the largest marine reserve in the world, 2012