Today it is Easter Monday (well it was when I started writing this), and the fruit of the labor of many Nature Army members (and a lot of ribbon) is finally going to the Chester County SPCA, as promised. Its goodness consists of a batch of dog treats, octopus cat toys, the blankets mentioned in the second post, pens, and two projects we haven't told you about: plastic Easter egg cat toys and denim dog toys. To make the dog toys, you will need... Oh, wait. I have to do it in this format.
Skills: Cutting, braiding, tying, drawing straight lines, and playing tug of war with a 2 inch hand-hold.
Time: I have no idea.
Materials: Old jeans, preferably not ripped, ruler, marker (that works), sewing scissors
First, cut off the legs so that the junk with all the pockets can be thrown away. Using the scissors, cut the legs into approximately 2 inch wide strips, with or without the marker and ruler. Take three of them and line up one of the ends. Tie them together. Then braid them. Tie another knot and pull in such a way that it couldn't come out unless it was tied to the tusks of 2 elephants in the mood to destroy something. It's rather self-explanatory. We made about ten of these with one pair of jeans. Don't use jeans that are too short because you won't have enough to braid. They actually look really professional when they're done. However, I won't lie— I look truly awful in that picture.
Our other project was plastic Easter egg cat toys. Just take an empty Easter egg and add a bell or 3 or 4 beans or pieces of cat kibble. Next hot glue the two pieces closed. You can decorate these with permanent markers. Don't add tails or other things cats could rip off and choke on. We made nearly two dozen.
Here is our enormous care package. Doesn't it look like a Tootsie roll?
No, no, no! I can't end this post yet because I forgot about another idea I had, and last post I promised I'd try to go at least 5 posts without talking about an animal shelter! We will be growing kale this spring, and possibly lettuce, to donate to the Baltimore Humane Society. Their website is www.bmorehumane.org/, and on their wish list they ask for fresh vegetables for the rabbits. It must be dreadfully boring to live off of "Nutri-Pellets" all the time.
Oh, and if you want to join, could you please work on that? Earth Day is next Sunday, and we are less than halfway to our goal. I doubt we'll get to 50 members by then, but let's make it close.
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