You may wish to consider a chinchilla. They are in

the rodent family, (but it doesn't seem that way).

Chins have incredible velvety fir, and they resemble

a chubby squirrel with micky mouse type ears. They

are nocturnal, although they do get up and play a

lot during day. Chins are very smart and playful,

and I'm told can be trained. They are also very clean,

so their cage area doesn't tend to stink as many do.

I got my first pair of chinchillas, as adults, a

proven breeding pair. They were nice enough but

they never really did bond with us. We ended up

having 3 litters total. They ususally have 1-3

babies, and their pregnancy is 111 days

(about 4 months), which is VERY long for an

animal that size. The babies come out fully

formed, "ready to go" you might say. Fully

furred, eyes opened, running around. They can

even eat adult food almost from day 1, although

they prefer to nurse.

Chinchillas eat prepared chin food that comes

in a pellet form. They also need 1 raisin a day

(which they LOVE!). Every few days it's a good

idea to give them a dust bath, you can purchase

"chinchilla dust" at a pet store. You put it in

a bowl and they dive in, roll and kick up a fuss,

a pure delight to watch. Company always love to

watch "Ittle bittle" take her bath.

The real joy for us came as we kept one of the

babies, we later sold mom and dad. She bonded

really well with us, she was handed a lot from

birth on. She has been one of BEST pets I've

ever had (of any kind of animal). She is playful,

friendly, never bites, she "barks" its a quiet,

Sea Holly is a perennial garden plant, which means you plant it once and it comes up year after year, somewhat depending on your climate.

This plant never did fail to bring attention and comments from people seeing my garden. It grows about 3-4 feet high, very branchy and branches are a brilliant electric blue color. It's stunning!

The only drawback to this lovely plant, in fall you must cut it to ground and burn or compost plant. Do not let it go longer than that, casting it seeds or you'll soon discover it's family trait of being in thistle family, if you know what I mean. The following spring, it'll come back again to it's beauty.

It is an easy plant to grow and does best with full sun, or as much sun as is available to you. I live in Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. so we get a lot of rain and fairly mild summers and yet it seems to be enough for this plant.

You can search for Sea Holly seeds in seed catalogs or sometimes you can find it in some nurserys. An internet search would surely find you a source for this lovely plant.

I thought I'd let you know about one of coolest, funky plants for outdoors I've ever run across. It's called Evening Scented Stock, it is NOT common stock, however.

This is an annual plant, that needs to be sown early spring, directly into soil where it is to bloom and grow. I recommend planting it nearby windows and doors, porches, etc. This plant really doesn't look like much in and of itself, it's not a pretty plant per se..but when about 5:00 PM rolls around watch it do its stuff! This plant has a VERY powerful fragrance similar to hyacynths or lilacs. At gentlest breeze it sends a waft of fragrance to die for. This is why it's so excellent to plant near a window, door or pathway. When you open up your screen in evening, this will scent your entire house.

One place that I have found seeds for this rare plant is at Fragrant Path, PO Box 328, Fort Calhoun, NE 68023 They were about $1. a packet but price may have gone up. Please write and ask them. Enjoy!