I noticed the humans using some program called Cricut Design Space, which connects to a cutting machine called a Cricut. Of course I wanted to try it out! I hacked into it last night and took a look at the programming to see how it worked. I didn’t know then that that would cause connection issues. The next day, Mom and Isabella went to make something on it. As soon as they hit “cut,” the Cricut freaked out and wouldn’t cut. Mom called support and tried to fix it. I helped her out. It turned out my hacking had caused Cricut Design Space to not be able to connect. Therefore, the Cricut had no idea what to do. After much deleting, and reinstalling, and restarting, and snail tinkering, the problem was fixed. And I learned never to hack an app you don’t know how to fix. Now…anyone know if there’s a book about fixing apps?
Smoky’s Log #9
It works! It works! I finally made a water jetpack! I set it in my shell, so it was hidden, filled it with bubbles from the Cauldron bubbler, and shot up to the surface! Unfortunately, Isabella was watching. I panicked, hit my head on the filter, and quickly went back down. But still! Yay! Now I can try to escape! Oh, uh, you never heard that last bit.
Horse Riding #5
Today, Isabella went to the horse stables, but something was different. There was no Levi, just a big chestnut horse named Vlad. Vlad was very gentle, and they rode very well together. However, then Isabella went over to the goat pen and met those 2 goats again! They climbed on the fence to get her attention! Then, as she left, she said hi to a little tan horse who wouldn’t stop sniffing her! Come on–sniffing is strictly a dog thing!
Horse Riding #4
Isabella and Mom left AGAIN for the horse place, and this time Dad joined them. It was Friday! I thought it was just a Wednesday thing! But apparently there was something to do with being cancelled because of thunderstorms. They met these baby goats who were overly affectionate! That’s my thing! They’re goats, not shepherds! Then Isabella tacked up Levi and rode him around the arena. However, he was a bit ornery, pulling on the reins and stepping on her feet. Hmph–a shepherd would never do that! What? That’s…mostly true! Then, when they were done, she just HAD to see the goats again! I was very glad when she got home.
Interviews from the Smokies (And Surrounding Towns)
You probably already heard from Raini about Nana coming and taking care of us. But what you didn’t hear is that when the humans left, for the mountains that share my name, I called a bumblebee and sent her to take care of them! They also met several other animals there, whom I called to share their experiences.
Bumblebee: I followed the humans, hovering in front of Isabella’s window so she would see me. Then they went to a restaurant, so I followed them, peeking through the window. After that, I hovered in front of the sign with their cabin number, so they knew where to go. And then, on their last day there, I came to see them again to say goodbye before they left for Kentucky.
Tiger Swallowtail: I was playing around in the mud outside Smoky Mountain National Park with some other butterflies, when Isabella came up with a camera. She took my picture, then stroked my back with her finger. Before we go on, NO, she did NOT rub the “feathers” off my wings! It doesn’t work that way! I don’t even HAVE feathers! They are SCALES! Scales, do you hear me? Oh…sorry. I get worked up sometimes over butterfly myths. Happens to us all, right? Right…? Ahem…anyway, then she put her finger down and I climbed up it. I stayed there for a bit, then flew off.
Snake: I was sitting on the grassy bank as comfortable as a cloud, looking out at the stream of beauty. The humans didn’t see me at first, but when they did, Isabella took my picture. I was happy that nobody had panicked at the sight of a snake, and being the sensitive, dramatic squamate that I am, I was happier still that I was considered good enough to photograph.
Bear: I had seen Isabella ride through Cades Cove, and I wanted to follow her. Of course, that wouldn’t be safe! Humans are unpredictable. But the day she left, I went up to her hotel room and sat under her balcony. I was glad I got to say goodbye!
Moon the Miniature Horse: I saw Isabella enter the ranch, and I banged on the fence to get her attention. She came over and pet my head, and kissed my nose, and, later, fed me the special animal feed.
Emus: Emu 1: I saw Isabella enter the ranch and start petting Moon, so I joined her. Emu 2: I saw her first! Emu 1: No, you didn’t! I was the first to go over! Emu 2: Yes, I did! I saw her first, pointed her out, and you went over to say hi! Emu 1: Yeah, okay, maybe. But when she fed us, I got more food! Emu 2: How do you know? You didn’t see how much food I got! Anyway, she fed Moon, and the llama, and the chicken, too, so who knows who got the most! Emu 1: Oh, forget it. This interview is over! Emu 2: Sorry, he’s a little touchy. Emu 1: I said OVER!
Goat: When Isabella was done feeding the emus, llama, mini horses, and chicken, she came over to the goat pen. My roommate wasn’t hungry, but I wanted attention! I started smacking my lips, and she gave me some food, which I licked out of her hand. She gave me the rest of the food, and when she ran out, she started petting me and rubbing my back. But I left before any other humans could touch me–I’m very particular about who gets to do that!
Hala the African penguin: I don’t like humans. At all. Unless they have known me for years. But Isabella was likeable enough that I didn’t want to bite her. Which is a big deal for me. I didn’t even mind my feet being used for a penguin painting.
Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo: I saw Isabella enter Parrot Mountain. I said, “I love you!” and held out my foot for her to grab. She didn’t take it, because my perch said I bit, but she gave me an “air handshake.”
Little Scarlet Macaw: The cockatoo had passed down the news that we had guests. I waited with the rest of the “feed crew,” the parrots that get fed. Isabella lifted me up on her arm and fed me. She didn’t even mind that I got overexcited and climbed across both her arms and her shoulders! I guess she knew that I was “still just a baby,” as the sign on my perch put it.
Major Mitchell Cockatoo: I heard from the feed crew that a nice human was coming. When she arrived, I talked to her, even if half of it wasn’t even words, and gave her my best cat impression. I think she enjoyed it!
So there you have it! The Interviews from the Smokies! Sorry it took so long. I made it in May, but it got lost in the database until now.
Smoky’s Log #8
The humans have this prism-shaped speaker that connects to their iPod and plays music. I knew it was going to rain a LOT, and I knew electronics and water don’t mix. When the humans forgot to bring it in, I went out there and covered it in a weighted-down plastic bag, so it didn’t get wet. Then I took the bag off before the humans found it. However, as I made this post, I checked the speaker to make sure it still worked right. When it turns on, it says in a loud voice, “POWER ON. BLUETOOTH MODE.” I didn’t think the humans had heard it, but then it automatically paired with the iPod. “PAIRED.” I heard Isabella say, “Why did the speaker turn on? Nobody touched it!” I hid from the humans, and then Isabella noticed that it wouldn’t turn off! She set it down again, and I tried to unstick the power command. Being an aquatic snail, my slime had caused it not to respond! I turned it off, and I hoped the humans didn’t notice the “POWER OFF.” But I’d hit it one too many times, and it turned back on! The button got stuck again, and I had to hide. This time it randomly disconnected! Then it turned off successfully, but made a popping sound, flashed red, and turned back on! This happened several times, then it started beeping loudly and going into “A… UX MODE.” (With that exact enunciation!) I turned it off, finally figuring out that it had gotten wet, and my snail slime had made the water sink in, confusing the system. The humans set it outside to dry. I went to unwind with some music. However, I’d forgotten that the humans were still around. They immediately noticed the music playing and turned it off. I’m going back to the tank. Hope they didn’t notice too much…
Smoky’s Log #7
I have been curious about the thermostat lately. It has a screen that shows the temperature in the house, the temperature outside, and the weather outside. Naturally, I wanted to know how it knows the temperature outside, and how it knows when to change the weather animation. So I started experimenting with it. I was just about to figure it out, when I heard Isabella say something about the thermostat acting weird. She told Mom that while the temperature inside still showed, the weather screen was blank and grey, and the temperature outside said, “—-“. Of course, I knew that I had caused it! I hurriedly put it back to normal, and by the time Mama saw it, it was fixed. Phew! I hope they don’t suspect anything…
Smoky’s Log #6
Recently, I decided to play with the lights. I’d noticed lightbulbs outside the garage that changed color when you changed a setting on the phone. I decided, why not give Isabella some in her bathroom? I started to unscrew the lightbulbs, but realized I didn’t have any of the special ones! So I tried to put the bulb back in, but it wouldn’t go in all the way, and kept flickering! No matter what I tried, I couldn’t get it tightened up again! Dad changed the lightbulbs, so glad it’s fixed! But…where CAN I get some of those lightbulbs?
Horse Riding #3 (Ugh!)
Yesterday, Isabella left AGAIN, and the humans put me in the crate. Smoky and I watched through the special camera she’d invented as Isabella arrived at the horse place again! I knew she was just going to groom Levi and walk him around. As expected, she brushed him and picked out his hooves, which was a very muddy job. Then he saw another stable worker walk by with some hay and took a HUGE bite! That’s so undignified! Besides, it wasn’t even his hay! A shepherd would never do something like that.
However, once she was done grooming him, she tacked him up, led him into the indoor arena, climbed up the “mounting block,” let her riding coach put a “bridle” on him, and got on his back! She rode him around, practiced stopping him, practiced turning him, and finally was done. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, she untacked him and brushed him again! Then he went out to pasture, and Isabella just had to stay and watch the other riders and meet the other horses and stable workers. Finally, she was done. I know she will probably go back again, but is it too much to hope the horse is…less shepherd-like?
Not This Again! (Horse Riding #2)
Yesterday, the humans put me in the crate and left. I escaped and called on Smoky for her fly-drone-camera. We watched the humans drive to the horse place again! Isabella had all these horses run up to the fence, and she pet them all. Then a bunch of crows flew overhead. She passed through the stables, saying hi to all the horses. Then she was about to go say hi to a friendly-looking goat, when another human called her. Phew! No more other animals getting all the attention. But…then the human led another horse named Levi out of his stall! Isabella pulled out her new “grooming kit,” and started brushing the horse’s coat! Oh, please! She already brushes me! Why does he need her to brush him? Anyway, then she “tacked him up,” which means putting a saddle and bridle on. Then she led him around the indoor arena. Brushing him, putting his gear on, and walking him–another animal who thinks he’s a shepherd! Then, once they were done with that, she untacked him, and brushed him AGAIN! I don’t need to be brushed after walks…just saying. And he STILL violated rule 14 of Interacting with Humans 101–he wouldn’t stop looking for food! Isabella gave him part of a carrot. Actually, if we both got food, he could have the apples and carrots and everything else unpleasant, and I could have the meat and fish and eggs and cheese and asparagus–you know, all the yummy stuff. Then Isabella FINALLY came home. Let’s hope THAT never happens again.
Raini's Tails 