Archive for the ‘cats’ Category

Getting Back to Usual

Sunday, December 5th, 2010

Things are getting back to normal since I returned from Germany. It’s a cold and blustery day here. Bernie and I bundled up and went outside to get the heater bases set up for the chicken and turkey waterers. I actually remembered to take my camera and get a few pictures to share with you.

Mirrie and Georgia were happy to see us. They are getting so big.

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We’re finally fairly convinced we did indeed end up with one tom and two hens – even if the tom ended up being one we thought was a hen, and the hen ended up being one we thought was a tom. As a result, two of them got renamed. Jake is on the left (he used to be called Tanya) and on the right is Loretta (she used to be called Hank).

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That’s Loretta on the left, Jake in the middle, and Sarah on the right:

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It’s hard to believe how much they’ve grown. You may be able to get a good idea from this picture with Bernie’s legs in it:

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This is Pretty Boy Floyd – the cockerel I kept from the hatch in May:

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My poor hens are finally starting to come out of their molt. These two are the last of the molters, and just starting to get feathers in again:

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This is one of the pullets from the May hatch – I love her coloring:

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Bernie got a nice fire going in our new wood burner this afternoon.

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Elvis kept warm by laying in the sun, across from the wood burner.

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And Priscilla staked out her favorite hiding place on top of the curio.

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And Diesel enjoyed relaxing in the warmth of his bed.

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Dolly has always enjoyed chilling in my chair, but since my trip to Germany I think she’s gotten just a little too comfortable in it.

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It’s nice to be home and back with Bernie and all the critters. I missed them.

Posted in basic living, cats, chickens, dogs, goats, turkeys | 10 Comments »

Dolly Had a Plan

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

It’s rainy and cold. I can’t get warm.

Pets

Wait! I know where I can go to get warm.

Elvis and Priscilla

Maybe I can just sneak up there with them.

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Uh, oh. I think they see me.

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Hey! Where’d everyone go?????

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Well, maybe dad will get the fireplace going.

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Posted in basic living, cats, homestead, puppies | 15 Comments »

We’re Expecting!

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

Bernie and I are adopting siblings – a little boy and a little girl. They are seven weeks old. In two weeks, we will pick them up. It’s a big step, but one we feel we are ready for.

Introducing, our little bundles of joy:

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Are they not just hopelessly adorable? The white one is the male and the brown one is the female. They are German Shepherd/Alaskan Malamute mix. We’ve been searching for the perfect dogs for our situation, and I know we have found them. We found them using Pet Finder. If you are looking for the perfect pet, check them out! Betty Sue from Our Critters in Ararat, Virginia is caring for these babies right now, and that’s from whom we are adopting them. Yay Betty Sue! What a great service.

The babies won’t be eight weeks old and ready to leave mama until next weekend. Unfortunately, we are out of town next weekend. Betty Sue has agreed to hold them for us until the following weekend – January 24. I just hope I can sleep between now and then. I simply can not wait! Bernie’s pretty darn excited, too. In fact, it was Bernie that looked at their pictures and immediately said I should check to see if they are still available. He’s such a sucker for a pretty face.

We’re going to start working with the puppies right away to make sure they get along with Elvis, Priscilla, and the chickens. I imagine Bernie will keep these puppies at his side most of the day as he works around the property. I’m OK with that, but I can’t help but hope that maybe, just maybe, one will be a mama’s girl and want to hang out inside with me in my office while I’m working during the week. Elvis and Priscilla may have different thoughts on that, though. Especially Elvis. He “goes to work” with me each morning and situates himself right next to my keyboard as I log in for the day.

OK. OK. Enough baby talk. I just thought you’d like to hear me talk about something other than turning ffff, ffff, ffff, um, another year older. Hey – maybe turning half a century isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

Bee Free,
Penny

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Posted in basic living, cats, chickens, homestead, homesteading | 6 Comments »

Incriminating Evidence

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

I think I mentioned that when we have nasty weather outside, Bernie is painting the inside of the house for me. Today is cold and windy, and apparently the thought of painting appealed to him more than working outside, or maybe he just wants to get it over with. What ever the reason, he decided to put a base coat on some of the walls today, and I am eternally grateful.

While he was painting, he took a quick break to come back to my office and chat with me for a few minutes. When he got back to his paint tray, I heard him chuckle and yell for me to come look at something. When I got there, this is what I saw:

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The paint tray was on the floor, but there were no paw marks close to the paint tray at all. We were a little perplexed where the paint came from, until Bernie found this on the wall:

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If you look very closely at the top left and bottom right, you will see the little cat paw prints.

As you know, we have two cats – Elvis and Priscilla. They are siblings. Elvis is 18 pounds of sheer laziness and affection. Priscilla is a whopping 7 pounds of nothing but trouble. That little monkey is always into something.

I went looking for cats. I first found Elvis – doing exactly what Elvis always does. He was sleeping. He woke up when I grabbed the camera and managed to expend enough energy to yawn:

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Priscilla jumped up on the bed, looking very suspiciously guilty:

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I flipped her over on her back, and sure enough …….

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White paws! I KNEW it!

Fortunately, base paint comes up very easily with a little water. I wish I could train her to step in paint and walk across a few pieces of furniture. I think the cat paws would look cool. But I’ve learned you can’t train Priscilla. She has a mind of her own – and that little mind is always thinking of ways to get into trouble. If she weren’t so darn cute, I might even get annoyed with her.

She and Elvis should be happy we get so much entertainment and loving out of them or they’d be barn cats for sure. But then I’d worry they’d starve to death, because they apparently find catching and killing mice repulsive.

I’ll post pictures next week of the kitchen and living room walls we painted. Hopefully, they will be paw free.

Bee Free,
Penny


Posted in cats, homestead, homesteading, painting | 2 Comments »

Oh Deer!

Monday, October 1st, 2007

It’s that time of year, and the deer are really starting to move on the homestead. We could barely look out a window today without seeing a deer or two. Last night we saw two bucks lock horns on the side of the house. They are truly fascinating and beautiful creatures.

We’ve had a couple of mamas coming with babies to munch acorns in the yard throughout the summer. The babies are big now – no more spots. But they still hang with mama. One mother in particular has peaked our interest. She has a deformed or injured front leg. It doesn’t seem to slow her down much though. She has two daughters that are always with her. One of them has a scar on her side. We’ve been watching them all summer. They now come right up to the windows. It drives our cats wild. They’re not quite sure what to think. This morning one of the babies came right up to the window of the room I use as an office. Elvis and Priscilla were sitting in the window, quietly watching. Then all of a sudden the deer looked up and stared at them. The cats looked shocked! The three of them just stared at each other for about two minutes, and then the deer just started grazing again and wandered off – with two set of cat eyes watching her the whole way.

Bernie managed to get a few pictures of them through the window tonight. Here’s one of Gimp Mama and her babies:

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Gimp Mama is the one on the far right. Cute as little buttons. No question they will end up on some one’s table by the end of hunting season. Maybe even ours. But that’s the way nature intended it. And before we butcher any animal, we take time to reflect on cycle of life and appreciate that this animal lived a beautiful life, and now provides sustenance for our lives. I believe that shows far more respect for these wonderful creatures than what is shown for the animals that provide the meat bought in a grocery store.

We’ll continue watching in awe as animals travel across our homestead. We will also take care not to take any of the young ones when deer hunting is in season. We’d rather allow them to grow up and procreate.

Other than our Extreme Deer Watching, Bernie has been busy as a beaver on his back hoe. He’s just about got that bucket fixed. I’ve been working and then walking around identifying trees. We discovered this afternoon that we have a Persimmon Tree on our property – and it’s full of delicious fruit. The fruit is just becoming ripe, and I intend to can a few jars of it in the coming weeks. Thank the stars for Bernie’s extension ladder!

The bees are doing great. We watched them for quite a while this afternoon. I could just kiss their little wings right off of them!

Bee Free,
Penny


Posted in back hoe, basic living, bees, cats, deer, doe, fawn, homestead, homesteading, honey bees, persimmon tree | 1 Comment »

Cats Do Not Travel Any Better Than Prison Wine

Thursday, August 30th, 2007

At least ours don’t. I logged off from work at 2:00PM sharp to start gathering cats, kitty litter boxes, cat food, and whatever Bernie and I will need for a few days out at the property before he starts moving us out here all togther.

Unfortunately, the cats just experienced thier pet carriers a few weeks ago when I took them to the vet for shots. It was fresh in thier minds. The minute they saw the carriers, they freaked slap out. Wonderful. Now I have three completely freaked out cats and I have to get each of them in a carrier to transport them. I’ll spare you the details, but know that I am not lying when I tell you it was not easy nor was it pleasant.

So I finally got us all loaded up and headed for the homestead. 45 minutes of nothing but extreme yowling. When we finally got here I took them all inside in thier carriers and turned the air conditioning on very cool while I unloaded the rest of the car. Once we were all inside for the night, I opened the carriers and let them take thier time about coming out.

Elvis did very well. He walked around a bit, followed me room to room, purred and acted like he’s always been here. The two girls were another story all together. Reba came out right away, but she hissed at me each time she laid eyes on me and ran for a good long while. She yowled for hours on end. She’s finally mostly quit that, but she’s still not having a whole lot to do with me. Priscilla stayed in her carrier for about an hour and a half before venturing out. She disappeared for about an hour, but has been walking around and even purring recently.

I’m sure we’ll all be ok. It will just take a little adjusting. I wish everyone had Elvis’ attitude. He’s completely settled in and loving life right now. In fact he’s sitting in a window staring at the scenery outside as I write.

I have to work tomorrow. I’ll get up and logged in before 6AM. Bernie will join me out here about the time I log off. So begins the sequel…….

Pray these freaked out, yowling cats don’t keep me awake all night. Prison wine is a snap in hindsight. And I could use a little of it right about now.

Bee Free,
Penny


Posted in basic living, cats, homesteading, lip balm | No Comments »