Lucky kitten

 

What’s that saying?  Keep your enemies close…

 

And your dinner closer?

 

 

I wonder if it hurts his ego to know that the chickens are lower on the food chain, but still aren’t afraid of him?  Poor little ignored kitten. 

Calvin Will Never Be the Same

Calvin is normally the BIGGEST feline wimp in the world.  When in the house he stays on a shelf in the kitchen.  He never moves.  Never.  He’s afraid to get down because there are monsters lurking on the floor, just waiting to crunch him up into little monster kibble.  Every morning I have to pick him up and throw his furry butt out the door -- just so he can climb up onto the roof and stay there all day until I come to get him and put him back in.  I’ve tried letting him stay there for days until he comes down on his own, but he just won’t budge until he sees me coming to get him.

Who says cats aren’t high maintenance??

Surprisingly, he actually came out to the garden to help me yesterday.  I was shocked, amazed, and slightly worried.  Was he sick?  Injured?  What could possibly persuade him to leave the relative safety of the roof to walk on the ground?

Then it all became clear.  Calvin had discovered catnip. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s hope this new bravado of his isn’t just a fluke and he starts acting like the mighty hunter that he was born to be.

Because you just never know where the real monsters are hiding.

I was abducted by aliens!

No, not really.  But, minus the anal probing, wouldn’t it be really cool if that was my excuse for not blogging in so long?  And just think of the things I’d have to tell you upon my return!   Unfortunately, my only excuse is that I was sans computer for awhile. 

 

I have a lot to share, but my brain is somewhat discombobulated today (worse than usual).  It could be because it was 54 degrees and sunny out for most the day today.    After weeks of single digit and teen temperatures, rain, snow, and forgetting what the sun looked like, we finally had a nice day.   Did I get to ride?  Well, no.  Maybe tomorrow…

 

 

Everyone is doing well here, which is more than I can say for a breeding farm down the road.  I’ve mentioned this particular farm before, but have recently found out new information.  The woman has been breeding her same two studs for years and just found out from a buyer of one of her horses that the horse has a bad heart murmur.  Doc went out and determined that all her babies have heart murmurs because both of her stallions have the same problem!  ARGH!

 

 

Now she has 20 or so horses, with more broodmares expecting in the next couple of months, and no more outlet for her babies.  Will she stop breeding?  Will she lie to unsuspecting buyers that don’t know about a pre-purchase vet exam?  Will she put down the ones with extreme heart murmurs before they suffer from starvation any more than they already have?

 

 

Only time will tell, I suppose.   Maybe I’m a skeptic, but I foresee that situation getting a lot worse before it gets better.

Gidget

I’d like to introduce you to the new love in Glenn’s life.  She’s a little Yorkie puppy that has stolen everyone’s heart.

 

 

It took her a week or so, but she’s finally gotten used to farm life and loves to go outside on nice days and run around like crazy. 

 

 

She’s also Lucky’s new best buddy. 

 

They sleep together.

 

They play together.

 

Constantly.

 

At all hours of the night.

 

They keep each other (and me) warm.

 

It’s a shame we all can’t get along this well (and be this adorable doing it)!

Life is good

 

 

I now have a replacement cord for the camera, so check in this weekend for updates on everyone over on Rescue Recoveries.

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was wonderful and full of tryptophan!

Taste the Rainbow

I got up this morning and moseyed outside barefoot in just a t-shirt to see how many layers of clothing I’d need to put on before feeding .  Who needs a thermometer when you’re dumb enough to walk outside half naked to take the temperature?

It was REALLY warm.  And windy!  It was the best of Fall weather that greeted us when I opened the door.  The air smelled fresh and clean, the wind felt good on my face, and the guineas were off in the pasture so things were fairly quiet for once.  Donkey brayed good morning when he saw me come out and Timmy looked up from the hay roll to give me a whinny and beg for food.   All was as it should be with the world and I didn’t think it could get any better.

Then I looked right at the beginnings of what could have been a beautiful sunrise.  Not a cloud in the sky – the promise of a beautiful day.

 

Then my eyes wondered west to look up on the ridge…

and found not only a rainbow, but enough clouds to make me wonder if rain was on the way. 

I went about morning chores and as I was picking up empty buckets after everyone ate, the temp suddenly dropped at least 10 degrees, the wind died, and the rain started.  I was soaked and shivering within minutes, slipping and sliding barefooted in the mud, and the dogs were standing on the porch waiting for me to let them in.  We all went inside to dry off and turn on the heater.  Even Lucky didn’t want to curl up with me until I put on a dry shirt.

 

 

Now we’re all just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring and trying not to think about the pile of dishes that need to be washed.  These are the days when being on call for work isn’t so bad after all. :)

Happy Halloween!

Lucky Update

Guess who’s feeling better!

 

He’s just not amused at having his picture taken.

 

Lucky’s congestion is just about cleared up.  His eyes are still a little runny, but not the yellow goop that was coming out of them when I first brought him home.   He no longer sleeps ALL day… now I have to throw him outside to play with the ducks in order to wear his little butt out so I can work.   Major Tom the turkey doesn’t know what to think of the little guy and he and the guineas follow Lucky around the yard as if they’re studying him.  Or maybe they think he’s a really big kernel of corn with legs. 

We got the little guy wormed and now his belly is gooshy and soft instead of feeling like a balloon about to pop, and he’s put on three ounces in just a week.   Four more ounces and we’ll have ourselves a two pound kitten running around the house looking for trouble!

On second thought, I probably shouldn’t be excited about that.

Redheads

Heidi didn’t immediately take to Lucky like Thor did.  Like the other cats, Heidi chose the run and hide tactic whenever she saw the kitten.  But I think she’s warming up to the little guy now…

 

 

 

 

 

His cold is doing a lot better.  His eyes are still a little runny, but not with goopy yellow gunk anymore.  He still gets little sneezing fits and is still congested, but he’s doing A LOT better on the meds.  I just wish the happy little guy would find somewhere other to lay all day than on me while I’m working!

Herd Protection – Check!

A few weeks ago I got a call from a very nice man, Bill, asking if I could take his horses since he had lost his job and had to move away from the farm where he kept them in order to get another job.  They weren’t even really his horses.  He had bought the farm two years ago and the previous owner said he’d be back to get them, but he never came back.  So Bill, being the kind and compassionate man that he is, kept the horses fed and gave them attention for two years.  And as almost always happens, Bill also fell in love with the furry critters and hated having to give them up.

I thought long and hard about whether or not to say Yes.  Then Bill told me that one was a mule and one was a donkey.   Didn’t I just mention a while ago about going to Sugarcreek to get a mule or two for herd protection?  Sure!  I’ll come and get them!

Molly is a flea bitten grey, about 10 years old.  She’s very sweet, but also incredibly protective of her little family.

 

Sassy is a four year old mule, out of Molly.  Sassy isn’t halter broke and it took a couple of hours for Bill to get a halter on her yesterday, and another hour for he and I to get her in the trailer.

 

This is Donkey, the miniature donkey.  I wish I could have gotten a better picture of him, but Molly and Sassy weren’t really interested in letting us near him.  But he’s a very sweet little man who loves attention.

 

Anne went with me on the first trip yesterday and on our way home with Molly and Donkey, I almost ran over this little guy.  He was standing in the middle of the road, all by his lonesome.  How could I resist?

 

Lucky, as Glenn named him, is pretty sick with a nasty sneeze, runny nose, and goopy eyes.   We’ll run him to the vet tomorrow, but right now he’s curled up on my shoulder under my shirt snoozing.  We’re keeping him separated from the other cats and making sure to wash our hands after we’ve handled him, but I really think he’s just got a bad cold.  Not to mention the big wormy belly. 

When he first met Thor, he just threw his little body up against Thor’s head for a rub… no fear of dogs here!  We’ve got him in the side room with the baby chicks (by the way, final count on those from the broody hen: 11!) and he likes to curl up on top of the wire, right above the heat lamp.   The chicks aren’t too happy about it, but I don’t think the little guy is feeling well enough to stir up trouble just yet.  Besides, most of the chicks are bigger than him!