This n that and everything in between

Howdy!! Blogger doesn't want to upload my pics so hopefully they will fix the problem soon.

As usual life has been crazy.

I bought Grace a small wading pool and she really enjoys it on these rather hot days. Her pool is in the shade in the breezeway so no worries about her getting too much sun. She is teething again! Ugh! I bought some of those homeopathic teething tablets and they seem to be helping her relieve the pain. She has also learned how to pull herself up whether it be the furniture or her crib! Next thing she will be walking and really keeping me racing around. 

My farrier was out last Friday to give all the horses and donkeys a trim. Wouldn't you just know it but two of the horses and one of the donkeys are having hoof problems. And for the life of my farrier or myself we just can't figure out why. Par for the course! I have been carefully going through everything trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

One of the outdoor kitties has been missing for four days now. I have no idea where he is. I have searched high and low for him with no sign. Sigh. One of the hazards if living in the country. Although the other night I was outside about 2 am ( one of my many sleepless nights) and noticed a new cat eating the cat food. Either someone dumped him/her off or it has been here the whole time. I do know that the cat took off like lightning when he/she saw me.

The bats are multiplying each night. The other night I admit I actually had had enough of them flying too close to me and high tailed inside.

One of my hens is an egg eater! Not good! I have it narrowed down to three as to who is doing it. It is difficult to catch the culprit in the act when there is so much that has to be done. As soon as I figure out who is doing it, well, I am afraid she will have to move on to another home. No, I don't have the heart to eat her.

The Guinea Keets are clowns. Downright comical. They prefer the company of the two older roosters and it is so cute to see them follow Stew Pot or Jeff Lewis around. Especially when the keets get out of sight of the boys they just get all hysterical and start screaming until they find them.

The garden is producing wonderfully. The other night I made blackberry cobbler and if I say so myself it was delicious! Here is the recipe I use and it is so easy.

1/2 cup melted butter poured into bottom of baking dish

3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar                                  Mix together in a bowl until creamy then pour into baking dish
2 tsp. baking powder                      over melted butter
3/4 cup milk                                         

Pour whatever fruit you choose over mixture. Do not stir! Bake for 1 hour at 350 until golden brown. Eat and enjoy!  I like french vanilla ice cream on the side with mine.

The helicopters and small planes continue to fly over the valley looking for marijuana grow sites. Obviously there are a lot of them because they fly a lot!

Hunting season for bear has started so there have been a lot of gun shots to be heard. I'm not a hunter so it saddens me when I hear it. Deer season starts next month. I sure hope the buck and his does that live on the hill behind us stay here on the property where they will be safe.

Time for me to go. Grace is awake from her nap. I WILL catch up with all you of soon. Sure do miss what you have all been up to!

Until next time............................

Video of my old cat

Turn up your sound so you can hear him. Wanted to share a video of what my old 16 year old cat, Mr Smith Big Fat Cow Cow, does when he gets petted. He doesn't have many teeth left which makes it that much more funnier when he is enjoying his petting.

Until next time........................

Catch of the day or Run that away!

My mood is better today. Yesterdays rant boiled down to our justice system failing yet again and the criminals getting away with it again.




However today is a brand new day. The sun is shining. I read a few of your blogs earlier this morning and they put a smile on my face.



I was hoping for a rather uneventful day. But of course there is always something that pops up. No big deal. Keeps me on my toes!


Can you see what is under this bowl? If you see a small Bull snake you are correct. I was in the barn this morning and heard Ruby one of our outside kitties howling. A quick peek out the door and immediately I see why she is howling. This baby Bull snake is hanging out of her mouth twisting every which way. Thank goodness Ruby comes running when we call her name so after calling her she dropped the snake, which wasn't moving at this point. I walked over to the snake. Yup, it's alive with no visible marks. Grabbed the first thing I could find ( which was actually on the top of a garbage can) and placed it over the snake.

Into the house to grab the camera. Take a few pics. Shoo some cats away.

Lift the container off the snake and guided it into this container. Then it was off to find a safe place to release it. And just as I released the snake what do I hear?

The sounds of a distressed ground squirrel. One cat had it in their mouth. Yell at cat. Cat drops squirrel. Another cat comes along and tried catching the squirrel which has started to run towards the house. First cat and a third cat trying along with second cat darting here and there trying to catch the squirrel. Human ( me) yelling at cats and throwing small rocks to distract them to give squirrel a chance to get away.


Squirrel finally makes it to some rocks by the house and hides. Cats upset. Ground squirrel safe for now but very, very upset. Squirrel is still hiding and every now and then I hear it chirping when a cat gets too close.


Later on I'll try to shoo it out from under the rocks and towards the pasture.



Yes, I know its the whole food chain going on. And that's okay. Personally, I don't want to hear it or see it. Bad enough I find dead birds and moles every so often.



Oldest daughter is on her way out to bring lunch. Mmmm, love food!


Until next time...............

Coons and Cats and Birds

Last night Mama Coon and her three pretty good sized babies came up to have dinner ( cat food). When I walked to the screen door she growled at me! Um, really!! In the years I have lived here not one coon has ever growled. So, I stood there. She kept growling. I kept standing there. She kept growling. On and on it went for a little while. She wasn't going to leave and neither was I! Finally she walked off growling the whole time. Ha Ha, I won!!!! In the background of the picture you'll see two white dots. Those are the eyes of one her babies.

This afternoon I had to go to town and as I was walking out the door what do I see? A cat with this bird. Geez, not again. Yup, chased the cat away, finally grabbed the bird, put it in a box, into the bathroom and off to town I went.

Came home, checked on the bird, yup, still very much alive. Alright then, time to go back outside. Hmmm, where to turn it loose in case it doesn't fly off and I can catch it again without cats around. Hmmmm. Okay, the backyard it is.


Thankfully as soon as I opened the box all the way out flew the bird. Thank you little bird!


It has been cloudy and kind of rainy. Yay!!!! I'll take this weather over those baking triple digits any day.

Until next time........................

Packing, Boxes and Cats

The past few days I have been packing what I want to keep. Putting stuff into boxes for the upcoming yard sale and what's going to be donated to Goodwill. Today I tackled the bookshelves. It came down to having to choose what books to part with and which ones I just can't let go. So far it's only nine boxes of books I am keeping. Yes, yes, I love books. After coming in from locking up my chickens this evening, I walked into the family room where as you can see are stacked boxes ( yes the boxes with the books) and saw the cats surrounding them. Can you count how many cats are in the above picture?

Counting the cats in this picture is a bit harder.

In between packing, taking care of the animals, I am frantically trying to find a place to rent with property so I won't have to put the animals in temporary homes ( which I have been lining up). Having them not with me where I can watch them and care for them will drive my OCD into overdrive.

Okay, enough of that stress.

The answer to how many cats in the first picture is 6.

There are 7 cats in picture number two. The seventh cat is black and is on the cedar chest in the corner by the lamp.

If I remember right, if you double click on the pictures they will enlarge.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day/evening.

I am trying to catch up on all your blogs.

Until next time...................

Busy, Friend,Dreams

Wow, it's been awhile since I've blogged. Time really does have a way of flying by.

Last week I was busy raking both back and front pastures. Which means pulling the arena rake with the Gator over both pastures spreading the piles of poo. And while I was doing that there was fencing to check and repair if necessary, picking up anything that doesn't belong in the pasture, begining to winterize, etc...


Also it was still tackling the totes and boxes in the barn. Geez where does all that stuff come from? I swear it multiplies.


Wednesday my dear 'old' friend called and said she was coming up here to Oregon on Friday. It was her first trip up here and talk about happy and excited to see her. This is the funny part. Rachael and I have never met in person, but through emails and phone calls, we have become fast, forever friends. So actually meeting her was really the cats meow!
Here is Rachael ( left) and myself ( right). Rachael is very photogenic whereas I am not ( really I already know I'm not. It's not a secret).

Rachael and I have been putting our heads together for about two years now on starting an Education and Sanctuary Facility. While she was here we went and looked at a piece of fabulous property. Now all we have to do is come up with the dollars to purchase the property. It's in the cards that our endeavour/dream will come to fruitation.

Please take a look at her blog at http://web.mac.com/rkomulainen/Site/Welcome.html

While Rachael was here Mr. Smith started sneezing very bad. Bad enough where droplets of blood were coming up. Thank goodness my oldest daughter is a vet tech and she came over to take a look at him. Mr. Smith is older and needless to say I was very worried about him. After a few minutes of examining him, my daughter found out what the problem was. My first thought was a foxtail. Nope. It turned out he had somehow sucked up his nose an almost three inch blade of grass!! After pulling it out, Mr. Smith is back to his old self of being ornery and demanding.

While Rachael was here she received a phone call from a mutual friend Jan that another very dear mutual friend of ours had to put her sweet Princess to sleep. Many of my followers here know Inger over at Desert Canyon Living http://www.desertcanyonliving.blogspot.com/
Inger, our hearts and thoughts are with you at this time to help relieve the pain you are going through of losing your beloved Princess. Sleep well Princess and we will see you on the other side.

There has been so much more going on but I promise not to bore you all with it!

I now must catch up on all your blogs to see what has been going on with you. I have really missed you all!

Until next time..........................

Fine, Go Ahead and Have It!

An empty box.
A Squirrel in the box.
Doug wanting in the box.
Squirrel trying to get Doug out of the box.
"Fine. Have the stupid box!"


What is it with a cardboard box? Cats love 'em. Give a child one and they'll play with it for hours.


Until next time.........................

Destructive morning!

There has to be something in the air this morning. First I found a pile of poop in the family room. Really! Come on. Poop!! And it was cat poop! Yuk. The litter boxes are cleaned twice a day! As I was filling up the water bowl for the inside animals I hear something break. One of the cats decided to jump onto the bookshelves knocking off an old ceramic decorative piece that was hanging on the wall.

Then as I was cleaning the kitchen I hear another break. What the hell! One of the cats jumped onto my dresser in my room and knocked off a vase that had silk flowers in it. As you can see the vase is a loss. After picking up the pieces then vacuuming to make sure all the glass fragments are cleaned up, I hear a cat scratching on something they aren't suppose to be.

This is what I find. One or more cats has decided that using a piece of furniture makes a great cat scratching post. I keep a blanket on the back of the chair and small sofa in the family room to help keep it in nice condition. A lot of good that has done!

This is one of the culprits this morning. His name is Otto, he belongs to the middle daughter who moved back home. I don't call him by his given name, I call him "Whatsyourname".

Doug is also in on the destructiveness going on. He decided to jump up onto a small table where the printer is and knock off a bunch of papers.

And the morning is still going on!

It's a good thing I love them all otherwise they would know how it feels to live out of doors!!! Not that I would do that, but the thought did cross my mind briefly. :)

Wonder what the rest of the day is going to hold!

Until next time..................

Drivers!!

Now that the summer time temps have arrived and not going away anytime soon, I started watching Mount McLaughlin ( I'm not sure how to spell it!) that can be seen from my house. As you can see there is still a tad bit of snow still left. But it is melting fairly rapidly. The old timers around here say that when you can see the Angels Wings on mountain, then it is salmon fishing time.

Well, the Angels wings can be seen now. Which means there is going to be a lot of salmon fishing going on around here.

Yesterday evening my youngest daughter ( who still lives at home) called me and told me to hurry outside. And she meant hurry! So I took off out the door to see her out of the car by the entry gate. She is yelling for me to run! Knowing that something was wrong I ran towards her.

Once I reached her she told me that as she was coming up our road to turn into the driveway she saw a car hit a cat right in front of our place. She got out, ran over to the cat, thinking one of ours ventured to the road. It turned out it was not one of ours. It was a cat that I hadn't seen before. She had picked the cat up, it was still alive, and gently laid it in the shade by our driveway. When I started checking kitty over to see how badly he was hurt, he passed away.

So, I sent my other daughter into the house for a towel to wrap the cat in. Then it was time to start knocking on doors to find the cats' owner and let them know what happened. Well, no one in the neighborhood owned the cat.

Okay, owners can't be found, can't leave the cat where he was, so I placed him into a box still wrapped in the towel and proceeded to dig a hole. Believing that no one or no animal should ever be put to rest without a name and a prayer I gave him the name Dexter. After burying him I said a prayer and told him how sorry I was that the driver of the car did not care enough to at least stop to see if he needed medical attention. I will never understand how anyone can hit an animal and not stop. I guess they either really don't care or they are too wrapped up in their own world to be bothered.

So, to Dexter, be at peace, enjoy the other side of the rainbow bridge, have lots of cat naps, eat your favorite meals, and be surrounded with love always.

Until next time..................

Here a cat.......

There a cat. One cat.

Two cat.

Three cat.

Four.

Five cat.

Six cat.

Seven cat.

More!

Eight cat.

Nine cat.

Ten cat.

More?

Eleven cat.

Twelve cat.

Thirteen cat.

Plus three more!

Yup, a lot of cats.

No, all the cats do not come into the house. There are strictly indoor ones, in/out ones and just outdoor kitties.

Until next time.........................

Donkeys and Cats and Chickens and Plants

The past several weeks I have been watching the Pampas Grass bushes in the front year. There didn't seem to be any signs of growth and I was certain they were dead and gone. Much to my surprise I spied green growth! Hoo Wee! When we bought this place six years ago the previous owners said that the Pampas Grass bloomed every year without having to do anything to it. Um, not one bloom at all! Oh well, guess the grass just doesn't want to do its thing these days.

I have been asked several times if the donkeys when they are turned out into the yard, if they do any damage to the trees and plants. Well, yes as a matter of fact they have. This little plum tree has had its branches broken in half or completely off.

This is Jeff Lewis. My oldest daughter came out yesterday to help with mucking stalls and when she saw Jeff Lewis she commented on how big is he. Yeah, they have a way of growing! :)

This morning as I as coming back towards the house I noticed Doug and Squirrel in the cat room window enjoying the fresh air. Obviously Doug takes up too much room so Squirrel has to do the best she can to get the breeze in her face.

Yesterday afternoon I put the donkeys into the backyard. Of course where there is an open window you will find a cat sitting in front of it. And in this case, a donkey on the other side. Doughnut is doing her best at sniffing Doug through the screen.

Not sure if she liked what she smelled or not!

Cookie had to come over and see what Doughnut was smelling. But, um, she was sniffing to high.

Since I have been turning the donkeys loose in the front yard, and we have hay in the barn, it was time to block off the donkeys from the hay. I dragged a 12 foot gate up am using it to keep the donkeys and hay separated. The last thing I want is for those hay bales jumping in with the donkeys!

Speaking of separating. The reason I keep Arnold and Miles separated is that they were both gelded later in life and they both think they are, well, you know, having all their equipment intact. So not wanting to take any chances of either of them getting hurt, I keep them separated.

For those of you who are curious as to how many animals live here. Here is a breakdown:

3 horses

8 donkeys

5 Fainting goats

3 dogs

16 cats

18 chickens

1 Fred ( ground squirrel)

2 Egyptian geese ( who come and go as they please)

Until next time...................

Kindness, Generosity, Mystery

These past few days have been quite busy. Some very dear friends sent over a surprise the other day. It was 100 bales of hay! They paid for it and had it delivered. The hay barn was darn near empty so they decided to help with the bare spots. It is very much greatly appreciated. When you have this many animals that eat hay, well, you can just imagine the cost to feed them all.

Last night when I locked up my chickens I noticed one of my Mottled Houdans was missing. I recounted everyone, and yup, she was missing. I went on a hunt and search, but couldn't find her. First thing this morning still in my pajamas I was out looking for her. Nope, not to be found. I have no idea what happened to her. No stray dogs on the property, so the only thing I can think of is she is a hawks meal.

Both Egyptian Geese have now decided that hanging around here is pretty good. There is all kinds of things to eat. Although the male is limping so hope he heals soon.

Arnold (grey) and Miles (white) have been playing over the fences for awhile now. I still don't trust them enough to turn them loose together. So in the meantime they can continue to play just the way they they are.

A few weeks ago I decided I was going to sell my horse. Financial reasons, I haven't ridden him in quite awhile, he has an attitude with Pewter one of our mares, etc.... Yup, my mind was made up. One less mouth to feed, no more worries about him being a butt towards Pewter, etc....

Okay, so I changed my mind the other day. As you may or may not recall I am against horse slaughter. If I sold him, I would not know 100% positive that he would never end up at a kill lot. Also, if I sold him, I would be contributing to the problem. So, as my dear friend Cindy calls him, the Pasture Prince will be staying.

Have I mentioned that there is a new stray cat hanging around? He/she is orange, hanging out inside the barn, and I catch glimpses here and there. Where or where did this one come from! Well, there is always food here so no worries about ever going hungry. In time when and if I can catch the new stray, off to the vet to get fixed. No baby makers here!

And speaking of food. I must go to the grocery store and buy food for us humans. So, wishing you all a most wonderful day. Smile and share it.

Until next time.............................

Shaking my head!

Today is a shake my head and a 'why didn't I think of that day'. Before I get into what the main subject is, it is official, Jeff Lewis ( the one in the center of the pic) is a..........Rooster!! Darn it! :( So, I will wait to see who else is a rooster and then place an ad to move them to other homes. I know, I know, the chances of someone actually wanting a rooster to just be a rooster is slim. Most likely they will end up as dinner for someone. Although I will not want to know that, I will kindly ask the person(s) getting the roosters to lie to me and tell me that they are going to a good home. Some things I have a very difficult time dealing with and sending an animal to its death is one of them. Even though I know the truth. I would keep them if I could, but having two roosters now, it just isn't an option.

Some time ago I posted about what at first I thought were ducks to find out were a pair of Egyptian Geese. Yesterday, late morning, I glanced out the kitchen window to see the female up by the barn. But the male was no where to be seen.

So I snuck around the front of the house and took a few pics of her. Once she noticed me she walked off down the driveway and back across the road. Worried about the male I waited until she was out of sight then also walked to the road. Checked the ditches for the male and thankfully nothing. I am hoping he was hanging out where he couldn't be seen.

I get up pretty early in the morning, but at 4:30 this morning I woke to the sounds of chewing.......on the house! What the hell! The sound was right next to one of the bedroom windows. So, I lifted the blinds to see Cookie the donkey staring back at me! After doing morning chores, a walk to the back of the house revealed she, and I am certain her cohorts, have decided to start chewing the wood around the windows!

Obviously it has been going on for a bit and just didn't pay attention to it. As I was standing there thinking why would they start chewing on wood, they have plenty to eat, plenty to do to keep them occupied the light went on in my head! Duh, there is no salt block in the yard! And the donkeys have been in the yard now for four days. Oh man, I should have put one of the salt blocks in for them. I make sure there are three kinds of salt blocks available in both pastures year round for everyone. A regular plain salt, mineralized salt and a selenium block. Well, it is suppose to rain later today so the donkeys are going back into the pastures for awhile.

Have you ever noticed a smell and just can't find it? You look for it but just can't seem to pinpoint where it is originating from.

This morning I found the smell. And yes it was a shake your head moment.

See the darker coloring on the bottom of the screen door? Yup, that's where the smell is. I have noticed the discoloration for awhile now, but disregarded it due to the age of the door.

Be happy that there is no such thing as 'smell a blog'! I do believe either a stray tomcat is spraying or one of the raccoons is spraying marking their territory.

Well, as of a little bit ago I reclaimed 'my' territory. No, I didn't pee on it ( although that would have been a trick in itself!).

I washed it down with soap and water, poured vinegar on it, sprinkled baking soda on it, sprayed some Simple Solution on it, then a quick spray with Febreeze. have to say, MY door smells much better! Take that cat or coon!!

Little Inger is being broody again. And why o why does she insist on sitting where the poop is from the other chickens when they are on the roosts. Come on, there are so many more clean places to be broody.

No, she is not going to get to hatch eggs this time. Sorry Little Inger. Not until the other chicks you raised are bigger.

Just before I came in this morning, just watching the chickens, I heard rustling in the oak tree right next to me. Without looking I turned the camera on, raised and pointed in the direction of the sound.

This is what was in the tree. At first I thought it was one of the hawks hanging around, but it is just one of the three crows that live around here. Whew, thank goodness just crow and not a hawk!

Until next time.......................