A Second Chance

This morning as I was giving my chickens some treats I heard a wild bird in distress. And it was very close! I started to do the hunt and search for where the sound was coming from.


Looked under the vehicles. Nope. Looked in the bushes. Nope. Looked around the wood pile. Nope.


I finally traced it to the travel trailer. Looked underneath and sure enough that is where the sound was coming from.


What do I see? One of our outside cats with a bird in his mouth. Little bird was hollering very loud. I yelled at the cat who came running past me and as I was just about to grab the cat with bird in mouth, another one of our cats came dashing in from the other side, hit the cat holding the bird and the hit was hard enough cat number one lost his grip and off flew the bird to the nearest tree.


Thinking that was the end of it, the next thing I see is cat number one climbing the tree at lighting speed to get the bird again. Um, nope, can't have the bird. I start throwing small rocks at cat number one to get him to stop going after the bird.


All the while cat number two is at the bottom of the tree doing that howl/meow/chatter noise cats do.

Finally after the third handful of rocks cat number one gets out of the tree. I suppose he didn't like those pesky flying things buzzing by his head he figured the bird wasn't worth the effort anymore.


As soon as cat number one is out of the tree and back on the ground, up goes cat number two. Geez, really guys! More handfuls of small rocks to get cat number two down. This time it took at least six handfuls of rocks to deter cat number two. Finally he comes down, looks at me, gives me a really dirty look, flicks his tail and saunters off.


The whole time this is going on the little bird is sitting in the same spot. Hasn't moved a muscle.


Do I run back to the house and grab the camera in hopes the bird will still be there or just go on about my business.


Of course I run back to the house, grab the camera, run back to the tree, look for cat number one and two to make sure they aren't around and to see if the bird is still there.


It isn't a very good picture, but sure enough, the little bird was still there! No cats to be seen so took a few pics all the while talking to the bird. As soon as I was done, I stepped back, and watched for a few minutes. The next thing I know the bird flies off.


Bird is to the left of the picture between the 'V' branch.

I know, cats catch birds and eat them. But, if any of my cats catch a bird and it is still alive while I am around, you can bet I am going to take the bird away. Most of the time I win and get the bird.

So, this little bird got a second chance today.

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

Kittens!

I know I said that today there would be pictures of old buildings that are around here. But, after three weeks, the two rescued kittens have begun to emerge and be somewhat seen now. Couldn't resist taking a few pics so you can see them now. Oh, and the two kittens have official names! This is Squirrel. The first kitten rescue of the litter. She is one very spoiled girl!

This is Rodent. Still don't know if Rodent is female or male. In time we'll find out.

I still see you behind the stove!!!!

This is Jovi. He is the one who is behind the stove in the above picture. Jovi is getting friendlier with each passing day.

Squirrel, Rodent and Jovi are all siblings who were caught up at my favorite feed store. Squirrel was younger when we brought her home so getting her socialized was easy. However, Rodent and Jovi were older hence their reluctance to be friendly.

It's ok. They can take all the time they need to find out that we will not hurt them. And once they find that out, they will also become little 'pet me, play with me' monsters.

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

A Trip To Town

Come on, hop in the car and let's go to town. We are actually driving to the 'city'. Hee Hee Not much of a city, but around here it is the closest thing to a real honest to goodness city. The is the famous Blackbird statue that has graced the parking lot of the Blackbird Shopping Center for many, many years. During Christmas the employees put a Santa hat on the him. He has on occasion worn overalls! The younger generation ( teens/early 20's) have been known to climb to the top of his head. I've seen it with my own eyes!

We have to stop off at my oldest daughter, Jennifer, house and pick her up. She is going to ride along with us.

Since we kind of got a late start this morning how about I treat to you to an early lunch? Personally I do not recommend the Mushroom w/ Swiss burger unless you like salisbury steak on a bun. The regular burgers are pretty good.

I forgot to introduce you to my daughters cats. All of her cats are rescues. Hmmm, go figure that she would have rescued critters in her life too! This is Julie. When Julie was just a wee tiny kitten she had ringworm so bad her fur had to be shaved and she needed medication for a long time. Her owners thought it was too much of a problem and were going to euthanize her instead of taking care of the problem. Hence, that is how Julie came into Jennifer's life.

This is Baby Sig. Her owners were going to put her down because she wasn't social enough for them! Don't know about you, but people like that shouldn't even have any animal. Heck, if that animal doesn't reach their expectations, they'll just kill it and get another one.

And this big old handsome boy is Patrick. Jennifer adopted him from a local shelter without even seeing him. Asking yourself how that came about? Several years ago I was watching the local news in the morning and every Friday this particular news station features a pet from one of the local animal shelters. As soon as I saw Patrick there being featured on the news, I called Jennifer at work and told her that she needed to adopt Patrick. He was perfect for her.

She went down, filled out the application, still without seeing Patrick, and as soon as she was approved they brought him out and it was love at first sight. She works in the veterinary field and all of the animal shelter people know who she is which made adopting him very easy. When she was asked how she knew about Patrick, she told them her Mom saw him on the news and that she needed to have him in her life.

Patrick was severly abused by teenagers so is very scared of men. With Jennifer's love and patience, he has learned to kind of trust people.

Sam and Ella are two cats Jennifer is fostering right now for a local animal shelter. Did you catch what the word is if you say the cat's name's together? giggle giggle

Yes, I am aware of the same pic being posted twice. Sorry. I don't know how to delete the pic. But give me time and I'll figure it out.
My camera batteries started fading quickly. So in a nutshell, we all stopped off at Safeway, the day old breadstore, and a few more quick stops.

I bought new batteries at one of our stops so can take pics again.

Here is a field of cows a couple of miles from my house.

Stopped in the road, rolled down the window, and took this pic. Look, this guy is looking right at you.

I don't know if you can see the deer on the road or not. She is on the left side of the road. Thank goodness there wasn't another car on the road so I could stop and watch this beautiful doe take her time to cross.

Well, we are home now.

Tomorrow I'll show you the pics of some of the old buildings around here.

Hope the ride to the 'city' wasn't too boring.

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

Flying and Clinging

This afternoon the wind picked up pretty darn good. Leaves were flying everywhere. I'm not talking about a few here and there. There were a lot! This tree still had quite a few leaves still on it before the wind kicked up.

I then realized that leaves were being held against the fence by the wind.

Leaves still clinging.

It was really interesting to see all these leaves being held just by the wind.

The moment the wind died down, all those leaves just fell to the ground.

Just wanted to share an observation from today.


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

Proceed With Caution!!!

Last night one of our cats wanted outside to do his business. I opened the door and as he walked past one of the small dog houses that is by the front door, I heard a very loud growl. This growl was very deep and menacing.


Great, another raccoon who has decided to spend the night. This wouldn't be the first time a coon has decided to 'rent' one of the dog houses.


I came back in the house, grabbed my camera, opened the door to hear the growling had reached a higher level. Um, do I step outside and take a quick pic all the while prepared to run. Or do I just let it be and stay inside? Hmmmm, choices.


I, of course chose option number one. I wanted a picture of a raccoon inside the dog house.


The raccoons here have always been okay to deal with. In fact, they eat alongside my cats! I know, I know, coons will kill cats. We have had mama coons with their young ones at the front door eating cat food while the cats just sit and watch. In the five years we have been here there has never been an incident with the coons.


Okay, back to option number one.


I opened the door all the way, stepped outside, moved to the left, lowered the camera and snapped a picture. All the while the growling is continuing, but not as bad.


Quickly back into the house. I want to see the pic and hope it is clear.


Here is the pic.
It wasn't a raccoon at all! It was one of the outside stray cats. I had no idea this tiny cat could make such a sound. Even had me going!!!

Yes, I was disappointed that there wasn't a raccoon in there.

I walked back outside, knelt down and told the cat that she did a mighty fine job of sounding big.

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

A Cupboard Surprise!

The kitten on the left has been named....finally! Still don't know if it is male or female so needed a name that would go with either. Ready for the name? Are you sure? ( Drum roll)..................introducing.........Rodent! Are you shaking your head?Ha Ha After two weeks of them being here and trying to think of a perfect name, the name Rodent popped into my head the other day. I figured I'd give the name a few days to see if it was the right one. Yup, Rodent it is. My oldest daughter was going to take the kitten on the right, but circumstances have prevented her from taking hers home. So, you guessed it, the kitten on the right is staying.

Look what I found in the cupboard this morning! Was getting ready to start making jerky, opened the door to see a kitten. Once I realized one of the kittens was in there, I closed the door, got my camera, opened the door and took this picture as well as two more.

Well, at least I know both kittens are wandering and familiarizing themselves with the house.

They are both still on the wild side, but getting a little better with each passing day.




Since I disturbed the kitten from the one side of the cupboard, he decided to crawl out of the drainer and try to hide behind plastic containers. Um, I can see you!!!!!

After a few minutes the kitten jumped out of the cupboard, took off to the living room and 'hid' between the chair and ottoman. Yup, sorry, I still see you!!!

Didn't like the idea of my dishes/bowls being crawled into or stepped into with little kitten feet that have been in the kitty box, so every dish/bowl got washed.

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

Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wishing everyone a very happy and safe Halloween.

Please remember to keep you critters inside or put in a safe place tonight.

Black cats are more prone to suffer cruelty on Halloween. Here it is 2009 and some people still have the mentality that we live in the Middle Ages when it comes to animals.

If you happen to have a neighbor who doesn't watch out for their animals, please watch out for their dog or cat or tonight.

May your Halloween be frightfully fun yet safe for you and your animal family.

BOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

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