We Have Arrived

That's right folks... we've (I've?) undergone the next round of "do you really live in the country" tests.

My first thought when an unknown car pulled up on Monday afternoon was "who the hell is that and why am I opposed to shooting at trespassers?" It turned out to be a friend who was dropping by in their work vehicle. We had a lovely impromptu visit and shared some especially bad jokes that ladies such as I are not supposed to enjoy. (Yet, we do.)

Then Rocky got skunked on Sunday... and the darn skunk chased us! We (Nice Neighbor, her dogs, and Rocky) had walked down to the creek to let the dogs have a cooling swim and decided to wimp out and take the shady road back to the house. Turning at our little swamp and heading up the spur road the dogs surprised the skunk in the little creek below the house. We called the dogs off and Neighbor shouts "RUN! The darn thing's chasing the dogs!"

So, we ran along the main path of the old road all the way to the driveway. Neighbor's shepherd saw us as far as that little meadow and turned to run off the skunk while we headed up the drive to safety. Two skunked dogs were safely enclosed in our walled garden while I took Neighbor home in our vehicle. Mr. Dog was waiting for her on our driveway, hot and exhausted there in the shade of the rose thicket but also looking proud of his abilities.

Three dogs got to experience the trauma of a de-stinkifying bath. I'm glad I only had the one who needed it! The locally trusted skunk stink remedy is 1 quart peroxide, 1 cup baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of dish detergent. Clicking on the link will explain why this formula works. I washed Rocky as much as he could handle without trauma (he's terrified of the bath) so he's not noxious any more.

"Chester? I'm bored."

'Show' horses. Southern Draft Animal Days Ferrum, VA

Mooove over, I want to take a nap!

Ox.
Ferrum College, VA

MumDay

So... I couldn't locate the battery charger for my camera for 2 weeks.... Here's a visitor from back in February and a view from the hotel when we went to Ohio in March. Also a little video of our new foster dog.

Enjoy!
Mrs. Fuzzy







Lady Sheba Mae... our Plott Hound foster dog.

He's Gone!

And all the Fuzzys except Rufus rejoiced. So ends the tale of our L.S.D. "Salsa" who came to live with us for "just two weeks" but stayed a month. He is now the doggie companion of a nice lady with four gracious kids. He's gone to live the life of Riley with someone needing a 24/7 companion who won't talk back or complain when she's got the flu.

yep....

And the cats are doing the watoosie on his kennel. They're utterly mad with joy and relief. I's say "poor Rufus is beside himself at the loss of his new playmate" but Salsa's been out of the house for more than 6 hours and Rufus' memory only extends to four. He's moved on to dogging Miss. Lilly.

On the same theme, our wonderful foster cat, C.K., went to the Bell Gallery to be shown and she also found a new and wonderful home with a quiet retired couple. We miss her a heap.

Fuzzys vs Snowzilla

I hope you all can view the YouTubes. This one is from the last storm which the city folks have dubbed "Snowzilla." We got about 14 inches of superfine powder. That's more than our little grader can move efficiently so we had our friend Tim Boone of Boothe Creek Excavating come plow for us. Thank goodness! Even with his beefy truck and professional plowing equipment he had trouble moving this snow. It took a couple extra days for him to get to our part of the county. Poor us.. snowed in and only four sleds, two dogs, skis, and a big woodpile to keep us cheerful. We did run out of milk for our tea but I keep a box of soy milk for just such emergencies.

Anyway, here you see Mr. Fuzzy retrning from his first cross-country skiing expedition in more than 15 years and the reaction of the doggles to this strange monster emerging from the pasture.

The current storm has been a (blessedly) damp squib for snow but the high wind warnings were absolutely accurate.

There's a Storm Coming

So Mr. Fuzzy should be presenting you all with more pretty pictures of the white stuff and / or ice in the next few days.

It's been a busy week around here. Most important of all the busy-ness is the END to Mr. Fuzzy's huge, unpaid, editing job. I have my husband back! We celebrated by going out for one of the best meals we've ever had in America. (Almost as good as some of those impossibly delicious meals we ate in Italy.)

My life has been, mostly, taken up with the animals, again, this week. Little Soup Dog, "Salsa," got to go to the vet for his checkup and I screwed up the courage to give he and Rocky their DHLPP shots. That's the "does most everything" one. The vet did the rabies vaccine. Tonight I find the tenacity to shoot their noses full of kennel cough vaccine. OH BOY! That's going to be an adventure. That was the small stuff.

I took Salsa to Pitiful Pulski to meet a potential adopter. (Note To All: there a good cuppa available and a ReStore but nothing else there. Totally dead and about to blow away.) The folks really liked Salsa and I'm saying my prayers they'll decide to adopt. It's the perfect home. That's Big News #1. Big News #2 is that the doggles, Rocky and Rufus, escaped from the walled garden last night and Rufus did not run off! Today he was allowed, for the first time, to hang out in the yard for a couple hours and he was very well behaved. (Chetworth would disagree....) Looks like he won't be forever confined to the garden after all. Yaaayyyyyyy!

Been working on the greenhouse some more. My water barrel has a leak so it needs to find a new use... Maybe as a soil barrel? The newly-hatched plan is to add gutters to the greenhouse roof and collect the water inside, under the bench. Cross fingers and wish me well! I've also gotten the soil in where I can. Under the bigger bench will have to wait until the overwintered plants come out. I also got seeds planted for early greens. Hopefully next year we'll have greens all winter in there! I've put in lettuce, spinach, chives, an radishes to eat plus some crocus, miniature iris, and nasty urchins just because I want them there. The moles and voles eat the crocuses if they are planted in the ground. I'll let you know how it works out.

Oh, yes, and the foster cats are gone. 'Lizbeth was adopted practically before her feet hit the kennel at PetsMart and C.K. is well now so she's "on show" at a local gallery.

Greenhouse O Greenhouse

Remember this lovely greenhouse picture from last spring? The one where I said I'd emptied, cleaned and disinfected the interior before putting on a fresh coat of paint? Well, it doesn't look that nice right now.

I finally confronted my fear of power tools and decided to remodel things to make the space more useful to a barely-five-foot-tall (after I've been to the chiro) amateur gardener. All that unusable space under the benches just collected trash and I couldn't reach the far corners at the end without climbing onto the bench. So... I remodeled.

Warmish greenhouse or icy, windy yard?
Rocky knows which is better!

This bench has worked really well so I just drilled holes in it for water and potting soil to fall through. It also works well for securing a jig saw and holding fuzzy "helpers."

The big bench is history, trimmed to a shadow of it's former self but still wide enough to hold a milk jug or Buster sprawled in the corner. I drew his chalk outline (with space for growth) to be certain. Nothing in the greenhouse was square, and I'd never used a jig saw before, so I went with a wave pattern based on an old CD I found on the floor.

I see no reason a greenhouse can't be girlie.
(Jig Saw work completed.)

The medium size bench was OK but too deep for me to make use of the floor underneath so I'll be affixing expanded steel bases into the holes. There's a small area at the end, which you can't see, for setting tools and things on a solid surface. With the holes I'll be able to see what's below and maybe use the floor to over-winter plants like peppers and chiles. The dead looking things are habaneros. Might have gotten too cold in there before I found the heater but we'll see. The idea is to keep them alive, but dormant, until they can go back into the garden.

And here is the door end. I put the soil on the floor to help with the water problem, drilled some holes in the floor too, and put as many tools as I could above my head. The lantern is LED so it gives bright light without any risk.

The ultimate plan is to have soil on the floor and a thyme walkway down the center. I'll be able to directly grow lettuce and other things AND have space for potting up, setting teacups, and growing starts.

Woof.

It's been a busy phase for us here in Beautiful Floyd. A fortnight or so ago Mr. Fuzzy made three trips to photograph dogs at the pound... all abortive but it's OK. There weren't any new doggies impounded. We attended a lovely night out / board meeting with the Humane Society on Saturday where the food was free because it just happened to be "customer appreciation night" at the restaurant.

Speaking of restaurants, our favorite waitress at the cafe has eleven puppies (all one litter!) needing homes in 2-4 weeks. So.... we were at her house that Friday to photograph them to put on our society website as "pets around town." The annoying internet phrase "dies of cuteness" is appropriate here. And, finally, Sunday saw us out at a nearby sheep farm photographing seven more foster dogs including a handsome tricolor hound, a very attentive parson's jack russel, and a pair of super compact little dogs who were once feral but are learning to love people.

Anyone want a dog?

Oh yes, and then there was the kitten, 'Lizbeth Stubbs. She is named after the Queen and the musician. Yep.... royally cute and she has only a third of her tail left after an argument with a Buick. I suppose we could have called her Gully because she was also covered in motor oil.... but that would be too obscure. Que no?

Then last Tuesday we took in another foster cat "just overnight" to take up to PetSmart's adoption center. Her foster mom had a bunch of meetings and I had a dental appointment first thing so it was going to be a simple hold and dump operation. HA! The poor thing developed a cold. So, now we have a slowly recovering, dog-nervous, sneezing cat convalescing in our upstairs bath & bedroom. As soon as she is well she'll go to the Bell Gallery in town to be featured. The kitten will precede her on Friday. Her tail is healed and she's past the trauma of it all.

And then there is my Moment of Compassionate Generosity from last night... temporarily named "Sal" (For Salad-Brain / Salsa / Salvador.) Sal is a a fuzzy ball of Soup Dog. I thought I was volunteering to take in a different small dog... ... ... Anyway, he'll be in residence for 2 weeks while transport details are arranged. He's got a shelter to go to up north but his time at the pound was to run out today. The amazing Debbie, who arranges transports, just didn't have quite enough time to get things sorted.

I think the chicken shed will be built tomorrow. He has an annoying "small dog bark" and marked the carpet in Russ' office.

Oh, and I've been remodeling the greenhouse since warm weather arrived last week. Rain today and 1 1/2 inches of it a few days ago but it's been above freezing. Snow is mostly gone.

Stratheden Farm: Year 2

Buster Goes Sledding

In a few days we'll be able to say (both) the Fuzzys have been on the farm for a year. A whole year! Frankly, I can't remember it very well. I know I spent a lot of time dead exhausted, swearing at packing boxes, digging, rearranging furniture, or preserving. Good thing we have this blog, eh? We can just look back to a date and see what we were doing. It's kinda cool that way.

So what are we planning for Year 2? Hmm... more zucchini and Seminole pumpkins. (Mr. Fuzzy actually LIKES eating the pumpkins. This is no small miracle.) Probably a few more foster kitties and lots of updates about small town socializing. I might even give y'all another recipe or two.

Resolutions? Eat better, walk more, cut firewood for next year. We're working on a wish list of projects we'd like to do around the farm but I think we'll need some help. If you want to buy a lovely house in New Mexico, please let us know. There's one just outside town on offer at a VERY reasonable price.
Hi All!!!!!!! It's Chetworth! Didja miss me? Mama left the internet up so I'm gonna finish this and get it posted for her. She's off doin' somethin' in the workshop. Rocky the dog says that a new kitten showed up yesterday so I'm thinking that's what she's up to. At least it's not in the house!

We didn't write Santa for toys this Christmas so I'm writing Baby New Year instead. If you all would talk to Baby New Year for us maybe he'll bring us some of what we want as well as what we need. Here's my letter so far, maybe you could proof read it for me?

Dear Baby New Year,

You are the prettiest New Year I have ever seen. I really like your white blanket. I hope you are wrapped up tight because it's awfully cold out there! How do you stay warm when it's negative wind chill??? Do you have a heated cozy like Hodge had?

Mama has been a very good girl. She actually called people she didn't know well and went socializing like a normal(ish) person. She took in eight new animals (Mama says it was a nice thing to do but I'm not so sure...) and didn't even roast the puppy with sweet potatoes and celery when he made us angry. She also learned how to build a rippin' good fire in our Century Fireplace to keep us warm. That was a very good thing!!! Grover and I like to sit in the big chairs when it's going!

Please grant her a wood shed, a root cellar, and enclose part of the porch as a solarium. She also wants to get the kitchen painted, a brand new marmoleum floor in there, the bedroom woodwork completed, and ...if you can get us a good price on the old house... to get a photo studio built for Mr. Fuzzy. Us cats want a solarium (boy that's a hard word!) too so we can sit in the sun where it's warm.

Mr. Fuzzy wants that studio too, and a guest house under it. He also wishes for all new windows and for that darned house to sell at a really good price! While we're at it... can you send him a lightly used Kabota tractor with a bucket and the little backhoe attachment? You know the one he's been looking at online, I'm sure... No doubt Mr. Fyzzy will add a wish or two in his own letter to you but I thought I'd get this off straight away because he's pretty busy with another editing job and he might not get it done in time.

Us cats want you to keep the vet away ALL year, make us not get those yucky worms, make the puppy be nicer to us, and pleas, Baby New Year, can you please let me win the standoff over who can sleep on the bed? Right now only those smelly babies go up there and I really really reeeeeeeelly want to sleep next to mama and papa. It's extra soft.

I guess I should add something in for the doggles. Ummm. Lots of big bones and Rufus to Please Calm Down. Your big sister did a good job but you need to finish it for her, OK? I guess they want to keep the vet away too, if you can.

I guess that's all the wishes I know of. I hope you have a good year.

Chetworth

P.S. You can combine the cellar with the guest house & studio to make things more convenient for yourself.

P.S.S. Fredster would like a giant bowl of canned food.

P.S.S. I just found out there IS a kitten in the workshop. Buster smelled it! I asked papa and He said her name is Stubby and she lost part of her tail and needs a friend 'cause she's extra scared. I hope she finds her tail soon. It would be weird to loose my tail... but I bet Jack Tar would steal it so he could wear TWO if Rufus didn't just eat it first. That dog will try to eat ANYTHING! (Even Christmas ornaments.)

A Who's Who of Stratheden Farm (Part 1)

At the request of a beloved reader I am now presenting you with a rundown of the residents of Stratheden Farm... at least of those allowed in the house. I dont' know the names of our innumerable wild neighbors.

Actually, I'll just get you started with your host & hostess and those animals who are no more. That way this won't run long...

Mr. Fuzzy He is the guy with the Ph.D. from Bonnie Scotland. He studied at St. Andrews Uni. He drives the tractor and knows where the money is hid. I think he knows about the money anyway!*

Mrs. Fuzzy Cans the food, builds fires, and knows where the chocolate is hid. She is the animal wrangler.

Nutmeg was our strange old shepherd cross dog. She had brain damage but was a very sweet companion for 12 years. She died of cancer in the spring.

Kuma & Haiku Were Mr. Fuzzy's Akita dogs. Kuma was Haiku's son and Mrs. Fuzzy met him when he was 11 years old. Haiku is famous / infamous amongst those who knew him. Kuma was universally beloved for his gentleness. Kuma died at 16 in 2000, which allowed us to move to Scotland. They live on in our hearts.

Mr. Tam was our Dundee Wildcat; the cat who thought he was a dog; easily the most wonderful one ever to move from Scotland to America. He was opinionated, grumpy, and a good playmate. One day he walked outside for his morning constitutional and decided not to return.

Catfish was our first cat. She was a funny little tortie our friend Barbara gave us when her family moved off the game preserve. Catfish had never lived inside before and relished every moment of her short life. We don't have a straight story on how but she died while we were in Scotland. Catfish loved being held like a baby.

Does that bring you up to speed on the spirit pets? I'll now present you with a diagram of the LIVING (+ Tam) cat population of the farm. It'll be easier if you can visualize it.... trust me!

* After reading this Mr. Fuzzy reminds me we did buy a farm, extra acreage, a new roof, and water system this year. Our money is hid in the pockets of our neighbors, it seems. Happy (frugal) Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

Turkeys at Border Springs Farm

The turkey is all brined and drying in the fridge which is otherwise crammed full of vegetables awaiting tomorrow's cooking showdown. Kennebek potatoes and Seminole pumpkins are awaiting their demise. Do they realize that the lush soil I gave them this summer was all just a trick?

The last time I cooked Thanksgiving dinner was in 2004 when our friends Kirsty and Daisy came over from Scotland. Kirsty wanted to experience the full-on OTT deal right down to Black Friday at the mall so I gave it to her. (In return she gave me her granny's tablet ("fudge") recipe.) I think we had ten that year, which is a lot for us and our little table. We had all the classic New England fixin's plus certain Southern and Southwestern dishes my guests would have rioted over had they been missing. It was WAY too much food but with four in the kitchen it wasn't too bad for work.

This year it's me and my knife feeding four plus a plate for a neighbor who will be working late at the hospital. Our turkey is an humanely raised heritage breed from Border Springs Farm that spent its' life roosting in a hardwood forest about 30 miles from Stratheden. We've had heritage birds before and woweee.... they taste so much better than the 40 cents a pound stuff at the grocery. It's a real treat! I can't wait to see the smile on our elderly bachelor farmer neighbor's face when he tastes old fashioned turkey.

The menu is as follows:

turkey with bread stuffing
mashed potatoes
pumpkin puree
collard greens
broccoli with feta cheese sauce
cranberry sauce
green chile sauce
home-made chutney
real gravy
buttermilk biscuits
---------
peach pie with custard
chocolate cake

That's right- no pumpkin or pecan pie, no sweet potatoes, no green bean casserole. Darn it, this is MY version of Thanksgiving dinner. If I could get good blueberries we'd be having savoury blueberry muffins too. Martha Stuart and relatives rolling in graves be damned.

Late next week we will be picking up another Thanksgiving treat... We gave our friend Tim hunting rights on our property in return for a deer (or more) a year. He's brought close friends half a dozen times this month and they've shot a few out of our overly-large herds but tonight Tim finally got one. So, we have a young doe aging at the butchers and our neighbor has the hide for tanning.

Indeed, it's a Happy Thanksgiving for us!

Update on We Cats

Sorry I've not written to you for a while. Mommy has had me grounded for ages JUST because I wouldn't come inside before dark and only then after she'd chased me around the whole farm and then I'd saunter inside using only the office door. It wasn't so bad.

Mama shut me up in her studio where I got the cat tree all to myself and there weren't any annoying little cats to annoy me and no horrible adult cats to chase and insult me. But without any trees to climb, moles to hunt, or internet to surf I did get kind of bored. Yeah. That's right. She took away my Animal Planet.com MEANIE!!!

Then she let me out again for a week or so and then we ALL got LOCKED UP when that awful new cat... Hodge, Podge, Hoagie, Baloney... whatever his name is... showed up. Daddy says it's because that cat looked very ill and might make us sick and DIE. I'd believe it. I've never seen a cat THAT skinny. Now he's all fat and smug and won't leave the porch no matter how much we hiss at him.

Did I say "we"? I didn't get to tell you that news did I? Stupid Mommy only gave me computer privileges yesterday so i couldn't tell you before. Anyway, since we've all been cooped up inside we've had to call a truce, us cats. Then Mommy started giving us treats (God's gift to cats!!!!!!!) just for being in the same room together so i decided this was pretty cool and I quit hissing at the babies. They're still officially horrible but they know the string game and let me take my preferred place on the bed when I want it AND they know that I am King of the Bath Mat. So it's good.

We're friends now. Fred is my protege and so is Buster. I finally got back at Girlie for being SO MEAN to me... Me and Grover finally ran her off for good the other day. Mommy and Daddy are pretty sure she's just gone to live under the workshop... that's our Switzerland... and she can stay there!!!

Gotta go.... it's laundry folding time!

I totally get it now when mothers of young children say they work all day and get nothing done.

I'm taking a much needed break from the kitchen to say "hello, I ain't dead!" So, um, Hello. I'm really very much alive and Mr. Fuzzy doesn't keep me shackled to the canner ALL day. (Just kidding honey.)

Having Young Master Rufus in the kitchen most of the day with me has really created a rhythm to getting things done. In the morning we play games like "down-stay-get treat" and "let's get all worked up and then calm down now." Then Mr. Fuzzy takes the wee lad up to the mailbox to get the mail and we play another round of "sit up vs down" before Rufus curls up in his kennel for a nap.

That's when I cut up vegetables and get the dehydrator humming. With all the moisture in the air these days it only gets a new batch once a day. (We've had several weeks where the low humidity was above 60% and one week where it never dropped below 75% water. Yuck!) When I'm done it's time for lunch which always wakes the dog up.

After lunch and a wee stand on the porch to confirm that the rest of the universe exists I take advantage of afternoon nap time. All eleven animals siesta at the same time so it's quite calm until three or four o'clock. This is when the canner and stove top gets going or I make up things for the freezer.

This year the canner is mostly dealing with fruit while the veggies are being dried. Next year I hope to have things in a more sane order which will allow me to branch out into pressure canning some vegetables. For now, the goal is to just get the food saved in whichever manner is most efficient and tasty. I will be attempting to can some tasty soups, baked beans, cakes, quick bread, and steamed breads once cold weather sets in and I can have the oven on all day.

Yes, you read that right. Canned cake and bread. Look here for the method.

So, back to my day these days. About 4 o'clock the first kitten awakes, comes crying for a cuddle, wakes the dog, and enjoys a game of "sit on the chair and whack the dog" before changing over to a game I call "race for the furthest exit and lie just beyond Rufus' nose." This is repeated five or six times over the next hour depending on the feline boredom level. If I'm smart, all the food is off the table and I'm doing dishes. Rufus is strangely calm if I'm washing up. Otherwise it's a game of tug or taking him down to the garden for an hour or two.

Then it's up again to make dinner followed by more of our morning amusements when Mr. Fuzzy and Rufus have returned from their romp. About 9 o'clock I declare a collapse and go read my herb books. Mr. Fuzzy recently gifted me American Household Botany: A History of Useful Plants, 1620-1900 by Judith Sumner and it's a great read.

That's what I've been up to of recent. Except last week where I got to meet my new (excellent) dentist, get yet another root canal, and discover that I'm exceptionally sensitive to nitrous oxide. I can wholeheartedly recommend the Doctors Huff DDS in Christiansburg, should you be in need of a dentist.

Just a quickie, my dear

Quick hello, that is... more to do today than time to do it! Turning this over to Chetworth...

Hi, all! Mama really loves me. She threw Jack out the door by the scruff of his neck and Girlie Girl (the evil intruder!) is locked in the bathroom. Yeah... means I have to use the kitten litter box if I hafta "go" inside but it's worth it! Mama'a been mean to those intruders!!!!

Girlie has been all awful to us since she emerged with those horrid kittens a few weeks ago and now it's worse 'cause they eat in the kitchen with everyone now. It's SO unfair! She gets all grouchy and chases me all over the house until I can get way up high and away from her JUST because I tell those furballs to keep away!

Then the other day she started yacking ALL the time. rowl rowl rowl She does this bizarre thing where she rolls around and sticks her butt in the air. (MamaCat says this is "heat" and that it sucks rocks.) I don't get it. It's just annoying! The peoples have been mumbling about this and telling her she has to stay inside because of it. Sounds good to me: no meanies in my yard! (Except the orange bobtail Mama calls DaddyCat but I run him off whenever I see him.)

Then I saw Mama human get all concerned when Jack started acting weird. Don't know why... THOSE two are friends and hang out all the time. Anyway... Mama picked jack up by the scruff and threw him out the door. That was WAY COOL but it gets better!

So not much later Girlie was getting on my case, AGAIN, about the babies.... even though there weren't any around and I Did Not Start Growling First. (See? I'm TRYING to be nicer but it's sooooo hard!) She chased me all around the big table. This time Mama saw it happen and you know what she did? She locked Girlie up!!!! Says Girlie has to learn to be nice too.

It's after dark now and Mama put Miss Girlie up in the glass-front door room because she says Girlie and Jack can't play together until they both get something called "fixed." I don't know what that is but there's lots of talk about calling the vet so it can't be good. Glad I don't have to get this "fixed" stuff!!!!!!!

Oh, something else that was AWESOME happened today. Jack and I are now friends... but only away from the house for now... and when Mama and Daddy went for a walk Jack showed me how he goes along with them. It was super fun! We walked out in a path of flat grass to this big open area and Daddy took some pictures with his new camera. He says he got a good one of Mama and me all the way out there. I'll ask him to put it up soon!!!! Anyway... Jack and me ran and played in the tall grass... I've never seen grass that tall! It was kinda scary because I couldn't see the peoples sometimes. It was also really hot and there were lots of strange smells. Jack was super duper nice and would rub against me to tell me it was all perfectly safe. Grover would have been jealous if he saw that!

But ya wanna know the best part? On the way back we were playing a race game and it was Jack's turn to dash ahead of Mama and then my turn but instead of going around him I bowled right through him! He didn't know who or what hit him and it felt SO good.

Ain't they cute?

The babies celebrate their 6-week birthday today so I thought we'd share some unabashed "aaaawww." Kittens really are a natural anti-depressant and general mood booster. All natural with few negative side effects when properly managed! Get one today!

On the advice of the vet we tried to begin weaning these guys a little early. Ha! As they weren't quite ready for solids it was my job to force feed them a slurry of KMR and A/D wet every day so that Miss Girlie could have a little nutrition for herself. Seemed to work... no more colds and Girlie is gaining weight. The benefits duly noted, kittens fight yucky slurry even more than yucky medicine.

We compromised as soon as their little teeth came in and I started taking them cooked chicken. My theory that it was more like what Girlie would bring them seems to be correct. It's a wonderful, and worm-free, alternative to warm mouse. Mmmm! Be careful if you ever do this. Kittens bite hard and fast once they realize chicken tastes good! Now they're on to the kitten kibbles and not visiting the Milk Bar as often. Girlie Girl seems most relieved! I'm happy to have something else for dinner too. (Than chicken, that is!)

Last week we opened the doors and let them start to explore. We walk with our heads down in the house now. They scamper up and down the stairs with ease, raid the adult food, and hiss right back at the adults. There are five and, indulge us here, here's your official introduction:

Bluebeard, our skinny little runt, was the first to open her eyes at only 5 days old. Or should I say "eye" as her right eye started to open about three days later. We presumed she was a boy as ginger cats are more often male so she carries the honor of redeeming the evil pirate's name. We're not sure "redeem" is the proper word any more... Her purr sounds suspiciously like arrrrrrrrrrr. That's her telling Jack "what for."

Bea (Bagheera) has recently taken to bursts of running for no better reason than it's fun. This has led her to discover a couple things well before the others: 1: walls are solid and 2: sometimes the floor falls away. Today she went full tilt off the bed, landed, and kept going. That's the better part of a yard down... Bea is the very image of her mommy and looks like she'll be a pretty little longhair.

Buster is our biggest kitten at more than twice the size of Bluebeard. You might say he's a champion eater... He likes his naps and he likes the Milk Bar. He is often the last to leave either state. Even though he is huge he's a big softie. Not a bully bone in his body. (Unlike Mama Cat's biggest who was awful to the others!)

We still can't tell the last two apart unless we have them together. I think this is the boy, TweedleDum. He is our "wrong way kitty." I understand there is always one. If everyone else runs to the Milk Bar upon waking you can safely bet your money that this cat will decide to hunt the wild packing peanut. His sister, TweedleDee, had a lot of trouble figuring out how to keep her legs under herself while walking on the wood floor but now that she's on carpet she's as fast and silly as the others. Both are exceptionally good at inventing little games to amuse themselves.. especially hunting games. Good kitties, Tweedles!

Light and Darkness

At 6:30 a.m this morning, Mr. Fuzzy let the herd of cats out to shake off their sleep and find a fit toilet. Waiting there at the door as it swung open was MISS LILY! She came right in and seemed no worse for her week away, although she does act a bit touchy with her fellow felines (Jack excepted, of course). How our hearts soared to hold her once more.

Mrs. Fuzzy let Nutmeg outside about fifteen minutes later and in a few seconds, Nutmeg fell, immobile, to the ground. Her breathing was extremely labored and clearly she was in great distress. She died at the veterinarian's at 8:30 from complications due to a massive spleen tumor. We buried her in a shady spot near the workshop where she would often go to sit in peaceful contemplation.

The Creator was so very hard on Nutmeg. She was born with cerebellar hypoplasia, essentially, Downe's Syndrome. Although probably unrelated, she suffered from seizures and thyroid problems, too. In her later years, her spine became arthritic and painful. She took prescription medicines to treat the latter three issues. Nutmeg was never able to enjoy the carefree life of a normal canine.

The tumor had displaced many of her organs; she must have been in much pain for months. She did, nonetheless, retain her sweet disposition and at dinner last night was her usual self, noodling for treats at the dinner table. Now she is with her mentor, Kuma, and her best buddy, Catfish. We trust that you are now relieved of all pain and distress, darling.

Catfish and Nutmeg, 2001, together again

NUTMEG
born Nov. 7th, 1996, Sunshine, NM

died May 21st, 2009, Floyd, VA

Touch of frost, touch of sorrow

This morning the temperature at eight feet above ground level was 31F. A cursory survey of the pasture manifested a wide spread frost. The Fuzzies circumambulated the back half of the farm in the afternoon and discerned significant frost damage, even among the native plants, especially the new growth on spice bushes and the bog iris blooms.

My grandfather advised me long ago to 'share your joys but keep your disappointments and sorrows close to heart.' His advice, with more than four decades of retrospection has proven sage. For this once, I will violate his rule, and hopefully, gentle reader, you will consider it a proper disclosure nonetheless; it weighs upon me mightily.

One week ago tonight, Mr. Fuzzy's favorite cat of all times, Miss Lily, refused to come in at dark. It was not entirely out of the ordinary for her - she wanted to hunt. Always before, she would be waiting at the kitchen door come first light - but she was not there. And we have not seen her since. Almost certainly she has been killed by a predator, most likely an owl, as she was very savvy about four legged hunters. She came to us from the animal shelter as a very sick young cat; Mr. Fuzzy held her for the week she battled with fever and chills. Lily was always extremely affectionate, graduated first in her class at charm school, a boon companion. She usually slept at Mr. Fuzzy's feet. We both miss her terribly. She was Jack's best pal and the pair of them could have passed as brother and sister. Farewell my little friend. UPDATE: she has returned after a week's walkabout!!!! Oh thank you...




Yesterday an email informed Mr. Fuzzy that his old and dear friend Kristen had died unexpectedly on May 14th at only age 38, leaving behind three children under six years of age (Owen is but five months) and her husband. We first were introduced by a mutual friend seventeen years ago and although we have rarely seen each other in recent years, we stayed in contact via emails. She oozed artistic gifts, was refined and elegant in way almost totally lacking among young women, was kind, thoughtful, sweet, great company at the art museum, restaurant table, hiking trail or the rodeo. Oh and did I mention, stunningly beautiful and brilliant? The world has become significantly poorer without her. You left us far too soon, my dearest Lady. Kristen, you will reside forever in my heart.

Seeing with new eyes

Its hard to guess what their brain can decode with no experience but the kittens are opening their eyes. Bluebeard (left) opened his a couple of days ago and the rest are following suite today. Except for Bluebeard, their eyes are just partly open.






The farm continues to green up. The back pasture was fertilized today, a bit late. Wildflowers of all sorts are erupting, albeit mostly small to tiny ones. Some trees, however, still show no inclination to leave out.

The weatherman was right about today - 81F and humidity at one point as low as 19%. There have been a few clouds in the sky to give it depth and scope but otherwise the sun has ruled the day. The next four days are all expected to be as warm so more of April's seeds should be sprouting forth.



The fruit trees have held their blooms tenaciously and kept the landscape bright. Huzzah.

Kitties

Although it may seem that life on the farm revolves around the newborn kittens, the truth is, well, uh, it does. We have to achieve many other tasks in a day but Girlie and her babies are ahead of everything else in the queue when it comes to our attention. So far, Girlie and crew are doing well. The babies do three things- drink milk, sleep and flush that milk through their little systems. For all of her virtues, Girlie doesn't do much cleaning of herself - or so far, of her kittens. Mrs. Fuzzy gives them a washcloth rubbing every night, which not only cleans them up a little (before we put in fresh bedding) but stimulates their bladders and intestines to 'work' almost within seconds; normally their mom's washing would perform this function.

The other cats are feeling a bit needy these days as they don't get to go into the bedroom and take their daily afternoon naps on our bed. Jack and Lily seem especially hurt by loss of privilege - but that's the way it will be until the kittens are at least six weeks old. Here is Grover performing his duties as border patrol cat...

Mrs. Fuzzy completely tore apart and rebuilt the flower bed to the right of the front door. Farm life is good for her - you should see the size of stone she can lift and carry now! The bed is filled with pansies and iris (some of which we brought from home in pots). It is beautiful (photos forthcoming)!

Mr. Fuzzy washed the Morris Minor and the Honda, neither of which had seen soap and water since about last August - both look much improved (guess that means it will rain soon). He planted a few more lavender plants as well. And as most days go, unpacked a half dozen or more boxes...

More trees are blooming or leafing out. The two ancient apple trees down slope from the house are spectacular. Our 65 year old neighbor remembers them as 'old' when he was a child. We will trim and fertilize them in hopes of extending their long lives a few more years. To think of the stories of past farm occupants they could tell...