Hello Harley...

Almost every evening when I go to the pond our barn cat, Harley, is there to greet me. Some days he's lounging on the old picnic table, sometimes he's in one of the chairs. He always wants some petting and his motor is always running. In fact, that loud motor Harley has is part of the inspiration behind his name.

I got Harley from a local feral cat rescue when he was just a kitten. One of his ears had been clipped when he was neutered. They do this so they can identify feral cats that have already been caught, fixed and released. The rescue folks were afraid no one would adopt a scrawny scruffy black kitten. When I picked him up at his foster home I figured he was about the ugliest kitten I'd ever laid eyes on. Harley's ears were to big for his head and his fur stuck straight out in all directions. Don came up with his name because he had a big motor (purr), was dressed in black and very scruffy...just like a biker dude on a motorcycle!

Anyway, Harley proceeded to grow into a huge gorgeous fluffy lazy love bug. He was about a year old when we moved to the farm and couldn't run more than a few feet without huffing and puffing. He rarely went outside, preferring to stay in the comfortable house where he didn't have to travel far to get a bite to eat!

Seven years later it's hard to imagine that Harley is now an outdoor cat that hates to be inside. One day he decided to move to the barn and there he's stayed ever since. He ambles down to the pond to say hello and he comes to the house at night to have a can of wet cat food in the garage when Don comes home from work. Most of the time Harley is at the barn earning his keep by napping on a bale of hay or surveying his kingdom from the barn loft door.

If it's true that cats have nine lives, then Harley has a lot more living to do. Best I can figure he's only used three of those lives so far...one as a feral kitten in foster care, one as a spoiled house cat and one as a barn cat. That's a comforting thought because I hope mellow old Harley will be around for a long time to come!

Frustrating day...

Ever have one of those days when you just feel discombobulated? Makes you look kind of like Don and Kyla in this photo! Well, I've been having that kind of day. I'm counting down the minutes until it's over!

First, my fridge quits on me for the gazillionth time. This fridge has been nothing but trouble for the entire seven years we've had it. I've lost count of how many times the thing has been repaired. I spent the day transferring all the frozen stuff to the freezer in the laundry room and then moving all the fridge stuff to the freezer section.

What I can't figure out is why the top half of the fridge and it's freezer (side by side type) are warm, but the bottom half is freezing everything. The produce in the bottom bin of the fridge was frozen. The milk, etc. on top is warm. Last night when I realized the fridge wasn't working properly I put a bowl of water on the middle shelf of the freezer. The bottom of it froze, but the top is still water. WEIRD!

To make things worse, I took a nap this afternoon and didn't wake up until almost dark...to late to walk down to the pond. Then I made the mistake of letting Caoimhe out with me while I fed the chickens. UGH...that dog is mischief through and through. She refused to come back in with me and ended up running to the pond and jumping in. Then she finally comes in the house dripping wet! Miss Caoimhe will NOT be going out with me again. She can go into the fenced front yard from now on.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day...Monday. And Mondays are always better, right?

The story of the masked bandit twins...

It's been a rather boring Saturday so I thought I'd share a story from earlier in the summer. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when it happened!

Don keeps the horse feed in trash cans out at the barn. A few months back he kept finding the lid off one can every day when he went to feed the horses. It was the can that he kept the cat food in and the food was disappearing rapidly. One night he decided to take the live trap (pictured above with a prior inmate) to the barn to see if he could catch anything.

It was around midnight when he headed over there with his flashlight and the live trap. Now, I don't know if you've ever been in a dark barn at night, but they can be a bit creepy. Don got the live trap set up and went to get some cat food from the garbage can for bait.

When he opened the lid he discovered two juvenile raccoons. They were as surprised as he was and immediately shot out of the can causing Don to scream like a little girl! One shot between his legs and straight into the live trap. The other dashed into some empty feed bags stacked up in the feed room.

A little shaken by the unexpected guests and their rapid departure Don decided to leave the trapped coon alone for the night. As he was leaving he noticed it was calmly feeling around the inside of the cage as if trying to figure out how to get out. He left it there with plans to release it at the creek the next morning.

Imagine Don's surprise when he found the live trap empty the next morning! He feels sure the other coon had to have released the latch to let his twin out because it can't be opened from the inside. Since the two masked bandits were sure to come back Don decided to move the cat food to a different location.

Sure enough, they came back. How do we know this? When they discovered the cat food was not in the garbage can the two rascals left Don a present to show him what they thought about him moving their feast.

Yep...they pooped on top of the garbage can and we haven't seen them since!

What day is it?

I woke up this morning thinking it was Saturday. That feeling has stuck with me all day. In fact, I haven't planned anything for supper because Don works late on Saturdays and I usually pop a pizza in the oven instead of cooking a meal.

Then my daughter (pictured above with Don and I) called. We chatted a while and when we were saying our good-byes I told her to have a fun day tomorrow. She said she would once she got off work, which confused me until I realized it was Friday and tomorrow was Saturday, not Sunday. Nicole works Saturday mornings (she's a bank teller).

However, the feeling is still clinging to me. Ever have that happen...kind of a deja vu type feeling? It just feels like Saturday to me. I have no idea why or how my mind jumped from Thursday to Saturday. I even took a nap today, something I would never do on a Friday!

Hmmm...now I need to figure out what I'm going to fix for supper. Pizza anyone?

Welcome home Aislinn...

Tuesday night Don and I were headed home when we spied a small black animal running up the road in front of us. I thought it was a cat. When the little critter got to our driveway it dashed off the road. Don turned in and I got out to check on the animal. What I found wasn't a cat, but a very small puppy huddled against our garbage can and shaking like a leaf.

Her name is Aislinn (ash-lynn) which is an Irish name that means "beautiful lady in peril"...exactly what she was out on that deserted dark country road all by herself! Aislinn gave us lots of kisses on the way up the drive to the house and continues to do so.

Don took her to the vet Wednesday morning. To his surprise the vet announced that Aislinn was a pedigree! Don asked what breed and Dr. Slocum replied, "Full blooded mutt!" adding that she has a lot of terrier in her. He said Aislinn is about 10 weeks old. She only weighed 8.3 pounds (poor little thing's tummy was growling when we found her).

Don said she literally screamed when the vet gave her a shot (immunization, one of three puppy shots)...not a whimper, growl or yelp...a human sounding scream! Then she gave Dr. Slocum a bunch of kisses to show she wouldn't hold a grudge and he gave her a bunch of treats.

Aislinn has been a perfect angel. She hasn't had an accident in her crate and always does her business when we take her outside. She loves running and bouncing around the yard with the other dogs, but they haven't quite figured out what she is...puppy? cat? crazy bouncing toy? As usual, our dog Brenna has appointed herself Aislinn's surrogate mommy and won't let the other dogs get to close.

I've been wanting a new kitty and earlier Tuesday night I tried to sweet talk a feral cat in the Wal Mart parking lot to no avail. I think Fate sent Aislinn to me for a reason. She's not a cat, but she's going to be small and I'm going to make sure she's a Mama's girl!

Chickens and their culinary choices...

My chickens do not like Mexican food. I find this odd, as I thought chickens would eat anything! They do, however, enjoy Chinese food! This evening they got some leftovers from the Chinese restaurant and gobbled it up before the ducks could butt in.

I think I know why Aunt Bernice and Aunt Bertha (pictured above) won't eat Mexican food...they don't like refried beans. My dogs don't like refried beans either. I have no idea why as no one is, um, spilling the beans!

Every evening I like to take the chickens and ducks a treat...salad greens, kitchen scraps, leftovers, small fish from the pond, etc. They've always been very happy with their treats until the day I tried to give them Mexican food. It sat there for a couple of days and I finally raked it up and tossed the stuff.

Since we rarely go out to eat any more I seldom have leftovers from the Mexican restaurant. If I do, I make sure Don gets them all in his lunch. He's my other "garbage disposal". Between Don, the chickens, ducks, dogs, cats and Elvis no food goes to waste here.

I just never expected chickens to be picky eaters!

Two out of three ain't bad...

As I've stated before, we are into recycling. The phrase "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" is always in the back of my mind when I'm shopping, cleaning, gardening, etc. Don doesn't think the "reduce" part works well when I'm shopping, but what does he know!

One of my favorite places to shop is the Goodwill Store. Buying second hand is a great way to reuse and recycle! Pictured above are a few of my most recent Goodwill purchases. The little cabinet will go into my laundry room. It has a door on the bottom and I plan to store cleaning supplies in and on it. Or, I may use for my cat collectibles since the laundry room has a cat theme going on.

The rooster and hen salt and pepper shakers will go into my kitchen. My decorating theme in there is roosters and my mother-in-law got me hooked on collecting rooster/hen salt and pepper shakers. She has a lovely collection of vintage shakers. I was delighted to find the Lenox shakers above as they will make a nice addition to my collection.

The Kirk-Stieff pewter coffee/tea set isn't something I normally collect, so I'll probably resell it on Ebay or in a yard sale. It was such a unique set that I couldn't resist (thus my failure with the "reduce" part of recycling).

After the thrill of finding these reusable recycled items I enjoy getting online and researching them. I like to jot down what I learn (manufacturer, manufacturing date, value) on a strip of paper and attach to the bottom of said item. That way, when Don complains that I'm a hoarder (I'm not...I'm a collector) I can show him that my treasures truly are treasures!

As for the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" thing? I'm working on it!