I just bathed my cat...

I don’t make a habit of bathing my cats. Most cats aren’t too enthusiastic about being put in a large sink and dosed with water. On, a funny note, this cat didn’t seem to mind. He purred the whole time I was scrubbing him and didn’t even mind the “getting wet” part or the rinsing. He is a strange creature.

The reason for the bath was a fly strip.

You know those fly strips. You hang them outside, in the barn, in the garage; to catch those nasty pests. They’re incredibly sticky, hence the reason why they work so well. You have to be very careful when you hang them. Don’t you dare touch the thing or you are stuck!

I happen to walk out the front door at just the right time. Sauntering across the front porch (with a strange look on his face) was Zeus. (Zeus is one of our “new” kittens that we picked up at the local feed store a few months ago to help with the rodent de-population.) Wrapped around Zeus’ neck, front legs and shoulder area was a fly strip. (I’m laughing just seeing it in my head again). Apparently, Zeus must have been in the garage (where I have several hanging), probably batting at it, like kittens do, and it “attacked” him! Guess the fly strip won. *wink

The "culprit" with the rubber gloves I used to safely remove it and bathe him.

So Zeus is now grooming himself (after his bath) locked in a wire dog crate until he’s dried. I still may have to shave part of his hair as part of him is still sticky. Although, I did manage to wash the dead flies off of him.

Summertime treat

We had watermelon for lunch and I decided to share the rinds with the horses instead of the chickens. I love to hear them slurping and crunching on their summertime treat!

Help yourself Silver:)

Dakota got a bite!

Munch!

Crunch!

Slurp!

 

Silly Gracie:)

Echo thought she needed a piece too. Looks like the chicken is waiting for leftovers:)

Just another day on the farm!

Wally

Two days ago (on a whim) I decided to put an ad up for my mini gelding, Wally. I didn't really need to place him. He doesn't cost much to keep, but the poor guy is low man on the totem pole and is always getting harassed by the big horses. The little guy usually stays at the back of the pasture by his lonesome. So I thought if something good came along, I'd let him go. Of course my ad stated, "to good home only, references required".

"Summer coat"

"Winter woolies"

To back up a bit, I bought Wally almost three years ago from a lady that rescued him. (The guy didn't even have a name for him, just called him "horse" and kept him in a small pen to use as a teaser stallion for his mares.) How sad. She advertised him as "cart trained". I bought him thinking he would be fun to have around for any visiting children, especially my nephew. He was mellow and great with the kids. They could brush him all over and do whatever with him. We eventually found a harness and then a cart. Well, we only hooked him up once ( a friend came over to do it, since I didn't have a clue!) And since we didn't have a bit for the bridle we just led him around pulling the cart.

"Willy & Wally"~ two gentle souls

Well, I placed the ad one day and the next got a call from a gal that said he was just what they were looking for! They are a horse family and do a lot of carting with their big horses. Her mom is now in a wheelchair and they'd been hoping to find a little horse and cart; something her mom could transfer herself into from her wheelchair. They came out the following morning (this morning actually) and took him home!

I just got an email update from her:

"We just love Wally.  He got his first ride on the ferryboat home. He did great on the trip home. We each brushed & brushed on him. He just loved it .Then "M" lead him around the farm. He got used to my wheelchair & loved all the attention. For the time being we have put him in his own stall in the barn with his own access to a run of his own. Where he can see the goats, geese @ other horses & get used to us.   We just love him. Wally will have  a good home with lots of  attention.  Thank you so much. We are going to make him a new blanket using the blanket you gave us tomorrow so he won' t be cold when we trim him this weekend. We will send pictures. Thank you so much. 
~B"

I am thrilled with the loving, caring home Wally has gone too. Have a wonderful life, Wally. You deserve it!

The Five Seasons

Growing up I was always taught (as I'm sure everyone was) there are four seasons; spring, summer, fall, and winter. Since moving to Washington, I have since learned there are actually five! Yep, I've been taught wrong. We've all been lied to. In between winter and spring, is the season of "Mud."

All winter everything has been covered in snow. Things are finely warming up just a tad; enough that snow is starting to melt, ground is starting to thaw and now the rain comes. Warmer temperature (thaw) plus rain (and melting snow) equals mud!


Let me illustrate....

This is a red roan appaloosa mare, normally mostly white with red varnish marks.

This horse is a good color for the season of "Mud". She is grulla, but gets this chocolate (also called "dirt colored") coat in winter. So if she is dirty, *whispers* you can't tell.

This is a beautiful buckskin (yeah right!). At this point I would call him "camouflage".

This is my stately (right now portly) half Arab. He is a light grey, hence his name "Silver".

He likes to do things thoroughly. When you get dirty, cover all sides!

Up close and personal. Yep, that's ground in dirt!

Another view of the grim, mud, dirt. Do you know how long it will take me to get this light horse clean again? Oh, what's the point right now!

This is my Arabian. She is too regal and elegant to get dirty. Or if she did she wouldn't tell you. ;)
(Actually I think she looks pretty good for a horse that will turn 29 in about three weeks.)

Can I just give a little endorsement here? I love my #MuckBoots! I've never had a pair, but finally splurged last year and bought some. I no longer need snow boots and rubber boots. These Muck boots get me through  four of the five seasons; fall, winter, spring and the season of "Mud".

Charlie & Hank

No, this isn't Charlie or Hank. This is MooMoo. I know, strange name for a cat. She reminded me of a Holstein cow with her black & white coat. When she was just a kitten I started calling her our "MooMoo kitty."

MooMoo has been the sole cat figure on our little farm for a number of years. She spends most of her days in the barn or in the woodshed doing what cats do best; sleeping and eating. I wish she would step up a bit in the rodent control department. But I think she's a bit on the lazy side.

Our barn was being overrun with mice! Some of the dogs sleep out there in their crates and oftentimes they wouldn't finish their food. Prime mouse snacks. And they were helping themselves! Many times I would walk into the barn and come face to face with another little furry creature! And my hay! We rearranged some bales one day and I thought deer had eaten big chunks off the edges, but no! It was the mice! This had to stop!

So I went looking for backup for MooMoo. A little reinforcement.

I checked with several shelters and found one in our local town. They have a feral cat program; catch, neuter and release. Some of the cats are able to be tamed a bit and these are adopted out to homes. But some cats are just too wild. That would be Charlie. And unfortunately, the shelter workers were having a hard time working to tame the other cats because of him. He wasn't about to let anyone near him or the others. Charlie needed a barn home. And I needed a barn cat.

Hank was another feral boy. Not near a distrusting as Charlie, but still wild. So both boys came home with me.

For now, they are still in confinement. They need to realize this is home base and make the adjustment. Thankfully, we have a covered dog kennel in the barn that works perfect for this situation. They have boxes to hide in, a litter box, and food and water. After they've been here about a month we'll let them have some freedom and hope they stick around.

"Oh, little mice, there's some nice cat food in that bowl. Just help yourself." ;)

"Hank"

Isn't he pretty? I wish I could pet him:)

And there's Charlie glaring at me from the back of the box.

Charlie doesn't like when you put your hand to close to him. I know this from personal experience.

Happy hunting boys! MooMoo sure needs you. And so do I!

Duane's "sheep"

A while back Duane came home from work one day and asked, "Do you want a sheep?" I replied with a confused, "What?"

You have to understand Duane is not an animal person. Yes, he tolerates my menagerie. But if it was up to him, we'd probably only have one horse, one dog and a few chickens. (And that's not because HE wanted them.) So you can see my confusion by his question. Duane does not initiate bringing more animals home. That's my job. And if I had come home and asked if we could get some sheep, goats,...... (fill in the blank) he would have vetoed that idea immediately. But since it was "his" idea, we're going to run with it!;)

So I queried him more about his strange question. It seems a friend at work raises sheep; Barbados sheep. This is a breed which have hair instead of wool, hence no need for shearing.  And apparently, they eat noxious weeds and brush. We have both and would like to be rid of them. And this guy was willing to give us a couple babies.  Duane thought it would be a good idea to help get rid of the brush on our property.
 
We talked further about it that day and the next and then the subject was shelved for a while. At least between us.

Of course, I am always ready and willing to add another animal to the farm. But I had always thought it would be fun to have a couple goats, not sheep. So I started doing a bit of research on both. And came to the conclusion that goats would probably eat more of a variety of things and be a whole lot more personable. (There are actually businesses  where a person can rent a herd of goats to clear their land!)

We talked more about the subject later and I shared my interest and information about goats.

Then one day, I was browsing craigslist (that site is going to cause my demise;) and came across an ad that read:

"THREE GOATS ONE BRED DOE, BRED BY AGS NIGERIAN BUCK THAT IS A TRIPLET . THE DOE IS NOT REGISTERED. TWO WEATHERS FOR PETS OR 4H. NOT TO BE EATEN."

Nigerian Dwarf goats is the breed I was most interested in and these guys were close by and cheap!
I called the ad, made an appointment and went by later that day. I assured the people they "wouldn't be eaten" as we were vegetarians:) Then called Duane and left him a message to call me when he got off work. If it was up to me, I would snagged them when I first went to see them, but I was trying to be good;)

I got the "o.k." and went back to get the boys.

It's been a couple weeks since we got them. For now they are housed with the chickens. (Poor girls were a bit traumatized when I put the goats in with them. I didn't think we'd get any eggs for a week!) But they've all settled in together nicely and my chicken pen is being cleared of brush!

And you just can't beat those adorable faces and the little goat sounds that greet your ear whenever you walk outside!

"Heartly & Thumper"

Oh, and Duane calls them "his" goats;)