Farm Girl

All 3 of my daughters were home for the Christmas holidays.  2 have gone home and my last daughter, who loves the country the most, is dreading returning.  She's enjoying every last moment with all of the animals before she has to leave. 

Heading for the barn with cat food.  And showing off her new teeth.  She just got the top braces off in mid-December.

Feeding the kitties, rubber boots and all.

Greeting Wilbur the pig for the last time.  She's heading home tomorrow and Wilbur is heading to the butcher on Monday. 

Does that look like a smile on Wilbur's face?

Maybe Wilbur will eat her first!

That feels sooo good!

The calves enjoying the new slant bars...

...so she joined them for their supper.

My youngest son agreed to go with her to the barn to take the photos.  I didn't think that he'd keep his housecoat on and wear crocs!

I guess he's had enough and heading for the warm fire!

Barn Cat Feeding Frenzy

I love how every cat in the barn comes running when they see us or hear us calling them.  The 2 cat dishes that we usually use got locked in behind the cab tractor DH parked up in the barn and there's no way to get back in there so it's the floor for the kitties' food for now.  I love the little ones looking up at the camera.  They're so cute...and helpful with catching the mice. 

Random Farm Photos

My daughter was home this weekend from university (a rare occurence) and mentioned that her roommate wanted to see some photos of the farm so these are rather random. 

These are 2 huge new doors that my son made himself.

Our very old truck and horse trailer (both need replacing) that brought home...

...these 12 brown calves 2 days ago.  The black calf on the right is older and one that we held back from the group of calves (75) that were sold about one month ago.  He, like Wilbur the pig, will grace our dinner table in about 2 months.  We'll have lots of chicken, pork and beef.

 Suppertime.  Isn't he cute?!  Speaking of cute...

these kitties are too.  These are some of the 14 (at last count) barn cats.  They do a good job of keeping the mouse/rat population down but have to watch out for skunks and racoons that would like a little kitty for supper.  They get fed cat food every day (sometimes twice), have lots of water (that doesn't freeze), a warm place to sleep and lots of feline company and they all seem to get along.  Not a bad life for a barn cat!

Lilly the Silly Cat

I'm not sure why kitties squeeze themselves into small spaces and actually sleep there for hours at a time or how they sleep with their heads in the air but they sure are cute when they're doing it!

 This is a little bed I frugally made up for her, John Deere blanket and all.  Nothing but the best for Lilly and do you think she'd lay in it?  Of course not!  She prefers the following...

A box full of newspaper ready for the fire.

 The same box now covered with baler twine that DH brought in from the barn to be added to the fire starting supply box, complete with straw!

Asleep on DH's desk in a small basket about 5" across.  Not only do I wonder how she fits in there but how is it comfortable?!  It's wicker, after all.  (My first attempt at photo shop.)

I can promise you that no cat was injured in the taking of this photo but I know that if Lilly were a human, she would not be impressed with a photo of her licking her own nose being put online!

3 Cute Kitties in the Window

3 cuties waiting at the window! 

 
The cat in the middle we call "The Green-Eyed Monster", shortened recently to Monster.  He and his 2 yellow-eyed brothers were given to us as 6-8 week olds, about 2 years ago.  These kittens looked after each other so amazingly well, licking and cleaning, just as their mother had done.  That is, until they all matured about a year later.  Then 2 of them 'disappeared', dead or run off by the dominant Monster, we don't know which but it was a real shame.  There's room on this farm for all of them and more but apparently adult males don't think so. 

Of the 3 kittens, Monster was the best at jumping onto countertops, the kitchen table, getting into food so quickly before you could stop him but over time he has stopped most of that.  He will sit patiently on the floor like a dog and wait for his piece of food.  He's not a house cat kicked to the barn.  He's a barn cat rescued to the house.  The 3 kitties were so tiny when they came and it was early enough in the spring that there was still snow on the ground and since they no longer had their mother and with both racoons and skunks taking up residence in the barn,  I couldn't leave them in the barn at night.  I would step outside at night and call them and they would come running to sleep in the porch in a warm, blanket-filled box, then return to the barn in the morning to get their fill of mice.  Now, Monster comes to the house in the daytime and sits patiently by the door later to be let out.  He returns to the barn at night to chase his favourite dinner and to keep all his girlfriends company!

The other 2 kitties in the photo are barn cats that were given to us last year.  They came later in the spring, there were 4 of them and my daughter started going to see them everyday and feed them so I had no qualms about leaving them in the barn permanently.  The day of this photo, daughter could not make it to the barn at all but had left extra food the night before.  I guess they missed her cuddling and petting so they came to the house to find her.

 I think I've found me a spot to rest awhile.

 First, let me sniff it...

 ...look for enemies...

 ...take a quick bath before bed...

 ...and that's all.  You can leave me alone now.

 Ahh!!!  Peace and quiet at last! 
And that's the life of our house kitty, Lilly (new name, last name!), found here sleeping in her owner's laundry hamper!