Jolyn...

Jolyn. 

She's just a kitty...and a calico at that...which means that she's an unlikely choice for me to fall in love with.  She's independent, smart, a good hunter, and has the uncanny ability to run underneath the cows without spooking them!  They ignore her time and again, as she runs anywhere she pleases without getting so much as the swish of a tail.  That's asking a lot of a cow.

This morning I found her curled up in a pile of hay in front of this first calf heifer.  You can barely see her, but she found a warm spot to take a quick snooze...

This picture was taken a couple of years ago...

She makes a warm scarf on cold mornings!

What's Wrong With This Picture?

So...on this brisk wintry morning, I went to the chicken pen to check for eggs.

I found this...

Perhaps she's a bit confused as to her true identity?  Or maybe she was trying to trick the birds that steal chicken feed into thinking she was a chicken?  I had just asked her this morning if she had caught any birds or mice lately, but she didn't answer.  Maybe I planted a thought in her little kitty brain...

Better luck next time, Jolyn!

5th Cutting Is Finished...

It's hard to believe we're finally at this end of the summer!

Jim started mowing and baling hay in May...and five cutting later, here we are at the end of September.  He finished up with baling the last two contours here at home this afternoon.  Perhaps just in time, because the weather forecast is now calling for rain over the next few days.

We've finally said goodbye good riddance to the horrible humid heat wave that was summer...and have begun enjoying blue jeans and flannel shirt weather the past two days.  Yeah!  Can you tell I'm happy about that?

Anway...

This load got backed into the barn to be unloaded another day...

Peanut has a "thing" for hay wagons, and promptly found a cozy hole to curl up in.  She's raised several litters of kittens in hay wagons over the years, but there will be NO MORE Peanut babies...

I still don't think she's forgiven us for that, but...

Now we move on to other things...like the West Lampeter Fair.  The hubbub begins tomorrow (for me) as the baked good will be entered for Wednesday's judging, tasting (!!) and bake sale.

Hope to see you there!

Spreading Fertilizer...

All of a sudden, it feels like SPRING !!

This is day four of high 60's - high 70's like weather, and we're loving it!  The birds are singing, the dogs are being lazy in the sun, the perennials are poking through, we're feeling more energized from the beautiful warm sunshine, and it's a great feeling!

If you're a cat, you climb all over the barn windows...

Just because you can...

This morning a cart of fertilizer was delivered for Jim to spread on the meadows.  This time of year, everybody is looking for these carts, so as soon as they're delivered, you hook up...

You make sure everything's all set how you want for spreading...

...and off you go...

An hour later, you park, unhitch and call the fertilizer company to tell them you're finished, and they pick up the empty cart and fill it up for the next farmer...

Now all we need is a little rain shower and more of this gorgeous weather, and the meadow will be looking beautiful in no time!

Friday's Hunt #2...

It's time for another post linking to Friday's Hunt, with Teresa at Eden Hills!

This week's prompts are...

1. The letter "B"

I've got a wagon full of buckets that fit into that category!  Water buckets...milk buckets...

...buckets full of breakfast...

...empty buckets...

I'll add another "B", and that's bummer.  Remember our little calf with the broken leg?  We're so disappointed.  We did everything we could for her, but she unfortunately didn't make it.  These things happen, but it's never easy.

2. "Week's Favorite"

I couldn't post just one of my favorite Tom cat, Dust Bunny!  He has a super personality, and is the largest, softest cat that we have.  He feels just like a stuffed animal!

3.  "Outside"

It's dreary outside again...but the chickens don't seem to mind.  They're still giving me 10 - 12 eggs per day! They love being outside, and they come running to the fence anticipating a treat.  Every time...

Happy Saturday to you!

Feeding Time...

Feeding time happens every morning and every afternoon like clockwork for these babies.

Either Daniel or I usually feed the calves in the mornings, and Jenna often feeds them in the evenings and on weekends.

This is our newest heifer calf.  She's finally weaned from a bottle to a bucket. (hooray!)  Last night she practically climbed out through her hutch door after her milk...

The calf with the red bucket is the oldest one in the hutches.  She's finished with her milk and is looking for something else to eat.  She also gets calf starter (a feed made especially for young calves made of a combination of grains, minerals and molasses, which encourages them to try it.  Who wouldn't like something sweet?!) and dry hay to munch on...

Murphy usually hangs out with me when I feed.  She's looking a little sheepish here, because she just got scolded for jumping up on me like a puppy rather than the almost seven year old that she is...

This cute little guy was only here for part of a week before he went to market.  He was so sweet...wagging his little tail as he drank from his bottle. Yesterday morning when I fed him, he sucked so hard that the nipple came right off the bottle.  I'm sure it made a cat happy to clean up the mess...

And last but not least...

Peanut patiently waits on top of the lime bags for me to finish up and give her some leftover milk...

...and yes...the barn windows are all dusty again.

Already!

Peanut's Plan...Thwarted...

This is Peanut...

Her plan is was to take over the farm.

She is the matriarch from whom every cat on the farm has descended. She's a lovely cat...very affectionate...very dominant...a fabulous mother and hunter...but we just couldn't let her do it.

Her plan has been nipped in the bud.  Literally.

Poor Peanut.  I think she's a bit miffed.

Jolyn the Adventurous Kitty...

Jolyn the kitty went on an adventure this morning...

She must have climbed up on the barn roof at a low point to stalk a bird...that's the only thing we can think of.  Regardless, she ended up on the north side of the barn in the rain spout...scared...

Can you spot her?

All she would have needed to do, is to go back up to the peak of the roof and down the other side, to a low spot, from where she could've easily jumped down, but no...that would've been too simple.  And yes, the slate roof is slippery, so maybe it wouldn't have been as simple as I think.

The Virginia cousins are here for Eric's graduation, so we put them to work. Maria, Curtis and Eric set up the big extension ladder, and Jenna did camera duty...

I don't like heights, but I decided to climb up, because Jolyn trusts me, and I knew she would sit on my shoulder on the way down.  She watched closely...

...and sat on my shoulder, just like I thought she would, and began purring as soon as she knew she was safe...

 We're both happy to be on the ground again...

All in the name of adventure.

Next time, stay on the ground, Jolyn!

Best Seat In the House...

The cats on our farm have a great life.

It was pretty chilly this morning...somewhere around 20 degrees, I think...and I found Jolyn curled up in the sun in the heifers' feed trough...

Best seat in the house on a chilly morning!

A Chilly Morning...

We've been having roller coaster weather here this week. Just a few days ago it was around forty degrees, and then yesterday the winds blew in, along with temps falling into the low twenties.  That wind sure makes it feel colder than it is!

This morning it was around 10 degrees, but with no wind.  It makes a huge difference, but it's still downright cold.

We're back to filling water tubs for the heifers.  That's one of the jobs that I can easily do, and Jolyn has found a comfortable place to hang out while I'm holding the hose...

It's also a nice way to help me keep warm!