We are still on kid watch, both Alicia and Danielle are looking like beached whales with udders extended to bursting point and clearly very tired of being “expectant moms” they look miserable. They are very close to their due date and as Macho the big Boer buck has in the past been very “efficient” we are fully expecting the patter of tiny hooves imminently.
Tiger and Shy two of our three barn cats are getting old. We picked up the two tiny kittens (the cute but wild products of a feral mom) from an advert in the Little Nickel when we first arrived here. The old timers in the neighbourhood warned that they weren’t going to be around very long….wild dogs, coyotes, racoons, eagles and owls were waiting to make them a quick lunch but every morning the wily brothers are in the barnyard ready to welcome the truck…and make sure breakfast is served in a timely manner. It appears that, either there is a scarcity of rodent life or the boys are getting too slow. Shy the big ginger and white cat was lurking on top of the stock trailer which is currently wintering in the barn. It looked like he was toying with something, ears alert his eyes were fixed on the clearly still alive and mobile “something” that he was batting with his paws. We watched awhile, strange to see the cat that smooches around our legs purring, transformed into a creature driven by primeval instinct to kill. Shy was not too happy when a subtle movement from his audience (us) caused him to take his eye off his victim which took the opportunity to make a break for it. It seems that leaping off the top of the trailer ( for a tiny rodent, like leaping off the Grand Canyon) was preferable to spending a moment longer in Shy’s company. Shy the cat who had lost his lunch for a moment looked confused, where had his meal on legs gone ? He looked around, looked at us accusingly and then looked over the edge of the trailer top following the escape route. Next time Shy.
Tiger the ginger cat thought that he had a great idea. Ambush ! Not too old to climb the apple tree and wait out for an unsuspecting feathered meal he is too slow to react and snag one. To add insult to injury… sadly I think he is also too old to get back down easily and yesterday, as dusk fell, there was a loud mewing from the direction off the apple tree outside the barn door. Embarrassingly for our feline friend, Tiger the predator had to be rescued.
Quest’s training…re training….is going well. Since the “trainer” he went to before he came home ( see Almost Daily Diary late August early September) has disappeared we aren’t sure just how “trained” he is. Frustratingly, my old bones are in no condition to be bounced and as all horse lovers know..it isn’t the falling off that is the problem, it’s the hitting the ground !! Quest has been an Angel and our ride, with reins attached to his headcollar and an anxious Greg firmly attached to the lead rope took us further from the farm than ever before. This time, I had the brakes, steering and accelerator. It seems that our poor Quest did learn something during his very sad experience away from home.
Time to go, it looks COLD out there but our thoughts are with friends and family in the eye of an impending snow storm which will apparently dump a lot of snow over the East Coast. Take care over there.
Over here, in the cold dry Pacific North West, take care, keep warm and safe. M