We’re supposed to get quite hot for the next while, so I tried going to be very early. Usually, I don’t go to bed until 2 am or so. Especially this time of year, when it’s still light out for so long. So “early” usually means “before midnight” for me. Instead, I tried to be in bed by about 8, hoping to be up and about outside by 5.
It didn’t work.
Some people can fall asleep soon after lying down. My husband has always been able to do that. I’ve never been one of these! I think I did finally fall asleep before midnight, but didn’t wake up any earlier.
Also, I need to start being very careful rolling over at night, because I’m starting to wake up with kittens chewing on my toes!
Anyhow.
The first order of business outside was to feed the cats. One of the first cats to show up was Octomom! I think the girls had called her Slick, but she’s around so infrequently, the name didn’t stick.
She is such a beauty! She didn’t like me being around, though, and kept moving away as I set kibble out in different places.
Last of all, I put kibble in the bowl in the garage for her. It was not only empty, but I could see in the box nest, that she had been digging around for any remaining kibble that might have been left behind in there.
Since the mama was at the kibble house, I took advantage of it. I grabbed one of the blankets, then went over to the barrel the kittens are in. After removing the “cover” (a sheet of aluminum weighed down with a brick), I took out the rotted pieces of the barrel top that had fallen inside, then lay down the blanket on one half of the bottom – which, I could not see, is just dirt. The barrel is upside down. The pieces I had taken out used to be the “floor” of the barrel. Now, it’s open at both ends.
After moving all the kittens onto the blanket, I went and got the other one and tucked it into the other half. Then I found some clean pieces of wood in the garage. They used to be part of the packaging for the wood chipper, if I remember correctly. They are longer, and I put them at angles above the kittens. This gives the mama something to land on when she jumps in, and an area to perch on above her kittens, when she needs a baby break.
By the time I was putting the cover back on, the mama was returning, and she was not happy to see me! She hovered around, growling at me, until I moved away. I watched as she climbed up to the rim of the barrel and looked down, but she did not go in yet. Instead, she perched on the edge and glared at me! The last I saw, she had moved onto the other barrel and continued to watch as I continued my morning rounds. I’ve been out that way a couple of times, since, and once I saw her in the grass. Later on, I’ll have to check again, when I’m sure the mama isn’t around.
As I headed back to the sun room, I spotted this.
It’s SuperAdam!
I don’t think any of those kittens are her own, and there are kittens from at least 3, possibly 4, litters that she is nursing!
One of the things I checked this morning was the raspberries, of course.
Those purple raspberries we transplanted this spring are doing amazing! The one in the photo is the largest of the three. We have been able to pick a whole 5 ripe raspberries from the three bushes.
The other image is of the raspberries I picked from the ones in the main garden area. My mother had transplanted them in the area long before we moved out here. Now that the crab apple tree that was there has died and was cut down, the raspberry bushes at that end, and around the old compost pile, are doing much better! The ones at the other end, closer to the chokecherry tree, are not doing as well.
Also, I don’t know if you’re seeing the bowl of raspberries okay, but after I uploaded the images to Instagram, that picture now looks like it’s got a semitransparent black overlay on it. Instagram seems to have issues with multiple images uploaded at once.
One of the other things I worked on this morning was an experiment.
I took the remains of some chicken wire and added it to the box frame. It’s just held in place with wire twists. I had a lot less chicken wire than I thought; not even enough to cover one side.
We do have enough of the black netting we got last year to cover it completely, which we might use as a temporary cover. I definitely want to use hardware cloth attached semi-permanently to the sides. I will probably put some on the top, too, but not permanently. The thing it, once the sides are covered, the only way to tend the bed would be to remove the box cover completely. That would be a 2 person job, to avoid damaging the corn.
Hmm… I was just thinking, as I look at that picture. Right now, I’ve got the excess wire over the top. The hardware cloth also comes in 4′ widths. I could have excess mesh on the bottom, covering the sides of the raised bed. That would ensure critters won’t be able to slip under the bottom of the box cover. It would also serve to keep the whole thing from getting knocked off the bed by a determined critter.
Something to think about.
By the time this was done, it was getting too hot and humid to stay outside, and it wasn’t even 10am yet!
We have a change in plans for today, anyhow.
We got a call from the vet clinic about Leyendecker’s appointment tomorrow. Looks like they got a cancellation or something, because they were asking if we could come in today, instead! So he now has a 4:30 appointment today.
Hopefully, it will not be something serious, but after his last vet visits, I have my doubts. 😟
Ah, well. It will be what it will be.
The Re-Farmer
The Re-Farmer 