This big cheesy creature! Cheddar has grown to be such a big, meaty, boy. ;-)
I usually have several cats splashed across my bed, right where the breeze from my fan in the window hits. :-D
We’re at 33C/91F right now, with a humidex of 35C/95F. Tomorrow, we’re supposed to reach a high of 34C/93F with a humidex of 37C/99F. After that, we’re supposed to drop a few degrees, but then head back up to just above 30C/86F again. Not as hot as the heat wave we left behind, but definitely higher than the long range forecasts had been predicting earlier.
Which means the cats have been spending their days in furry puddles around the house during the day…
And going nuts during the night.
Somehow, flying insects are getting into the house. In my office/bedroom, I have a shelf that has a space for them (the cats, not the insects), right up near the ceiling. Unfortunately, to get to it, they can only use the back of my office chair, since their alternative jump off point is now filled with a box fan. I have a wall shelf at the head of my bed, and I’ve set things up to prevent them from getting to the top, since that is where fragile items that don’t fit anywhere else are stored. Some of the smaller cats, however, can climb straight up on part of it. I’ve tried to block the top by storing a triangular support designed to go under the knees, or behind the back, depending on how it is oriented, where they climb. Every now and then, I’m awakened by it crashing down because a cat has decided to go for it. Last night was so bad, I had to kick them out and close the door. Unfortunately, that meant they tore around the upstairs, instead. There are no doors up there, so the girls can’t close them out.
At least the cats won’t be keeping them awake for the next while. With the increasing temperatures, even with the much improved conditions after adding a box fan to the south window, set up to blow the hot air out, it gets too hot for my daughter’s computer and drawing tablet. She’ll be working at night again, which means they won’t be going to bed until something like 5am; shortly before sunrise. So they’ll be able to deal with the cats tearing around after flying bugs during the night! :-D
Time to start leaving ice packs on the floor for the cats to cool down on again. :-)
I went out to do the evening watering this evening, after trying to wait until things cooled down. When we were still above 30C/86F by 7:30pm, I headed out anyway, so I could be done before dark.
I started in the old kitchen garden, and this should have been my first warning.
When I had gone out earlier to apply the spray repellent, I made a point of spraying the edges of the beds and into the paths, where it would not be washed away by watering as quickly.
Nutmeg is sprawled right on top of where I’d sprayed. Clearly, he is not the least bit bothered by the repellent!
If you look to the bed on the right, you can see the stems of our nibbled on carrots. They were like that this morning, before I did the spraying. In fact, they were why I made a point os going out to apply the repellent when we were nearly at the hotted part of the day!
Meanwhile…
As I was finishing up in the old kitchen garden, I picked our first rhubarb of the season.
We could have picked rhubarb long ago, but we were thinking to do a crumple or a crisp with them, and no one wants to bake in this heat. However, I had other reasons to pick them.
We planted poppies in the new bed next to one of the rhubarb bunches. The only seeds that germinated are all near the rhubarb. While I was trying to weed them, I discovered there was more than we thought.
The rhubarb leaves were covering them, and preventing them from getting any sunlight.
So I uncovered them by picking rhubarb. :-D We’ll see if they recover, now that they are getting light.
After I was done watering the more southerly beds, I headed over to the main garden beds and started watering. When I had been there earlier, spraying around the carrot bed, I was noticing that they looked to be recovering quite well, with lots of new fronds. I made sure to spray a wide swath all around them, on them, and even on the wire mesh cover.
As you can probably imagine, I was must unhappy when I came back to this.
The entire bed is once again decimated. All of it, from end to end. Apparently, when I sprayed the repellent, all I did was season the fronds for the woodchuck!
I am so frustrated!!
I’ll be taking the wire mesh cover off. All it’s really doing is preventing me from weeding. Though I suppose there’s no point in weeding it anymore. I will, anyhow, but the chances of the carrots recovering just dropped substantially. We knew it couldn’t stop a woodchuck, but I thought it might not want to be under something, and potentially trapped, and at least the carrots in the middle would be ignored. Nope. Apparently, this furry beast had no problem being under a wire net for so long!
This was not our only loss.
The greedy guts even eat the mystery squash seedlings in the old compost heap!
Obviously, I hadn’t sprayed the compost heap, but still… they weren’t exactly easy access in there, and were surrounded by all sorts of things the woodchuck never tries to eat, like the self-seeded raspberries that are also growing out of the pile.
I was really hoping to find out if they were from last year’s pumpkins.
Thankfully, nothing else was nibbled on, but this is damage enough!!
When things started cooling down, I headed outside and checked on the old kitchen garden. I started to pull out some weeds I missed this morning, when I heard a noise.
I had startled Junk Pile cat, who was lying on the beets by the retaining wall.
She wasn’t alone!
What a cutie!!
I saw another one dash around the tree, so I started carefully moving around to the side of the garden…
Only to startle more critters.
I certainly wasn’t going to begrudge the skunks a drink of water, so I let them be (the water bottles had been frozen, earlier) and kept moving slowly though the side of the garden.
This confused the skunks, as usually we never go between them and the storage house. We usually go to the other side and use the hose to chase them that way, instead.
This baby was so confused, it started to follow me! :-D
On the far side of the retaining wall, I found the kitten.
It just froze there, watching me.
The other one came bounding over, playing in the mosquito netting, until it realized I was there, then it ran off into the maple grove. The first one stayed frozen for a while longer before it ran off.
I am so glad Junk Pile finally brought her kittens over! From how many teats I could see were in use, I had thought she had more. I don’t know if these are the only ones that were brave enough to follow her, or if they are the only survivors left.
As I headed around the kibble house – which got its second coat of paint yesterday – I spotted Rosencrantz’s babies.
This little one was hiding behind the pedestal, watching me, before coming out for a drink.
It’s sibling was watching me, too, while lounging on some scrap carpet in the junk pile.
I had been wondering how the kittens were getting through the fence. The ground rises slightly here and, between that and the junk, there is no gap at the bottom. This morning, I saw how. They are still small enough to fit through the chain link… but just barely! Pretty soon, they’ll have to go around to another part of the fence, where there is a gap underneath, to get through.
So that’s three litters of kittens we’ve seen now. Butterscotch and her four, and Rosencrantz and Junk Pile’s, with two each. That leaves Ghost Baby, assuming Ghost Baby is actually female and has a litter. We still don’t know, but are kind of assuming.
Hopefully, we will be able to socialize some of them, but if they just become comfortable enough to come to the house for food and water, I will be happy.
Yay! WordPress is finally loading for me – including the editor.
I hereby celebrate by sharing a photo of this disgusting creature. (I kid, of course.)
In my butt spot, as usual. What a beast! He will sometimes lie there, on his back, and start clawing at the chair like it’s the scratching post he’s too sluggish to walk over to.
The poor cats. Inside and out! It’s 32C/90F with a humidex of 36C/97F right now, and it’s almost 7:30pm as I write this. While we can make sure the outside cats have lots of water, and the frozen water bottles to help keep things cool, there isn’t much else we can do to help them.
It is not unusual for me to be up at 2 or 3 am. If it were feasible, I would sleep all day and be up all night. When I had a job working the night shift at a gas station convenience store, it was fantastic. I was awake and alert all night, and had some of the best sleep during the day, ever. At least I did when I wasn’t getting phone calls from people who knew I was working nights, but figured that since I was home during the day, that was a great time for them to call and chat. :-D
My daughters are much the same as I am. Usually, that works out. Our general routine is just shifted over. When others are having lunch, we’re having breakfast. That sort of thing.
Since I do the morning routine and the girls do the evening routine, I do try to get up earlier to make sure the outside cats have food, etc., but it’s still later than average, shall we say.
Then there are mornings like this.
I was awakened by the distinctive sounds of a cat in the basement, climbing the screen barrier between the basements. I’d found and blocked where they had been getting through, so I tried to ignore it.
Until I could hear Beep Beep in the old basement, making her distinctive beeping meow, and starting to claw at the screen at the top of the old basement steps. The screen we use to keep the cats out of the basement, while we have the door open to keep the house cool.
It was just before 6am when I dragged myself out of bed. When I got into the old basement (navigating those stairs is never a good thing!), I discovered Turmeric was in there, too! I managed to get them both out of the old basement without killing myself on the stairs, without either of them scratching the heck out of me, and without letting any of the other cats, waiting at the basement door, down, so that was a win. :-/
The next while was spent fussing about in both the old and new basements, to figure out where they were getting through. They’d managed to create an opening through my last blocking attempt, so I scrounged up something else to put across the gap.
Then, after going to the bathroom, I was going to go back to bed when I started hearing a noise. Flushing the toilet had triggered one of the pumps in the basement, which is not unusual, but this sound was something else entirely. It was a strange, high pitched, pulsing, vibrating noise.
So I unlatched the screen and hobbled back into the old basement.
It was the septic pump that had turned on, but as I walked towards it, I passed the noise.
It wasn’t coming from the pump.
It was coming from a space above the basement wall.
The old basement is very low, and even short little me can see the top of the basement walls, where the floor beams rest. On the other side of the wood is the crawl space under the old kitchen. The old kitchen is where the breaker box is. When my brother set up the laundry in the entry, he had to run new wires through this spot, and he even ran an extra set of wires, in case we ever need to install something else. It was such a pain to run the wires through, he wanted to save future hassles.
So all I’m seeing in this spot is the new wire, neatly bundled up on one side of a floor beam, and another older wire running through holes in the floor beams, and is one of the wires that powers the pumps and tanks. It doesn’t even enter the basement at this location.
Which means there is nothing in this spot that is mechanical that might be making the vibrational noise. At least, not in the basement side. But what could possibly be in the crawl space, on the other side of the wall, that could make that noise?
Whatever it was, it stopped when the septic pump turned itself off.
This is a mystery on its own, but it’s not the only one. A while back, the well pump would make grinding noises as it lost pressure. It is old and needs to be replaced, but no plumber dares work on it, because we might have a leaky foot valve, which is in the well. Replacing the pump might cause the valve to fail, and we’d lose water. The well itself is so old, if something like that did happen, we would have difficulty finding replacement parts the right size, or might have to get a new well dug. So we’re on pins and needles when it comes to this pump. Oddly, since we’ve made the effort to never open the taps in the bath tub to full pressure, which was emptying the pressure tank faster than the pump could refill it, the grinding noise has stopped. Even with using the hoses so much to water the garden beds, and the pump running so much more than usual, it’s been fine.
However, when we were still figuring out what was going on with the pump, one of the distinctive things was that, before the well pump turned on and started making the grinding noise, I would first hear a sproinging noise. It was loud enough I could hear it from my office/bedroom, but by the time I got into the basement, the pump would be running and the noise was gone. Then, I happened to be in the basement before the well pump turned on one time. I heard the sproinging noise, and it was not coming from the pump. It was coming from the same place I heard the vibrational noise, this morning.
There is something behind the basement all at this spot, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is. When the old kitchen was added on to the house, it had neither electricity nor running water. The only thing that should be there is electrical wires, and there is no reason for wires to make sproinging or pulsating vibrational noises!
I have emailed my brother to ask him. He’s the only living person who would have any idea what’s under there.
By the time all that was done, there was no point in my trying to go back to bed, so I went out to do my morning rounds early.
I am somewhat encouraged.
The beet bed that was decimated yesterday actually looks better. A few beets still have their leaves and, after the evening watering, they have perked up again. There was no new damage.
I also have some hope for the carrots, too. The tallest fronds may have all been eaten, but they still had a lot of growing to do, so there are still new fronds coming up. We may end up with more spindly carrots, but I think we might still have a chance with them. The next few days will tell us, one way or the other.
We are still left with the groundhog to deal with.
This is how things got left, last night. About half the pile was pulled to one side, and once water started running into the den, the groundhog came out and hid in the remaining branches. I never saw it this morning, but as I approached the den, I heard it scramble away from the opening.
Those branches had to go!
I’ll have go come back with the weed trimmer to clean this up more.
Some of the dirt from digging the den had partially buried some branches, so moving them knocked some dirt and rocks into the opening.
I don’t know if the groundhog ran off while I was hauling branches away. I saw and heard nothing, though.
Once the branches were cleared away, I brought the hose over and started to spray into the opening, pausing every now and then to give the groundhog a chance to run out. It never did, so perhaps it had already left.
In looking up how to get rid of a groundhog, flooding the den was one of the recommended methods. It was also suggested to do it in July or August, in case the groundhog was pregnant or had a litter. That was something that had occurred to me. We’re only seeing the one groundhog at this den, but it’s entirely possible it’s a mama with some babies down there.
With that in mind, we will be taking our time in driving it away from this den, so that it can find another location for a den and, if there are any, move its babies out.
Once we are sure it’s been driven out, we will block the opening and level out the pile of soil it made.
Hopefully, the critter will move on, and we will not have to take more drastic measure. :_/
As for me, this broken and battered body of mine is giving out. Time to lie down and, hopefully, get some sleep!
I had a pleasant surprise when I first went outside to do my morning rounds. Rosencrantz and her kittens were playing at the bottom of the little shrine, on the INSIDE of the chain link fence!
So I found a couple of containers and put food and water out for them. Not longer after, I saw this.
The grey and white kitten ran off when it saw me, but the orange one stayed. This would be their first time eating kibble and the orange baby seems to really like it!
It was also brave enough – or hungry enough! – to stay eating after Mom left.
After finishing my rounds outside, I was just about to settle at the computer to go over the trail cam files when I saw movement out in the garden.
It was a groundhog, making its way towards the beds.
When I saw it stop and start going after some onions, I dashed out to chase it away. (Checking later, it did not eat any of the onions, but when I was weeding the carrots in the next bed earlier, I’d noticed some of the greens had been nibbled on. Deer, I thought, but maybe not? What do groundhogs eat, anyway?)
As I was making noise to chase the groundhog away from the beds, I saw it go under the pile of branched I’d pruned from the nearby trees. A pile we should have moved long ago. :-/
So I went over to the pile and shook the branches to chase it out.
Nothing.
Moved around to get at some other branches.
Nothing.
Mover around and…
What on earth is that?
Well, that explains why it wasn’t running out from under the branch pile. It has a den under there!
Those larger branches on the left? I’d put those there not very long ago. They had been set aside for potential use, but when I needed to mow around the pile, I moved them on top. That hole was not there when I did it, which means it was dug some time within the last week or so.
I was able to stick my phone through the branches to try and get a better picture.
That is a pretty big hole! But then, so was the groundhog.
I knew there had to be dens around somewhere, and suspect there is at least one under the big branch pile in the outer yard, but this is the first one we’ve actually seen.
I find myself looking at all that sand and gravel piled up outside the opening. I know the top soil isn’t very deep, but this really shows what our ground is like under it.
Well, I guess this is a good incentive to finally move that branch pile! Then to see what we can do to persuade the groundhog to find somewhere else to live. Preferably not in the yard at all!
I’ve seen a racoon twice on the trail cam. Once was just a tail tip when it was set over the tulips to see what was eating them. The second time, it went by after the camera was moved to face the sunflowers to see where the deer were coming from.
To be sitting on the couch and suddenly seeing this creature climbing up the pole to the bird feeder was almost surreal!
My daughters and I watched if for a while before I finally tapped on the window to make it stop eating the bird feed. I do wish I still had my phone out, because it went down the pole, head first!
What a remarkable experience!
I wonder if he’s been stealing bird seed before, when we haven’t been around to see it?
The Re-Farmer
Edit: I was able to upload some video I took onto Rumble. WordPress doesn’t seem to handle Rumble well, so please let me know if you have any problems viewing it. :-)
I got to see the kittens again this evening, but this morning, I had quite the critter surprise!
To top up our potato grow bags, I headed to the outer hard with the wheelbarrow, with the tools needed to rake up some grass clippings for much, and get a load of garden soil from the pile.
As I headed passed the big branch pile, I saw movement at the garden soil. Two furry creatures, right where I needed to go to shovel soil!
When they saw me, one of them dashed under the branches, but the other froze in place.
Watching me.
Even as I came closer, it didn’t move.
Which means I finally got a good picture of our mystery critter!
It didn’t move away until I picked up the shovel and started walking right up to it! Then it dashed under the branch pile, too.
I have no idea what they were doing on the dirt pile. They weren’t digging or anything. They seemed to be just looking around. Maybe playing?
As I came back several times to get more soil or rake up more clippings, I had to pass the branch pile each time. A couple of times, the branch pile screamed at me! Of all the names these guys have – woodchuck, groundhog, marmot, etc. – whistle pig seems the most appropriate to the noise they make!
Gosh, it’s so cuty.
Speaking of cute…
As I finished the evening watering and came around to the front of the house to put things away, I saw a skunk running out of the kibbled house and towards the storage house. As I went to the sun room, I saw the mama skunk peek out at me, her babies tucked close against her. When she saw me staying by the house, she decided it was safe to head towards the kibble house.
With her THREE babies!
Three! I hadn’t seen the third one before!
Though they went for the kibble house, when I came around the other side to look at them, they all ran off again, this time leaving the yard completely.
While going back and forth to put things away, I paused for a while to say hello to the kittens, who were with Butterscotch at their food and water bowls.
I was never able to get a picture with the calico, though.
I left a camp chair near the food bowl, so we can sit comfortably while letting the kittens get used to us. This kitten was very fascinated by the wiggling toe of my shoe!
I just managed to get a picture of her when she decided to stand up on her hind legs and bat at her mother. :-D
They were in the junk pile by the house. Her favorite kitten spot. Whether they’ve been there this whole time, or if she recently moved them there, I don’t know, but the girls spotted them today. There are four of them.
My younger daughter had gone out to check on some new flowers blooming and spotted them. She sat on the ground and they came up to her. She was able to touch three of them. They were pretty chill about it.
When I came by, I could see movement among the spirea, but both of us being there seemed to be too much for them, so I went back to what I was working on.
Butterscotch was pretty chill about me being there! Which was a bit of a surprise. She has been very stand-offish of late, and most of the time, won’t even let me pet her. This evening, she was downright cuddly.
When I had the chance, I brought over some kibble and water near the junk pile, wetting down the kibble a bit so it would be soft for the babies.
The kittens got their first taste of kibble today.
In the low light, plus trying to zoom in, it was hard to get decent photos. The one next to Butterscotch’s head REALLY loved the kibble! It got right in the middle of the pile of food and stayed eating almost the entire time I was there.
The little calico had a bit, then went off to play.
Unfortunately, the girls are already talking about snagging the kittens and bringing them inside! At least the calico, since it’s most likely to be female. We still need to adopt out cats we already have inside, never mind bringing more in.
I’m not impressed that they’re even considering it.
Me, I’m happy to see the kittens, happy to work on socializing them, and happy to let them stay outdoors!
The Re-Farmer 