That cats are efficient hunting machines.
It takes a lot to get a squirrel! They tend to be hyper vigilant.
outside cats
Intensity
Checking out the new digs
Played around with a set up for the outside cats, in the sun room. This is what I’ve come up with.
I had another crocheted blanket that we used as a car blanket hanging around. I decided to try draping it from the back of the swing bench to the back of the transfer bench. It’s incredibly heavy, so I knew it would need support.
I have some sheets of foam insulation among my craft supplies that I thought would work. Unfortunately, a sheet is just barely long enough to reach the backs of both benches – which means a stiff sneeze would have knocked it down, never mind rambunctious cats that are sure to jump on top of it.
After going through what was available in the room, I ended up putting one of the unused, home made plant stands on the transfer bench. That would support one end of the sheet of foam insulation.
After draping the blanket over, I folded up one corner for access, and it immediately drooped into where the cats like to sit. So I found another plant stand to hold that up.
As you can see by the photo, Doom Guy and The Outsider were quite ready to check out the new digs! In fact, Doom Guy surprised me by already being in there when I first picked up the corner to open it up. I never even saw him jump under while I was laying it out!
My husband was checking it out through the bathroom window just a little while ago, and he tells me Doom Guy was on top of the whole thing. The foam insulation is rather bendy, but it has enough support that it should hold. I’ll have to check it out, later, to adjust things, if needed. I can just see a cat trying to walk across a part that doesn’t have support and pulling things down. :-D
I don’t think there is going to be much hesitation for the cats to use it. Especially today. Though the temperatures have warmed up, there is a nasty, bitter wind out there. I think everyone, human and animal alike, will be staying indoors as much as possible today!
The Re-Farmer
Share this:
Two levels
Meet Slick and the Post Cats
First off, a great big thank you to 53old for identifying our little squeaker. It is neither vole nor mole, but a pygmy shrew! No wonder I didn’t find it in my searches. I was looking up moles, voles and rodents. It’s not a rodent, either, so nothing like it came up. In fact, seeing what it eats, this is a critter we want to keep around! Which means, if we ever had the chance to rescue others, we certainly will.
While feeding the cats this morning, one of the dad cats was around. He seems to be getting more comfortable with us – and the other cats with him (though, to be honest, for all I know, he’s really a she). As I was going in and out of the sun room to get deer and bird feed, I found him eating with our own cats, and he didn’t try to run away. Which is more than even Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will do.
Meet Slick. Continue reading
Share this:
I’m coming to get you!
Butterscotch got tired of just watching the birds from below, and made a dash for them.
She did not succeed.
Share this:
Multipurpose
This morning, my husband told me to look out the bathroom window – and to make sure I had the camera on my phone ready!
Too funny!
So once the water is gone, our set up does double duty as a butt warmer!
Big Jim was prowling around Doom Guy, trying to stick his face into the bowl.
That was my cue to head out!
Yeah. They were pretty thirsty.
I’m going to have to make sure to top that up again earlier than usual, considering how much was gone by the time I was heading back into the house. The water outside isn’t going to stay liquid for long.
As usual, I had escorts while doing my rounds this morning. By about half way through, I had Butterscotch in my arms, licking my fingers. Beep Beep climbed up my back again, and was perched on my shoulder. Both were purring up a storm. Rolando Moon was following along, Doom Guy was trying to climb the back of my leg, and even Big Jim came by to see what was going on!
They make my morning chores outside both fun and difficult. :-D
The Re-Farmer
Share this:
Looks like it’s working
Once again, when going out to give the cats their food and warm water, the water bowl in the sun room was NOT knocked off the warmer.
It was also bone dry!
This morning, the cats were far more interested in the water than the food! When I go into the sun room through the Old Kitchen, I have to put down the bowl of food and the pitcher of water so I can open up the outer door. Usually, the kittens are all over the bowl of food. Except Doom Guy, who goes for the pitcher of water.
Today, not only did he go for the pitcher right away, but when I refilled the water bowl, the other cats left the food for the warm water!
Nice to see that the kneeler and the terracotta pot are both being used to reach the water.
By the time I finished putting the food outside and adding more water to the bowls out there, I had to refill the water bowl in the sun room!
Thirsty kitties!
After I finished putting the food out for the birds and deer, I decided to try and knock more apples off the trees that still have some left. I’d managed to shake some down the other day, and a few hours later, there was a deer eating them. Shaking isn’t working very well, so I went digging through the junk pile by the garden shed and found an old mop or broom handle. I used that to knock some apples off the first tree (it worked much better than shaking the tree, though I still got konked in the face by an apply in the process. Not the first time that’s happened!).
Then I tried to get some off the second tree with apples still left. This one, the apples are really small; almost as small as the ornamental apples. So I didn’t try too hard with that one. The grosbeaks, at least, seem to be eating them.
Then I went back to the first tree to leave the broom handle there, and found that someone else was interested in the grosbeak that was hanging around while I knocked the apples off.
He didn’t have much luck with the birds, so he escorted me as I continued my rounds. :-D
So did his mother.
She insisted on a ride. :-D
These guys are almost enough to make me a morning person. :-)
Almost.
The Re-Farmer
Share this:
No escort this morning!
This morning, as I headed out to give the outside cats their food and warm water, I was very pleased to see that the water bowl was still on the warming set up!
It was completely empty, but it was there, at least! Which meant no new ice on the concrete floor.
I think we’re still going to have to increase how often we bring water out for them, though.
This is one of the water dishes we still use, outside. You can see the holes made by little tongues, trying to get through the surface ice, to the water below, before it froze solid.
When I go out with their food, they are normally all over each other, trying to get at the bowls of food.
Not this morning!
Oh, look. Fancy tree fruits.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, hanging out in the ornamental apple tree.
Towards the end of my rounds, Butterscotch did try to join me, but soon, she was hanging out in a tree, too!
So what changed, this morning?
This guy.
My brother’s dog came over for a visit!
He looks so sad that Butterscotch won’t come down for snuffles.
He actually let me pet him, without much stand-offish-ness, this morning, which made me happy. :-)
As you can see by the ribbon attached to his collar, it’s hunting season right now. In fact, I heard two gun shots this morning, while doing my rounds. Someone out there is getting meat for their freezer!
While doing my rounds, I went back to see the electric fence the deer broke. I didn’t like all that wire tangled and looped up in one spot, so I found the broken end and started pulling it back. The end was near the gate, so there were quite a few holders for me to loop it through, before I reached the full length. I found an insulator on a post to loop the end through, so it wouldn’t spring back again, then found the other end and pulled that back as far as I could.
The break turned out to be right next to our septic outflow.
Which is looking pretty dramatic right now!
The ground is too frozen to absorb the grey water, so the ice is extending quite far, already.
I’m guessing the piece of metal roofing was put where it is, deliberately, to prevent excess erosion from the water being pumped out the top of that pipe.
There are quite a few willows here, including this one that used to be quite massive. Which says something about how quickly willows can get huge. My father planted these by just sticking branches into the marshy ground. Which means these were planted in the early to mid 70’s.
I am remembering something the younger of my brothers had said, shortly after we moved here. Something about how he had been trying to kill off the Chinese Elm growing by the septic field, because they were planted too close to the outflow and the roots were causing problems.
I’ve gone through were a few times over the past year, and there are no Chinese elms growing here. Just the willows my late father planted. He planted willows because they are good for taking up water, and would prevent the area from becoming too marshy. Some of it is lower and forms a sort of pond, when there’s enough rain (which meant there was almost no water at all, this past year), but the outflow is closer to the barn and several outbuildings.
So… I don’t know what my brother was talking about, in regards to any elms in this area. Odd.
The Re-Farmer
Share this:
My escort
While doing the morning routine today, I had quite the escort, following me along!
During the night, we noticed (by the glowing light in the bathroom window!) that the cats had knocked the water bowl off the concrete block again. This set up might work for chickens, but not so much for cats. I was thinking it was time to take it out and figure something else out.
Until I looked through the window and saw The Outsider, sitting on the edge of the block, leaning over the warmth of the light!
Well, at least there’s that!
After putting food and water out for the cats, then topping up the deer feed and bird seed (I can see that the deer have been coming in during the night), I did my usual rounds.
I had quite the following, in the process!
We have two trees with crab apples still on them. One has larger apples, some of which you can see have basically exploded as they froze. I was able to shake a few down for the deer, but they’re very stubborn.
Beep Beep climbed up into the other tree with apples on it, so I didn’t try to shake that one. :-D
By the time I was half way through my rounds, I had Butterscotch, Rolando Moon, Beep Beep and Doom Guy following me along!
Beep Beep insisted on up, so I carried her for a while. When I needed two hands, though, I tried to put her down.
She would NOT go down.
Eventually, after several tries, I got her to go onto the top of a fence post.
There she stayed, until I was done and could pick her up again!
Too cute!
By then, Doom Guy was climbing up my leg, for for a while I had him on one shoulder, and her on the other.
Yeah. I’m a suck. :-D
The Re-Farmer
The Re-Farmer 