Focus On Fabulous Felines

Sammy, who I've had for about four months, has suddenly begun pushing water bowls away from walls, sloshing the water all over the floor. He seems obsessed with this behavior. The only other time I've ever seen such behavior was with Bramble, the cat who died this year. I keep getting the feeling that Bramble is paying me a friendly visit:

Daisy, who I've had for several years, suddenly decided she wants to sleep on the kitchen table - just like Georgette used to do. Furthermore, she purrs, rolls and cuddles when I lift her off the table to set her back on the floor - just like Georgette used to do. Again, I get the eerie but heartwarming feeling that Georgette is paying me a friendly visit. I've even accidentally called Daisy "Georgette" a couple of times:

As for Caspar, his life is filled with sleeping, eating and playing. He's not channeling anybody but himself:

Daisy is a friendly girl with beautiful colors:

Sammy took months to overcome his fear, but now seems happy and content here:

Caspar and Sammy are buddies and playmates, racing around the house chasing balls, leaping for curtains and knocking things off of tables:

They also sleep together a lot:

"Nothing to see here. Just keep moving:"

Caspar, like Daisy, is a glutton for affection:

Daisy wants to keep so close to me that I am in frequent danger of tripping over her:

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned Bugsy yet. He's been shy and retiring, possibly because of an upper respiratory infection which Caspar brought home from the shelter. He's beginning to come out of shell now, but I don't think he'll ever be an outgoing personality:

I bought two new cat foods, neither of which the cats liked very much. So each morning when I feed the dogs, the cats help themselves to dog food. It's a darn good thing all my pets get along so well. There's never been so much as a growl, much less a fight:

The Red Poll Ladies

Only two of the cows are pregnant, but some of the others seem to come into heat occasionally. If I can get the timing right, I'll get them artificially inseminated:

They are all healthy, even fat, and living a comfortable life:

I don't let them into the barn except to eat a bit of grain in the mornings, though on most mornings they can't be bothered to walk to the barn to get it:

Life consists of eating hay, then hanging around while it digests. Digestion includes burping up and chewing their cuds:

I go out each morning just as the sun is about to lift over the trees. I see some gorgeous skies on many mornings:

A new hay bale generates much excitement:

Winter storms are taken in stride. You can see the snow blowing past the red bodies in this photo, as well as the snow covered trees in the background:

The barn door was open because this was a morning when Amy and Rosella had come in for a bit of grain:

I hopped off the tractor to move the bale feeder, but Gracie decided that she couldn't wait to taste the new hay:

With a new bale in place, everybody was happy:

This is what winter life is about for a cow - plentiful hay and unfrozen water, the essences of life:

I'd say these ladies are living well:

Blue And Remy In December

We had a December thaw which melted almost all the snow in the pasture and made Remy happy:

Blue also liked the winter thaw, and together they roamed the pasture while looking for edible grass:

But snow soon came again, meaning their diet was just hay:

They don't seem to mind the cold and snow at all:

I pull off the frozen outer layer of each new hay bale, tossing the icy chunks, good side up, outside the hay bale feeder. Both little horses (and sometimes the cows) often seem more excited by these than by the big bale of good hay in the feeder:

Remy is looking pretty spiffy in his new, bright red halter:

And he seems immune to winter's blowing snow:

Blue moves more slowly, but he too has a brand new halter to show off:

When the snow is deep, they paw at the ground to expose the grass:

Blue stopped his pawing to watch me:

When the neighbors brought over another load of hay stems which their sheep wouldn't eat, Remy was right there to "help" and try to grab some hay. He had a full bale of fresh hay ten feet away, but stolen hay is always better:

Both little horses seem to be experiencing hoof problems again, and I am calling over the farrier to have a look and trim them. The vet may be the next call:

Town Line Road In Malone, New York

I was on my way home from Malone and decided to turn onto Town Line Road, headed east, to view the old farms there. This giant old barn appeared to have once had an apartment in it:

A huge farm with multiple silos, barns and grain bins:

An old shed, falling into disrepair, which I suspected was once a horse barn:

A dairy farm with an Amish buggy out front. I believe the buggy was just for decoration:

The sign on the front of the barn said "Hutchins," and I presume it was a dairy farm:

A brick farm house, the only one I photographed that day. Later, I wished I'd taken pictures of more homes, but I'll have other chances:

Farm equipment, double silos and an old dairy barn:

Another Amish buggy, also possibly just for decoration:

This old barn was being renovated:

A beautiful scene with what appeared to be horse fences:

An old silo, whose barn must have collapsed or burned long ago:

Huge quantities of baleage, a sign that some dairy cows will eat well this winter. I intended to continue on Town Line Road to see more, but the road ended at the highway and I decided to head for home:

Around The Farm In December

Much of my focus is on hay these days, and it's fair to say that ALL of the herd's attention is on hay. How fresh it is (or is not), how much ice coats the bales, how much is left, when we will run out, is every animal getting what they need - plus storing it, moving it, unwrapping it - it's an all consuming subject these days (pun intended):

The sheep farmers up the road have been hauling the hay stems which their sheep ignored out to their field and dumping it, so this time they brought me a load to see if my animals would eat it:

The cows and Blue were afraid of the big, noisy truck and unknown people, but Remy got right in the way of everything:

The hay stuck in the bed and we had to move it with a pitch fork, but it turned out to be a considerable quantity. The next morning I went out to fork it into the bale feeder, only to discover it had mostly been consumed during the night. I guess my animals liked it:

I go out to do the chores when it is light out, but the sun is not yet risen over the horizon. The skies are beautiful and the sun is up by the time I'm finished:

The little hens seem happy and healthy:

They don't have much room, but they do have roosts and nest boxes - plus two screened windows which I open on mild days:

One of the elderly pigeons died yesterday, one of only three which have died since I began my flock years ago. I'd say they are long lived, healthy birds:

They eat the same layer pellets as the chickens. Now, if I could just keep the English Sparrows from getting in and eating it too:

I worry that the English Sparrows will spread diseases and parasites to my fantail pigeons, but so far they are looking healthy - and I am working hard to block the sparrows' entrances and to chase them out when I find the inside:

One day was devoted to spreading liquid manure on the corn field across the road from me. A giant tanker brought a big load and transferred it to two smaller tank trailers, pulled by tractors. It took many loads and all day to finish. You can see the darker colored swath which the first tanker load spread. Curiously, it didn't stink - probably because it was so cold:

Each new snow reveals fox tracks, so I know they come visit every night and circle my car, climb the stairs up to my porch, enter the barn and check out the hay bales. I think they are after the Cottontail Rabbits, whose tracks I also see each morning: