Cold Winter Touches The North Country

Of course I knew it was coming, yet still I was surprised to see the frost all over the Rugosa roses when I went out to do the morning chores:

 The leaves were frosted and the magenta buds were covered with icy crystals:

 Some of the flowers had wilted to the point of being unrecognizable:

 Fergus and Seamus watched me from their frosty yard as I began the morning chores:

There were only two open Daylilies left, and they were wilted and covered in ice:

 And the grass crunched underfoot as I walked to the barn:

 Sadly, the sunflowers, which had put on such a late season show, were done for the year:

 I walked the little horses out to their corral and discovered that their stock tank was covered in ice. Remy and Blue were not amused, but I figured it would melt once the sun was fully up:

The cattle were hungry and collected at the barn, demanding grain:

 I let them have some, then shooed them back outside as I carried hay to the horse corral. Most of the cattle followed me to the corral, hoping to steal that armload of hay. I guess they did not want to eat frozen grass:

 I tossed the hay in for the horses without giving the cattle any of it. Ruby knew what to do, and immediately went for a breakfast of warm milk:

House Pets At Their Leisure

If you regularly read this blog, you may think my five dogs are constantly out hiking or running across hay fields. The truth is that they are lazy house dogs, happy to sleep most of every day away in comfort. You may notice that Fergus and Jack are both wearing absorbent belly-belts because they began peeing in the house again:

And the four cats never leave the house, staying indoors where they are safe from predators, cars, weather and disease. All once abandoned animals, I take pride in giving them new lives of ease. This is daisy, eating from one of two automatic feeders:

Fergus, Clover and Bugsy. It's difficult to get a photo of Bugsy because he's black, and I try to be sure his yellow eyes are open so at least something shows:

The favorite spot is the kitchen corner, in this case containing Daphne, Clover, Fergus and Bugsy (no eyes showing this time):

Two dogs and two cats: Fergus, Clover, Bugsy and Caspar:

Seamus is so gigantic that he has trouble fitting anywhere, so he prefers the big yoga mats which I purchased to keep him from falling on the slippery floor. In the background are Jack, Caspar and Clover:

Daphne and Fergus, showing two clearly different shades of "white:"

The other favorite spot is the ramp which leads down into their fenced yard. Fergus, Daphne, Jack and Seamus were lounging there. Seamus knows that he can stand up with less struggle by heading downhill on the ramp, then turning around and walking back up:

Four on a pillow: Jack, Fergus, Daphne and Clover:

The joys of having a kitten or two in the house. This curtain is a favorite toy, and there's no sense replacing it until the kittens have slowed down:

And the window blinds have suffered a similar fate. Caspar is particularly fond of them:

Three of the four cats in the kitchen (Bugsy was missing in this photo) - Caspar, Sammy and Daisy:

Dogs And Cats, Living The Good Life

The kitchen corner is the favored spot for comfortable napping. This collection of pets included Fergus, Clover, Daphne and Seamus:

 Seamus watched me from behind the Daylilies. Clover was farther back, by the small maple tree:

 Daisy may be the most personable cat I've ever had. She is my shadow, and I have to be careful not to trip over her:

 A comfortable, cool, sunny day in the dog yard with Fergus, Clover and Daphne. You can see that their lawn was just mowed - and so was the north field across the gravel road:

Jack on his ramp, shaded by the Rugosa roses:

 The dogs watching me from behind the sunflowers:

 Caspar and Seamus, best buddies:

 Afternoon, when the house and cedar tree cast shadows on the dog yard:

Clover, Daphne and Fergus (wearing his absorbent belly-belt) on the big, green floor pillow:

 Sammy has never been trusting or friendly, but he was happy in his home. All was well until he was about 15 months old. Then he began spraying stinky urine all over the house and humping the other cats. His adoption papers said the vet concluded he must already have been neutered, even though he was a kitten at the time. Of course he turned out to be a cryptorchid, with undescended testicles. The shelter declined any help, so I paid my vet to operate on him. Then he got badly infected and sick. But he's now fine, and his personality has undergone a miraculous transformation. He's now calm, friendly and playful. He uses the litter box and does not stink. He's a happy boy:

The Dogs And Cats Of Windswept Farm

Fergus likes to watch me from inside his fenced yard. His view was enhanced by the Daylilies just outside the fence:

 Seamus, atop his ramp, got a similar view as he looked through the Rugosa roses:

 I bought Sammy a new cardboard scratching/lounging toy, but Daisy took it over on this day. The toy beside them contains abundant catnip and a ball which rolls in endless, excited circles when they play with it:

 Jack and Daphne were hoping for a treat at the top of the stairs:

On the big, green floor pillow: Clover, Bugsy, Fergus and Daphne:

 Keeping their eyes on me through the fence again, the dogs were enjoying our beautiful weather. You can see the smile on Jack's face:

 Fergus, Seamus, Jack and Daphne by the Rugosa roses:

 Can we go with you, Dad?

Yes, they could go with me. All five dogs went for a walk at Debar Pond (posts on 8-28 and 8-29) with me and a friend, and we stopped for lunch at a small store in the Adirondack town of St. Regis Falls:

 Little Caspar is a friendly cat with lots of personality:

 Daphne, Bugsy, Seamus, Fergus and Sammy:

Pets At Home

Bugsy is a quiet character, and spends most of his time napping or silently contemplating the mysteries of me and the other animals in his life:

And the little dogs still collect on the pet beds and floor pillows in the kitchen corner. Seamus doesn't often join them there anymore:

Instead of joining the little dogs in the kitchen, Seamus usually hangs out in the computer room. He used to lie on the yoga mats, but is increasingly likely to just stretch out on the hard floor. Besides being less comfortable for him, it also makes it more difficult for him to stand up:

Daisy likes the cat beds atop the furniture so she can relax and keep an eye on us at the same time. She is also positioned to be petted whenever I walk by:

Bugsy likes to join the dogs on the big, green floor pillow. Notice that Fergus is wearing his absorbent belly-band. He and Jack started peeing in the house again, so I got out the belly-bands:

Daisy and Jack watched me in the kitchen:

Another kitchen corner collection: Bugsy, Caspar, Daphne, Clover and Fergus:

It's been a hot summer so far, so Jack dug himself a hole in the roots of a small maple tree. He gets plenty of shade plus the cool earth surrounds him:

The dogs love their ramp, partly because it gives them a good view of the town road, but also because the Rugosa roses offer shade:

Seamus likes to nap under the maple tree with Jack, but he also lies down in the shaded, soft grass next to the fence:

This was supposed to be a flower picture, but when I saw Fergus in the background, I decided to make it a pet picture instead. Two of my favorite things, dogs and flowers: