Around The Farm

The pigeons are social animals, and the 21 of them in their room have a busy society with lots of activity and interactions. I guess that's why they aren't interested in going outdoors:

 The chickens would like to go outdoors but I won't let them because we have so many hungry foxes:

 The Rugosa Roses are still blooming:

 And the horses and cows are living a summer of leisure:

 Remember the stray kitten I presented a couple days ago? His brother, looking like an identical twin, showed up at the door two days later. Luckily, the Potsdam Shelter was so pleased with the first one that they were happy to take kitten number two also:

 And wildflowers are blooming everywhere. This is Common Cinquefoil:

 Catnip by the barn door. Last year I harvested most of it for my cats, but this year I'll at least wait until it drops seed. It'd be nice to have more Catnip around:

 Heal-All, a member of the mint family which grows in the lawn:

 And White Clover, also abundant in the lawn:

 Northern Bedstraw, one of our most abundant wildflowers. In this case, it was draped over an old tree stump so artistically that I thought a photo was in order:

 Pineapple-Weed, which grows in the gravel driveway or where concrete is cracked - basically where nothing else wants to grow. It really does smell like pineapple when stepped or driven on:

 The tiniest yellow flowers are Least Hop Clover. You can judge its tiny size by the White Clover and Pineapple-Weed also in the photo:

Dogs And Cats Of Summer

Most of the time, the dogs and cats of summer are indistinguishable from the dogs and cats of winter - snoozing on their beds in the kitchen corner:

The cats stay inside, but the dogs get more outdoor time in the summer, much of which they spend lounging on their ramp:

Jack and Seamus, buddies:

I took this picture at dawn, just as I was coming in from doing the morning chores (there aren't many chores to do on summer mornings):

Jack, in his newly mowed back yard:

When the Rugosa Roses began blooming, I couldn't resist taking even more pictures of the dogs in their back yard run:

And Georgette is still Queen of the Kitchen Table. Sadly, she has become so antisocial that she has several times pooped or peed in her bed. I encourage her to get out and use the cat food, water and litter box in the next room. I've also watched and am convinced that the other cats aren't really bothering her. She's just getting old and crotchety. I can relate:

I caught Rocky and Daisy on adjacent beds, touching noses. It was a cute scene:

And Bugsy, the kid with the big personality, watched me from a kitchen chair:

I put a fake surveillance camera on the barn to discourage any more dumping of cats there. Alas, it only seemed to cause the perpetrators to drop off a kitten at the house instead of the barn. I found it one morning and it was friendly, clean and free of fleas - so I brought it indoors:

The dogs were tolerant of the little fellow, but the big cats mostly wished he'd just go away:

I arranged to drop him off at the Potsdam Shelter, where he'd get antibiotic for his runny eye and he'd get neutered. Most importantly, he'll get a new home where he'll be loved and cared for. I already have more cats than I can handle sometimes. Goodbye, little kitty. I trust you'll find the perfect home and live a happy life: