Snapshots From A House Full Of Pets

With five dogs and five cats in the house, it's never too peaceful or free of floating pet hair. This photo was taken at the bottom of the stairs, where Daphne, Daisy, Clover and Seamus were collected. Behind them, in the kitchen, were Fergus and, barely visible in the corner, Bugsy:

 The kitchen corner is and probably always will be the most popular spot in the house and the best place for photos (except that it's not well lit, even with the floor lamp). This collection is Rocky, Seamus, Fergus and Clover:

 When I go upstairs, I am preceded by Jack, Fergus, Daphne and Clover. They wait for me and for Seamus. Both of us are becoming rather slow in our old age:

 Seamus and Bramble in the farm house kitchen:

 Again in the kitchen corner: Daphne, Clover, Fergus and Rocky:

 Daisy, one of the cats who was dumped off at my barn. She became very ill and I struggled for months to save her. She seems healthy now except that her infected eye is still a bit misshapen and she sometimes rasps when she breathes. But she's active and happy and certainly gaining weight:

 A kitchen corner collection of Daphne, Bugsy, Clover, Rocky and Seamus, with Jack and Daisy nearby:

 Fergus and Clover on the bed I made out of a big laundry bag filled with pillows:

 Daphne, peeking out from behind a kitchen chair, with Bramble hiding back by the water bowl:

 Bugsy, the former kitten who was dumped at my barn along with Daisy. He's now a teenager, full of mischief and sometimes affectionate, sometimes not - but always playful:

 Daphne, Clover, Fergus, Seamus and Rocky:

 Seven out of ten pets: Daphne, Seamus, Clover, Bugsy, Rocky, Jack and Fergus. The only ones missing in this snapshot were Georgette, Daisy and Bramble:

Red Cows On Green Pastures

The Red Poll girls are, I hope, pregnant and they look as if they may have lost a small amount of their excess weight. In general, they are a beautiful sight as they graze in the south field:

Violet is the cow who, we think, had a mummified fetus inside her. She had a hormone shot to cause her to expel it (though I don't know if it worked) and spent two months with a bull. If she's not pregnant now, I guess I'll call the vet back:

No one would accuse me of underfeeding my cows, would they? They are still pretty darn fat:

They are a cohesive herd and seem to look out for each other. I suspect it would not go well if I brought a new cow into the pasture:

Amy and Jasmine, wondering what I'm up to:

Grazing over by the town road, where the ground is wet and the vegetation is not as tasty:

Violet again. That fatty thing hanging from her chest is the brisket, and hers is so big that I know she needs to lose more weight. It's not quite as big as it used to be, though:

Gracie, another full figured gal:

Jasmine seems to have some arthritis in one leg so spends a lot of time lying down. On this day, she was miserable because there were so many flies. I tried rubbing them off, but it did no good. Our weather will be cooling on Thursday, after which all the animals will be more comfortable:

Grazing near the gravel road, where they attract a lot of attention from passersby:

They frequently stand close together and use each other to rub the flies off. I guess that must be a bonding experience as well as a fly chasing technique:

Gracie looks thinner in this picture. She also is showing the whitish tail tassel which is the easiest way to tell that she is a Red Poll and not a Red Angus: