Growing Pains

Well, my little Chihuahua, Molly(she weighs less than 2#) has decided that because I've never let her be a mommy that she will adopt, ;) which is just fine with me....she has taken over the role of protector and caregiver of love and affection to our little *Honeybee*. My only role now is to feed her, which she thinks should be every time she sees me.
Is this not the cutest face you've ever seen?????
Oh to have her life! ;)
I was taken by surprise today when I went to the chicken pen to let the hens out.....Something unusual caught my eye in one of the nesting boxes.....

My husband and I had made an agreement that we would do everything we could to try and win the mother cats trust.....if for just enough to be able to lure her into something to be able to get her to a vet and have her spaded. We've been feeding her when we see her in the afternoons going across our back yard. I've noticed over the last week that she's been watching me very carefully from a distance......
I suppose it has worked! She moved in!
And she's not alone! Dang!
After much soft talking and very slow moving I was able to get close enough to her to take more pictures and saw how thin and bony she was. The kittens were starving as well. I came in and fixed them some food and water.....
And they all dove in! Poor things!

A while later when mom got down I went in and got the black and white one, brought him in and bathed and blow dried him, they are covered in fleas. He went to sleep and when he woke he acted like he's always been here! He won't take to the bottle like *Honeybee* does but thats to be expected. He's way tinier than she is too.

I'll get the last two tomorrow and bring them in, but first see if I can catch mom. I can't wait too long because when I went to reach in to get the spotted kitten they hissed and growled at me. Mom did too when I brought the food out to them earlier.

I'm hoping this is *Honeybee's* mom, there is another cat that looks like her around here too. I do wish people would be responsible with their pets and have them fixed before letting them roam free and multiply. It's such a burden on those of us that care!

I'll keep you posted on our Hemingway kitties;)

TTFN!

Julie

My Little Honey Bee

Well, since the last post, I have learned quite a lot about kittens.

Number one just because they are tagged with a famous man's name, doesn't really mean they are rare or elite or famous themselves ;)

A friend of mine (thank you Suzie) told me this little kitty was a Hemingway cat. I was SO impressed! How sweet! I thought.....a very unique kitten indeed! ;) She went on to tell me the story that Ernest Hemingway had lot of feral cats that he took care of and they inner bred, causing the "extra" thumbs and toes on their paws. Well, this explains things, duh....we have feral cats around here, geeze, I'm so outta touch!

She went on to tell me that this little kitty was also a female because she is a Calico. Calico cats are almost always female, rarely will one be a male. Well, I really didn't want to believe her because I had had a look down yonder and things looked to be male gender......;) apparently I didn't look close enough ;) again, I have to admit....I just don't/didn't know.

So, my famous rare male kitten, is "not so". "She" is just an average little girl born out of insest! But, I still love her, it isn't her fault, or her mother's...it's the person that brought them here that didn't care enough to have them fixed.

This little one will be fixed as soon as she is old enough!

All of her time is spent eating and sleeping.......oh, to be a kitten!

Waking up.......
just to go back to sleep.....
Her eyes finally opened a day ago.....isn't she the cutest!
Love this one!
Dozing.......

Griffen can't wait for her to be able to play! He's still not quite sure what exactly she is!

TTFN!

Julie

Abandoned

What is this thing?!

Millie thinks she might want it for her own.....or either the "mother instinct" in her wants to soothe it and hush it's crying.

Griffen doesn't know what to think about it and wants it to play with him.

Sasha and Mollie want it to go away........
I had a very busy day with bees today and noticed when I came home to crab a few things to work with, that a kitten was crying under (or so I thought) our shed. I was in a very big hurry and couldn't stop to look. We have a few feral cats in our neighborhood and even though we have never had a cat here, one seems to always be around. One had kittens in our garage last year (she found a way in through a crack in the window), she moved them once we found them.

Anyway, when my husband got home we were out working hives and he said, "it sounds like you have baby chicks".....I said no...then he said "baby squirrels?".....I said no.....then it hit him..."oh, no you've got to be kidding me!!! Kittens???" I said "yep!" He went over to the shed (I was in a hive) and he walked back over and I could hear it crying. He said it was between the shed and garage....it was soaking wet and cold.
Poor thing, I finished up in the hive and brought him inside, dried him off and let Millie "mother" him while I fixed him something for his tummy.
He was sooo hungry! He latched onto that bottle and wouldn't let go!

Living out and loving nature I always have an animal baby bottle around. I've raised squirrels (heavens knows why) and there's always something that comes along sooner or later that needs a bottle.
He doesn't even have his eyes opened yet.
Sound asleep......I have a heating pad under the rags and he's out ;)

He needs a name.....and a home.....any suggestions?

TTFN!

Julie

Sasha

This is Sasha......sitting in her chair on our front porch, just before daybreak.

She's camera shy and I've disturbed her morning ritual.....she's not too happy with me right now.

She sits in her chair on nice mornings for hours on end looking out into the yard and down the road. I often wonder what she's thinking about.......her younger days most probably, when she roamed these roads around here.....back in her day, she knew everyone that lived around here and they knew and loved her. She loves people and children.....she's such a sweet girl.

About five years ago an influx of new people moved in and they were "afraid" of her, so we put up a fence to keep her in. Her old friends got upset because she didn't visit them any more.

Sasha has a hip disorder and can't get around very good, she walks with a bad limp and falls alot. When she does get out for a stroll she can barely move the next day, meds don't work as good as they once did. The vet is worried about a knot on one of her ribs, so I try to keep her as comfortable as I can.

In the picture above I took her with me to get a load of mulch/dirt in the truck. She loves to ride but she's used to my low little car and when I opened the truck door for her to get in she turned and looked at me as if to say, "you're joking, right!" LOL I really did have to slide the seat all the way back and help her in. Isn't that a sweet face? LOL
More sweetness.....
Out like a light! ;)
Oh...soooo....humiliating!
She loves her chewies!

Sasha was given to my son on his sixteenth birthday by a girlfriend at the time. I said NO! Absolutely not! She was four weeks old! He asked me to pllleeeaaassseee try her for just one night.....and here we are! ;)

No one liked her, none of our older dogs at the time. I felt so bad for her and before I knew it she had my heart. She's only been away from home one night since she came here and that was for spaying. She's never had pups and she's always been my baby.

I've often talked so much about Griffen because he's our "wild" one. I just wanted to take a moment and share about my sweet girl, Sasha!

TTFN!

Julie

Gardening with Peter Pan and Rabbits ;)

Have you ever watched the movie "Captain Hook" starring Johnny Depp and Robin Williams? I love that movie! But then again just about anything with Johnny Depp or Robin Williams playing in it, is intriguing. In the movie, one of the "lost boys" ,now grown-up, is looking for his marbles.....a sweet and funny but, sad movie.

It's always been a "little joke" with my family that when I do nutty things, that I have a screw loose or I've lost me marbles! The same in turn, goes when I happen to "find" them.

Well lately I've felt like I have lost me marbles and I seem to be finding them......out in the yard/garden. Have you ever played marbles? I'm not sure if anyone does anymore. I remember playing with my brothers growing up, they loved playing against me because I couldn't get my "cat eyes" to go very far...I don't remember very much about the game except that I usually lost. And in turn I lost my marbles to the best player....
I'm really fascinated when I find them because...really where are they coming from?? No one but me travels these areas...;)
Well, that is.....except for rascally rabbits! I honestly believe I would be harvesting broccoli and kale by now! They mowed down my veggies to the top of the ground. All but one or two made it to grow back, but it's like starting from seed all over again.
I'm not one for sitting up waiting to catch a thief in the act, because all I'd be able to do is shoo it away ;) I lay awake (not being able to sleep) and thought of different ways to keep them out of my gardens....then I heard something tinkling softly outside.... eureka! wind chimes! I couldn't wait for daylight to arrive!


I have raised beds with corner and middle poles/2x2's, for support, doubling as (anything else I can think of to use them for) ;) In this case I used them for stringing up my wind chimes. I realize that some of you will wonder why I didn't just put up a fence around the border of the boxes...I thought of that, but I'm trying to be frugal here! ;) LOL!! I wanted to use something I already had and I didn't want to go out and buy.
Poor little plant :(

I actually even put up a small motion light that I had bought a year or so ago, so if the wind chimes don't work, hopefully the light will ;)
Things are trying to make a come back. We'll see what happens.

Take Care!

TTFN!

Julie

The Waiting Game

Have you ever thought about how much of our lives is spent on waiting? It can be a boring, uneventful time. It can be an exciting or happy time, or it can be a sad time. I don't like to look at waiting on anything as being boring or sad. If you just look at time at a different angle, waiting on it can be quite fun, challenging, kind and knowledgeable.

I spent some time yesterday waiting in a doctors office, I could have read, I brought a book and a magazine with me and the tables were filled with interesting reads. But instead, I chose to listen to my "waiting" neighbor sitting beside me. It's amazing how much you can learn from someone in just a few minutes, without even knowing their name you can understand the kind of person they are. Everyone has a story to tell, we just need someone to tell it to, someone that is willing to take a few minutes to just "listen". I usually sit and listen to peoples stories while waiting in a waiting room. I really enjoy hearing about other people and how their life has been while being here, after all we are only passing through, some believe.

I'm usually not a good listener unless I'm tied to a "waiting" room ;) My days are spent racing and hurrying about trying to get things done, to "live" life. I guess that's why I enjoy sitting still once in a while and just being there to listen. I once met a beautiful young lady, she was so angelic and thinking of her now brings tears to my eyes......we had been sitting and talking and waiting. She was called back to see the doctor and a little while later came out and sat beside me, she had just been diagnosed with cancer for the second time in her life. She was all alone and so very young, her family was living States away. I held her and we cried together, silently and dignified, in the "waiting" room filled with people. She needed someone and I'm thankful I was there. I got the opportunity to meet a very special person.

I also have special people and living creatures all around me on a daily basis, sometimes I just have to stop myself and take a look around to see and appreciate them. Not all of them are human, but I love and enjoy them just the same;)
"Waiting on a neighbor" ...he used to come out to see me when he'd hear me outside.....see that hole in the fence, well he's outgrown it now and his mommy and dad put a log up to it so he and his sister can't come back through or tear the fence any further. I love these two and we still see and visit on the other end of the yard, where it's safer for them. They had gotten so big that they were having a hard time getting back through the hole ;)
"Waiting on babies"
"Waiting on a new home"
"Waiting to grow up"

"Waiting for dry land"
"Waiting on the strength to make it back home"
"Waiting on the next phase of life"
"Waiting for things to be over" ;)
"Waiting on family to come home safely"

"Waiting on good food to eat"

"Waiting on winter to be over" ;)
What are you waiting on? Are you making the best of your "waiting" time? Are you "living" and loving how you live? I hope so, I hope all of you are enjoying life to it's fullest! We were given this opportunity for a reason......Let's make the best of it!

TTFN!

Julie