We've got company!!

We managed to keep all cows and horses out of the grain bin and eventually, the kittens packed up and moved.

Here we have a new arrival checking out the soft and luxurious dog bed in the shop.  This is where Suckee's kittens slept last year.

It should be the perfect spot, but sometimes cats will pick an "uncomfortable' place to call home. 

For a few days, the family lived outside under a wooden pallet.  We couldn't find them until, one morning, they came in for breakfast......

......and really, they weren't even invited! :/

You bet they are!!

So, in an effort to keep these kittens alive, we had to leave the grain bin open.  This is dangerous at a farm where both cattle and horses could break out of the pasture and get to the grain bin.  It would only take a couple minutes for a bovine or equine to overload on grain and die, or at least get deathly ill!

Seriously, are kittens worth more than the lives of others?

What was their mother thinking?

Way back in the middle of July, this litter of kittens arrived. 

 That's right, five little darlings.

Three look surprisingly like Suckee, complete with blue eyes, and two are little white faced tabbies.They were born in the grain bin on an empty sack.  This might have been a good idea, if grain bins weren't meant to be closed at all times.

Poor Big Kitty....

Big Kitty's had enough of the "dog cat days of summer".  Too much heat takes its toll on a big ol' tom.  He's too hot to eat and too lazy to help with chores. 

Heck, he isn't even terrorizing the young toms! (knock on wood)

Don't worry Bumble, fall weather is just around the corner!

The doctor is in?!!

This beautiful kitten is Whisker's brother.  He's been watching Tipster's antics and wonders why his sister puts up with it.  Its one thing to play and have a good time, but Tipster seems to over do everything these days.

Sure, he went to see Dr. T, but what harm can that do?  He came back moping and whining for at least three days, but suddenly he's the life of the party.

Bumble pays him no mind.  OT treats him like a king.  H"C"S allows him to hang out with her......
....maybe this kitty will visit Dr T too!

"Tub rolling" IS a sport!

HELP!!  Somebody please get this thing off of me!

Poor little Whiskers lay injured on the ground, or at least she thought she was hurt.

In reality, the empty water tub weighs about as much as a Bumble Butt, so its not real heavy and she wasn't really hurt.

C'mon Whiskers.....get in the game! 

Wake up Whiskers!

Whiskers was enjoying a sleep in the sun, when suddenly, the water tub rolled her way.  Unable to get away, it began to squash her little cat body.

Unbeknownst to her, Tipster was pushing and pushing, hoping to roll the tub right over top of her.

Tipster!  That's downright mean!

This tom isn't a tom anymore.....

Tipster hasn't been advertising the fact, but he had an appointment with Dr. T last week.  The operation was a compete success, and now he can't even remember what happened!!

The once quiet and aloof tom cat has been transformed.  He plays and runs with the youngsters and has even found some trouble to get himself into.

Be careful, Tipster.  Its one thing to have fun, but quite another when you squish a friend under the water tub.

Look out Whiskers......

When a look is all it takes....

Old Ghost Kitty closed ground fast and came face to face with the enemy.  Three of her five kittens were tucked away in the barn, directly to her right.

Foxy Fox turned toward her, counting on his size and ferocious face to scare her off.  A kitten dinner would be so delicious right about now.

The "stare down" only lasted a few seconds.  OGK gave him "The Look" and Foxy Fox ran away with his tail tucked between his legs.

.... and she didn't have to say a word!

Prepare for battle....

Faster than the speed of sound, Old Ghost Kitty raced across the yard!

She is the Great Protector of all kittens that are hers.

You may not have noticed this, but OGK has a tail almost as large as the one on the red fox.

She fluffed it out, got her hackles up and prepared to confront Foxy Fox.

Will she fight him?

Don't bite off more than you can chew...

Oh CRAP!!  Its Foxy, our only resident fox at the moment.  When there's one fox, it means there is only enough food for one fox.  If this  fox is running out of food , it might look for little morsels in the form of "bat cat" kittens.

OGK won't tolerate any animal messing with her kittens.  One day Dr. T tried to look at them and Old Ghost Kitty attacked her leg.....actually bit her!!

Turn back, Foxy Fox, this is a bad idea!

This looks serious.....

Old Ghost Kitty is a hard working single mother.  She keeps her kittens in the barn and spends who knows how much time hunting.  Most days, she trots across the yard with a big fat gopher in her mouth.  As the kittens mature, and it becomes difficult to feed them, she looks for a free meal.  While escorting one of the "bat cat" kittens to the shop for lunch, she spotted something totally out of the ordinary.

What are you looking at, OGK?

The face of happiness.......

SHE FOUND THEM!!

Early the following morning, we snuck quietly into Barn Cat Mansion.  With a little help from the wish and a whole lot of patience, we waited for Smoke.  Thinking our best bet was to wait for her to wake up and come out of somewhere, we sat by the new hay bales.

Eventually, Smoke appeared from between a couple bales on the very bottom of the stack.  We finally had a place to look.  Pulling bales carefully away, one by one, we uncovered the nest and there they were - two blacks and an orangey cat!!  

You gotta love those Fairy Bowl Fairies!! :)

Do wishes really come true?

With the sun low in the western sky, we clambered down the hill.  Hay bale silhouettes dotted the horizon, and lucky for us, we knew the way back.  Chick and Blue followed closely, hoping to spot another deer or two, but no such luck.

By the time we reached the Mansion, it was too late to begin the search for Smoke's kittens.  Morning is the best time to finish an adventure, anyway.

Your guess is as good as mine!

From The Rim Rock, we headed north, hoping to get down the hill before the sun went behind the Rockies.  Finding a good cow trail to follow down is as important as finding a good one to follow up.  Cows are notorious for finding the easiest way to negotiate a slope.
A "muley doe" stood quietly in front of a grove of trembling aspens, waiting for the cue to depart.  Sure enough, Chick and Blue put the run on her, and she quickly disappeared into the forest.

Can we make it home before dark?  Will we find the kittens when we get there?

Mystifying!!

The miraculous lens of a digital camera captured the aura of a Fairy waiting to land at the Fairy Bowl.  Can you see it above Quinn's head?

Wow!!  News travels fast in the world of make believe!!

With one last glance, Quinn prepared to travel back to Barn Cat Mansion.  We gathered up the water bottle, called for Chick and Blue, and said goodbye to the Rim Rock.

Now, for the treacherous descent.......

Be careful what you wish for....

Quinn held her magic coins and whispered a wish.  Then she tossed them gently into the Fairy Bowl.
Since she was missing her mom, her wish probably had something to do with going home.  Perhaps we'll never know.   The second wish had something to do with the missing kittens, and that's all we can say about it.

Its your turn, Fairies!! Do your magic!

Preparing the bowl.....

Finally, as the sun began to set, we found the elusive Fairy Bowl, NNE of the first Rim Rock we saw.
Spring rains provide water for the bowl, but by August its gone.  Water is essential to the wish making ritual, and for bathing fairies.

Sandstone is warmed by the sun and visiting fairies find a spectacular little bathtub, complete with warm water.  They splash around and sometimes wishing coins flip out of the bowl and onto the rock.  But before all of this can happen, someone must replenish the water, make a wish, and throw in the coins.
Since these are Norwegian Fairies, we always leave them 13 cents. 

13 is their lucky number.......and its ours too.

Not your usual Fairy Tale......

We reached the summit before sunset and found the rocks we call The Rim Rock.  Ever changing, but always the same, these ancient stones have seen millions of Chinook winds and twice as many snow storms.  Sandstone rocks have surfaced over the ages in Southern Alberta, but only a few are home to the elusive

Fairy Bowl "fairies." 

Half way up and half way to go....

Finding the right cow trail to follow to our destination is most important.  Take the wrong one and you could end up somewhere else no where near the hill top.  Does anyone know why we're climbing to the top of the world?

Well, here's a little secret:

We're going to the Fairy Bowl.
At the Fairy Bowl, we'll make a wish.

They're sure not bloodhounds......

Tracking dogs, Blue and Chick travelled with us on our trek up the hill.  Actually, Border Collies make very poor tracking dogs but they are great at spotting cougars, bears, and coyotes.  If Chick sees a predator, she runs home.  Blue, on the other hand, pursues 
it with wild abandon, saving us from certain death.  Both are brave when they spot a deer.

...... cattle dogs know a ruminant when they see one.:)

Flowers.......or weeds!!? :0

When TOT refused to relinquish information about Smoke, we embarked on an epic journey.  Walking south, we located a cow trail that would lead us to the top of the world.....or at least it seemed like that.

Along the way, these hillside weeds just asked to be photographed......

Who could resist??

A cat with a plan.....

Quinn is determined to discover the whereabouts of Smoke and her family. 

Firstly:  Smoke gave birth to three kittens on a blanket underneath the saddles in BCM.

Secondly:  She kept them there until their eyes were open.

Thirdly:  They disappeared two days after the bales moved into the Mansion.

Fourthly:  Quinn will find those kittens even if it takes all day.....

Fifthly:  TOT already knows where they went, but he's not telling Quinn.

The cat's out of the bag now!!

August long weekend in Canada is called Heritage Day Weekend.  Well, Orangey Tail doesn't care what the heck its called.  What she knows is that Barn Cat Mansion has been almost devoid of humans since last Saturday morning.

Oh, don't get her wrong.  Someone has come by to check the cats, untie the dogs and feed everyone, including the horses, but they sure didn't stick around to visit.  If this is life at the Mansion, she may pack up and leave.   After all, Smoke packed her kittens and left.

(Oops, no one knows about Smoke's kittens yet)

Bad badger!!

Awwww, what a cute little

badger!!

Actually, badgers aren't cute at all, and can be meaner than a grizzly bear.  Badgers eat gophers and in order to get gophers, they dig, and they dig and they dig some more.   If they would cover the holes they dig we wouldn't mind having them around.  Instead, they leave gaping holes in pastures, grain fields and anywhere else a gopher lives.   If you don't have gophers, you won't have badgers....We don't want either.....

Re-decorating??

What an exhausting day.  Poor Big Kitty looks and feels like he's been through the wringer!!  It all started when somebody stacked bales in the Mansion. 

Mature cats find it difficult to accept changes to the decor at Barn Cat Mansion.
Baby cats are happy with new things.  They run, jump, play and fight all over the new furniture.
Teenage cats think they should run, jump, play and fight, but don't remember quite how.

Once Big Kitty becomes accustomed to the change,

he'll get happy again.

Nobody wants THE PAW!!

The kids at Barn Cat Mansion spend hot summer days sleeping and cool early mornings fighting.  Whiskers knocked her brother down and quickly retreated beyond reach.

The brother warned her and this is what he said:

"You do that once more and I'm gonna give you THE PAW!!!"

Bluebird of happiness?

Rocky Mountain Bluebird:
just about the prettiest little bird you'll ever see.

We talked about Bird House Man earlier in the year while he was cleaning and setting up the bird houses along our road.  A lot of bluebirds found new homes because of his generosity.

Now the eggs have hatched, little birds are grown up and they grace the countryside with their beauty.

In a few weeks, families will join forces for the arduous trip to a warmer climate.  We have no idea where they go but it's always nice when they come back.

Seeing ghosts.....

Here we found Bat Cat #4 sitting on top of a long forgotten rabbit hutch and next to a long forgotten frying pan.
Sometimes these "wild ones" think they're invisible, and well they should be, since they're Ghost Kitty kittens.  When the light is wrong, you can't see a Ghost Kitty to save your life.  But, every once in a while we get lucky.

Late afternoon sun  illuminates an otherwise undetectable

Bat Cat Ghost Kitty kitten.