A close encounter.....

Whiskers' brother was wandering through the woods and suddenly came nose to nose with a horse.  This isn't just any horse, its Weaver's Partee Boon, better known as Weaver Too.  Whiskers' brother thought about getting his hackles up, but decided to stand his ground and see what this little horse had to say.

After a few minutes of sniffing and staring, Weaver Too started eating willow leaves.  Whiskers' brother thought about that for a minute, and did some sniffing of his own.  Three minutes later, they turned and walked away.....

both understanding the importance of silent conversation.

The color of fall.....

Big Kitty posed for his annual "kingly" portrait.  He chose to sit in the yard where ash and willow leaves provided a carpet of color, complimentary to his beautiful, well groomed, furry body.

"Bumble Bee Lion King Orangey Butt"

September 28th, 2012

He's had a wonderful year, but is alarmed that only two of the five kittens born in the Mansion this year are his.

He may be losing his touch!  (or something)

No pedicures for her!

As the morning sun crept over the eastern hill, Orangey Tail couldn't help but notice her beautiful claws.  Never clipped or filed, they are perfectly suited for a cat like her.
She can climb trees, catch mice and gophers, and give Big Kitty a left hook when he gets a little out of line.

While Tipster admires the length and curve of her index claw, look who's squeezing in between TOT and H"C"S....

It's Timbit!

Shake a paw!!

Look everyone!  It's fixed!

Yes she was a sorry little kitten last time we saw her, but look at that paw now.

The cast stayed on for three days and, hard as she tried, she couldn't get it off by herself.  It really did help, because now the stretched muscles are back to normal and she uses it just fine.

If we can get her eating solid food again, she'll move to a new home and live happily ever after.  Her vocal chords aren't totally healed yet, but with even a bit of Siamese in her, that's not a bad thing. :)

Everyone loves a happy ending......don't they?

Beauty knows no bounds...

If she was a person, she might be:

 a runway model

or an actress like Marilyn Munroe

a Cover Girl

or the Queen of Sheba

a Dancing with the Stars star

or Princess Diana

But she's just a cat.  Her name is Timbit.

Birds of a feather......

Sparrows.....not the most interesting birds in the world....

Spotted from inside the shop, they looked like swallows....barn swallows.  With great excitement and anticipation, it seemed this would be a shot of a whole family of swallows preparing to fly south for the winter.
There are six birds.  Swallows  often lay five eggs, and allowing for the cats to eat one little bird, that left four kids and two adults....6 birds!
The excitement waned when this photo showed up in the computer and they're

JUST SPARROWS.......not going south!! :(

Sad little kitty.....

Oh no!!  A couple of days ago, Mr. Size 14s opened the big door of the shop and guess what he found:

a kitten with her claws stuck in the front of an old chair.

She was hanging there by her front feet!!  Well you can imagine how cold and stretched her poor little body was.

She must have meowed all night long because she couldn't even make a sound.

Her poor little legs were like rubber and the left one was so weak, we put a cast on it.

The Proclamation......

Back on August 15, this little yappy cat proclaimed:

"If anyone wants a kitten, they can have the one on my right and the one on my left!!"

It took a month and five days, but those two kittens found a new home.  They're going to be "inside" cats with all the comforts of home......and both are getting "snipped"!

Mirror, mirror.........

We were pretty sure we'd seen all the kittens from this year's crop at Fox Farm......until two days ago.

Then this little darling appeared!

The brown ghost kitty usually has kittens way out in the round bale yard and she was seen out there a lot this summer.  We thought she must have kittens, but hadn't seen any.

Finally, she brought this beauty to the shop.  It looks like only one survived.  She's the oldest of our 2012 kittens and the
"fairest of them all".

YESSSSSS!!!!

Timbit is generally hard to see.  She blends in with almost anything, except when she tries to hide among the empty cat food bags!!

Slinking around, slipping behind bales and running like the wind across the Mansion floor........that's Timbit at her best.

We were feeding her separately, because she refused to eat with the crowd until yesterday.  At supper time Wednesday, she jumped up on the boxes and dined with the family. :)

The cat and the horse....

Hey Whiskers!

Why does that foal let you hang around with him?

We've been trying to get close for weeks now.  You must be magic!

Oh well.  We'll wean him by the end of the month.  Then he'll learn to be friendly....

Buddies.......

Meanwhile, back at the Mansion, life goes on.  Tipster recovered from Dr. T's "snipping" operation in record time and finds life a whole lot simpler.  Big Kitty no longer ambushes him with the intent to kill and he wanders around happy as a lark.

One of Casper's babies has taken a shine to him.  He's kind of like a "big brother", showing the little guy how to eat dry food.  The little guy isn't the least bit interested.

He may like Tipster, but he likes his mom better.

A blue eyed Orangey!!

This is simply amazing!!  Smoke had three kittens a few weeks ago:  two blacks and one little orangey.  Well, this is the orange one and would you take a look at those eyes!!

They are actually blue!

Since Smoke and Casper the Friendly Ghost Kitty were banished from the Mansion, they must have hung out together for a while.  Both of them have green eyes.

Maybe these eyes will turn green, but I sure don't think they'll be golden like most Mansion cats.

This is so cool!

Man to man.....

And so the protest began....

Socks threw himself on top of one of the size 14s and asked for assistance....

"Please, Mr. Size 14s, don't let them snip me!  I beg of you.  Have some compassion!!  There isn't a male alive on this planet that wants to be "snipped".

Mr. Size 14s said:

"Socks!  Stop being such a girl!"

Quick!! Find the scissors!!

 
We sent five kittens out the door.  They moved away and we were so happy!

Not three days later, a new family found their way to the shop.  There are at least four and maybe five kittens in this litter!!

Oh My Gosh!!!

Will this never end?  Now we have to get busy finding more homes for more kittens!

Don't tell Socks, but this "snipping" idea may have some merit......:)

We'll talk about it later.....

Socks is, seriously!, not impressed.  He heard there was talk of "snipping"!  No one has ever talked of "snipping" him before.  First of all, Socks is the only mature tom in the neighborhood.  Its obvious Black Jack and Stripes are gone. 

And.....its a big job, perpetuating the species within a half mile radius!

What are these people thinking!??

In this interview, Socks replied:  "Snipping?  We'll see who gets snipped around here.  For now, I'll take a nap in the lawn mower bag in the back of my favorite truck."

Not as batty as we thought!

That's simply amazing!

The little "bat cats' grew into bigger cats but their ears remained the same.

Someone said they would grow into their ears!

All five of Old Ghost Kitty's kittens found new homes.  That's the best news we've shared in ages.  There's only one problem:  She's been seen cavorting with Socks...again!

That's life!!

Tim Horton is at it again.  He wants to know when Timbit (his sister) is coming back to Fox Farm. 

We keep telling him "Never"!!

She moved to Barn Cat Mansion and that's where she'll stay.

Accept it, Tim!  She lives in a Mansion and you live in the shop.

My fox has fleas!!!

When you see something like this, don't you just wish you had some flea powder?

Flea powder would be a great idea if Foxy Fox would let you shake it all over him.

If you could get close enough to shake flea powder on him, he would probably bite you!

Fleas are biting him, and that would inadvertently cause him to bite you?

The weird world of "wild"!!

Pssst!! Over here!!

Tucked safely away in the Sleeping Tub is the cute little girl we call

"Timbit".

She really hasn't found a friend in Barn Cat Mansion yet.  Maybe she was too old when we introduced her to the Bumble Butt family.  Or, maybe she's just rude and doesn't have a friendly personality.  Oh well, when it gets cold enough, she'll find a whole bunch of cool cats slipping into the Sleeping Tub.

Worth more than a thousand words....

September 1st view looking west from the hill above Barn Cat Mansion.

This magnificent scenery never ceases to amaze us.  Maybe we'll take a picture at the first of every month, just to see the changing landscape as

summer fades into autumn fades into winter, and so on, and so on.

Food for thought....

Peyton and H"C"S ran away from home.  H"C"S left because her children are demanding.  They should be weaned by now, but refuse to give up.  Nursing two BIG kittens is sooooo difficult.

Peyton ran away to keep H"C"S company.

They immediately encountered two problems:

   1.  Peyton was wearing flip flops, and was forced to turn
        back when she hit the thistle patch.
   2.  H"C"S had to come home with Peyton because she
         had the food.
 
Really, Peyton!  Temptations are good, but I don't think you were going to like them!

Sorry, too late!

Socks told us to stop taking so many pictures.

We said "No!"

He snuck into the back seat of the Nissan and parked his body on top of both camera cases.

Too bad, Socks.  You forgot to look in the case.  We already have the camera! hahaha

She does it every time!

Well, the mother cat jumped up in the air and left behind eight kittens, and probably nine, if we could see the bottom of the pile.  At least four of them aren't hers.
Do you know who they belong to?
Old Ghost Kitty!!  She moved her kittens into the shop, told them to eat "whatever" and weaned them. If they find a free meal, she is DONE with them. 

Happens every year!!

Walk away, mama cat!!

Its getting too crowded!!  There may be milk on tap, but getting a drink is next to impossible. 
The kitten in front is taking a nap while waiting for a spot.
One kitten in the middle came up for air and will continue when he catches his breath.

We can see at least four kittens on this side, but.....

you'll never guess what we found on the other side.

Cats really CAN talk.....

Yes, Orangey Tail!

We know you're out of cat food.

Dragging an empty bag out of the recycling, placing it in the middle of the Mansion floor, and planting your body on top of it really isn't necessary.

Look out town!!  Here we come!!

In the lap of luxury.....

One lonely kitten moved into the luxurious dog bed.  The rest chose to go outside and crawl back under the pallet.

We now invite everyone in for breakfast.  A special mixture of canned cat food and cream entices even the wildest kitten to belly up to the bar.

Did you notice that blue cat eyes take on a shade of green when placed next to something green?  Do green cat eyes take on a shade of blue when placed next to something blue?

Give it up, Socks!!

Oh don't worry!  He's not dead!

Socks waited until the lawn equipment was loaded before he staged a protest.  This is the first time he's planted himself in the back of the Nissan.  Usually he's on the roof.....or on the hood.....or on the dashboard....but never in the back. 
Its not your truck, Socks!
We switched the lawn mower from the trailer to the truck because we only had a few lawns to do and weren't taking the big mower.  It looks like we're not taking the truck either, unless we take Socks with us.