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.