Happy Halloween Birthday

      We adopted our barn kitties (Bro and Sis) as kittens....in the dead of winter last January.  It is unusual for a barn cat to have a litter in late fall, but they were born the end of October or early November....

according to Jan,  who's barn they came from.  This is them looking in on the first two kittens we grabbed but did not take.






    
        Being black cats, I decided to give them a Halloween Birthday.

     Unfortunately today's  first Birthday celebration is not too happy, because Sis is not here to celebrate it with Bro.


     Today Bro is hangin' with his buddies (Abbey and Kaysha) who came out of the house for a bit to enjoy some sunshine. 


     Abbey was not so sure she wanted to join in on the celebration.

     Where Sis is now, we do not know.  She was out at the barn last Wednesday night when Courtney was giving the horses hay for the night. 

      Thursday morning she did not show up for breakfast.  Right away I was concerned...she has never missed breakfast before.

      I did a 15 min. search of our barn yard and fields, walking the South
and East perimeter of our property, calling her name over and over again. 
No luck. :-(  

   
      Thursday as soon as I got home from school I checked for Sis....she was still not in the barn.

     So I  went for a long ride looking for her....or what might be left of her. She does not usually wander too far from home, so I worried that she got hit by a car or killed by a coyote.

     After an hour and a half  of searching along the front ditch by 150, along the railroad tracks on both sides, and in the open  fields, I returned more sad than worried.  I had had no luck.  Sis was no where to be found. Amiga did great. I think she knew we were on a mission.....probably because I kept yelling for Sissy every 5 or 10 min.

     Thursday evening I did another walking ground search. Poor Brother followed me all around the barn yard while I looked in buildings and was calling for Sis. I think he was concerned too.

    
     I just can't imagine what happened to Sis.   It was an extremely windy night Wed. and something might have scared her and when she ran, she might have lost her bearings and wandered off in search of home.

      
      I walked around again Friday morning and went for another long ride on Amiga when I got home in the early afternoon...looking for our sweet little barn kitty. There was still no sign of her.

     When Britney and I went for our nightly walk, I called for Sissy several times.  I keep hoping she will hear me and head for home.

     Sissy has a Microchip, required by the animal rescue shelter where I had her and Bro spayed and neutered. Saturday morning I registered Sissy on the Home Again Lost Pet list.  They will make a poster and send it to all of the local vets.

        I called my vet in Le Roy and two of the neighbors to give them a heads up and to ask them to keep an eye out for Sissy.

      I guess all I can do now is wait.  I keep hoping, praying and worrying about Sissy.

               Someone please find Sissy and bring her home....

     All these photos were taken as she and Bro grew up together; playing, chasing, fighting, hunting, eating and napping side by side.

                    I really miss Sissy....and I can tell Brother does too.

 

Let The Good Times Roll

      With the major Farm jobs complete, we are now just doing little things to improve the farm or get ready for winter.  We also had a party Friday night (more on that at the end of this post) to celebrate life and share our blessings with family and friends.

      Last week Joe brought some lime from the neighboring farmer who said we could have some.  He put it on the floor of the stalls and corn crib.

   








     Dan finished painting the west side of the corn crib.

 

     We got a bunch of rain Saturday morning (after our party) which continued off and on through Monday night.  With it came a drop in temperature and lots of high winds.  We even lost power for over 5 hours   on Saturday, delaying my making of this post.....but allowing for a much needed nap. 

  I drained, rolled up and stowed away 4 of our long hoses, deciding I was not going to water any more this fall.   Dan helped me put an extension cord
                                                      from the garage shed to the chicken
coop.  I think we installed it so that the rats and mice can't chew the cord this time.

     Notice Dan had lots of good "help".  The chickens were like... "Whoo Hoo...Let the good times roll"  They love fresh dug dirt to scratch in and pick through.

     Even though the temperature dropped after the rain, the grass has greened up, grown taller, and filled in more.  The pasture and yard are looking fairly good.  We did get frost  one night....so things are going to go dormant soon.

     The mums and this pretty flowering shrub had one last burst of color.  I hope they can stay beautiful through the fall.











     We continue to move Zorro around the different pastures in his little "rope pen".  Joe had moved it to the middle of the pasture out front because the perimeter was completely eaten down.  This worked for awhile, but one day Zorro broke through the rope.  He figured out it wasn't hot.  Once out with Amiga and in the large open space....he took off running.  Britney and I were watching TV when she spotted both horses running together.  So, we went out to catch Zorro.  Getting Amiga was no problem, but Zorro was flaunting his freedom.  He would charge toward me at a gallop, stop within 10 feet, throw his head up and snort, then turn and race away.  He too, was
                                                                                   going to let the

good times roll. 
I waited until he slowed down, before attempting to catch him.  Now we keep the "pen" attached to the perimeter fence which is hot, so the pen rope is hot, which keeps Zorro in.  We pen him out in the alfalfa field with out attaching

to the hot ropes, but it is for short periods and he keeps busy eating alfalfa.  We let Amiga loose out there now that the new pasture grass is more established.  She stays up near the house where the mature and tasty alfalfa is, and where she can be near Zorro. 

     Now, about our party.....which was a lot of fun.  We didn't have a huge crowd, but the friends who came were quite enjoyable.  Mary Cluskey took photos, and since her camera and skills are much better than mine, I asked if she would share her pictures....so I could put my camera away.  These are all courtesy of Mary and will give you a taste of our party.

       Let the good times roll.

 Bro was an uninvited guest                            It was a full moon night          
The drink tub was full                                    And the food a plenty

Zorro's stall was clean                                    And he was ready to go









The Disco Dance Ball                                     And fire pit awaited

We enjoyed sitting around the fire                            And staring into it.














     We made Somores and grilled hot dogs.  I liked mine extra crispy dipped in mustard.  I had a great time with all of our guests at the party.  We have such wonderful friends.

       Sunday afternoon a teacher friend came out to see our farm and show her 2 kids farm life on a cloudy windy day.  I showed them around and then gave each of  them a ride on Amiga.  Amiga was a bit confused with having a bit with reigns and a halter with lead rope, but she did fairly well.  Laina, Derek and Jayne did great. Here are a few of the pictures Jayne took.

Meeting Floppsie                                      Derek checks out the hay loft

 Playing with the barn kitties                                 Bro grabs Derek's shirt 

Giving Laina some instructions            Working on stop and go

                 Laina does a great job on Amiga. 

              And then Derek gives Amiga a try, also doing very well.

             Whoo Hoo!  Ride'm Cowboy....and let the good times roll!