The Downward Cat Pose
This is Mr. Midnight. I adopted him a year ago from the animal shelter, along with Topaz and Sarah Kit Kat Kate. They had named him Whiskers, and he had been living there for eight months. (Sarah Kate had also been there for eight months and Topaz had been there for 15 months.) They couldn't find his paperwork because it was still in the PetSmart file. "You mean he went to PetSmart and nobody wanted to adopt him?" I asked. PetSmart stores have a special area where they allow shelter animals to be brought in for adoption—it's a wonderful program, especially for rural, overcrowded shelters like ours.
"Oh he's been there two or three times." PetSmart is 125 miles away.
"How is that possible? He's gorgeous!"
Now I believe that he was simply waiting for me to find him, but it's no wonder he didn't want to get in the cat carrier. He was skittish and frightened and yet purred almost all the way home. He then proceeded to live in a closet for the next couple of weeks. When we realized he came out at night and prowled around (and that Sarah Kate actually had more impressive whiskers than he does), I renamed him Mr. Midnight. It suits him perfectly.
He is sleek and beautiful and about three and a half feet long. He has a small voice and a big purr and went from being offish to not being able to get him off you. When he's not trying to make himself comfortable on my lap (where he never quite fits) he likes, as you can see, to sprawl.
Want to see more pussycat pics?
Sarah Kit Kat Kate
Topaz
Patchy Cat
Smudge
J2
New Cat
Molly Doodlebug (aka The Doodle Monster)
(Sorry, still no photos up yet of Sylvester)
© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where yes, this hideous cushion is actually part of The Shack's decor, though it's usually covered with a sheet (it was here when I moved in and is one of the many things that will not be making the move)—and one of our favorite people in the world is Bernie Berlin, a tireless animal advocate who is the amazing force behind (the always short of funds) A Place to Bark . . .and Meow and singlehandedly saves hundreds of unwanted dogs and puppies from being put to death each year.
Evie Models the Newest Look in Baby Donkey Halters
© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Evie is actually wearing Esmeralda's halter, which I chose because I thought it would look nice against her darker fur. Evie's halter is blue to match her lead, but Esmeralda wasn't a willing halter wearer when I started this project and Evie was. She let me slip it right on her (amazing!) and doesn't seem to mind that it's Esmeralda's—just don't tell her it doesn't fit quite right because it was actually made for a baby horse (I unbuckle the back strap rather than cramming it over her slightly-larger-than-foal ears to get it on). No matter what, it's certainly a lot spiffier than that infamous ratty blue halter Donkey Doodle Dandy arrived on the farm wearing all those years ago.
She's Growing Up, but She's Still a Water Baby
© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where yes, I did in fact name Marta after the main character in my second favorite movie (the first is "Out of Africa"), a quiet little German gem called "Mostly Martha" (pronounced Marta in German). I've watched this movie numerous times and think every single thing about it is wonderful, including of course that it's all about food. Unless you're trying to eat dinner while watching it, you barely even realize you're reading subtitles. Last week I took my chances and bought a used copy of the American remake, "No Reservations," despite it's poor reviews, since I love "Mostly Martha" so much and am a Catherine Zeta-Jones fan, but I turned it off before it was halfway over. I highly recommend the original!
Getting to Know All About You
© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where stock dog Lucky Buddy Bear (who is half English Shepherd and half Australian Shepherd) knows that one of the most important parts of his job is to sit back and let the farm animals inspect him. He also knows that patience is a very handy virtue. Oh, and Evie looks a little bit odd because she's wet from munching grass that's covered with thick morning dew. Esmeralda isn't as fluffy so she doesn't get quite as damp—or else she's just learned how to eat without getting soggy.
Lucky Buddy Bear in the Creekbed
© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where our stockdog Bear is half Australian Shepherd, half English Shepherd, and 100% Extremely Jealous Attention Hound. No matter where you are on the farm, if you bend down to pet somebody (dog, cat, sheep, little lamb, baby donkey—doesn't make a difference) he instantly appears and puts his wiggling, excited self smack in the middle of the love.
Dolores & Daughter Esmeralda (who is already 2-1/2 months old!)
Need more hee haw in your life?
Baby Donkeys
Donkey Photos
More Donkey Photos
Donkey Doodle Dandy
© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where having two baby donkeys who can't seem to get enough pets and snuggles is almost more cuteness than we can bear—and all the donkeys have this ability to look at you in such a way that you always feel as if you've just interrupted something really important.
This bottle baby drinks more than milk.
You know it's going to be an interesting visit to a new friend's farm when you climb out of the driver's seat of your car and a baby Boer goat jumps in.
After I'd scooped him up and deposited him back on the ground (a small amount of cuddling may have been involved in the process), Chowder ("the grandkids named him") proceeded to nuzzle my leg and nibble daintily on my knee, duck under electric fence wires so he could follow us as we walked around the fields, play with some rocks, and look so darn adorable I must have squealed "He's so cute!" about 300 times.
At one point while we were sitting around talking about everything from Kubota tractors to the best way to deal with seed ticks (duct tape!) and enjoying the sweeping views of the surrounding countryside, Chowder began heading determinedly toward the small patio table next to us.
I grabbed up my camera case assuming he was about to eat it (because you always hear that goats eat everything), but was quickly informed that what Chowder was really going after was my soda. He was then given a small drink.
This amusing little guy, who is slated to become a "teaser goat" to help bring the does in heat during breeding season ("He'll still have all his equipment, he'll just be shooting blanks") didn't come home with me that day, but somebody else did. More about our newest four-footed member of the farm hopefully soon. Hint: It's not a goat. Update: Meet her here!
© FarmgirlFare.com, the soda slurping foodie farm blog where despite my saying repeatedly over the years that I would never, ever have goats, there are probably going to be a few of these brush and bramble eaters in our near farm future. No dairy goats, though.
"We're trying to reduce your workload, not increase it," Joe reminded me when I said something about homemade goat cheese. "There's no way you want to have to milk a goat twice a day, every single day." And despite the dreamy cheese idea, he's absolutely right—although he's the one who's pushing for the goats. "But no nannies—and no babies!"
Greenhouse Kitty
© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the aleafy green loving foodie farm blog where sorting through a zillion old photos is a boring, time consuming job but it does have its benefits; some of our favorite photos often slip through the cracks, like this one taken back in May of Topaz (before she moved outside and slimmed down) inspecting some salad greens—right before she started eating them.
The lemon balm and Greek oregano (in the pots on the left) and Swiss chard (which is one of my favorite—and easy!—things to grow) are all still going strong, but that beautiful, heat-hating arugula has long since gone to seed.
Now that the days will be cooling down, though, I'll start watering the section of raised bed where the seeds fell (since I was too lazy to actually collect and save them), and a whole new crop of arugula will hopefully sprout up in a couple of days. We'll go from seed to salad bowl in less than a month.
Topaz will be thrilled—and I will, too of course. (And we've decided that it's okay to use crazy run-on sentences in the copyright notice.)
Sleepy Girl
© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where, try as you might, sometimes you just can't keep your eyes open—or your ears up.
