Frankie and Slim

Frankie and Slim
Happy New Year

Sunday, May 16, 2010

STORMS GIVE BIRDS THE EDGE


Our weather continues to be typical. Lots of rain and storms and tornado warnings. Meanwhile this weather keeps me from harvesting our ripening cherries but it does not seem to bother the birds. I stand in the house and watch the birds dart in and out of the tree stealing my grandchildren's hopes for granny's cherry cobbler.

Gibson has hatched three chicks. Two are guinea fowl keets and one is a black sex-link rooster. We know it is a rooster because they are born with a white dot on top of their heads. Gibson will not let me get a good picture and it will probably be a while before I can but if you look closely, you will see a blond keet and a brown stripped keet and a black chick. (and a pile of poop, but don't look at that.)

I forgot to tell that we drove across the new bridge on Mother's Day. It still isn't open to the public but we could not resist. Michael has closely followed the construction of this bridge and it seemed appropriate that we give him a ride across as well as his parents and sister. I took this photo out of the van window from the middle of the bridge.

And, okay, I guess I need to tell the rest of the kitten story. I regret to have to inform you that Cutie was found murdered in the field next door. That left Sugar Cookie motherless again. Our other nursing cat would not take the kitten. Our neighbor's granddaughter had a nursing kitten and they wanted to try. Her cat, Lovable, would not nurse the kitten. They gathered some supplies and have been nursing the kitten with a baby bottle and proper milk and she is getting fat as a butterball. Her name is now Smokey and her new mother is a nine-year-old Trinity.

27 comments:

  1. Oh Granny, I am sorry about Cutie. It may be the cycle of farm life yet it still makes me sad.

    Hope the birds don't get too many of those cherries! Cobbler and cherry pie, oh my. I'll bring the vanilla ice cream:)

    The weather is a bit scary everywhere. Been such a long, hard and unpredictable winter.

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  2. We have had no rain....just tiny drops on a rare afternoon and I am sure you would be glad to share if you could.

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  3. Loving Annie -- The rain let up and I put on boots and went out to gather cherries but none are ripe enough yet. I'm sure the birds will get them all before they would be ripe enough for us. The same thing happened last year but we finally got enough for one cobbler.

    Tabor -- Oh yes, wish I could send some of this rain your way.

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  4. I am so sorry about the kitty! Life is tough for an outdoor cat. Our guys don't know how spoiled they are.

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  5. You never know in real life or animal time how long we have, so sorry for the loss, wishing you a smile.

    Dorothy from grammology
    grammology.com

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  6. Poor cutie. :(

    Glad you enjoyed the sneaky trip across the bridge.

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  7. I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty Granny. :(

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  8. Riot Kitty -- House cats have the easy life for sure. We had cats here when we moved in and all but one left, then more came and went. I feed them once a day so they have a better chance than many but they have to work for their keep. I've got to quit naming them and just call them guests.

    Dorothy -- You are so right about the life and death issue for all of us. None of us know the time or place. Ive had so many close calls I must be part cat. It seem lately the ones that come here must have used up eight lives before they arrived.

    Joe -- I know you would have enjoyed our sneaky trip since you are such a rebel:)

    Dani -- Something is truly being hard on cats around here right now. Our neighbor's cat lost all her kittens and some of their adult cat, plus we've lost several adult cats and still no sign of Boomer's other litter or Cutie's. I walked around a lot today but found nothing but chickens, guinea fowl, the few remaining cats and my dog Slim. Thankfully I'm not losing any chickens but that is so strange when we have a predator that is taking cats instead of chickens. Like Dorothy said, humans or animals, we don't know how long we have.

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  9. Poor Cutie - I'm glad that Sugar Cookie found a good home.

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  10. Annie, what is a sex-link rooster??

    I feel so badly about Cutie, but her kitten seems to be doing OK. Did Cutie have other kittens?

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  11. Pat took the words out of my mouth - what is a sex-link rooster?

    Awww, poor Cutie! I'm so glad that Smokey aka Sugar Cookie has a good home and I can just see her all plump and sweet!

    I hope the birds aren't too greedy with those cherries! Your cherry cobbler sounds divine, Annie!

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  12. Poor Cutie!!!! Glad Smokey made it through!!!!!

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  13. Annie, sorry to hear about Cutie, so sad... At least the baby kittie is getting some milk and love from that sweet nine year old.

    We have found seven baby kittens so far...Three mama cats and seven kittens...I wonder if there are some more stowed away in a hidden home? I have been making up a milk/egg mixture for the mama cats and they love it.

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  14. Windy? ya mean you've been dodging those infamous twisters?
    Good thing roosters come with ID tags for you! Hope the chix do very well this round!

    So sorry to hear Sugar Cookie Smoky lost her mom- Good neighbors to help out so much! She's getting pampered after all-
    Hope Cherry Cobbler isin't too far off for the kids, either! Wish I had a cherry tree... I love fresh cherries!

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  15. Lynn – The kitten has found a great home and this little girl loves he pets.

    Pat – A Sex-link is a breed of chickens, like Rhode Island Reds, or Araucaunas, or Plymouth Rocks, etc. They lay a beautiful, large brown egg. I don’t know what the males have this dot on their head, but we have proven that to be true over time. As far as Cutie’s other kittens go, I haven’t been able to find them or Boomers either.

    Talon – Read my answer to Pat about the sex-links. I am hoping to have enough sunshine today that I can gather some cherries. I didn’t think they were quite ready but the neighbors checked them and assured me the cherries are ready. I believe they have their eye on a few for themselves.

    Kay – It sure seems like I have a lot of sad stories from animals meeting sad ends. Yep, we’re happy for Smokey too.

    Lucy – That milk and egg mixture for the mama cats sounds great but I did read where you should not give kittens cows milk. However with this quandary over the kitten, I learned there is a cat milk replacement sold at WalMart. The next time I will know what to get if we wind up with an abandoned new kitten.

    Snaggle Tooth -- I love the cherries too but I don’t care for picking them or pitting them. Usually I wait until the grandchildren are here to pick and pitt but looks like I’m going to have to do these myself because it will be next weekend before any of the kids are here. If it helps, I’ll think of you when (if) we have our cobbler.

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  16. Strange that it's only preying on the cats....

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  17. What can I say that hasn't already been said? I hope you get enough cherries for TWO cobblers this year. Glad the kitten found a good home. Someone always seems to step up to the plate when others need help. Glad the twisters have missed you. We are finally getting some rain, but not as much as you. Love that you are such a REBEL crossing that bridge illegally, lol. I hope you find out what's getting the cats.

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  18. You have to be a really talented chicken person to keep all of these straight and named...sorry about the little one.

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  19. Are we trhinking of neutering any of these cats to stop the cycle? A well fed (commercial cat food) cat is a better 'mouser' anyway. Cats cannot survive on 'wildlife.' They have been domesticated too long.

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  20. Dani -- Perhaps we have a stray Tom cat that is stalking the others. Yes, it is strange that cats are the prey.

    Bonnie -- The twisters have always just missed us "this time". There is always another one behind it to watch out for. You can't live in tornado alley without watching out.

    Changes -- I'm far from talented at anything but thinking up names. LOL

    Entre Nous -- We find a lot of the rotation in the cat population due traveling feral cats and to people dropping off unwanted pets or strays.

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  21. I really like that first photo.

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  22. I'm sorry to hear about the mama cat. Too sad.

    I hope you get a chance to snatch those cherries! I love cherry pie!

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  23. Poor Cutie. I'm glad her kitten was able to be saved.

    You are dealing with a city girl here so I don't know the terms you're using about the chickens, but I'm enjoying the pictures and I'm learning.

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  24. Paul Nichols -- Thank you Paul. I thought it was a bit fuzzy but my tree didn't look as full from a distance so I took that close up to show the cherries.

    OGO -- I've got sunshine today and I'm on my way out to gather what I can of the cherries. Maybe we'll have a cobbler to two after all.

    Cube -- I was a city girl too long and I probably jeopardize my cats and chickens more than help them because I am such a tenderfoot. I do home I'm learning some things and I don't miss being a city girl.

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  25. Anonymous7:37 PM

    Was it coyotes that got cutie? arghhh It's strange that the kittens are disappearing and makes me wonder about snakes, but your chickens are alright so that rules out snakes. Ow. My head hurts!

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  26. It seems awfully early for cherries but cherry cobbler sounds delectable.

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  27. Poor Cutie. My first thought was coyotes, too. they sure go after cats and smaller dogs in this area.
    Our cherry crop isn't ready til July here:)

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