Happy Holidays!

No, really, HAPPY Holidays!

My mom is happy (two little pieces of my anatomy are gone)

The Handlers are happy (because I have stopped spraying)

And I'm happy because they're happy.

Well, hello there!

I do my best thinking in the bathroom.

I just thought I would mention that today was a milestone. Gorda, who is probably just over a year old has been in doggie training school for nine months, basically the entire time she has been with us after the incidents.

If you remember Muñeca ....and there were others....
It's been a long program.
And while the above picture was just taken Saturday, the chicken feather hanging from Gorda's mouth does not reflect a recent hors d'oeuvre.
You're probably saying "uh huh, sure...... "
Trust me, I counted them, not from the bathroom, but earlier today.

So on a leap of faith, all the chickens and Gorda have been left unsupervised today. Completely unsupervised.

Huge I say! Yuuuuge!

Cleaning is overrated

Bet you wish it was socially acceptable to take dust baths, and leave a cloud of dust behind every time you're petted.

Taking a moment...

There are times when you just need to take in the moment, be the observer and mentally record the smells, sounds, and sights of that moment... I decided to take that moment at the Great Willow Tree.

They say that willow trees hold power. This particular tree was no match for a microburst that split a very large towering tree into three trees years ago. Or maybe ... that was part of the master plan for a great towering tree to develop into The Willow Arches. These arches are high enough for a person to walk under.

This was the location of the tragic demise of three goat does two years ago. Now it is a place filled with spirits. Good spirits. And where their descendents come to climb and play...

It is a happy place.

Blanca and Brute, September 2015

Almo and Mocha, October 2016

Gitana and Skip, November 2017

So here's hoping you take a moment, to just take it all in...

Ines

I just want to give you another picture of my Momma, one that is a little more complimentary of her. The Handlers think the world of her. I think one day, when I stop smelling so foul with my own spray, she'll start to love me.

My birthday is coming up, they say. How do they know? I'm a street cat.

(Uruguayan vets will neuter a male cat after they are 1 year old)

My Momma

So, I mentioned earlier that I came to the farm with my momma. My momma doesn't really like me all that much. I'm not sure why; really, what's not to love?!?! My momma's name is Ines. Like me, she has certain spots around the farm that she really enjoys. One of them is a bit of a challenge to get to, and maybe for that reason she likes it...

The Handlers try to save water runoff from the roof in barrels. These barrels are dotted around the house, but two are strategically located off the back porch where the pitch allows for the greatest flow. The Handlers have covered the openings with material allowing the water to seep in. My momma enjoys lounging on those barrels the most.

Here she is 'livin' on the edge.'

And here she is after having experienced 'livin' on the edge...'

(You know when you're embarrassed with your mom, something she might have said or done, but don't really want to hurt her feelings or make fun of her... Oh come on, you've been there, just admit it!)

That's my momma.

That's all I have to say...

Until we meet again, Paddles...

Paddles has passed.

Who's Paddles?

She was the Prime Moggie of New Zealand. She was part of (New Zealand) Prime Minister's Jacinda Ardern's family, a beautimus ginger and white puss who started her life on the streets and rose to be the First Cat of New Zealand. Pretty crazy, eh?

I fell in love with her because she was very sweet, talented, and had a way of wrapping humans around her paw. And she was gorgeous.

She got hit by a car this past week (death penalty coming to that individual....) #PrrpForever.

So who am I? My name is Kemosabe. I am also from the streets (of Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay). I came out to the farm with my mom in February to fulfill a need:
1) An empty emotional and physical space left behind by the late great Maine Coon Ricky who passed in January.
2) A growing tucu tucu population that needed attending to fairly quickly.

I was but a wee scrawny kitten. I caught my first mouse in less than 24 hours. My mom was also very skinny but she still managed to hog the entire couch in this early picture of us.

We found our forever home here.

So I've grown a lot since my arrival. I'm pretty much Hot Stuff right now primarily because I've yet to be neutered.

I started negotiating with the Handlers over the winter to take over responsibility of this Blog in return for fresh raw meat on a daily basis. It took some back and forth, but we have finally come to an understanding. The escribano (attorney/notary) wrote up the contract, added 4 stamped seals, and 16 paper copies later we're good to go.

So ...thanks for this opportunity to enter into your cyber space. My goal is to make you smile because my feeling is there's not enough of that happening these days.

I will leave you with a picture of me because...I'm a cat.

The day the birds stopped....

A week ago today, the birds stopped their singing... The tucu tucu's were still... There was a quietness about the farm, if only for a bit.

And it was sad.

This gentle giant, Ricky, passed away.

Feeling rich...

Female handler has this thing about clean windows, especially in the summer. I was sitting at my usual spot on the kitchen rug as she was maneuvering a stool around me to access the window above the sink. She wanted to bring in the new year with clean windows. She had one last window to attend to. I wasn't making it any easier for her... She says that looking out clean windows makes her feel like a million bucks (face it, she is a strange one...or "unique" as one family member might say).

This was her 7th clean window. She must feel like 7 million bucks. Ummm, I could use some more cans of sardines...

Now she can clearly see the geese on the front pond levee...through the kitchen window. She can also see them meander to the freshly cut flax field next door...

Almonds ready...

Say what?

No, really, some of the almonds are ready for harvest.

Checking the date...we are not at the end of January or well into February, but rather this is December 22, 2016, and some of the almonds are ready to be harvested.

Just say it. Go ahead ...say it....

Surreal.

Summer Solstice

14 hours, 24 minutes and 43 seconds of sun today.

My thought is ...best to stay indoors.

The main reason is because I was out prowling last night...and I'm tired.

Mochi, on the runway

Mochi is our semi-feral Billy goat. He's a big boy. Suffice to say, that's a big tire he's on (the pallet beside the tire is a standard size pallet). He seemed particularly keen on getting his picture taken and shifted into this pose...

Hard to say what he's thinking most of the time. Perhaps he fancies himself a model.

Cracks

The cracks in the orchard are wide, and really, who knows how deep.

Help me, something has my hand!!

Princess Bed

Nostra has a new bed next to the wood pile.

This is her attempt to not look so sheepish about it.

Messing with my 'Goodness'...

I've been struggling to get over an upper respiratory infection for a couple of months. It has taken a toll on my vocal abilities. My meows are not so loud. Most of the time I just open my mouth in an attempt, but no meow comes out. But the Handlers know. Sometimes they like to pull my paw and say..."what's that Ricky?" We do this back and forth a lot.

I've got them trained though... I can sound pretty pathetic when I want to. I am basically in perma-park on the kitchen rug when there is any activity in the kitchen. A year ago, this would have been out of the question and I would have been tossed out of the kitchen. This rug is conveniently at the foot of the sink in what the Handlers call a very small kitchen. I think the kitchen is plenty big enough; I really don't need a bigger rug.

They have gotten used to not being able to use that rug much because I monopolize it. They have also gotten used to stepping over me. Sometimes I watch them from a distance straddling the rug when I'm not even close to it!

My patheticness has given me an added indulgence of a daily dose of "Goodness", along with my regular food. This could be chicken, or my new favorite, sardines. "Goodness" doesn't get any better than that!

Unless....the Handlers sneak in garlic and ginger per Jim Duke's recommendations. I'm pretty sure that when Dr. Duke wrote The Green Pharmacy, he wrote it with humans in mind, not cats.  But that hasn't stopped the Handlers; they slip this crap stuff in each and every time! I no longer put in the effort to separate that out. I know the Handlers mean well. Maybe one day they'll stop. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the royal kitchen treatment.

Really??!!

We are in a bit of a drought. Surprisingly the goats like going through "the dust bowl" which was once the front pond to nibble on whatever green growth might be trying to emerge from the clay soil. But just 'meandering through' and getting 'staked in' the area are different things.

The back pond still has a fair bit of water in it, although that too has dropped in level. The native ducks enjoy it. The geese are challenged to get there. It's nearly a 1/2 a kilometer away through the almond orchard, with no water in between. And it has been hot. On those days, the geese don't venture too far from the house which has water buckets  strategically placed around it. And plenty of shade.

They particularly like to make themselves at home on the south-facing front porch.

Really? You must be here? It's a bit of a landmine the moment you step out the front door....

Come on, play with me!

Kid goats in deep slumber until ....

"Are you awake?"

"Want to play?"

"Come on, let's play!"

The big willow tree introduction

The babies didn't make it

Through no fault of her own, Nostra's baby goslings didn't make it. She is dealing with the loss in her own way.

Ever Vigilant

Goat kids in the corral behind Nostra and the Ryana Goslings in the gosling tractor (aka red crate) right beside her.