Month: November 2019

Cat update for week ending November 30

Some interesting shots in today’s Caturday post.

Let’s start with some cat ID: Pommie (left), Spud (deck), Porcini (right):

Pommie (left), Spud (deck), Porcini (right)

An alien cat:

Alien cat

Porcini peeking at me from the cabin as I walk past:

Porcini

Two cats, in a picture taken from our deck (you may have to look closely to see the second one):

Cats

There were actually three cats; a third on a rock, visible from a different angle:

Cats

Three cats at the feeder:

Three cats

A raccoon encounter at the cabin:

Raccoon encounter

Raccoon encounter

Raccoon encounter

All five cats in an iPad screenshot: one in the cabin, three on the cat deck, one in the feeder:

All five cats

A closer look at the four cats at the cat house:

Four cats

Plus one cat in the cabin:

Plus one cat

Three cats inside:

Three cats inside

The food ran out, so I did an evening food top-up:

Evening food top-up

Pumpkin is a big reason for the food running out; I’m going through the food much faster since he started hanging out:

Pumpkin

A cat sitting on our front steps:

Cat on front steps

Two cats inside:

Two cats inside

Double-decker cats:

Double-decker cats

Cabin licks:

Snuggles

Pumpkin startles two others:

Pumpkin startles two others

Three cats in the feeder:

Three cats in the feeder

At the cabin:

At the cabin

Porcini on the awning:

Porcini on the awning

Three cats:

Three cats

Poppy greeting Pumpkin:

Poppy greeting Pumpkin

Pumpkin being a bit agressive:

Pumpkin being a bit agressive

Poppy and Pumpkin sleeping:

Poppy and Pumpkin sleeping

Cabin snuggles:

Cabin snuggles

Peeking:

Peeking

Poppy would like to leave now:

Poppy would like to leave now

Cabin snuggles again:

Cabin snuggles

Flock Friday for November 29

A rather duck-heavy post this week.

But also with a cat! The ducks zipped over to investigate a new alien cat at the back of the pond:

Ducks investigating alien cat

I went back there too:

Alien cat and ducks

It was a very friendly cat, obviously a pet:

Alien cat

I told it to go home (back north).  I didn’t want to encourage it to hang around.

The ducks again from that vantage:

Ducks

Earlier this week I slipped in the mud on the path to the duck house, so I added some straw to help give it better traction:

Path to duck house

In due course we’ll get around to ordering some gravel for the path. I still haven’t decided if I want to tweak the slope a bit, or just leave it as-is.

Here’s a nice pic of Gill:

Gill

Bert and Gert:

Ducks

The ducks rooting in the grass:

Ducks rooting in the grass

Ducks rooting in the grass

Ducks rooting in the grass

Ducks rooting in the grass

This morning, the pond was mostly frozen, and the ducks were vexed, trying to figure out how to get to the duck house:

Duck with frozen pond

The duck house door didn’t open, too; I think it may have frozen shut, since it opened fine once I recalibrated the opener. Hopefully that won’t be an ongoing issue. If it keeps happening, I might have to risk leaving it open overnight, if I can’t figure out a way to prevent it from sticking.

The ducks currently just have a small area of non-frozen water in the deepest part, plus around the fountain:

Ducks

They hopped out to say hi to me:

Ducks

A couple of token chicken pictures:

Chickens

Chickens

Cat update for week ending November 23

It’s a day for cat pictures. On a Saturday. A Caturday, if you will.

Poppy & Bella:

Poppy & Bella

Pumpkin and a twin chilling on the deck:

Pumpkin and a twin

Two cats at the cabin:

Two cats at the cabin

Bella in the house:

Bella in the house

A twin at the cabin (with wide eyes like that, I’d guess Spud):

A twin at the cabin

Pumpkin is not welcome at the cabin:

Pumpkin is not welcome at the cabin

Cabin snuggles:

Cabin snuggles

Droopy flowers above the camera, heavy from the rain:

Droopy flowers

Breakfast queue:

Breakfast queue

Two cats spot me in the garden, while I was doing my morning rounds:

Two cats spot me in the garden

I just love the cabin snuggles:

Cabin snuggles

Porcini is early for breakfast:

Porcini is early for breakfast

Pumpkin is right on time, having been waiting in the house:

Pumpkin is right on time

Porcini watching me as I walk past on rounds:

Porcini watching me as I walk past

Cabin snuggles, yes again (I have literally hundreds like this):

Cabin snuggles

Pumpkin looking very symmetrical in the house:

Pumpkin in the house

Peeking at me from the feeder:

Peeking at me from the feeder

A screenshot of my iPad cam viewer app, with cats on all cams: a twin in the cabin, Pumpkin and the other twin on the cat house deck, Poppy in the house, and the back of the twin from the feeder:

Screenshot with cats on all cams

Poppy and Pumpkin in the house:

Poppy and Pumpkin in the house

Porcini looking contented in the cabin:

Porcini in the cabin

Flock Friday for November 22

It’s that time again. Let’s start with the chickens.

Martha in a pot in the veggie garden:

Martha in pot

The chickens running to see me when I went into the veggie garden:

Chickens

All four new chickens are laying; here are their eggs in a nesting box:

Eggs

Recently collected eggs — including a blue/green one from the old girls, the first of that color for many weeks:

Eggs

New chickens in their coop:

Chickens

Chickens

Chickens

Laying an egg on the floor, instead of in a nesting box:

Chickens

Lola, the introverted chicken; she often hangs out by herself:

Lola

Merida, the extrovert, friendliest chicken; not looking quite so scruffy as before, though still not fully feathered:

Merida

I needed to change the batteries in the old coop pop door opener:

Old coop pop door opener

A peek of the ducks on the ramp, through their house, while I was refilling their food:

Ducks through house

An assortment of pictures of the ducks on the pond:

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Cat update for week ending November 16

26 Caturday pictures today, from 111 captured this week.  (Does saying the number of the pictures in the post put you off reading it? Too long, didn’t read? Though not much reading required; easier to skim through a bunch of cute pictures than paragraphs of text. You can ignore my comments if not interested; I just like to add a bit of context.)

Pumpkin has definitely made his home in the cat house, spending most nights and much of the day there. But sometimes our ferals go inside, too:

Cats in house

Here’s Pumpkin with one of the twins in the feeder:

Two cats

And Pumpkin by the cabin:

Pumpkin by cabin

Three cats:

Three cats

Bella by the cabin (with another inside, not visible here):

Bella

Pumpkin on our deck; it looks like he may have been sheltering from the rain under our tarp-covered furniture in the gazebo:

Pumpkin on deck

(I don’t show our house very often; you can see why we call it the Yellow Cottage. The three hummingbird feeders are visible, if you look closely.)

Pumpkin looking very chill, and a twin again:

Pumpkin and twin

About to jump on the camera housing:

About to jump on camera housing

Cabin snuggles:

Cabin snuggles

Pumpkin and Porcini; she wasn’t pleased to see him:

Pumpkin and Porcini

Pumpkin looking cute:

Pumpkin

Another shot of our deck, this time with Porcini emerging from the gazebo:

Porcini on our deck

She then jumped down off our deck next to the cat cabin:

Porcini jumping off our deck

Porcini jumping off our deck

Doing my morning rounds, I saw Pumpkin under the cedar tree. He sat there as I walked past and took his picture, then he ran off:

Pumpkin

Next time I see him up-close like that, I should try to interact with him in a cat-approved manner (crouch down, slowly blink, flick fingers, talk softly, etc), to see if he reacts more like a pet cat or a feral cat.

Pumpkin and a twin (probably Pommie) at the cabin:

Pumpkin and a twin at the cabin

Pumpkin and a twin at the cabin

Stretch:

Stretch

A young deer sniffing the heated water dish:

A young deer sniffing the water dish

Porcini and Bella:

Porcini and Bella

Pumpkin and a twin just hanging out together on the cat deck:

Pumpkin and a twin

Both twins:

Both twins

Porcini peeking at me from the cabin on my morning rounds:

Porcini peeking at me

Two cats at the cabin:

Two cats at the cabin

Pumpkin in the house:

Pumpkin in the house

Pumpkin squirming unconcernedly on the deck while Paladout watches:

Pumpkin squirming while Paladout watches

(Too many Pumpkin pics? Let me know.)

Flock Friday for November 15

For this week’s Flock Friday update, we have some chicken egg news… but first, the ducks (who still aren’t laying, at least as far as I can see).

That’s a rather dirty bill you have there, Bert:

Ducks

That’s better. And a funny expression on Gert’s face:

Ducks

Got a drooling problem, Bert?

Ducks

Going after mealworms:

Ducks going after mealworms

Ducks going after mealworms

Beads of water glowing in the sun:

Ducks

On to the chickens; here’s looking at the new ones through the remaining weed stalks:

Chickens

The older chickens in veggie garden, wanting me to open the gate into the new run (which I will do in about a week, probably):

Older chickens in veggie garden

The new chickens again:

Chickens

Lavender in a nesting box; yep, she’s laying now:

Chicken in nesting box

The older chickens are still on their winter vacation, with only one egg every few days, but the new girls are picking up the slack. When chickens first start laying, they often have smaller eggs, like this one:

Eggs

Lavender accidentally laid an egg on the ramp:

Laying egg on ramp

Egg on ramp

But now all four of the new girls are laying; check out that dark brown one!

Eggs

(The ramp egg and these three in the nesting box were the same day.)

Cat update for week ending November 9

Welcome to a Caturday uploaded from the road. A bit more difficult than on my Mac, but a good way to occupy myself as a passenger, and avoid missing a day or being late.

A couple of cats on the deck:

Poppy:

In the cabin:

Pumpkin peeking:

On the front garden:

Happy in the cabin:

Jumping off the camera housing:

Comfy Pumpkin in the house:

He’s such a pretty cat:

Three cats:

Pumpkin arriving at the feeder:

Snuggles:

Arrival at the cabin:

Pumpkin peeking at a possum in the feeder:

Big yawn:

Stretch:

Poppy:

Night Pumpkin:

Arrival at the cabin:

Three cats:

Flock Friday for November 8

It was an exciting week for the older chickens: once Jenn removed the potatoes and onions from the veggie garden, I was able to let the chickens in to help us clear out the remaining plants.

The newer chickens don’t get to participate yet, as I’m waiting for them all to start laying (so far only one is). But they have a large run for the four of them, and get daily treat deliveries, so I don’t feel too bad.

Here’s me opening the hole in fence:

David opening hole in fence

Here’s the hole, and chickens heading into the veggie garden:

Chickens heading into veggie garden

Chickens heading into veggie garden

Molting Merida — she is looking rather scruffy at present, as are several others. But don’t worry, it’s a normal part of their yearly cycle, discarding old feathers and growing new ones. The worst part is they stop laying while going through that; we’re only getting zero or one egg per day from all of the old chickens at present:

Molting Merida

Looking from the veggie garden back to the chicken run, and chickens heading into the garden:

Chickens heading into veggie garden

The chickens headed straight for the salad bar:

Chickens at the salad bar

Chickens at the salad bar

Chickens at the salad bar

A wide angle view of the veggie garden:

Wide angle of veggie garden

An empty chicken run; everyone’s in the veggie garden:

Empty chicken run

Every day when I do my morning rounds, the chickens come to the corner of the veggie garden to greet me:

Chickens coming to see me on morning rounds

Let’s take a look at the ducks:

Ducks

Gert shaking her head:

Ducks

The ducks again:

Ducks

On the bank by the duck house:

Ducks

I mentioned in my previous post that I waded in the pond to clean and start the fountain pump. Here are a few more pictures of the ducks from inside the pond:

Ducks

Ducks

Duck butts!

Ducks

Ducks

This picture was in that previous post, but I thought I’d include it here too:

Duck house

This morning, a heron landed on the duck house:

Heron landing on duck house

(I happened to be looking at that camera at the time, and headed out to the pond to get a better picture, but it saw me coming and flew off.)