Cat update for week ending April 11

For Caturday this week, another coyote visit, plus the usual assorted cuteness.

Porcini sees something interesting (probably a bird) at the cabins:

Two cats at the cabins

Full moon setting behind the cat house:

Full moon

Three cats at the cabins:

Three cats

Two cats inside the cat house (cute Porcini):

Two cats inside

Porcini watching a bird:

Porcini watching a bird

One of the twins between the cabins:

Cat between cabins

Four cats; we were watching all five cavorting from our house window, though I wasn’t able to capture all in one cam shot:

Four cats

Two cats sensing a disturbance in the Force: an approaching coyote:

Two cats sensing approaching coyote

This is a different coyote than the one we saw back in February, and only the second one we’ve seen in the years we’ve been here:

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

The cats sniffing the coyote smells:

Cats

Three cats inside the cat house, waiting for breakfast:

Three cats inside

Poppy and Porcini inside during the day:

Two cats inside

Poppy licking Porcini:

Cat snuggles

Sleepy cats:

Cat snuggles

Four cats again:

Four cats

Flock Friday for April 3

This week, Rory with the ducks, broody chickens, and a new camera view.

I posted a similar (but different) picture to this one, of the ducks and Rory, on my personal blog:

Ducks and Rory

The ducks on the back lawn, with their heads in the grass, looking for tasty bugs:

Ducks with heads in grass

By the chicken run:

Ducks by chicken run

Ducks and chickens

Two broody chickens in a nesting box:

Chickens in nesting box

Gert on the “island” pot in the pond at night:

On island

You probably saw these two pictures of the ducks and Rory on my personal blog:

Ducks and Rory

Ducks and Rory

I moved the mobile cam from by the cat house to the (currently off) waterfall area of the pond:

Camera

A view of the pond and ducks from that camera:

Ducks

Gert with her head in the ground:

Duck with head in ground

Gert was curious about the camera:

Duck

Duck

Duck

And knocked it over:

Duck foot

So I moved the camera to a better location, closer to the pond deck:

Camera

A view from there; you can see the ducks hanging out below the pond deck, where they’ve been spending a fair bit of time:

Ducks below pond deck

I suspect Gert may be considering that location for laying eggs, though haven’t found any more yet.

Swimming past the camera:

Ducks

Ducks eating treats:

Ducks eating treats

Gert:

Duck

Bert:

Duck

Gert below the pond deck again, and Bert walking past the camera:

Ducks

Both ducks below the pond deck, and Paladout walking by:

Ducks and cat

The chickens in the old coop:

Chickens

Broody chickens again (still):

Broody chickens

A wider view of the broody chickens and others:

Chickens

The ducks walking by:

Ducks

Chickens roosting on potato planters:

Chickens roosting on potato planters

The ducks below the pond deck again:

Ducks

Ducks and a bird:

Ducks and bird

Flock Friday for March 27

This week was a busy one for the flock, with a possible first duck egg, me wading in the pond, broody chickens, and the heron and a flock of geese visiting.

An egg?!  Maybe!  We found this large broken white egg on the edge of the pond; it sure looks like it could be a duck egg, and I am expecting Gert to start laying about now. I have been looking most days for more, but haven’t found any yet:

Duck egg?

Duck egg?

On Sunday I waded into the pond with a large ceramic pot, to make a small island for the ducks:

Adding a pot to the pond

Adding a pot to the pond

The pot island:

The pot island

The main reason for doing that was that the ducks often perch on the pot that encloses the pump, but I also wanted to clean and turn on the pump, which would prevent that:

Cleaning the pump

Here’s the pump going:

Pump and ducks

A bunch of pictures of the ducks while I was standing in the pond:

Ducks

Pump and ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks

Ducks going into their house:

Ducks going into their house

I’ve seen the ducks sitting below the pond deck on several occasions; I’m wondering if that’s a possible nest location (nothing there yet, though):

Ducks below the pond deck

Let’s not forget the chickens. Here are some having dust baths in the veggie garden:

Chickens having dust baths

Enjoy it while you can, girls! Once the weather warms up enough for us to start planting, they’ll be evicted.

Refilling one of the outdoor waterers; it’s easier to do that in summer, when the garden water is on, but at present I have to turn on an underground valve for one of the pipes, which leads to this tap in the back lawn, plus the pond tap:

Refilling waterer

Domino laying an egg in a nesting box:

Domino in nesting box

You can see the leftmost egg still glistening, moments after being laid:

Domino in nesting box

The heron stopped by briefly:

Heron

An animated GIF of topping up the pond; you can see the water from the hose on the right, and the water level rising slowly (watch the pond edge):

GIF of topping up pond

Ducks following me down the path:

Ducks following me down path

Did you see my YouTube video of eleven geese taking a pitstop in our pond?

Here are some photos of that, starting with the geese landing (look in the upper-left corner):

Geese landing

Geese

Geese

Geese

Geese

The geese taking off:

Geese taking off

Finally, Martha is being broody again, hanging out in a nesting box; here she’s sitting on 15 eggs:

Martha in box

Cat update for week ending March 21

This week, a new alien cat, a jay landing, and assorted cute cats.

I mentioned this yesterday, but for anyone who didn’t see that: because everyone could use a bit more joy at present, I’m posting a moment of cuteness every day on my personal blog. Which will include additional feral cat pictures not posted here, plus our pet cats, our dog Rory, ducks and chickens, and other cute things from around the homestead. So you might enjoy following the Dejus blog, or its RSS feed, or cross-posts on Micro.blog, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Also, a plug for one of my Dejal apps: to help people new to working from home, I am giving away the fully unlocked features of my Time Out break reminder app for macOS.  It’s important to take regular breaks.  Learn more on the Dejal blog.

On with the pics. Here’s Porcini peeking:

Porcini

Pommie and Porcini in the cabins:

Pommie and Porcini

Pommie and Porcini

In the breezeway during the day:

Breezeway

I encountered Pepper in the front of the shop; she is used to me, so doesn’t run away unless I get within a few feet of her. The feral cats have been practicing social distancing before it was cool:

Pepper

Porcini on the driveway:

Porcini

Bella in the cat house:

Bella

And by the cabins:

Bella

Bella and Porcini:

Bella and Porcini

A new alien cat turned up this week; similar to Pumpkin, but a lighter color:

New alien cat

I haven’t seen Pumpkin for a while; I had to significantly reduce the food dispenser quantity, to avoid leaving food overnight.

A good stretch:

Stretch

Bella, Poppy, and a twin by the cat house:

Three cats

Three cats

A twin on the front steps (sorry about the reflections in the window):

Twin

A fight between two cats; I assume one of our twins and the new alien, but could be two aliens; I can’t see them clear enough to be sure:

Face off

Cat fight

Cat fight

The new alien cat again; an un-neutered male:

New alien cat

New alien cat

A Steller’s Jay coming in for a landing; such a pretty bird:

Steller's Jay

Steller's Jay

A twin with their tongue out in the cat house:

Twin

I hope you enjoyed this cat update. Be like feral cats, and practice good social distancing!

Flock Friday for March 20

This week, the ducks walked across the back lawn to meet me a few times, the chickens got their favorite treat, the heron visited again, and more.

Oh, and for anyone who doesn’t follow my personal blog, Dejus: because everyone could use a bit more joy at present, I’m posting a moment of cuteness every day. Which will include additional duck and chicken pictures not posted here, plus feral and pet cats, our dog Rory, and other cute things from around the homestead. So you might enjoy following the Dejus blog, or its RSS feed, or cross-posts on Micro.blog, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Anyway, on with today’s Flock Friday. Here are the ducks in their house:

Duck in duck house

Duck in duck house

The ducks on a frosty back lawn:

Ducks

Eating mealworms next to the duck house:

Ducks by duck house

Ducks by duck house

Chickens having a dust bath in the veggie garden:

Chickens having a dust bath

The ducks on the back lawn again:

Ducks

Quacking and walking back to their house:

Ducks

Ducks on path

A couple animated GIFs of the ducks on the path to the duck house (different than the one posted on my personal blog):

GIF of ducks on path

GIF of ducks on path

Chickens staring at me, waiting for treats:

Chickens waiting for treats

Chickens waiting for treats

It was worth the wait; rice is their all-time favorite treat, after mealworms:

Chickens enjoying rice

Chickens enjoying rice

Chickens enjoying rice

Chickens enjoying rice

Another frosty morning, and again the ducks running over the lawn to see me:

Ducks running over the lawn to see me

Ducks on back lawn

Quacking at me by the chicken runs:

Ducks by chicken runs

Ducks by chicken runs

Did you see the YouTube video of them following me to the duck house and getting treats?

A heron coming in for a landing:

Heron landing

Heron landing

Heron in the pond, watched by the ducks:

Heron in pond

Finally, since Jenn hasn’t been going to work due to COVID-19, and the chickens are laying about a dozen eggs per day at present, we’re accumulating lots of eggs. Here are four dozen, washed and ready to make into a heap of breakfast burritos this morning:

Four dozen eggs

We’ll work on thinking of other meals to eat up the eggs. Let me know if you have any recommendations.

Stay safe, stay home, everyone!

Cat update for week ending March 7

This week, one GIF, some pictures with Pumpkin, a glimpse of my drone, etc.

Porcini and Pommie in the cabins:

Porcini and Pommie

Pumpkin arriving in the breezeway:

Pumpkin in the breezeway

The two cats in the cabin were not pleased to see him:

Pumpkin in the breezeway

“And stay away!”

Pumpkin in the breezeway

Pumpkin:

Pumpkin

A GIF of cats (and briefly a raccoon) in the cabins and house. Pumpkin just wants to hang out with them:

GIF of cats

A cat arriving at the feeder while Pumpkin was eating:

Arriving while Pumpkin was eating

Porcini:

Porcini

Two cats inside their house:

Two cats inside

Pansy on a chair in the back of the shop:

Pansy

Pumpkin looking very relaxed:

Pumpkin

Pumpkin and Poppy both arrive for breakfast at the same time:

Pumpkin and Poppy

Pumpkin went to drink some water, and Poppy was able to go in to eat:

Pumpkin and Poppy

Pumpkin peeking:

Pumpkin peeking

Two cats in the feeder:

Two cats

Pommie arrived at the cabins while Pumpkin was there:

Pommie and Pumpkin

A glimpse of my drone on the left of the picture, practicing low flying, when a couple of cats were eating:

Drone

Drone

Poppy asleep in the house:

Poppy

Another cat joined her:

Two cats inside

Three cats:

Three cats

Cat update for week ending February 29

This Caturday, some wildlife visitors and increased use of cozy accommodations.

The tripawd coyote visited again last Saturday night, but hasn’t been back since:

Coyote

Coyote

Poppy and Porcini having breakfast:

Poppy and Porcini

Pommie in front of the cabins:

Pommie

An animated GIF of three cats going in and out of the breezeway cabin (crowded in there!), with another cat watching from the log pile in the background:

Breezeway GIF

Three cats again, this time by their house:

Three cats

A raccoon visited Porcini in a cabin:

Raccoon and Porcini

She swiped at it and retreated out the back door; it jumped back then left.  She came back later.

Raccoon and Porcini

Pommie in the breezeway:

Pommie

Two cats in their house:

Two cats in their house

Two possums in the feeder (with no food). Unusual to see two; they usually travel singly. These look young, though:

Two possums

Cat closeup:

Cat closeup

Pumpkin and Porcini; he just sniffed and left. Perhaps disappointed that she has taken the cabin he had preferred. He hasn’t been hanging around very often this week:

Pumpkin and Porcini

A rare color picture of Pansy in the back of the shop, using the heating pad:

Pansy

Poppy enjoyed the cat house a few times this week:

Poppy

Poppy

Sun setting behind Porcini:

Sun setting behind Porcini

A cat climbing up the pole behind the cat house:

Cat climbing pole

Cat climbing pole

Cat on top of pole

The cat on top of the pole from the other camera:

Cat on top of pole

Jumping down from the pole; probably not as comfortable as climbing down backwards, but faster:

Cat jumping down from pole

The left cabin is the original one I got before building the cat house, and the cover had torn off the heating pad, making it less comfortable to sit on, so the cats haven’t been using it. So I added an old spare flannel pillowcase to it, leaving the old cover bunched up at the back (it’s still partially attached):

Added pillowcase to heating pad in old cabin

Porcini and Pommie checking out the cabin with the pillowcase:

Porcini and Pommie checking out cabin

Porcini in an odd place, on top of a deck joist:

Porcini on deck joist

Pommie approved of the addition of the pillowcase:

Pommie in cabin

Pommie and Porcini in the cabins:

Pommie and Porcini in cabins

Pommie and Porcini in cabins

At the same time as that last picture, Poppy in the breezeway cabin:

Poppy in cabin

Pommie and Porcini in the cabins this morning:

Pommie and Porcini in cabins

Poppy checking out Pommie and Porcini in the cabins:

Poppy checking out Pommie and Porcini in cabins

They’re still there as I write this, a couple of hours later. Makes me happy to see cozy cats.

Cat update for week ending February 22

This week, my first sighting of a coyote, plus some raccoons, and less Pumpkin than usual.

Pumpkin standing by the water dish:

Pumpkin standing

That was the last time I saw him for several days; but he did return. Made us wonder if he does have another home, and was kept inside to heal from his fight last week?

Double-decker breezeway cabin cats:

Breezeway cats

Breezeway cats:

Breezeway cats

A GIF of a cat carrying a prize; doing their job catching rodents:

GIF of cat with prize

Two cats near their house:

Two cats

A coyote visited the cat house. Although I’ve seen signs of them many times, this was the first time I’ve seen one on my cameras. This one is wounded; their front-left paw seems to be missing or mangled, so it was hopping around like Rory does. While I certainly don’t want to encourage coyotes, I do have some sympathy for this one:

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Porcini:

Porcini

Bella:

Bella

Two cats on the empty fountain pool:

Two cats on fountain

Three cats in the breezeway:

Three cats in breezeway

Two cats in their house, taking advantage of it with Pumpkin away:

Two cats in house

Chasing a flying insect in the house:

Cat chasing fly

A few days later, the tripawd coyote returned, and this time ventured inside the feeder, though there wasn’t any food there:

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Coyote

Our local feed store has a couple of roaming cats (useful to protect the supplies from rodents); this one has an ear-tip to mark it as a neutered feral cat, but is friendly:

Feed store cat

One of the twins:

Twin

With Pumpkin away, and some other cats not visiting, there has been an excess of food dispensed, leaving a bunch at night. A lucky raccoon had a feast:

Lucky raccoon

It was too much food even for the raccoon… though it (or another one) did come back later to finish it off:

Too much food even for the raccoon

I subsequently significantly cut back the amount of food being dispensed. I’d rather have to manually dispense food than leave some overnight, encouraging unauthorized wildlife visitors. (I can remotely manually dispense via the feeder’s app.)

A cropped screenshot of the two shop cats; Pansy using the heating pad, and Pepper eating:

Shop cats

Porcini:

Porcini

Porcini and Poppy playing:

Porcini and Poppy

Porcini and Poppy

Pausing while scratching the tree, with another cat drinking in the background:

Scratching tree

Poppy:

Poppy

I heard some quiet cat conversation on our front steps next to my desk, and turned on the light to see one of the twins on the steps, and another cat below the door (not visible here). Not fighting, just meowing at each other, which is a bit unusual for ferals. They didn’t run away when they saw me, either, though I’m sure would have if I had opened the door:

Cat on front steps

Three cats in the breezeway again:

Three cats in breezeway

After most of the week away, Pumpkin returned yesterday. I didn’t see any sign of treatment, but I didn’t get a very good look. He may have just been roaming. Though I haven’t seen him yet today, so if he does have a human home, maybe he slipped out:

Pumpkin returns

A Steller’s Jay:

Steller's Jay

Robin:

Robin

The robin having a bath in the water dispenser; I’m sure the cats enjoyed the bird flavor in their water:

Bird bath

A cute trash panda face, I mean raccoon, with no food this time:

Raccoon

Cat update for week ending February 8

This week, more snow and more GIFs, though half as many as last time.

Here are Bella and Poppy sitting by the breezeway cabin, from two angles:

Bella and Poppy

Bella and Poppy

You may recall that Pumpkin dislodged the decorative barrel on the cat house deck a couple of weeks ago; I re-glued it back in place:

Replaced barrel

Here’s a shot from a bit further back, including the door to the cat house:

Replaced barrel

Poppy hiding under the stacked furniture on our deck gazebo:

Poppy

Porcini and Poppy:

Porcini and Poppy

Paladout:

Paladout

Porcini pole dancing:

Porcini pole dancing

Derpy Porciini:

Derpy Porciini

Porcini looking at a bird:

Porcini

GIF of Porcini playing, watched by another couple of cats:

GIF of Porcini playing

Three cats:

Three cats

Pumpkin (looking rather evil, but really just sleepy) watching the snow come down:

Pumpkin watching snow

Pumpkin walking in the snow:

Pumpkin in snow

Another cat in the snow:

Cat in snow

Cat prints in the snow on our driveway:

Cat prints in snow

The cat house in the snow:

Cat house in snow

Cat house in snow

Cats in snow:

Cats in snow

Pumpkin:

Pumpkin in snow

Watch a GIF of cats with melting snow:

GIF of cats with melting snow

Bella in the breezeway at dusk:

Bella in breezeway

GIF of Pumpkin arriving and startling Porcini; I think he was just as startled:

GIF of Porcini and Pumpkin

Breezeway snuggles:

Breezeway snuggles

GIF of a raccoon grabbing a few crumbs of food:

GIF of a raccoon grabbing food

Daytime in the breezeway; quite a contrast between the bright light outside and the dark of the shelves:

Daytime breezeway

Pansy reaching for food:

Pansy reaching for food

Bella:

Bella

GIF of licks in the breezeway cabin:

GIF of licks in breezeway cabin

GIF of Bella rolling around in the cat house:

GIF of Bella in cat house

A twin on the kitchen lawn (I think Spud):

Twin on kitchen lawn

Twin on kitchen lawn

Porcini by the cabins:

Porcini

One of the twins; I think this is Pommie:

Pommie?

This is definitely Spud (I saw his rear end, the only definitive way to tell them apart).  I can’t tell any difference in markings between the two twins, but Spud is a little skinnier:

Spud

Pumpkin hadn’t been hanging around for the last two days, so we were starting to worry something had happened to him, but he turned up again this morning:

Pumpkin