Yes, that is a Marmalade Kitten climbing onto a BooNanny’s head
Look at this tiny Marmalade Cat.. climbing up onto Boo Nannys head. Boo stays very still and then very slowly turns his imploring eyes to me with a ‘how long can this go on’ look. Long time Boo, sorry buddy.
The Duke of Kupa knows that this warm sunshine is on the wane so he sits. And he waits. For the wane.
I had a friend tell me the other day that he could never trust his pigs around his chickens, he said they hunted them and ate them. Well, I guess my piggies are not that hungry.
Yesterday I rotated the cows and sheep into their clean pastures. This is my favourite part of the week, calling them through, then watching them drop their heads into the long tasty grass and all I can hear is that tear and munch of big happy mouths.
All the girls are back into one flock, Hairy the ram is fighting everyone – including me. This happens with hand reared rams. They get too familiar. So he has gone into solitary splendour. I will probably have to sell him this winter. Or swap him for another fresh ram for the girls. He has repeatedly broken in with Minty and Meadow (with the help of Charlotte that time) but so far we have kept him away from Tilly. On such a tiny farm a big ram like that is hard to manage. I was not paying attention the other day and he head butted me in the back, gave me such a fright. Usually he is such a pet, but you should never turn your back on a ram, especially at this time of year. I know this.
Daisy.
And Queenie.
In Pats Paddock. Eating and Gestating. Everyone gets a bucket of apples each day until I have stripped all the trees. So both cows are lovely and shiny and well fed.
Look at that lovely pasture. We are so lucky it has lasted this long. Next year, if all goes well, there will be four cows on these fields, so it will be a different picture.
Good morning. I am up early, early. 3 am early actually. The Marmalade kitten is fed and back to sleep. Even the dogs have gone back to bed but I cannot sleep tonight. So I am having a cup of tea beside the fire. Our first fire of the year. We heat the whole house with this woodburning stove (though the bedrooms are never that warm – which I prefer) and all winter I will cook on it too.
Soon I am going to pull the fridge out as I can smell a dead mouse. I loathe that smell and I will not be able to settle until I find it and get it out of the house. And they almost always choose to die next to the motor of the fridge. Bloody mice.
You all have a lovely day.
After I have crawled around the kitchen on my hands and knees looking for dead things I might go back to bed too.
Your friend, celi
98 Comments on “Yes, that is a Marmalade Kitten climbing onto a BooNanny’s head”
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thekitchensgarden 
You’re up early and I’m just home from work and off to bed. Happy to see the lovely farmy before I fall asleep.
ni ni darling.. c
My Mudlets really appreciated the kitten picture. Hope you found your mouse and managed to get some sleep.
Could not find the wretched thing but once the fridge was pulled out i was compelled to clean back there, the hunt continues.. c
For a minute there I thought my clocks had stopped! All looking great on the Farmy. Good luck with the mouse hunt. Laura
Morning Laura, I should put SA on my world clock list so i know what time it is over there too! c
A far as I can calculate – SA is 7hrs ahead of the farmy! Your 3am was my 10am …. but this changes with your day light savings which we don’t have.
What a contented post ere I take a book to bed also! Such a lot of news: the green, green grass appetizing to me even . . . Daisy looks pregnant now . . . thought the piggies had departed same time as the meat chickens . . . Hairy has got the ‘desires’, has he? . . . and Marmalade, don’t get too big for your boots, will’ya!! Hope you did go back to bed . . .ni-ni from me . . .
Morning Eha, the piggies have a little growing to do yet, though I need to do a good think about when to send them in.. c
WoW you are early! I, by contrast, am late. That corn looks ready for harvest – the maize harvest has been in full swing for a couple of weeks here, and with all the rain we’ve had the roads are smothered in mud, ditto the cars, but it’s not worth washing them until it’s all over. The field outside my window has not yet been cut, but it’s any day now, I reckon, and then I’ll be able to see whatever’s on the far side.
You watch your back with that ram!
Enjoy your Sunday,
love, ViV x
I bet the farmers are not taking that rain well! Hope you had a lovely sunday ViV. c
Good morning Celi, up even before the lark this morning aren’t you! Some wonderful pictures today, so peaceful and calm.
Know what you mean about the dead mouse smell! Nothing worse. Although a couple of years ago I had a ‘smell’ in the kitchen and searched high and low for the cause. It was a hot June and I had a visitor coming to stay for a friends wedding. I had cleaned the cottage from top to bottom, it sparkled, but there was this smell! It wasn’t until the day after the visitor left I found it – I had roasted a chicken and had put the pan back in the cooling oven to deal with later and forgot about it. The smell was the fat and chicken drippings which was very rank after 4 days in a hout kitchen! Yuk!!
Have a wonderful Sunday my friend and take a nap this afternoon!!
Oh NO! That must have been a smelly disposal.. maybe I should check my oven! Sounds like something I would do.. c
Sweet. ❤
Did you find the mouse? I can’t stand them either, I think they freak me out even more than rats, which rarely come into the house. Maybe Marmalade Cat will grow up to be a mouser for you. 🙂
No I never found it, and now I am afraid that it is dead in the unused central heating conduits, now that would not be good! c
Very early!
Boo and Marmalade are going to be inseparable 😉
They are, now that he is stronger and trailing about the house, Boo just follows him with his head down as though Marmalade is a scent he is tracking.. c
Does Boo sleep inside with kitty?
The kitten still has his own heated room in the basement, he is safe there, he and Boo would roam the house all night if I left them together..and boo still tried to pick him up.. This wee puss only sleeps when i put him to bed by himself.c
Good morning, Celi. Perhaps it was something in the night air? We are up early too. 3:00 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. Stayed up and will have an early start on the Mountain. Guess we will all have to be extra cautious so that the lack of full sleep doesn’t catch up to us today. Well, we’re off…
Have a blessed day!
Oh you too! How strange, but at least you get a jump start on your work.. have a good day up there.. c
This post came early enough for me to comment well before my bed time, we had a recent time change for daylight savings and I am normally in bed when you post and I read in the evening after work when it is too late to comment. Everything on the Farm looks glorious, especially those piggies and lovely little Queenie who is looking fantastic. Like everyone else I am charmed by Boo’s relationship with the marmalade kitten.
Last year I found three ginger kittens in a disused nesting box, their Mum, a feral cat, had stashed them there. We have a real problem with feral cats so I took them from her. I took them to the vet who said they were all boys and about 3 weeks old and in very good nick. He sold me some very expensive kitten formula but I was absolutely useless at feeding the kittens with the formula via a syringe as directed. Neiither could not get them to suck my fingers or lap from a saucer and for some reason it never occured to me to try a babies bottle. They were very fast moving and very vocal and I would try to feed one then put it down and try with another but they were like peas in a pod and I couldn’t tell which one I had already tried to feed! In desperation I phoned a cat rescue place, At 1st the cat rescue woman patiently tried to teach me how to feed them but it quickly became apparent to her how crap I was and she said she would take them. So I take my hat off to you for doing everything you could for your wee kittens who were so much more vulnerable than the ones had. It would have been such hard work and It’s good to hear your remaining little kittie now has a fair chance at surviving.
I think he will do well (fingers crossed, touch wood, etc) I found the syringe hopeless too, the ‘bottle is so much better and it won;t be long before I have to wean him to a saucer! c
So he is to be called Marmalade..great name for ginger kitty…. and Boo behaves so well, not sure that I would want cat plus fleas on my head!
I suppose dead mice go into motor area to keep warm ( before they get deaded)
Have a great day and lots o love xxxxxxxxxxx
No fleas yet thankfully, that would not be nice! c
I’ve very curious about the kitten. How large is it? Can you set it in your hand, and maybe take a photo for comparison? A lovely Sunday morning to you all. x
When they first came he fitted into my hand, but in the last few days he has shot up and now overflows like a droopy rug when I am feeding him. Though often I very sneakily feed him over Boo’s back so he sees Boo as him Mum and not me. He will need a protector when he starts to wander about the garden.. c
Incredible that it was so tiny, and yet Boo knew to care for it. It truly makes me wonder about the order of things, that perhaps we’ve over-estimated our place in the scheme of things. If you know what I mean…
Maybe, but Boo would not have fed it and Ton is terrified of it, he runs away when it comes out! But maybe Boo has a special feeling for babies, it will be interesting to see how he is when lambs come.. c
Some pigs will end up carnivorous regardless. But the majority don’t unless they do not have adequate feed. My hogs liked to let the chickens hide and lay the eggs in their pen. Then when the chickens left they would raid the nest. Yummy fresh eggs.
What type of cow is daisy?
Daisy is an Ayrshire. A big Scottish breed that thrives on forage and no grain. She is very tall. c
Hope you found the smelly mouse – the only more-offensive odor in my book is rotten potatoes. Ugh!
Oh yes rotton potatoes horrible and worse is when you put your hand into the bag and touch a rotton potato.. YUCKY! c
Everyone seems to be up early… & I thought I was the only one! Good Morning to everyone! And thanks to Celi for all that you share with us. I just love reading about the Farmy every morning, a lot of parallels with our ranch. Have a wonderful day everyone
Morning Virginia, I hope you have a wonderful day too.. c
May your little orange fur ball grow up to be a mouser and stay in the yard around the house to help you keep them out.
Pigs who eat chickens my never heard of that so glad yours seem to get along together.
I think pigs and chickens are a match made in heaven, I call the chickens the housekeepers! c
Yes like companion plants in a garden 🙂
something i need to spend more time on.. maybe you can teach me about that next spring.. c
Sure! Helps keep pests away 🙂 Pretty too 🙂
I especially like the photo of Daisy looking so thick and solid! Beautiful photos…a lovely way to start my way. It seems like such a tranquil moment by the fire.
It was nice to just sit by the fire this morning, Hope you two are having a good Sunday Natalia.. c
There should be a law against 3am Sunday morning wake-ups. Told Chloe of the second kitten and of Marmi cat and showed her yesterday’s photos. She sends her love. 🙂
Oh, send my love straight back to Chloe too. Lovely girl.. c
Hope the day comes when Marmalade decides he’s ready to hunt your mice before they can snuggle up to the fridge motor and die! In the meantime, as high maintenance as he is he’s also adorable. As Boo has obviously learned. 🙂
Yes, I need a few more good mousers. Egoli is very good and has taken to leaving dead mice at the door of the pigs run. Which is kind of sweet. c
Dead mouse in the house? Yikes! Good thing Boo is raising two future mousers for you. Photos are beautiful, especially those of the Marmalade and Daisy. Take a Sunday nap, Celi, I highly recommend it! 🙂
I would love a Sunday nap, we will see.. c
Helloooo from Down Under! 🙂
I am the opposite to you and often don’t like to crash until 3am! Love the peaceful ‘winding down’ feel to your posts lately, despite the sad kitten news … Boo is making a fine Mummy for Marmalade, what a champ!
We had a mouse crawl into our computer tower {you know those old clunker towers from decades ago?} It died in there and I had to pull it apart to get the little bugger out! To this day I remember that horrid smell! Hope you find yours! 🙂
Midnight here so I am off for an early night zzz zzz zzzzzzz
How on earth do you stay up that late. wow, fancy a dead mouse in the computer.. most unfortunate.. c
Celi–looks so lovely there. We are in the mist of crazy Salem Halloween so of course I want to escape to your farm. And I have followed the kitten chronicles avidly, with tears and cheers. Black cats are actually endangered at this time, so our local shelter stops adopting them out, but this past week some horrible person actually STOLE a little black kitten–with an intestinal condition–now everyone is searching for him. Donna
Why are they endangered?.. the mind boggles. You would think they would all have their own black cats.. c
Good luck with the hunt Celi! Try to get some sleep 😉
That kitten is adorable! 😉
Morning giovanna! c
I like that you sat quietly with a cup of tea – at least for a few moments. I worry that you don’t take enough quiet moments, just for you!
Oh I do. Especially when i am out in the fields. I often sit in the long grass and drift off into my head. c
oh good! great even.
Queenie is really chunky for a cow. I was sure she was a bull at first glance, until I looked underneath her! You have some supersized animals, don’t you, what with your amazing rarebreed pigs?
Daisy is especially big. And square too, she is almost a caricuture of a cow.. Morning sarah..c
You know how I feel about mice. But better dead than alive.
Though i would not have been sad to see it WALK out the door before dying.. c
What a difference in the kitten since the last visit to the vet. Antibiotics work wonders when needed, don’t they? We once had a mouse build a nest in my oven’s insulation and then when I turned the oven on….oh wow….what a stink. Had to have a handyman come out and help hubby tear the thing apart. Nothing like the smell of baked mice. Then couldn’t use stove top or oven for 2 weeks waiting for parts. These new stoves have a million wires. Your beautiful cow is a sight to see. You are so lucky to have such lush pasture, too, this time of year. We had one of our streers butchered a few days ago and the other one got so lonely he jumped the fence into my neighbor’s bull pasture and settled right in. The bulls seem to like him….no problems. We and our neighbor have reached an agreement to allow him to stay there until they move the bulls for winter. Maybe the steer will take to the sheep as friends.
What a beautiful place you have!
What an excellent arrangement, the Bobby was like that – he hated to be alone, paced and cried… but the one before him did not care at all.. c
Never turn your back on a ram! They are such bullies.
You picked a good one with that Boo – great temperament for a farm dog.
It’s beginning to be cool here – so the little field mice are looking for a winter home – and we are scrambling to keep them out….only one mousie allowed on this keyboard!
Hope you have a perfect day – and are able to float a bit and rest.
It is a strange day, windy and cloudy but warm enough. I have john home for half a day so I am trying to get some of the heavy work done.. c
Ducks are arriving here – think cold weather is not too far. Hugs to all ( and glad you have company today!)
Ducks!! Lovely, I like ducks. c
That kitty is so darn cute. When our Moe was a kitten, Lola (Bernese Mtn Dog) used to slide her nose onto the bed so that Moe could climb onto her big ol’ Berner nose & while Moe would give rabbit punches, Lola would just bounce him for a little ride. They did that every night – until Moe got his big cat claws then it wasn’t so much fun for Lola.
That is so awfully sweet, what a lovely name Lola has.. c
Daisy is gorgeous. We’re all Jersey at this point (until our little bull grows up and does his work). I can’t wait for spots and such. Best,
Jerseys don’t eat as much .. that is a good thing.. c
Good to see Ton staking a claim on his share of the Farmy pics despite scene-stealer Boo Nanny’s efforts in co-opting a cute kitten.
The thought of chicken hunting pigs is quite alarming. You wouldn’t turn you back on them either.
I was quite entranced at the thought of you sitting near the fire with a cup of tea at 3am. I’ve been known to do similar if I can’t sleep, but the thought of the dead mouse gives me the uuuugghhhs, as I hate them, would much rather deal with live ones. They always die near our stove.
We took the stove apart and the fridge apart and pulled cupboards out and cannot find any little rotting bodies but the smell is dreadful. I can only conclude that it is in the heating ducts or the wall.. both impossible to reach.. I am not sure what i am going to do.. c
We’ve had bush rats and lizards die in the walls – over the bed one awful time, and all you can do is burn smelly candles and oil, and wait. Yuck.
I don’t suppose the dogs will sniff it out for you…
There is a lot of sniffing going on but mostly it is me!! I think I might have to get the candles out.. hopefully it does not take too long.. c
Yes, bloody mice. We’ve had two mouse plagues here in Alice in the last 10 years, horrible. Hope you find it and dispatch it easily.
Mouse plagues, sounds biblical.. and awful!. c
Of pigs and cats …
Back in my cat-owning days, I read that a cat wouldn’t be a good mouser unless taught how to hunt by it’s mother. It will be interesting to see if Marmalade proves that. Perhaps it’s the same with the pigs. Hunting chickens might be a learned behaviour. If so, you’ve nothing to worry about.
I hadn’t yet gone to bed last night when this post appeared but I spilt my drink across my desktop — and, yes, my keyboard — before I could comment. I went to bed directly after cleaning up the mess. I’ve yet to see if the keyboard will work and am using a small, wireless one instead.
We’ve a chilly week ahead. I just may have to retire my shorts for the Winter. 😦
Good afternoon! Loved the photos today! Nice and peaceful view of the farm! Do you have neighbors close by? So funny about Boo and his imploring looks! He has been so patient and now he has a friend for life! 🙂
When my hubby had pigs they docked the tails because they would bite each other’s tails! Yikes! There were about 100 of them and I’m glad that I didn’t have to dock the poor little things tails! Yours look quite friendly with your chickens! Peace and harmony!!! 🙂
Hmmmm…I was up at 2:30 this morning! Just couldn’t get back to sleep either, so I came out to the kitchen and had some lemon and honey in hot water and then went back to bed and finally drifted off. Probably due to the expected 1-3 inches of snow they spoke of on the 9pm weather report. We did get some, but not enough to cause any problems. Most of it has melted already and the sun did peek out for a little while. Way to early for snow…grrrr…. 😦
Have a restful evening! Glad you had some help with the heavy stuff today!
There are neighbours, about a mile or so away. I quite like my piggies wee tails, luckily they have tons of room and lots to do so they don’t chew on each other, that would be nasty.. c
p.s. I think that kitties are natural born mousers! I certainly didn’t teach them! 😉 And oh the gifts! Moles, mice, birds, rabbits! Always on the rug at the foot of the stairs in the garage …waiting for my approval! Eeeewww….LOL They just love to hunt and play with them too…which I find very upsetting! 😦
We had one climb into the fan area of the fridge, the fan turn on and stopped…lucky I was home. When we pulled it out there was the decapitated mouse and the stopped fan. ICKY
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
OOOOOOOOO!!!! That just awful.. c
I had a mouse crawl into my lawn tractor and when I turned it on mouse parts shot out of the motor! It was truly nasty. When I tore the plaster off to expose a log wall in the living room I could sit on the couch and watch the mice run back and forth across the logs until I finally found the proper plaster to rechink them. Such is the joy of country living! BTW I was glad to hear your pigs and chickens coexist, when I get my next pig pet it will share the large yard with the donkey, goats, ducks AND chickens.
Your pig will think it is heaven, Sheila doesn’t seem to mind who she has as company as long as there is some.
Such a cute kitty photo!
I was noticing the shiny coats on the piggies, too. Maybe that’s why Sheila tried breaking into the chook house? Or maybe she just had a hankerin’ for eggs. The cows are looking fine; sorry to hear about Hairy’s behavior.
Sitting here chuckling out loud at thoughts of flying mouse parts and icky smells. Hope you find the source soon. And loving your chunky healthy cows eating that good grass, and a spunky kitten with his own BooNanny. All of which, by the way, is exactly why I love this place so much and in particular this rich post today, including all the comments by the the Fellowship. This has been a wonderful tea party! And Celi, thanks for sharing jewelry images via Pinterest. I have gotten back to the bench and am teaching classes again. It’s a welcome change as the farm winds down towards winter. My little vacation has filled my creative well with lots of ideas!
I find mice behind the fridge too! They must like the warmth. The grass is looking so lush. Hope you are getting enough sleep? The first fire always feels special. I think I’ve had the last fire at the bach as the days and nights are warming up nicely now.
It’s getting very Walt Disney, your farm! At least the pictures have that feel, whereas I’m sure the work is very unDisneyish….it would be wonderful if all the tools could do the work on their own as happens in Walt’a “Sorcerer’s Apprentice”:)
Can you give me some tips about cooking on your wood burning stove? Can you show me a picture of it? We have one in France but I’m not sure I can cook on it…it’s not really made for cooking…but I figure if the surface gets as hot as it does — and there is a “nook” for keeping a kettle on the boil — that I might as well try.
Hope you were able to get a few more minutes shut-eye C.
Fear not for our darling little Marmalade with be hunting mice soon enough.
Have a beautiful day C.
🙂 Mandy xo
Enjoy the peace and quiet of your morning!
Ah, The Smell. We used to have an old piano in which mice held periodic funerals. Very traditional, those mice.
You were uo wa before the little lark – hope you got some more sleep!
I did actually, after john went to work i slept until sunrise.. c
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