One lucky person will win $50 to spend at MrChewy.com! Go enter for your chance to win before 11:59 pm Friday!
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Sights from around Crooked Acres.
This week, birds ‘n squirrels and some randomness. Next week, chickens, ducks and dogs!
We moved this miniature (potted) lemon tree into the garage for the winter. This will be the first winter in several years during which we haven’t killed one citrus tree or another. (Though the winter’s not over yet, so I won’t count my lemons before they’re squeezed.)
I snapped this picture this week to share my awesome spice-organizing method. Not only do I have a neat (unpictured) spice rack over the back of the stove (you may have seen it in previous pictures), I also have two magnetic knife racks mounted under the cabinets, where I have more spices hanging. There’s also another one on the other side of the stove, where I have a couple of jars of kitty treats hanging. This works well, because it keeps the spices (and cat treats) at hand, but not cluttering up the counter. And honestly, unless you know they’re there, you probably wouldn’t notice them. Well, not the spice jars, anyway – the cat treat jars are pretty big and noticeable.
My cabbage, still hanging in there. I’m thinking I’m just not meant to be a cabbage farmer. I’m going to be 95 before they’re ready to eat – and they’re going to be tough as leather.
I chopped the catnip plants back, but didn’t pull the plants themselves up, I figured either they’d hang in there or the cold would kill them. The weather’s been so mild that the plants are pretty happy and unless it turns unexpectedly cold, I think I’ll be harvesting from them again this Summer.
Carrots! They look like they’re crowded, but I did thin them out and there’s plenty of space between them, they’re just taking forever to grow. Maybe not a carrot farmer, either?
Birdapalooza on the seed cake!
Blue Jay. Fred’s stepmother hates Blue Jays because (she says) they’re aggressive jerks. I think they’re purty, though. (He does have a wing, it’s just hidden behind the crossbar (or whatever you call it) on the window.
Male Cardinal, keeping an eye on me. I looked out one day, and counted six male Cardinals and four or five females. We’re awash in Cardinals!
Tufted Titmouse. They’re so purty.
Nuthatch!
(No Chickadee or Bluebird pictures this week, though. I haven’t seen the Bluebird in several days (I prefer to think that he found a better place to hang out) and the Chickadees are just too flitty!)
Is it just me, or does this guy (or girl) have really long, finger-like toes?
They always look so blissful when they’re eating bird seed.
“Come here, my beloved bird seed. Come ever so closer…”
When you stuff too many seeds in your mouth, some of them are inevitably going to fall out while you’re munching.
The entire time I was taking this series of pictures, birds were trying to land on the feeder to eat and then were scared off by the squirrel. That Red-Winged Blackbird on the green feeder had tried to land, got scared away, then retreated to the green feeder to keep an eye on the squirrel.
“Dude. Stop bogarting all the seeds!”
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The Peppers (and Miz Poo) gather for some of that da bird action.
A warm-up jump.
Thinking…
Everett wonders if his sister needs a smack.
But is distracted…
Nice jump for a cat without a head.
Oh gravity, you are a cruel mistress.
That is an interesting position, right there.
::LEAP::
Sugarbutt looks a little sympathetic here, doesn’t he? “Dude, that landing had to hurt!”
Sugarbutt wanders off to sharpen his claws, while Miz Poo moves in closer for a sniff at the feathers.
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Hey, Joe B., whatcha doin’?
“Well. My toes are a bit dirty, so I’m going to wash them.”
“And now that that’s done, I think I’m going to go kill and eat a mole, then vomit it up in the house. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure I do it on the rug. I wouldn’t want to mess up the hardwood floor.” ::LOVE EYES::
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Previously
2011: “I don’t know who his Mama is, but he can’t have MY DADDY.”
2010: The worst part of having surgery is having to wait for it to be time to HAVE the surgery.
2009: “They’re rejects from the nursery!”
2008: No entry.
2007: Beach Roses (fiction).
2006: Giggling like that is EXACTLY something Fred would do.
2005: Taking the day off.
2004: I don’t believe I mentioned that the Bean has tapeworms.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: And I yelled “Any fucking thing else?!”, addressing, I guess, God.
2000: Okay, so I don’t have much to say today.
The squirrels where I live are all mutants… or living a thug life. We have one with about a 2″ tail (we call him stubby), one with a hairless tail, one with a sharp bend in it’s nearly bald tail, one with a bald head and shoulders, and another one with a bare mid section and rear end. It is easy to tell them apart. They race around like they are fine.
A kitty question: We have a gorgeous long-haired calico that adopted us. She is the most loving creature… until you stop petting her. Then she will swat at you and sometimes lunge. It isn’t a huge problem but the kids are afraid to pet her for that reason. Maybe she is mad that the youngest one named her “Ned.”
She has gorgeous long hair and within the past month, she keeps getting stool stuck in the fur on her backside. It smells Horrible! As you can imagine, she does not appreciate getting her rear end washed so frequently, sometimes twice a day. We have been very mindful to make sure there is nothing for her to get into and no food left out for her to sample at night, which I figured was the problem. Maybe she needs fancy food? Surely someone has an idea what we can do. My husband suggested shaving her ass. He said it in jest but that’s not going to happen anyway. Her dragging her butt on the carpet, blanket, pillow… wherever she darn well feels like it is not acceptable either. Help!?!
Kristina, I’m going to post your question in tomorrow’s post – I don’t have much helpful advice with this, but surely someone else will be able to help (make sure you check the comments over at Love & Hisses, too).
If Ned (is it wrong that I love the name?) is having ongoing diarrhea, you’ll want to take her to the vet and have her checked out – there could be something going on with her that has nothing to do with the food she’s eating.
I actually think your husband might have a good idea – not to shave the cat’s butt, but it might help if you trim the hair around her back end. We’ve only had one long-haired cat (Mr. Fancypants) and we did keep the fur around his nether regions trimmed, and it helped a lot!
Blue Jays ARE aggressive. We’ve had them swoop down and attack our cats. But only if they have a nest and babies around. I’ve also seen them attack each other. I’d hate to see a gang of them! Reminiscent of Hitchcock’s The Birds.
I’ve not seen any of the Jays swoop down at the cats, but I have seen Mockingbirds do it!
I lurve that photo of Pepsi. She looks like an adorable little stinker! I sure do hope she is getting along well (and keeping her claws retracted) with her new family.
I am lazy, but would you please share once again what camera you are using again??? The photos you’ve been taking recently have been so amazing. Especially the close-ups!
I love the new February header.
I still have carrots in the garden (and maybe beets, I don’t really remember), but now they are under a fresh 20″ of snow. You just reminded me of them. They should be fine until the next time it thaws out, and then I will have fresh carrots again. I am NOT going to dig through the snow to get to them, even though now I am hungry for carrots, now that you mentioned them!
Your catnip is beautifu1! I planted some mint in the garden last summer, knowing full well it would spread, and I am sure it is sneakily spreading under the snow.
Blue Jays are purty, but I agree they are jerks. I occasionally put peanuts in the shell around the base of my maple tree for the squirrels. The squirrels usually eat a few there at the tree, but then they take a few and bury them in different spots around my yard to save for later. Well, those m-fing c-sucking Blue Jays sit up in the tree and watch where the peanuts are being buried; and as soon as the squirrels are gone, they go dig them up and fly off with them…the rotten bastards! Oh and they have a loud obnoxious squawk, too.