Category: Crooked Acres

ATTENTION, those of you in the Germantown, MD area – or within a day’s drive!

Red and Scuse, two very close brothers, need a home!

They’re a little over two years old and very active. You may remember then from back in December when I linked about them – they were abandoned by their owners and then attacked by dogs; Red had irreparable damage to one of his eyes, which had to be removed. Abigail reports that they are very very friendly and easy to love, sweet, lovable, affectionate lapcats. Look at those faces – don’t you just want to kiss them?

Read more about them here, and if you aren’t in the market for two lovebugs, please pass the word along!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Sights from around Crooked Acres.

Seriously.

These pups REALLY like their daily snack. (That’s Gracie on the left, George on the right.)

Okay, yeah. There’s fresh water in your water bowls, but you’d rather drink from the pond. Tasty, is it? Rumor has it it’s going to get tastier…

I’m so glad that pond finally filled up. We were worried there for a while!

(A few people have asked and yes, the pond will attract mosquitoes. The dogs are on a heart worm preventative, of course.)

She believes she can fly.

She believes she can touch the sky-y.

She thinks about it every night and day.

Spreads her wings and flies away.

Then she hits the ground and is like “Wait. I’m a CHICKEN. I can’t FLY. Hmph.”

“Stupid R. Kelly.”

Whenever we go out to the pond, the chickens follow behind in hopes that we’ve got something good for them.

So, a few weeks ago, Fred noticed that we’ve got tadpoles in the pond.

A LOT of them. I’m not kidding when I tell you that there are thousands of them. You walk along the shore, and they flit away in droves. Fred was like “We are going to have a plague of frogs out there.”

I was like “Well, what are we going to DO?” Fred said, “We need to get some cats. A LOT of cats. Like, 200 of them!”

So we did. (Those are catfish, in case you’ve never seen them.)

We got 100 4-6″ catfish, and 100 6-8″ catfish.

The fish truck came to our local Co-op, so Fred took half a day off work to go pick up our order. They were in tanks, and the guys dipped them up and put them in big bags and then tied them shut. We brought them straight home and took them out to the pond.

Hopefully they’ll eat some of those tadpoles. We’re also feeding them catfish food, but it’s only been a few days, they haven’t quite gotten the hang of the idea that people bring food. In a year or two, Fred will be a fishing fool and we’ll start eating them.

This is what Gracie thought about those catfish.

Mr. Bluebird sure does make me happy.

And Mr. Cardinal certainly has himself some Kramer hair, doesn’t he?

Squirrel!

The Azaleas are in bloom.

As is the Spirea (I love love love it when the Spirea is in bloom.)

Why on earth does Fred keep snuffling and sneezing and rubbing his eyes? It’s a mystery.

A big black Tom has recently started showing up and eating out of the food bowls on the side and front porch. We need to get him trapped so we can have him neutered, but he is absolutely terrified of people and takes off the instant he sees us. We’re trying to lure him into a daily schedule but aren’t having much luck. We’ll keep trying, of course.

I recently left the game cam on the front porch and caught some interesting stuff. I’m saving that for next week!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

You guys, these kittens are killing me. They’re climbing up in my lap, they’re letting me pet them (they’re not sure about this kissing stuff yet), they’re play-fighting with my feet. I’m doing my best not to squoosh them, but it’s taking superhuman strength!

“Wahhhhhhh! I’m da BAYbee!”

“Hallo, Mama. It time to eat?”

Logie is totally like “Where AM I?”

Someone apparently heard SOMEthing disturbing. “What you MEAN we all have different fathers?!”

Oh, the spotted belleh.

“Gee, your foot smells terrific!”

They’re such rude little brats, and she totally puts up with them.

I hear Lenny and Squiggy saying “Hallo!” in my head when I look at this picture.

“This foot is tasty!”

Emmy’s all “Oh, thank god. YES, go sniff her foot. Sniff it all night long, just let me sleep a little bit…Zzzzz…”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

In the Joe Bob coop, no one sniffs annoyingly at him. (That smile on his face just kills me. He is SUCH a happy boy.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Previously
2011: Maggie would like you to appreciate her girlish figure.
2010: Signs of spring – and pics from around Crooked Acres and beyond.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: (“Why, Robyn, you only sounded like a PARTIAL idiot! I was amazed!”)
2006: “What IS that? Some kind of GODDAMN NICKNAME? You fucking heartless freak? You want me to kick your ass to Seattle, or you want to confess right now, jackass?”
2005: A day in the life.
2004: Naturally, the mental note got lost in the mental clutter, so I forgot she was in there, and only remembered when it had been a few hours and I hadn’t seen her.
2003: No entry.
2002: Don’t look at me like that.
2001: Of COURSE he falls in love with her inner beauty, because EVERYONE knows that fat women don’t have any of that OUTER beauty, for crying out loud.
2000: I can only hope he’ll flash me some butt cleavage.

Sights from around Crooked Acres.

We had thunderstorms last week, and I did my level best to get a good picture of the lightning. If you look in the middle of the picture, behind the tree, you can just barely see it.

After the storm, the light was kind of odd.

And then we got a rainbow!

Daffodils are my favorite flower.

Also blooming is the Wisteria, which smells fantastic.

These little flowers, which I don’t know the name of (though Fred insists that “weeds” works well enough) are all over the place.

Blueberry bushes are coming back (maybe this year we’ll get more than a few blueberries!)

I cut the catnip way back in December, expecting it to die off, and it never got cold enough. No complaints from me!

The cabbage, which I planted last Fall, are still meandering along. Maybe by NEXT Fall they’ll be big enough to eat?

This rooster was slated to go off to freezer camp last weekend, but he escaped Fred’s clutches, and so he lives on. He and that little hen escape the back forty every day and wander the property, clean up the bird seed under the feeders, and just go wherever they want. I have to admit, I like seeing them wander around.

Happy little grapevine.

We’re getting well over two dozen eggs a day right now.

Duck egg on the left, chicken egg on the right.

Duck egg on the left, chicken egg on the right!

The girl ducks, having pushed their way into the maternity yard to lay their eggs, now have no idea how to get out. We have to let them out every single day because the fence they’re pushing their way under is pretty impossible for us to reach.

The wanderers, wandering along on the wrong side of the fence.

“Pssst! George!”

“Close your mouth! You look like an idiot!”

“Good lord, I hope I don’t look half as dorky as you when I’m waiting to get my treat.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

“Go ‘way, lady.”

“You put goopy stuff in my eye and I don’t like you.”

::thlurrrp::

“Well, THIS is fancy. Where’d the pink thing go??”

Oy, the stripes.

“OMG, you guys, help! HELP! This claw is attacking me! HALP!”

“OMG, one claw is going up my nostril and it hurts O LAWD SAVE ME, Y’ALL!”

“What are you bellowing about over here?”
“Did you see that claw? It was GETTING me!”
“What claw?”
“I don’t know, I guess it ran away!”

“Maybe it’s over there by Logie.”
“I think there was no claw. I think you made it up so you could be loud and obnoxious and bellowy.”

“I don’t see it. But I bet it’s over there!”

“You look in that corner, I’ll look in this corner.”

“There it is! I’m going to bite it and make it go away!”

“I don’t even want to know what’s going on over there.”

That’s the smooth-fabric pad I put in the box for them to lay on. They’re not impressed with it and keep pushing it out. I think I may have to accept that they prefer to lay on hard wood because they’re little bitty weirdos.

Wee kitty movie. The other three were busy nursing or snoozing, but Newbery was loaded for bear and wanted to PLAY. He finally gave up, but not before annoying his mother as much as possible. (I don’t know why it’s doing that weird pixelating in some places, but it doesn’t really ruin the movie, so I’m leaving it up.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Is Joe Bob not the happiest boy you’ve ever seen? SO happy.

Last month, Andrea posted a comment saying Ever hear the song Jolene by Dolly Parton?? When I see Jo Bob, I hear “Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Boooob,” But I dont know what the next line should be.. MOL love me some Jo Bob!

And before I knew it, GD had written an entire theme song for Joe Bob, which I’ve been meaning to post, but am just now getting around to it, a month later. I think you’ll agree it’s hilarious!

Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Boooob
Im begging of you please don’t take my tin (of catnip)
Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Boooob
Please don’t take it just because you can
Your fuzzy face is beyond compare
With smokey locks of super soft hair
With two toned fur and eyes of emerald green
Your purr is like a breath of spring
Your meow is soft like summer rain
And I cannot compete with you, Jo Bob.

I dream of catnip in my sleep
There’s nothing I can do to keep
From crying when I think it may be gone, Jo Bob

And I can easily understand
How you could easily take my tin
But you don’t know what it means to me, Jo Bob

Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Boooob
Im begging of you please don’t take my tin (of catnip)
Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Boooob
Please don’t take it just because you can

You could have your choice of treats
But I could never subsitute it with meat
It’s the only thing for me, Jo Bob

I had to have this talk with you
My happiness depends on you
And whatever you decide to do, Jo Bob

Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Boooob
Im begging of you please don’t take my tin (of catnip)
Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Bob, Jo Boooob
Please don’t take it even though you can
Jo Bob, Jo Bob

(Thanks, GD, I laughed again when I read through it!)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Previously
2011: EXCUSE ME, WEB HOST, THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO NEED TO KNOW IF MY FOSTER CAT HAS BIRTHED SOME KITTENS YET!
2010: “YOU DIDN’T USE THE COOOOOOOOOOOUPONS?!”
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: “What’d you do, come up with some new exercise plan?” he asked.
2006: Why do I feel like an ass all of a sudden?
2005: Damn. He saw through my wily scheme!
2004: She stood and let it sink in, then turned and flounced off.
2003: No entry.
2002: Cat pee, by the way, is the vilest-smelling stuff on this planet.
2001: Don’t you hate it when someone tries to be reasonable in the midst of your tightly choreographed hissy fit?
2000: “Of course they do, they like soft toilet paper. It’s the mafia, babe!”

Sights from around Crooked Acres.

Peach blossoms!

Pear blossoms! Maybe this year we’ll get some fruit off our fruit trees. Wouldn’t that be nice?

At the end of last Summer/ Fall, we left a few okra plants standing with the intention of harvesting the pods for seeds. We forgot about it and the birds ate the seeds. That’s what we get for being slackers.

The Muscadine vine, getting ready to leaf out.

This is the end of the ditch/ stream that leads to the property next door (where there are horses). It was all blocked up (causing the ditch to flood out every time it rained), but Fred cleared it out a few months ago. Looks kind of inviting, no?

Brown Thrasher. I don’t know that we’ve seen one of these before.

Blue Bird.

Gracie, coming over to see just what I’m doing.

They spotted a threat and were off to protect their flock.

The threat vanquished, they come back to see if perhaps I have treats for them.

Happy pup.

Wait for it…

Wait for it…

Gracie grin!

Those boy ducks always have something to say.

Notice that both the boy ducks are talking. Talktalktalk, those two.

“OMG YOU GUYS HUSH UP! ::flapflap::” said one of the girls.

“I can’t believe she told us to be quiet. The NERVE.”

“I know, right? She could learn to communicate a little better, you ask me.”

::Pretending to know how to be quiet::

Last week, all four ducks managed to escape the back forty. They were hanging out near the ditch, which has water in it. When Fred went out to herd them back into the back forty, they CLIMBED INTO THE DITCH AND STARTED SWIMMING AWAY to escape him. Luckily, we were able to get them back where they belonged, and Fred fixed the area of fence where he suspected they were getting out.

The Rock Star needs her head feathers trimmed back a bit.

“PLACES TO GO PEOPLE TO SEE, OUT MY WAY, DUCKS!”

Fred put a bunch of straw down around the coop because it’s been pretty muddy. The chickens think it’s absolutely fabulous.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

“Halp! Halp! I’m being kittennapped by this lady! MAMA! SAVE ME!”

Emmy, clearly concerned. She never shows the slightest bit of worry when I’m holding one of her babies, even if they’re screaming their little heads off. As long as she can see them, she’s okay.

“Am sleepin’. You go ‘way.”

I think Emmy’s tongue is longer than the kittens are.

Kittens make good pillows.

“Psst! Lady! You come closer.”

“Closer. I want to poke your eyes out.”

The kittens seem to be deciding that this “petting” thing isn’t so bad after all.

They’re two weeks old! I’ll try to get weights and face pictures of each of them tonight or tomorrow and post them this weekend.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

No Joe Bob pics today (what can I say? He’s camera shy!), so here’s Kara instead!

It’s really hard to get pictures of Kara because she prefers to be standing at your feet scolding you about being outside when the only SAFE place for you to be is inside.

Silly girl.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Previously
2011: I’m going to tempt fate by announcing that most of the time, I’m luck that I don’t have any problems falling asleep or staying asleep.
2010: “GIVE TO ME THE PREGNANT CAT!”
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: Mad Boog disease!
2005: MY BOX!
2004: (”He sighed at me, your honor, and then I had to kill him.” “Case dismissed!”)
2003: No entry.
2002: Bastards.
2001: You’re thinking If you had a clue how to tell which hamsters are girls and which are boys, you wouldn’t have this problem in the first place!
2000: Yes, I’m a goober, I think we all know that.

Sights from around Crooked Acres.

Toasty the Rooster, giving you the side eye, would like you to know…

“I’M THE STUD!”

“I’M THE STUD! ::sideeye::”

“I AM THE (INSERT BAD WORD HERE ENDING IN “ING”) STUD!”

He’s pretty sure you’re impressed.

But out in the chicken yard…

Feathered leggings rooster considers and retorts…

“Word from the hens is that Toasty is SO not the man. I’ll leave the details to your imagination, but any rooster that has to declare his studliness that often is one who has nothing to brag about.”

Duckies, headed for the pond.

I keep meaning to tell y’all this – a few weeks ago one of the girl ducks found a way out of the back forty, and Fred had to corner her and pick her up and carry her back into the back forty. While he had hold of her, I got to feel her feet. I always assumed that they’d feel kind of rubbery, but they’re actually really soft and felt kind of neat. If you get a chance to mess with duck feet, I recommend it.

Duckies in the pond.

(Not very far out, obviously.)

Both the girl ducks had mud on their beaks. I wanted to wipe the mud off, but neither of them was having it.

Tails up!

Apparently I was getting a little close, and got The Eye from this boy duck.

Later, headed out toward Dirt Mountain, something startled two of the ducks and they quacked and flapped.

Even achieved brief liftoff.

Silly ducks.

We have a handful of ducks who escape the back forty every morning and then spend the day cleaning up bird seed under the bird feeders. I’d be more worried about it, except that they stay right around the house, and they’re always more than happy to go back into the back forty when Fred goes out there to feed them in the evening.

When we first had chickens, we only had a dozen of them, and their yard was in a corner of our back yard, and we’d let them out of their yard into the back yard to run around during a good part of the day. So some of the older cats (Spanky, Sugarbutt, Tommy) have actually been around chickens in the past, so they’re not that impressed when they see them through the fence. The younger ones are absolutely fascinated by the chickens and cannot stop staring.

Corbie would REALLY like to know how to get on the other side of that fence.

Alice Mo spots the rooster…

Skulks closer…

They stare at each other through the fence.

And then the rooster flaps his wings and struts off.

I’ve mentioned the Poltergeist tree before. This is it, in the middle of the picture. It’s a pecan tree and it’s the tree that gives us the best, tastiest pecans (though it’s been a few years since we got our last big batch). To the left of the tree is the back yard. If you squint, you can see Kara coming toward the fence to ask me just WHAT I think I’m doing, and Elwood at the far left of the picture, stalking Kara.

Mr. Bluebird, after an absence of several days, finally came back to visit.

Cardinal, giving me the eye.

House Finch in flight.

Tufted Titmouse in flight.

Next week: pictures of Spring!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

::thlurrrrp::

“Hey, you two! Stop fighting. Don’t MAKE me come down there!”

Kitteh leeps.

Are they not the sweetest?

“I sees you. A leettle.”

Kitten lips and tongue! ::faint::

Also, toes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Smilin’ Joe.

“Yes, I haz scratches on my nose. Me and Elwood got into it.”

“I don’t like Elwood. He’s a jerk. Luckily I can outrun him.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Previously
2011: Things Which Have Recently Vexed Me.
2010: Fred smiled. “Obviously he thought you were a GILF.”
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: Not that I downloaded them illegally, because I would NEVER.
2005: “This is good!” he said. “Old people always know where the good food is!”
2004: That guy, I thought to myself, looks an AWFUL lot like Larry the Cable Guy.
2003: No entry.
2002: Know what made me laugh so hard I cried, and even now when I think about it, I grin and giggle involuntarily? The idea of a cat using the word “manipulate.”
2001: It’s a comfortable pattern for me.
2000: No entry.

BABY NUMBER ONE IS HERE!!!!

Emmy doesn’t want us in there, she growled at us. We don’t want to stress her out, so left her alone. I’ll be reporting more when I can, over at Facebook.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

New month, new banner!

I made this one. I adore that picture of the duck, flooping up out of the water.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Sights from around Crooked Acres.

Male and female House Finches.

They just love those homemade seed blocks so very, very much.

The daffodils around the cat house in the back yard have started to bloom. I love daffodils, they’re my favorite flower.

Happy Gracie.

Sweet Miss Gracie keeps an eye on the flock.

Her “let’s play!” pose. You can’t see him in the picture, but George is not far away.

Dirty, dirty dawgs.

Gracie, keeping an eye out.

Pup in motion.

George, slurpin’.

Gracie, coming down off Dirt Mountain.

Toasty the rooster keeps an eye on his wimminfolk.

I don’t know how she stays so clean and blindingly white. Probably she doesn’t venture forth from the coop when it’s muddy out.

Young rooster, chasing after a hen.

One thing that good roosters do is, when they spot food, they cluck so that the hens will know that they’ve located food. It’s similar to the noise a mother hen makes for her babies. Toasty the rooster called this little hen over, and she came running because hens so love them some food.

Between the two of them, they polished it off in no time.

Two young roosters, facing off. The white one on the right displays what we call “Umbrella Neck.”

Note that the adult chickens have no time for this nonsense.

The young ones are all “Yeah? You’ve got Umbrella Neck? ME TOO! MY Umbrella Neck is way more Umbrella-y than yours!”

Then the black rooster took it to the next level and jumped at the white one, who reacted by clutching his pearls and running off while clucking hysterically.

Roosters keep watch while the wimminfolk eat.

Chicken on Dirt Mountain.

Another daffodil.

I need to get out near the fruit trees with the camera – at least a couple of them are already covered in blossoms, and they’re awfully pretty.

Is it Spring? Because it certainly feels like it!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Tuesday night, little cross-eyed Lucy got herself adopted! Here’s a refresher on just who Lucy Peppers is:

The story is that the people who ended up adopting Lucy were originally looking at Sally. Lisa got Sally warmed up and they were petting her, then she opened the cage that Everett and Lucy were in, and Lucy was friendlier, so they ended up deciding to take her. Hey, I’m just thrilled that Sally was allowing them to pet her at all! Everett was still hissy (did I mention that when I put him in the cage with Lucy on Monday he hissed at her, then hissed at me, and then hissed at someone walking by?). I’m sure that given a few more days, Everett will be his big ol’ loverboy self.

This is HUGE – Lucy only had to spend another week in that cage before someone came along and fell in love with her sweet little self.

I’m hoping that this weekend will be the weekend that Everett and Sally go. Fingers and toes crossed!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

(This was written last night; as of this moment I can hear two babies in there yelling away!)

No babies. I thought for SURE she was going to have those babies on the 29th! Oh, she’s a stubborn brat – still eating like crazy, if anything her appetite has picked up. She’s getting bigger by the moment, I swear.

Smug little face.

Poppin’ out all over.

Clearly she trusts me enough to sleep while I’m in the room mere feet away.

“Were you just thinking about bringing me food? Because I could eat.”

A couple of people requested a belly video the other day, after I mentioned that her belly was a squirming mass o’ babies. It took some doing, but here you go:

It’s really kind of mesmerizing, no?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Look! It’s Joe Bob NOT on the scratcher!

You wild and crazy boy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Previously
2011: Have I ever mentioned that I can hardly stand how gorgeous Corbie is?
2010: I guess it’s March’s plan to come in like a lion
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: Natalie Maines could use some wardrobe advice, though, and I hope I’m not trampling all over her Right to Freely Dress Like a Bag Lady when I say that.
2006: It was so friggin’ cute I made Fred listen to it, too.
2005: I have my finger on the pulse of pop culture, apparently.
2004: A day in the life.
2003: What makes me crazy.
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry.
2000: Okay, enough of the wallowing.

Edited to add:

NAME ONE OF EMMY’S (future, not born yet) BABIES!

Go here to find out how!

And here to see the spreadsheet (nothing there at the moment, but I’ll update it regularly!)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Sights from around Crooked Acres.

“There’s no seed block in this basket because that awful, awful woman let us run out! I wonder if there’s any seed in the feeder?”

“Hey! I said no paparazzi!”

House Finches, nomming.

Male on the left, female on the right.

(No Cardinal pics this week!)

Someone’s been rolling around in the leaves, clearly.

Smug George is smug.

I whip my hair back and forth/ I whip my hair back and forth/ Just whip it.

Drum the pretty rooster, keeping an eye on his wimmins.

I love it when the chickens run, they’re so funny.

Especially the roosters.

Hens hanging out in the muddy muddy mud.

Angry Muppet will peck your eyes out.

“What’s going on over THERE?”

Rooster with the fancy feathered leggings.

Better than a running chicken is a chicken who’s running whilst flapping.

Pretty sure these hens are gossiping about me. The three Buff Orpingtons (yellow) and two Barred Rocks (black and white) are from our original flock, which we got almost five years ago.

I love the way it always looks like ducks are smiling.

I also love the purpley-blue feathers that peek out. So pretty!

Ducks at the pond (but they weren’t up for a swim this time around. When things dry up out there, we’ll work on making it more inviting for them – I’m pretty sure I’ve talked Fred into duckweed, DB!)

I’m oddly amused by the string of drooly-spit the one boy duck is dropping on the head of the other boy duck.

Happy ducks.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

I was out running errands yesterday and stopped by Petsmart to peek in on Sally and Lucy. What’s funny is that I only intended to watch them through the glass, but one of the managers saw and recognized me, and opened the door to the cat room without my having to ask. Well then, of COURSE I was going to go in and give my girls some love. So I went in, and talked to Sally, and she was hesitant about coming to me, but the more I spoke to her, the more she meowed at me, and she finally gave in and let me pick her up and love on her. Lucy, who’s in the cage with the black cat (Bear Cub 1 or 2, but I think most of the volunteers/ adoption counselors are calling her Sissy Bear) came right over to be loved on. I petted and hugged and kissed them both for a long time (they were completely uninterested in each other, so I guess their hearts aren’t breaking over being separated), and when I put them back in their cages, they settled right down.

So in other words, they’re doing fine. Not adopted yet, but it’s still early!

Before she went off to Petsmart, Sally developed a little crush on Tommy. All the girlcats eventually do.

“Maybe if I just sit here and pretend to ignore him, he’ll notice me!”

“He’s cuuuuuute.”

“Juuuuust minding my own business, sniffing this box…”

Then she got tired of waiting and went off to take a bath so she’d be ready when Tommy came calling.

::THLURRRP::

::pbbllllt::

Eventually, she gave up on waiting for Tommy and curled up with Everett, who’s always good for a snuggle.

Lucy on the scratcher.

Lucy and the Ears of Slightly Annoyed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Emmy is doing okay. She’s lonely in there – I’m sure she’s always had other cats as company – and the sooner those kittens come along and give her something to do, the better, I think. I was in with her yesterday afternoon and Everett had followed me to the door of the room. He started howling at the door, and every time he meowed, Emmy meowed back at him (through the closed door, I should add).

I realized in the early hours of Wednesday that part of the nighttime howling might have been due to the fact that there were two mirrors on the wall at face level (face level to a cat, that is), and I’m thinking that she was seeing her reflection in the mirror and thought it was another cat. I took the mirrors out of there and left the light on, and there was a lot less howling.

I’m ready for kittens any time now, please and thank you.

“Why you keep waking me up and pointing that thing at me?”

“Am tryin’ to sleep, lady.”

(This picture does no justice to the size of the belleh.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

I really need to make an effort to get pictures of Joe Bob in places other than on the scratcher.

“Am not moving from the scratcher. Is my favorite place to be!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Previously
2011: No entry.
2010: I made a bet with Fred, and y’all let me down.
2009: They are weird-looking and obnoxious.
2008: No entry.
2007: Seriously, I might be a bit lackadaisical in my housekeeping, but I wouldn’t let CAT POO sit around on the floor, let alone let it show up in a picture!
2006: Second of all, we both hate our voices and to release them forth into the world would be a cruelty beyond measure.
2005: Impromptu day off.
2004: I’m going to save a fortune on tampons, that’s for sure.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: Damn that Sam’s.
2000: Heartless bastard.

Sights from around Crooked Acres.

Toasty the rooster, standing in the mud. It’s so muddy in the back forty right now, ugh.

Pretty rooster with no name. Isn’t he gorgeous?

Chickens near the now-full pond. That fence to the left is the back part of the pig yard.

Places to go, things to do, outta my way!

Pretty rooster, flappity-flapping.

Ducks, waiting patiently for their scratch.

Ducks of a feather, sticking together. Always, always together, these four. If one wanders off, one of the other three will stop and call to the fourth, and wait until she (it’s usually one of the girls) comes running, then escorts her back to the group.

I’m pretty sure this is a Housefinch.

Male Housefinch (I think). We’ve got a lot of Finches coming around right now.

Cardinal keeping an eye on me through the glass.

Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse. So CUTE.

Chickadee in flight.

Goldfinches. My seedshake brings all the boids to the yard.

Chickadee flapping his wings (and Tufted Titmouse on the other side).

Mister Bluebird in my back yard.

Blurry Bluebird in the foreground, Red-Bellied Woodpecker on the Poltergeist tree (I’ve never actually seen his belly, so I can’t swear that it’s red, for the record.)

I love my bluebird. I just wish he’d stop landing in the back yard where the cats are.

Goldfinch in flight. He kinda looks like he’s walking on air with his wings all tucked away, doesn’t he?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Groove is in the hearrrrrt!

“Okay, you stand still Jake. I’m going to climb on your back and then that bird will be MINE.”
“Yeah, dude, I don’t think so.”

“Well, FINE, if you’re going to be like THAT. I don’t need YOUR help, forgive me for TOUCHING you, you loony bastard!”

“One day, bird, you will be mine ALL MINE.”

“GAH! SO CLOSE!”

“FINALLY. Hey. This isn’t a REAL bird. What the – ?”

“That didn’t taste quite the way I’d expected.”

::fume::
(I love how his eyes match the floor.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Watching for moles (there was, in fact, a mole in that spot where he was watching. I successfully distracted Joe this time, thankfully.)

Joeby-Joe, the tuxie-doe…

sure does love his scratcher, yo.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Previously
2011: No entry.
2010: Okay, so, a brief overview of the whole surgery thing.
2009: WHO CAN POSSIBLY STAY UP SO LATE?!
2008: No entry.
2007: (”Rescue me! I’m a sad little practically-orphaned waif, adrift in this cold, cruel world, wahhh! Save me! Pity me!”)
2006: So, in summary, if we are to judge all female cats by Miz Poo, then male cats are nicer, but female cats are clingier.
2005: Don’t you wish I was responsible for your books?
2004: I WANT TO FUCKING KNOW WHAT HE SAID.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001.: And almost wet my pants in terror.
2000: So, the nausea continues.

One lucky person will win $50 to spend at MrChewy.com! Go enter for your chance to win before 11:59 pm Friday!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

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!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

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::

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

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.