Thursday, August 13, 2009

NEW ARRIVALS

Mopsie

I've been collecting animals this spring, starting with the chickens, then turkeys that I already mentioned, but then a manx kitten. Jack is silvergrey, sociable and affectionate, a little tom with characteristic Manx I - own - the - world attitude. He's great. I got him because I have too many mice in the field, and they come inside the house and barn. It is too hard to poison them, and Flash and China just don't keep up with them, so outdoor cats are just the thing.

I wanted a Manx female. I still miss my Topaz cat, but the only cat left in the litter was the little tom I brought home, so, I thought I would get a female kitten that could have a litter with Jack. I found kittens advertised in the paper, and talked to the owner. Two generations prior to these have been great outdoor mousers, sleeping in the garage at night, and surviving in coyote country. The mama kittie, called inky, stayed out one night, when the family thought they had put her in, hence the kittens. Inky was a striking cat, with a very siamese-y wedge shaped head and green gold eyes. Very self posessed as we inspected her duaghters. She had had a llitter of five females. Two were spoken for, and though I had intended to get one, and thought possibly two, I brought home all three remaining kittens, who were just barely 7 weeks old. I fed them on goats milk, and soon they were terrorizing Jackie, who is delighted to have some fellow kittens to hang out with. They also are sociable and affectionate, and tear all over everywhere. They even catch grasshoppers. They lash their long tails and jump out to surprise me when I am walking in the garden. I guess maybe i better neuter at least two of the three daughters of Inky, because instead of one manx female outdoor cat, I now have four healthy and active hunting cats outside. All reproductively able. It's a scary thought.

And then I added my puppies. I think I mentioned them in the nine egg post. I wanted to post pictures. There are the usual puppy challenges, they dig, cry, get out, don't come when I call, get underfoot, and are clumsy. But all of it wel in the realm of tolerable, and Oh! how sweet they are, and smart, and funny and cute, and affectionate. Rags and Mopsie. Mopsie being more adventurous and outgoing, comes sooner when I call, digs more, runs more, she is just more active, more of a leader. She was the first to go under the fence, through the other fence, and so forth. And Rags is bigger and quieter. Holly, the breeder, said it is better to have different temperaments in the two in a guarding pair, and I certainly do. They are great company for one another, play their puppy games together. Sometimes they just lie next to each other and bark to each other. They are noticably bigger than when I brought them home a week ago. I can't imagine how much the mother dog was eating to nurse such big pups, and so many. I found a woman with milking goats and brought home 3 gallons. I hope that lasts longer than a week.

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