In memorium - Barnard

Barnard was diagnosed with a slew of ailments in December. Her bloodwork startled the vet -- Feline Leukemia, Feline Infectious Anemia, Kidney Failure.  Country cats who spent time outdoors are very vulnerable -- you never know who is coming to visit.

Anyway, I made the decision not to treat her, but instead to allow her slow decline to continue and when it became clear that her quality of life was compromised, to euthanize her.

Yesterday was the day. I looked at her in the morning and said to myself "it's not going to get better.  This is the best that she has.  Is that ok?" No, I could not honestly say that it was.

So today I find myself without a cat for the first time in 18 years.  (You'd have to go back another 18 years before that to find the previous time.)

Barnard showed up in the barn in August, 2011.  That was a rough summer -- Oskar died in May, and Abe in August. It took her until the freeze of January to actually venture up to the house.  It took a while before she moved in. The vet said she was about five years old and had had kittens at least once.  I thought she was a kitten herself! I am happy that the second half of her life was spent at Busy Solitude Farm where she could bask in the sun without fear.

I believe a cat makes a house a home.  In time I will find a couple of cats to bring home.  They'll need to be ok with dogs -- Phoebe is rather enthusiastic about other animals in the house. And I'd like a couple who know and love each other.

But until that time, Phoebe and I are alone, with only our memories of Barnard.

In Memorium: Luke

The boss is gone.

Today was Luke's last day.  At 16, he had been showing many signs of aging.  He was occasionally disoriented.  Aching bones made getting up and down more difficult.  And most worrisome, he had been losing weight with no clear cause.

But over the weekend he became incontinent, and he had fits of crying.  So today I took him to our vet to have his life gently ended.

I found Luke, along with his brothers Abe and Bodhi, on Good Friday of 1998.  My cat Camille had died the week before, and I wanted two cats who were siblings in hopes that they would not fight the way that Camille and Coriander occasionally had.

Luke extended his arm through the shelter cage to pull me over to look at them.  He was always in charge.  But three?  As fate would have it, the pairs of cats available that day were all long-haired cats, and I wasn't having any of that!  So I told the adoption counselor I'd take them.  She told me there was a two cat limit and I should choose.  Ridiculous, I told her.  They came in together, I would take them home together.  After a thorough vetting the shelter agreed.  That is how Abe, Luke and Bodhi became part of my family.

Luke quickly got Buster in line, and later that year when Buster died and puppy Oskar joined us, Luke again proved to be the boss.  Over the years he's been my steady Freddy, my right hand man.

When we moved to Busy Solitude Farm, the cats got the opportunity to go outside.  Luke basked in the sun, caught mice and voles, relaxed with me on a lawn chair.  Ulani might chase Abe or Bodhi outside, or more recently Barnard, but Luke did not play that game.  He held his ground.  Living up to his make love, not war philosophy, Luke would even snuggle up to Ulani outside.

Despite the quick decline in his health this weekend, Luke stepped outside to sit in the sun for a few minutes, seeming to enjoy hearing the birds and smelling the air.  We sat on the steps, Luke in my lap, and just took in the scene for a while.  

But recovery was not in the cards, and now he's gone.  Luke, the boss, was a great cat.

Close to you

Luke felt the need for a little closeness last night. Some might say a little too much!

 

Barnard Basks!

A ray of sunshine swept across Barnard's chair at the dining table, and she took full advantage by turning every which way to soak up the spring warmth.

Around Busy Solitude Farm Today

A little surprise!

This beautiful iris was also a surprise -- it rode in on the Lenten roses back in March!  Lucky me, I hope it will be happy under Oskar's memorial tree.

 

And the Lenten roses continue to bloom -- over two months, and transplanted in full bloom.  Amazing!

 I think this robin is a baby -- doesn't it look like a baby face?

 One clematis is covered in buds and seems like it will explode into bloom in a week or two.

 

But this one has a single blossom on it.  How can it be unhappy when its partner is doing so well?

 After startling Ulani, Luke settled in on the lawn chair with me.  Love his color in this light!

And in the barn, the chicks are really feathering out now.   This little girl actually seemed to enjoy being held and interacting with me.

 At one point I wasn't sure I'd be able to safely grab her and put her back on the ground!

 She skittered across my shoulders, escaping my grasp.

Then she told me a secret, right up in my ear.  After that we were fine and she went back to the flock!

And the ducks?  They don't so much enjoy being picked up.

She tried to bite the camera!

Nap time

Dear Barnard has settled in to our weekend routine.  In the past couple of days she's grown quite bold, walking into the bedroom when Ulani and Luke are on the bed, defending her place on the recliner when Luke wants that seat, screaming at the top of her lungs if Luke walks under the dining table.

She's home!

Look how she uses Ulani's fur to warm her own feet!  Barnard was on the couch first, and Ulani had to squish herself into the available space.  This cat was not scooting over!

We're all adjusting to having a kitten around.

Well, two of us are.

Someone's very comfortable!

 

This is your barn cat, first arrived.

 

This is your barn cat moved into the house.

Any questions?

Barnard's journey continues

Back on January 28, I shared that Barnard had dared to enter the house one morning as Ulani went out.  Since then, Barnard's brief visits have become more frequent.  But she only stayed a few minutes before growing uneasy and standing at the door to depart.

Well, this past week things changed.

It  began in the middle of the night in the middle of the week.  I was having trouble sleeping, tossing and turning and worrying about how tired I would be in the morning.  Around 1:30 I heard one of those awful sounds I always fear -- something was shaking a screen on one of my living room windows.  Was someone trying to break in?

I jumped out of bed, raced to the yard light switch and turned it on.

"Mew!  Mew!"  Barnard hopped right up on the back step and demanded entry.  So I let her in.  I was so relieved that it was not a burglar but Barnard!

Ulani thought it might be a game for Barnard to be inside at night, and Luke was clearly disgusted.  But I just went back to bed and slept about three hours until once again I was awakened by "Mew!  Mew!"  Barnard wanted back out.  After I opened the door for her, I got one more hour of sleep.

The following night, around midnight I once again heard the screen sound.  Sure enough, there was my little princess.  This time she slept through until I got up in the morning, then went back to the barn.

Understand, I know a thing or two about training animals.  I realize that my opening the door is a tremendous reinforcement of Barnard's behavior.  And I am not about to be getting up in the middle of the night every night.

So on the third night, when it was bedtime I said to Ulani "let's go get Barnard."  I went into the barn, swooped up the barn cat and brought her back into the house.  Placing her in a comfy chair in the living room I explained "now it's bedtime.  We'll get up at six.  Sweet dreams!"

Worked like a charm.

And I think we've all turned a corner.  Today (Saturday) around 4:30 in the afternoon, I went to visit in the barn and when I left, she followed me back to the house.

Where she's made herself right at home on the spare room couch!

Guest appearance

For the past few days, Barnard has wandered up close to the house in the morning when Ulani goes out.  She gives Ulani the leg rub and enthusiastic purring, but when I open the door for Ulani to come inside, Barnard runs back to the barn.

Until this morning!

This morning when I opened the door Ulani hung back and Ms. Barnard trotted right up the steps and into the house, pretty as you please!  Ulani, puzzled, needed to be reminded to come in herself.

Once inside, Barn' stood by the door and peered into the vast expanse which is the living room, feeling the warm, heated air caress her back.  Her toes relaxed into the dry, warm, woven cotton rug while she breathed deeply the smell of "no chickens in here"!

Then Luke came on the scene.  Paradise lost.

Luke hissed.  Barnard smacked him.  They took opposite corners of the dining table and hunkered down.  This was too much action for Ulani, who quickly entered to restore order and respect.  Or maybe she just told them to hold on a minute until she got her bet placed.

When I once again opened the back door, Barnard made like a banana and split for her home turf.

But I hope she'll be back!

Autumn color

 The sun rose below a heavy bank of clouds.

 I thought the slight pink highlights on the grain storage across the street had an interesting softening effect.

 Then I experimented shooting through different trees.  Which sunrise gets the nicest frame?

 Evergreens make a lovely frame this time of year.

 Especially when they go all black silhouette with nice color behind them.

Later in the day, coming home up my road.  I love the soft, golden fields after the beans have been taken in.

 Almost home.

 There's the barn.  And what's that?

Barnard greeting me!  Welcome home!

Black and White in the Barn

Jesus the Rooster, in striking black and white.

This week I'm having a "staycation" from work.  One of my goals is to do something creative every day.  I've been depleted from all the work busyness this summer and really need to replenish my creative self.

So this morning, rather than taking my regular barn photos, I switched to black and white.  See what you think!

Ulani was eager to see what was going on in the barn -- she kept her nose pressed right up to the door!

Barnard gave me her best side (or was she looking at her own shadow?!).

Now that it's really chilly overnight, I frequently find her basking in the early morning sun on her shelf.  I'm so glad I put it up for her, and I am thinking about adding a few more shelves so she can move around higher and lower.  Cats like that!

Peep's feet.  She turned four about a month ago.  I'm not sure what causes the bumpiness of her toes -- could it be chicken arthritis?  She doesn't seem to have any problem walking around, though, so I'm not too concerned about it.

The full photo of Jesus.  Come to think of it, I'm not certain this is Jesus.  Jesus may have been one of the victims of the barn terrorist in June.  This may just be "the white rooster".  Difficult to tell.

The back side of the barn.  It's a nice face that I don't often photograph.

Time to get some chores done.  More BSF creativity later!

Luke Likes Autumn

Luke hasn't had much play on the blog lately.  In fact, the last time his photo appeared was July 10 in a Morning has Broken entry.  So I thought I'd see what he was up to this morning.

I discovered him here, enjoying the flora and fauna of the septic prairie.  Yes, that's him!

I think there must be mice and voles and so on making nests up there for the winter.  Both Luke and Ulani have been spending more time snooping around.  Ulani comes inside full of dried plant matter...

But this is Luke's entry!

We've had a week of warm, sunny days.  Luke likes to go out first thing in the morning, make his rounds to see what might have gone on since bedtime.  Then he comes in for breakfast, and if I allow it (which I try not to on work days!) he goes back out for the day.  He'll spend time sitting on a yard chair in the sun, or finding a cool, quiet spot under an evergreen for a nap.  I've even caught him visiting in the barn a couple of times -- he never did that before Barnard moved in!

Then, after he's been out for a while, he makes his way back to the house.  But just to check in before he starts more wandering!

Getting to Know You

Barnard and Ulani are becoming more familiar with each other.  Just listen to the kitty's purr!

Look! Sharp!

In which Barnard stars as David, with Ulani in a cameo as Goliath.

A new barn mystery!

I've noticed that Barnard seems to always be sleeping on his chosen bed when I walk into the barn.  Why doesn't that little guy go out? 

I thought maybe he was going out "cattin'" all night and that's why he was exhausted during the day.  So I got out the trusty hunter-cam and set it up just outside the barn door.  Last night I turned it on before bedtime.

I had not been awake five minutes around 6:00 this morning when there was a flash.  Immediately I knew I'd gotten a photo.  Would it be Barnard coming home from a long night of hunting?

HEY!  Who is that?!!!

Strolling on a summer's day

While our friends out east deal with the wind and water from Hurricane Irene, here in our southwest Michigan summertime "the living is easy".  A short stroll through the yard revealed a number of interesting items to share with you.  C'mon!

Down on the septic prairie, the prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum) is in glorious bloom.  How I wish the entire mound was covered in these plants this time of year! 

The leaves are impressively large and rough as sandpaper.  When I first saw them I was convinced the plant was a weed.  But when it sends up a red stalk...

...of these bright, dancing daisy flowers, well nothing is cheerier!  Just look at them!

I hope they're going to set seeds and spread up the mound for next summer.

Now we take a peek into the barn and find Barnard resting in the dog crate.  I tried to get Barnard fixed this week, but it turned out he was broken -- in the form of an upper respiratory infection that must heal before he can have surgery.  So he's been taking it easy in the barn, sneezing and sleeping.

He's a little bored.  You know how it is when you have a cold.  (BTW, he does NOT use that box for his bathroom needs.  I still have not discovered how he's taking care of that part of his hygiene.  Am moderately concerned to figure that out!)

The chickens are outside in their run, which is full of tall weeds giving them shelter from any predators.  They just love to take a dust bath in the sun.  I'm really happy that they're getting daily fresh air again.

Ulani waits patiently outside the barn door when I go in.  As a known chicken killer, she's not allowed inside.

Peeking into the backyard I saw this lovely swallowtail on a clover plant.  I only snapped this one picture before it flew off.  Then, looking back across the field behind us, I saw some white movement in a tree.  Suddenly I realized an egret was flying directly towards the barn!

There it is!  Need help?

Lately I've seen one Great Blue Heron hanging around with six egrets in various field pools.  They always startle me, and I wish my camera could do more zooming.  But seeing them in person is the most magical thing and I always stop whatever I'm doing, or slam on the brakes, so that I can enjoy them.  Before long the birds will begin their migration, though one heron remains here year round.  Until then, I'll keep my eyes open.

Hope you enjoyed our little stroll around Busy Solitude Farm.  Come back again!