Tag Archives: cats

Barn Cats

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We got some new friends last week! We picked out these kitties from the Lincoln County Animal Shelter… Isaac and Poblano were by FAR the coolest dudes there. An important part of this adoption because we are not really ‘cat people’. Mitch has never ever had one! I was shocked to find that out.

Brothers! (they aren’t really brothers)
Poblano
Isaac the kitten

These really are the coolest cats. They are clean and cuddly, they don’t mind sleeping out on the porch and they are already investigating their best vantage points to hunt from! Sorry suckers… you little mice are gonna have to get moving.

The first couple of days were funny… trying to make sure they don’t run away, introducing them to the dogs, etc. Here is a quick series of some of the antics.

Umm… what are those?
Poblano wants to go inside
Checking each other out.
Cats in a fishbowl
In the dog crate
The cattery
Wilbur getting up in his business
My cousin’s daughter Ella meeting Poblano

We have had good luck slowly letting everyone meet for short supervised visits and then giving everyone a break. So far so good! Now we can let the dogs out and the cats know to get up in a tree. The first time that happened, we thought Poblano was stuck, but he came down on his own.

Poblano got chased up a tree! We thought he was stuck.
But then we found out that these guys are serious climbers.

THEN, we took all 5 (yes, as in FIVE) animals to the vet. That was a serious fiasco, but totally my kind of fun. Our new amazing vet, Dr. Malter was incredibly informative, patient (5 animals… remember?) and most importantly made us feel like really good parents with a whole pack of healthy pets!

Dog pack.
‘Herding cats’
Zorra’s turn… you thought that was another cat!

Ok, that’s all the info I can give before I start sounding like a crazy-cat-lady! As my dear friend Ali aptly stated that she thought we may be becoming hoarders! Eeek… noted, thanks Ali.

Xo, K

Our Expanding Farm

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What a gorgeous week we have had! The beautiful sunny weather was the perfect chance to start on our next project… the garden! Mitch tilled a 17 by 36 foot space straight out from the coop…

Then we had the amazing, knowledgeable, incredibly helpful and so so friendly family at Blake’s Coastal Nursery deliver this beautiful black compost.

Delivery from Blake's

Delivery from Blake’s

Nate (Blake’s son) couldn’t have been more patient, answering (a million) questions and giving detailed advice about what to plant and how to make it successful in this coastal region. I picked out waaaaaay too many seeds to plant and Nate pushed us to make some better, more practical choices. He also directed us to some great resources, like OSU’s Newport Extension who have done all the work in figuring out what goes in this particular area and how to keep it alive.

Hmmm… what to buy?
Blake’s fruit trees

Today, Mitch will start a Permaculture Design Certificate course online. The course will take him through an entire agricultural design plan. He will learn how to plan around any climate, and to build a plan of any size. I cannot wait for his updates on the course and what he builds as well as all the other student’s plans.

Before we can plant the seeds, we need a fence to keep the pests out (it’s like a broken record). Also, the chickens will be moving outside soon into a heated coop, with a clover-covered run (also Nate’s suggestion! Along with a genius plan for how to make sure it can grow before the chickens eat it… stay tuned). The run will lead to the garden so that we can easily let them wander through… tilling and composting for us. Although supervised so that hopefully they don’t have a chance to eat up all the new little seedlings. Farming’s biggest challenge seems to be trying to control the circle of life/food chain to protect all of our chosen plants, animals, pets and visitors from all of the many unwanted versions. We are thinking about introducing a new predator… a couple of barn cats! I hear that they are the most effective pest control for rodents and birds and that they are smart enough to keep themselves safe. But that will be the ultimate in self-control for me… making the kitties sleep outside?? It seems so mean! Guess you have to be tough to be a farmer. And patient… what am I going to do while we wait for the these seeds to spout?!

Dirty job
Farm face

Xo, K