Sunday, April 10, 2016

Even Though We Don't Have Chickens ...

Even though we don't have chickens (yet) or goats (yet), we do have an ever-increasing number of animals on the farm. If you read my other blog, you know we acquired a new farm dog this past week, Moose:
Moose is a lab mix with some Great Dane in there too.
And today, we adopted a cat named Bill. Bill is a she. She needed to be rehomed because her owner is moving and needs a good place for Bill to live. We hope she likes it here after she has acclimated to us. She's staying out in Julia's building at first because I'm allergic to cats. Later we hope she'll be happy as a farm/barn cat. If you have any helpful advice about winning over the affections of a cat, or rehoming a cat, or getting a cat to stick around (especially on a farm), please let me know in your comments!
And the worms! Let me not forget the worms, though they be small and quiet. Adam recently "rehomed" them also.
That's our old bathtub that came out during the Great Bathroom Redo. It's in the barn now and is the perfect home for worms. Adam keeps it covered in cardboard and plastic when it's chilly (which it's been). It's set up on blocks:
And it has a plastic tub under the drain hole to catch the moisture that comes from the compost and worms. That liquid is called "worm tea" and is quite desirable to water plants. It's chock full of nutrients plants love. Adam removed a good bucket of it just today. Our worms are doing very well.
The bees are doing great too -- five healthy hives going into summer. Adam will add boxes as needed to encourage honey production.
In the greenhouse, I have 145 tomato plants germinated, from itty-bitty to quite large and ready to go in the ground when it's warm enough ... which it should be next week. My tomato plants, I'm proud to say, are quite beautiful and healthy.
Note to self: do not plant beans when it's cold. We've lost two plantings thus far. They sprout and get zapped. Live and learn. We will wait until it's good and warm. It's tough being a newbie.
Sister-in-law Anne from West Virginia gave me some plants to bring home, and they are all thriving! (Thank you, Anne!) The hosta is sending up many spears, and even the yarrow, which I feared I'd dried out, sprang back to life when I put it in the ground and gave it a good watering.
I've been mowing and mowing, getting the "lawn" under control. The knock-out roses are beginning to bloom, and the wisteria is dripping from the pine trees like pale clusters of grapes. We had a freeze warning last night, but here's hoping that's the last one! That's all from the farm!

6 comments:

  1. I think once the cat gets used to you she'll hang around for the food. But cat's are independent cusses, so there are no guarantees. The females do tend to stick around the home place, unlike males who tend to roam. At least that's been my experience after many years of having barn cats.

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  2. I agree with Lisa. Food is the key. And at first when we've re-homed cats, we kept them locked up in the barn or a room in the barn so they learn that it is "home". Feed the cats in the barn or stall so they get used to seeing you and understanding YOU are feeding them. Good move keeping the cat in the building next to Julia. I wouldn't let her outdoors for a while.

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  3. We have rehomed 3 cats over the years and found it a really easy process. They will stay with whoever feeds them as they are quite clever animals!

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  4. I agree with the others, they know who feeds them.

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  5. Yay for a new cat! Meow!
    You are doing so much, good farmer!

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  6. I used to always feed our adopted cats indoors, even though they spent most of their time outside. I figured that it would enable me to catch them if I needed for any reason, when they were inside (the garage).

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