Sights from around Crooked Acres.
(From last week, when we had ice and snow. This week, it’s been in the 60s!)
Ice on a Spirea bush off the front porch.
The back yard in the snow.
It’s hard to tell from this picture, but there was a male Cardinal in the bush, pretty much dead center of the picture.
The morning after.
I’m guessing a plow came through at some point during the night. This is the good thing about living on the road that leads directly to an important area business: not only is our road plowed when there’s, like, three plows in the entire state, but we only lost power for about three hours that night. That’s about the longest we’ve ever had to go without power except when the tornado came through in 2011 (and even then, it was only five or six hours).
While it looks like Larry the rooster is staring in open-mouthed shock at the snow, he was actually crowing. There was another rooster in the coop, also crowing. They were taking turns.
See the speckled rooster crowing? When a rooster crows in a confined space like a coop, it is REALLY FREAKIN’ LOUD. The hens were none too impressed.
Frozen pool (the ducks occasionally use that pool in the summer.)
Pig shelter.
Ducks on the pond. You can see, behind them, how low the fence was hanging due to the ice and snow on it.
George and Gracie thought the snow was AWESOME.
The water in the ditch between the front part of the property and the back forty. That building over there is the church next door. (When I’m giving directions to our house, I always say “If you pass the church, you’ve gone too far.”)
Stefan’s all “Really not impressed, lady.”
Back yard cat houses. Empty, of course – none of the inside cats had ANY desire to hang out in the snow.
I don’t even remember what the story was, here. I think Fred took this guy away from Newt.
Female Cardinal on a fence post.
A kerfuffle at the bird feeder.
Female Cardinal in the back yard. I love this picture.
There’s a small bowl of cat food on the side stoop, and sometimes the birds get all brave and hop up and steal cat food. Drives the cats nuts.
A Starling, I think.
Hanging directly over the bowl of cat food is this Finch feeder. The Finches drive the cats a little nuts, too – Jake has been known to jump up to try to catch them.
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Dennis and Mariette. And to answer the question, yes – Dennis and Mariette have become buddies. Dennis can usually be found snuggled up to Mariette or Angelo, though he’ll pretty much play with any of them.
In fact, here he is cleaning Orlando’s chin.
Wait for it…
Grooming always leads to fighting.
::thlurrp::
::thlurrp::
They certainly just love that doll bed. It’s pretty much always occupied.
Mariette and Dennis in the wall basket.
Mariette with no tail, Ferdinand with a bit of a tail, and Maria with ALL the tail.
Angelo in front of the heater, keepin’ warm.
The face, it is killin’ me.
Grumpyface.
The Players came through their surgeries just fine. Ferdinand had an extra incision because, as it turned out, he was cryptorchid (had one undescended testicle), so they had to go through his lower abdomen to get to it. Angelo also had the same issue (must run in the family!), but they were able to, y’know, dig around and get it without having to make another incision.
(And all the men reading just twitched.)
Once I got them home, they ran around and played and ate and napped and acted like they had no idea anything was different. Dennis was a little freaked out by their smell, and spent a lot – A LOT – of time sniffing their behinds, but he got over it and by mid-afternoon he and Mariette were snuggled up together sleeping.
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Blue is certainly a good color for Stinkerbelle, isn’t it?
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Previously
2013: They look like they’re gargling.
2012: “I not love you, lady.”
2011: No entry.
2010: Do you remember Hoyt?
2009: No entry.
2008: More glaring.
2007: Maxi through the front door.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
LOVED the photo’s 🙂
Definitely! Glad the kids are back home and back in business. Beautiful bird photos, especially the female cardinals; the males may be more overtly gorgeous, but the ladies have a quiet beauty all their own.
That’s how I see it, too – the males are all flash, but the females are subtly beautiful (and in their way, more beautiful than the males.)
That rotund little female cardinal looks like she’s giving you the backwards side-eye and saying, “You lookin’ at mah butt, lady?”
Ferdinand’s toes hanging off the bed need some nibblin’ and the face on Dennis in the wall bed (with Mariette) made me giggle.
Angelo’s markings are kinda cool & much more noticeable now that he’s growing up.
Dennis has got a really good grumpy face going on there – which is funny, because if you so much as consider looking in his direction, he purrs like crazy!
Beautiful photos, but too cold, isn´t?
Love your blog so much!!!!
It was – but today it was wonderfully warm! 🙂
Three plows in the whole state!!
great pictures
I have had a few crypts here….I had one adopter call me and ask “are you sure the kitten isn’t a girl – I think they spayed her?” And had to explain what happened…. LOL
I clicked on your 2009 entry about my Hoyt and I remembered exactly how I felt when I read it. I knew I had to go get my baby! He’s healthy and spoiled rotten and has such a personality. We “talk” all day and I Love him like crazy. Thank you readers and Robyn for helping save my baby and his siblings!
I love hearing updates. So glad that he’s happy and knows his place in the household, ie-the head.
Boy had some seriouis ear fluff going on, didnt’ he?
He is still a very floofy boy! He even has a little eye floof going on from his eyelid repair.
It goes without saying, but just in case you didn’t know – we’d LOVE to see pictures! You know, no pressure, just whenever you’re ready. 🙂
In short, by Saturday would be fine!
I will send some pictures very soon!
So glad you commented. I read that too and I was wondering what happened to Hoyt. Glad to know it was a happy ending.
“Grooming always leads to fighting.” We call that the Lick Lick Bite game. It’s all fun until they want to play with me! Ow…those sharp little kitten teeth.
I say, “It’s all fun and games until….”
I love how the birds and squirrels torment the cats. I wish that I could do that more often with mine. They do have those creepy ‘half-bird house” things but well, they’re creepy.
Dennis is so cute and cuddly. Love how he’s all licky and lovey. Maria’s tail is just insane. Wonder how many times she could wrap that round herself.
We need to see some shaved bellies.
They’re being very difficult about letting me get pictures of their bellies!
My father’s cat always gave my Siamese a good cleaning before biting him on the neck. He enjoyed the grooming too much to mind the resulting tussle!
Glad the kittens are all through their surgeries and running wild again 🙂
I’m sure you remember your Maine days well enough to know that up here in the North, that’s just a ‘dusting.’ 🙂
Love love LOVE the stinkeye Dennis is giving us from the wall basket (the one with Mariette). I want to fly to Alabama just to kiss that grumpy little face a MILLION TIMES!
Something about Dennis’ face reminds me of Stompers. I want some photo-shopping skillz to try to color Dennis orange so I can see if there really is a resemblance or if I’m just wishing… 🙂
Stinkerbelle does look good in blue!!