The neglected ones

Willie, Monkey, and Cyrus were all making the case today that they have been largely neglected with all these posts about that darn Jessie, birds, and (really?) outdoor cats!

All of these children, behaving so well, and still no mention of them...

So here they are, lazing around on a very sunny day.

Cyrus should be showing off his newly cleaned bright shiny white teeth (only $928!), but no, he said he didn't appreciate that they pulled 5 not so shiny teeth while they were at it.

And the cats were happy to report that they had the whole house to themselves while Cyrus was getting shiny and Jessie was outside.

Blackbirds and Swallows and the Jessie Project

The Red-winged Blackbirds made a grand entrance on February 15, declaring that spring is on the way. There were at least a dozen, including youngsters, at the bird feeder. That's the first time I've seen them since last fall.

And the Tree Swallows are back at the little red birdhouse, also the first time I have seen them this year. One of them is most likely the parent of the baby birds that died last year when the other parent who was feeding them was killed.

It makes me happy that mom or dad found a new mate.

The Jessie Project is still progressing slowly. Lots of sun and wind and temperature changes make for a very noisy house. Now that it is warming up a bit again, I am letting her out in the morning when it is still cold, convincing her to come in to eat (when I can) and then just leaving her out there for the rest of the day until the sun goes down.

Cyrus and I go out to visit, and play, and they (not I) do zoomies around the yard, and/or lay in the sun when there is some. I was keeping her entertained with her Tumbler toy (which is actually a Kong Wobbler, not Tumbler :) but just a few moments in the snow made it fill up with little snowballs to the point where the cookie bits don't come out anymore.

Fixable problem. And the snow is melting.

No snow. Just clouds.

The big winter storm avoided us. I remember some of the Jersey folks complaining about no snow last year...I think you are getting it now.

We have these amazing clouds, a bit of sun, and plenty of wind—which means Miss Jess is hanging outside because it is too noisy inside for her.

She has her Tumbler toy with cookie bits in it to keep her amused. And she is.

Hope and Donna

The photo above is the usual reaction I get when I call in the Jessie—maybe just maybe she will look in my direction—and then turn away again. Today was the very first time in almost 3 months here that she came in the house with Cyrus after I let them out in the morning.

I didn't even call her. 

There is hope on the horizon!

And this second photo is the elusive Husband with the latest addition to the goat herd, Donna. He assisted in her birth on Friday because I was too busy having lunch with Tara. Does that make him the goat midhusband? :)

The sun

Two days of sun and the pretty snow is almost gone. But now we have a new problem—the hot sun against the cold windows makes cracking sounds that are completely freaking out the nervous pooch.

I have been leaving Jessie outside the past 2 sunny days because, even with white noise playing loudly from my phone or the computer as close to her ears as possible, she still jumps, shivers, pees a bit, every time there is a sudden sound. Even outside, if she is too close to the house, she will run off when they crack.

She is mostly content to hang outside, following the sun around the yard. I am the one who feels bad.

We had visitors as the sun was setting yesterday—our somewhat new, almost neighbors, Dmitri and Caroline.

Dmitri is a professional photographer and took some photos out in the goat pen that we haven't seen yet. Caroline is not a professional, but managed to get this great shot of Jack and little Matilda.

Pretty snow, goats and Otis

The snow always looks pretty coming down in those big flakes, especially (maybe only) if you don't have to go anywhere. 

We had pretty snow on Sunday, for The Husband's birthday. We celebrated his birthday with dinner on Friday at The Buzz in Fly Creek. He washed down dinner with an Old Smokey—an Old Fashioned (bourbon and bitters)—served in a glass with a big chunk of ice, on a wood board, under a glass dome filled with smoke. Quite the presentation!

Most of the outside animals don't seem to mind the snow. The goat kids are at that age where they are having a blast bouncing around and chasing each other. I think the humans and animals all agree that mud sucks, snow rocks.

Otis, our outdoor kitty, wasn't minding the snow as much as he was feeling the pain of losing a fight with some other critter. He usually hangs out in our garage, but still goes out hunting mousies (and big fat rats!) even in the snow. 

Apparently he encountered something larger than a big fat rat who gave him a beating.

Nothing a $300 trip to the vet can't cure. He is trapped (until Monday) in a big dog crate in the garage until we can get him back to the vet to have the drain removed from the abscess on his leg. Poor Otis!