There are still a lot of issues around the Foot and Mouth outbreak and a lot of action happening around the UK to contain this disease. With the cows at the other farm (or "the Mooks" as they are known, apparently it is short for "moo cows") Dad is doing all the feeding of the cows because Alan has pulled some muscles moving some machinery about it.
Will has told me that it is very wet at the other farm - so much so that Bryan (neighbouring farmer) got stuck in the mud with a sprayer and it took some time and a lot of people to get the sprayer out. Will says he tried to help and looking at the state of him when he got back to ours, I would say that was true (!) he had to have a bath which he was none too keen on....I think it is fair to say that (some) dogs are not as clean as cats! But the important thing here is that Will tried to help - "Be kind whenever possible, it is always possible" and "If you can't help somebody, then at least do not hurt them"
There have been a delivery of road planings to our farm to fill in the massive holes in the farm yard and also to provide better standing areas which will certainly help me in my "moseys around" the farm. The farm records are all being updated on the PC and then emailed to the other farm. Dad has been spending a lot of time on this, and the new software for it, so I have taken the opportunity to "keep him company" by sitting at the side of the pc or on the windowsill in the study (it is a myth that all cats think that a computer mouse is the same thing as a real mouse by the way) This is quite good because it means that I get a fresh lunchtime "snackette" - I get food for breakfast and food for tea (I don't normally eat all of it - I am more of a "little and often eating" kind of cat. I also get some dried food left for me all day (the correct term is kibbles, Dad calls them biscuits for some reason) but when people are here in the daytime I can ounge around for some more ...........I must say Dad is nowhere near as good as Mum at this ..and the training is taking longer than I would have thought!
Mum has been to her school reunion but it was just normal dress - she had a good time - it was in a pub/restaurant called "The Packing Shed". Unfortunately, she had another do on the same night which was a joint 30th and 40th for two friends (one of which was my friend Stuart as mentioned last month) so she left the reunion early and joined Dad at the other party........there are no weird photos to upload though - and I have looked thoroughly!
Strike a pose! it is so exhausting updating all those computer records.............
Lots to report this month:
It is a little bit warmer, so we have been out and about more. Alan and Janet (Dad's parents)have been on holiday to Cyprus, and when the came back there is a major farm issue to deal with. Will is often at the other farm, and he comes back and tells me lots of things. I've been watching the news, and there is an animal disease called "foot and mouth" which affects cloven animals ie cows, sheep, pigs, goats, deer etc. This disease is highly infectious and can be spread through contact with contaminated farm equipment, feed, clothing and vehicles - and also by other animals. The UK had been free for FMD but an outbreak has just been confirmed.
This is really serious. For the poor affected animals it is serious, for their farmers too...and also for other farmers and everyone really. A lot of national events have been cancelled and there are strict policies in place, and changes. Both Will and Jake have to be on a lead now as they can't roam freely because the cows are still in place at the other farm. There is a straw disinfectant barrier at the other farm (so Will tells me) and also, this obviously has an impact on the machinery being moved between our farms. I feel so sorry for everyone concerned, "it is important to be compassionate and understand what others may be facing" and I can only hope it is sorted soon, although I am not sure how. "We all need to reach out and help others where we can" and I know everyone around he is worried about and for the animals and farmers out there
On our farm, now it has thawed a bit, the fields are really boggy and underwater - in fact, Dad has been digging trenches to get the water off the land. I declined to assist (even though I am a champion digger...Dad says it looks like I am attempting to dig my way to Australia whenever I dig a hole in the garden) as I do not want that much mud in my fur, but I did watch from a vantage point of the car bonnet - which was also warm - bonus! He has also been replacing some of the perspex sheets in the chitting shed - I did go and help him with that. I like the chitting shed, it has fascinating smells and nooks & crannies to explore, and it is also quite warm due to the large windows.
Mum is still training in her new job - so this is all new and exciting as there is a lot to learn. She has also had a phone call from someone she went to High School with called Julia (humans don't learn on their own apparently, they have to go out all day to learn things from age 4-18 (ish) ) Julia is organizing a school reunion...................I can't wait to see the outfits and photos!! Mum and Dad's friend Stuart has been for tea too - he is not a cat person, but "not-not" a cat person if you see what I mean, so he enjoyed having me on his knee for a bit as his parents had a cat like me when he lived at home when he was younger. I do enjoy training people in "the art of chutching a cat"
also not a flattering photo, but this is Mum holding me wearing her "sheep fleece" - we called it this before the F&M outbreak
Happy New Year Everyone!
I have been taking advantage of the cold and staying in a bit, as it has been quite frosty. Sometimes Mum wears a brown/beigy chenille top which is nearly the same colour as me, and I love snuggling up to her....and best of all, when I "tread it down" (also called pedalling, most cats do this before they settle down) she does not mind if there is a thread pulled because it is really old and the style of it "lends" itself to my alterations, shall we say!
Mum has got a new job - still with the same company, but now instead of working out of different branches, she now works out of different business centres. There are 4 in total, but she will mostly be working in 3 of them - one is 6 miles away, one is 13 and one is 24 so not too bad, and she seems happier with this than with all the uncertainty. She will have a few months training in the nearest office though so that is good too. I am happy with both being "self sufficient" as you know ..."it is important to be true to yourself" (and in my case, that means, be your own cat!) but I like people being here too.
Dad has been in the shed mending a beet harvester (I could tell that this was not a straight forward job, so I did not stay too long, and I did not offer my services either (!) They are just about "worked up" on the farm - which in normal speech means they are "up to date" It is always important to "keep as up to date as you can, to allow time for other eventualities"
Someone called Lance was talking to Dad in a field recently (Lance works for one of the neighbouring farmers, and had cut some verges for our farm) They were just discussing things when I saw them, so I went over to see if Dad needed any help (I've not met Lance before so I did not know who he was) Later, this was reported to Mum as, "Az came running up, because there was someone in "his" field" - that makes me look like it was me that was afraid, whereas I was running to his aid in case he needed me - humans eh?!
Dad calls me Az or Az-ley, and irritatingly he has started to call me "Da Waz" which I am not keen on at all. That said, he is quite a quick learner, and I have been teaching him the art of "belly surfing" as demonstrated in the picture below. This also has the added benefit of warming my paws up............Dad likes it because it means that he can ask Mum to fetch him things "because he does not want to disturb the cat" - sounds like a win win !
not the most flattering picture of either of us, but you get the idea.................it works better when he is laying completely flat!
Strike a pose! it is so exhausting updating all those computer records.............
