June 2001

Okay, I am back from the cattery - and yes, I did ensure that Mum was told about the catnip spray, although she hasn't found any in the shops yet unfortunately.

At last it is hot and sunny, so I can enjoy sunbathing and bird watching from the farm and the back garden.  I know I should be catching birds (and indeed I do occasionally) but for some of the larger ones, there is just something quite "zen" about watching them....for some reason, some more unusual species have been in the garden and I have had to look up what they were (jays and a green woodpecker) 

Mum and Dad had a fab time in Canada, they stayed in different places every or every other night and so saw a lot of Ontario - Toronto (that is the capital) and lots of other places - they even stayed in a lakeside lodge which had squirrels come up to the decking for food.  I have never seen an actual squirrely - I wonder if we ever have or had any grey ones around the farm....I will have to investigate.  The day after they came back, Micky and Rachel moved house so everyone was helping them move - humans have such a lot of "stuff"!!  It is possible to "travel lightly through life" and "tread lightly as you go with minimal bad impact and maximum good" too.  Mick and Rach's new home is lovely and they are settling in well.

This is normally the "quiet before the storm" on the farm ie it's the slow bit (June and July) before it gets really busy and stressy for the harvest - this normally coincides with key bits of machinery breaking down, or developing previously unknown quirks and issues (honestly, some of them are as tempramental as humans!) To try and avoid this, the combine harvester has been serviced and a few other bits have been for a service or had some checks done.  The pototoes have been sprayed and everyone seems (for farmers) quite calm at the moment........Will is a bit bored when it is not busy but he has been content to lie in the garden with me as it has been so warm - he is not a very restful companion though, all that snuffling, grunting and wriggling about (not to mention the barking at thin air!) Whereas I am more, "learn to be silent, and let your mind listen and absorb" and there is a quote which says, "how is it possible for the world to know peace when we have lost the gift of stillness?"

Me - lying and sunbathing in the house - this is from May when it was their anniversary (hence the flowers!)

May 2001

Disaster!  Mum used to have a chenille-velvety jumper, (my favourite of al her clothes) it is almost the same colour as me, but it has got a hole in it (very noticable, and impossible to repair) so I don't get to cuddle up to her in it........but she has given it to me for my bed - obviously, not to dress up in, I am not that sort of cat (!) and anyway, you could not improve on the perfection that is my ginger fur!  So "every cloud has a silver lining" and / or "in the midst of difficulty, look for opportunity"

On the farm, there have been a few bits of machinery breaking down, including a clod separator which (funnily enough!) separates clods of earth by breaking them down this means that you can plant potatoes into a clod free seed-bed (See? I am Agri-cat with all my knowledge!)  So the repairs and new bits of kit (note un-technical term here!) have cost a bit of money, and a lot of time wasted in delays.  Mum is still enjoying her job - the training is finished, and she works out of a nearby branch mostly, and then covers at 3 other business centres which are 18, 24 and 27 miles away.  I know she misses me, and I miss her a bit, but to be honest, I am so busy "doing my own thing" that I have enough stuff to be getting on with!  

They have finally finished planting potatoes - which is quite late - but they are all in now, and they have checked on what has been planted so far.  I myself, like to inspect the wheat - this is my favourite of crops to watch ...it looks just like grass when it is is first grown, but then becomes taller and golden as the weeks and months pass - it does not look "furry" like barley does, but I enjoy checking it out!  At some points, it is nearly the same colour as me!  There are lots of fields of wheat around the farm this year - some ours, some not, so I don't have to explore too far to see what's what!

Mum's Mum has been over a few times, as has Rachel (Mum's sister) with George who will be one year old this month!  Later in the month, Mum and Dad went on their holiday to Canada and I went back to see Barbara at her cattery - it is a home from home there!  It is also, endlessly fascinating "cat watching" ....apparently there are some humans who enjoy watching other people eg in a shopping centre (whatever one of those is!) and I enjoy watching other cats and talking to them too....some of the cats in there had bad homes and were badly treated before finding forever homes with loving families, some of them are scared as they have not been away from home before and that is where we can all help each other out - a friendly meow or purr, and a bit of reassurance can go a long way (this is the same for cats and humans!) and we all enjoy watching the birds, plants and butterflies in the garden!  Barbara has got this brilliant spray called cat-nip spray....I love it, it makes me happy and lively (and she says it needs to be limited use for me unfortunately) I have wowl-ed and talked to Barbara to ask her to make sure that she tells Mum about it, so I can have my own stash at home..................watch this space!

Me outside the house at home.............pondering my next move............!!

April 2001

It has stopped raining at last! But there is so much water around that Will and I have joked that we need a canoe to get around in.  I am none too keen on having soaking wet, muddy fur so this is having a real impact on  my practical learnings on the farm - instead I have turned to books (also of course, listening in when there are farm discussions and coffee breaks at our farm - it turns out that farmers are none too keen on the rain either - lightweights - at least they can put on warmer and waterproof clothing!)

Anyway-up (to borrow a colloquial expression I have heard) in more good news, the vet has been to visit the cows at the other farm and given them the "okay" to go back to their own home farm.  None of these cows has had the dreadful foot and mouth illness but there are still a lot of cases in the UK and the news reports are terrible - I feel so sorry for the animals and farmers that it has affected. "We all need to appreciate how lucky we are sometimes", as the impact on those affected has been massive.

Speaking of lucky, you'll never guess what has happened!  Mum and dad have won a holiday to Canada! - this is because last year, they went on a once in a lifetime holiday to Kenya (they are normally more, late bookings in Europe or the UK kind of people!) and because of that, they were enrolled for a year in a holiday club where they get emails and magazines - and they entered a competition which they won!  Dad did not believe the lady that phoned him initially!  So it looks as if I will be going to visit my friend Barbara again which is lovely too...."A change is as good as a rest," as they say, after all

On the farm, they have been flat-lifting after the sugar beet has been harvested and also doing some cleaning up jobs - as best they can - as supervisor, I make sure they have started it and have a plan, then retreat to the house..............well, I have to supervise the general comfyness of the the beds and the chairs, cushions, settees etc!

not the greatest of photos, but this is me with "Inch the snake" and one of the balls that I like to chase around the house - you have to be sure to exercise, even when you can't get outside!