November & December 2001

Unsurprisingly, the news is still full of the terrorist attacks, and I am trying t keep up to date with what is being said.  Will and I watch the news most evenings but I think he sleeps through much of it.

On the farm, the Winter Wheat has been drilled, and they have had the Grain Assurance Inspection which means that they are harvesting and storing correctly.  The good news for me is that one of my favourite farming activities is taking place - ploughing.  I am still fascinated by how the silver plough fins turn the soil over, and that a load of birds turn up from no-where.  They are often seaguls with their distinctive cries - this amazes me as we are nowhere near the sea!  But I love watching all birds (I know I could catch one if I wanted to but I would rather watch the way the swoop in and out, and down to the soil)  It is colder here and a bit frosty so I have started to keep an eye out for other places to go to on the farm if I get caught out and am unable to get back to the house in time (if it is showery or too windy) - the cold weather means I am seeing less of my cat friends and aquaintances - but I am happy with my own company (and Will's, and the humans!) "Peace is the rarest form of happiness", as they say 

Mum has had a few days off work again, but has been in and out doing different things - but she still had time for me - of course!  The floor in the kitchen is still wet, so that means that the flooring cannot be relaid, so it is not ideal - however, it does mean that I get to keep my bed in the back porch near the boiler!  I am also an expert in finding the hot pipes under the carpet elsewhere in the house and laying on them fully stretched out - well, when there is not the sun, you have got to do something haven't you?!    Mum has also helped for a bit with the bagging of potatoes here on this farm - I was there for a but, but it gets a bit boring to be honest, so I made my excuses and left (!) Dad's Mum has been made redundant (this means that her job has finished) from her other job at Freemans - this is a catalogue place (apparently, catalogue has nothing to do with cats!)  and Mum's Mum phoned up one evening in a panic because the roof of her shed was being blown off (it has been very windy) so Mum and Dad had to go over and sort it out.

At Christmas, Mum and Dad's friends Ian, Clare and Stuart came over, then there have been other friends in and out over the break - and also Christmas day lunch was here - Dad cooked it - he did really well and Will and I got some too.  Mum's Mum, and Dad's parents and Aunt were here - and so was George - sadly Rachel and Andrew (George's parents) could not be here as they were in hospital with their niece - this is away from home and they wanted George to have a "normal day" but they came over later.  I've sent (as we all have) my best wishes, hopes and prayers to their niece - and I would like to wish everyone "Peace on Earth" - I have read a famous piece which says, "May Peace, and Peace, and Peace be everywhere"  Happy New Year everyone xx

okay, so it is not a Christmas picture, but this is a Sunrise on a Winter morning on the farm (I am just out of shot on the fence on the right)

September and October 2001

The harvest is finished - yay!  And, it all went well with minimal amounts of breakdowns which is good - this means that the focus is now on potatoes, and the "grading line" is now set up in the shed over here.  It is very, very noisy when it is running, but when it is quiet (stopped for the day, and I am on my own) it gives me the chance to get a different perspective on the inside of the shed and from a different angle.  I am fearless when it comes to heights and being a detective

Something really terrible has happened in the "human world".  Being a cat, I won't really pass comment but this is just too momentous to let it pass without mentioning.  There has been a terrorist attack on America and 4 planes have been hijacked, 2 of which crashed into the World Trades Centre buildings.  Mum was working in Kings Lynn today, and (they do not have the tv or radio on) she found out as one of her colleagues, Jo, was phoned by her Mum.  Back home, Mum and Dad have been watching the news and reading the papers - I am shocked and horrified, and my thoughts are with all those who have lost someone.

Back in the farm life - things are continuing as normal, and I have to say, "sometimes it takes a major event to make you evaluate your life and appreciate just how lucky you are"  It has started to be quite showery here - this normally happens when I am on one of my tours of the farm, often at the furthest away point from the cat flap, so I have to be quite creative in finding somewhere warm and dry (I like the forklift truck's seat and the old armchair cushions that live in the shed best - in fact, I am doing my best to make the as furry and as comfy as possible for me!)  

In the house, there has been a problem (small in the context of everything else) in that the washing machined has leaked - the day after new flooring was put down - the machine was disconnected and reconnected to allow the flooring to be done (I would imagine that this fact and the leak are connected!) Unfortunately, it was on a weekend, so the humans were having a lie in (!) thus by the time it was discovered - ie me jumping on the bed and woawing in their faces for some time - it was very wet.  The floor is now up, and the concrete underneath is wet through - there are driers and heaters in the kitchen but it is cold and wet under my paws and my food and bed have been moved to the worktop in the back porch (don't panic about hygiene though (!) no food is prepared here and I know that I am not allowed on the worktops in the kitchen or the utility)  The back porch worktop is best for me though as it has the best view from the window and the door - and if I can wangle staying here until winter, it is also under the boiler...."always make the best of any situation" that is one of my maxims.  

On the farm, the potato lifting continues and they've been lifting the neighbours' potatoes at the other farm.  I do appreciate the versatility of this vegetable, but I do wonder if they could grow something more "cat appropriate"!! .............a field of catnip would be great for starters!

this little figure lives in our kitchen - it is an important reminder to try and have a sunny, happy disposition (and it also looks like me!) 

July and August 2001

So, I have decided to do two or three months together in one post, or maybe as a "season" - there is much for me to wander about (aka supervise) as well as honing my knowledge....also, being a cat, it is important that I fit in as much sleeping as possible during the day - that's often when we cats have our greatest ideas!....I wonder if the same is true of humans?

Speaking of sleep, I again managed to make my Mum jump during the night - it has been so hot here, and with them living in a bungalow, and their bedroom only having windows where the two large side panes open (not smaller portions of windows at the top) they've been leaving the side windows open ...........sufficient for me to jump in and on to the bed!  Made them wake up though (an element of surprise is always good!) .....well, in my defence, how was I supposed to know that humans have a design fault with not being able to cat nap / sleep with one ear open like us superior beings?!

With it being so hot on the farm, they have been irrigating at the other farm.  Will tells me that this is where water is pumped out of dykes and on to the fields/crops (it is all legal!) They cannot do that on this farm as there are no water sources - and as a consequence, some of the crops are starting to look a bit thirsty and not as healthy as they could. 

 That aside, this is my favourite time of the year - I like to be up and about and on the go - I am out several times in the night (if the window to the bedroom is not open, then I come in and out of the cat flap) but I like to be out and about for dawn breaking......"Each Morning that you wake up is the first day of your new life" and "Every day is a fresh start and a new beginning, that is why it is important not to start the day with the broken pieces of yesterday"

I've also been busy inspecting (and digging!) the garden, and checking out the sleeping opportunities/locations next door.  Dad's folks have gone on holiday to Devon, and the work on the farm started off with cleaning out bins and sheds in preparation for the wheat - but there have been two sort of farm related disasters 1) when the combine harvester started, there was a problem and the auger broke (that is the long pipe thing that sticks out the side and transfers the combined crop to the tractors running alongside it) and 2) Dad has lost his mobile phone in a field and can't find it!   I don't really understand this obsession with humans and their phones - it is all very strange.

As for me, I have been "in charge of" making sure the farm here is under control, the rodent population is not too huge, and that there are no strange or new occurances - eg missing machinery or rust patches on the sheds.  A new cat has moved into a nearby estate and we have exchanged a few words - I think she is finding it a bit strange living in the country but I have assured her that she will soon get used to it, and won't be able to imagine living back somewhere where it is all built up. .....I know that I couldn't.  It is different here though, because it is so flat, and there are so many fields, it is like the sky goes on forever and you can see for miles in any direction - I quite like that though - it certainly helps me keep my tabs on my territory!

Me investigating - I can't always persuade Will to come with me, so just as well I am happy in my own company eh?!