A few more pics from the barnyard!

Here are some more pics taken about a week ago in and around the barnyard.

I LOVE this one! And yes, the cats got up on the posts themselves!

Buttercup, Pip, Daisy, Gordon and Honey. :)

Gordon was a popular guy in the chicken run. That's our oldest chicken Charlotte at the front.

She turns six this summer and is looking amazing!

But she's not as old as...

...this guy! Lenny the 27-year-old rescue Mallard. 

Honey is the prettiest little cat!

Pip doesn't know what to think of Buttercup's acrobatics.

Pip is a gorgeous tabby girl. She has amazing bat ears!

Not just a real beauty, but an excellent mouser!

I'm no sure if that's Honey or Emerson behind her!

Meanwhile, there's a meeting of the Ornj Cat Society on the palette!

The meeting broke up early. I think someone heard a rodent!

That's Emerson, hunkered down in the snow.

Lovely Honey having a bath.

And the Cat Man of Apple Hill!

Buttercup.

Daisy (with Buttercup in the background)

Testosterone without a name. We have a few new roosters that hatched out this summer after Speedy hid a nest in the barn. Sigh. Actually, Testosterone sounds like a pretty good rooster name!

And one of our original three roosters, the magnificent Beaker. He turns five this year!

Honey wanted to give Gordon a hand (a paw?) with bucket scrubbing.

More of Speedy's offspring. Hen on the left, roo no the right. I'm pretty sure Errol Flynn the Barred rock is their daddy!!

And we're still getting quite a lot of eggs through the winter...

The quails are laying well too!

Oh yeah, remember the "barn cat", Honey?

Yeah, that's her. She wore me down and now is allowed in the house during the day. Eventually she seems to miss her sisters and I take her back to the barn! She gets along with everybody, but particularly with Emerson. They are often running around together outside.

My whole "I only have indoor cats" thing fell to pieces this past summer after the rat explosion in the barn. I have to say, the barn cats are doing an amazing job. In one week, they did in at least three rats, and I never see a rat running around anymore (I presume the cats are nailing them when they venture out at night!) The cats are doing a much better job than traps, and are far safer and environmentally than  rat poison. Julius, Alex, Naomi, Louise and Emily are still indoor cats. Emerson spends most of the day outside and comes in at suppertime. The barn cats are all locked in the barn at suppertime, in hopes of keeping them safe from predators. Fingers crossed things continue to work well, as they have been, and no one gets the urge to wander!

It has been awfully cold this January and as much as I love winter, I am getting a little tired of bitterly cold windchills. When we woke up the other day, the actual temperature was -32C. We always get some days like that in January, but it feels like it has been colder than usual than this year. I would just like it to warm up a little bit so that doing barn chores is a bit less painful! :)