Monday musings

Is it Monday okay? Yeeeesh...

Yesterday we worked with Finney on his driving. He's so smart and if you don't keep him busy, he gets naughty. I just love him!

He's getting all fluffy for winter... and a little fat, oops.

Meanwhile, Buttercup is intrepid!

We've had very little snow so far. We've often had some significant snowfalls by the end of November, but not this year.

And our place is a construction site right now!

We are renovating our granary (I call it the 1200 SF cat house!) and we also had water lines put in to the ponies/birds and the pigs/ goats. These are five feet deep and the hydrants won't freeze in winter, so no more bucket-hauling!!

The spray-foam insulation guys were here for several days, doing their job. The whole granary now has heated concrete floors (well, once the propane is hooked up, that is!) including the pig pen. The pigs also have a nice new exit from their pen to replace the rickety ramp they used to have to go down!

We moved the pigs back up to their normal spot and they are finally getting to meet Henry. I will give them a week to get to know each other through the fencing, then we'll turn him loose and see how it goes. Henry is the biggest and oldest of all the pigs!

And in the house, I had a lapful of cats...

Mootie and Emerson.

It was cold and damp yesterday, so Alex stayed in (our!) bed all day...

And the barn cats were demanding attention. So I obliged!

Redford and Keaton being all snuggly!

Keaton thought my ears needed cleaning!

Cat weirdness! Redford was sitting on my back for this selfie!

Happy Monday! (argh!)

Kitty-cat assassination attempt!

Let me just say it's a damn good thing this happened BEFORE we had the floors refinished (which we are in the process of doing!)

POOR TRISTAN! Archie and Mimi were tussling in the kitchen sink this morning and somebody managed to kick out a knife, which somersaulted through the air and landed here...

Of course, I had to grab my camera.  The poor dog! 

Accident or assassination attempt? You be the judge!

And last night I made chili in the slower cooker. After we took out the insert, Daisy snuck in and made herself comfy...

I'm pretty sure the cats have now taken over and we're just here at their mercy!

Have a great weekend.

Donkey love, horse love, and thank you!

Thank you so much for all your kind words about Julius. I still well up every time I think about him. My animals mean so much to me, and it's really hard to lose them. Sometimes I just get very tired of losses in life... I know it's part of living and we all go through it, but some days I just want to say "F*ck that!" to loss. But then I read all the beautiful comments you left and it made me feel comforted. And Julius had a really good kitty life! It's just hard. We had salmon the other night, and I always used to save him a piece... sigh.

But on a happier note, I took a bunch of donkey selfies the other day!

I adore this animal! He is a gentle soul.

So we took a bunch of selfies, which cracked me up. He is so into it!

How can you not love that face?!

And the weekend before we lost Julius, Gordon and I spent three great days in horse camp, working on both riding and driving...

My horse Roo had a bruised foot (he is better now!) so I rode a beautiful horse named Leia who I have had many lessons on... 

Gordon rode his new Fjord Sandy...

Everyone loves her at the stables. She has the sweetest personality. Someone said she's like Eeyore and she IS! I think they were practicing sidestepping here.

And she is AMAZING at driving!!

Four years old and such a pro!

Walked away from her in harness and she just STOOD there, being a good girl!

And now she has shoes, because we are taking her out with a sleigh this winter.

She is a very good girl for the farrier!

At camp, I also galloped for the first time, outside in a field with my instructor. It was terrifying and amazing and exhilarating. I have to say, I wish I could be on a horse every single day of my life. It makes me unspeakably happy. I am only sorry that I came to horseback riding later in life... I wish I'd started as a kid.

We all had the most amazing weekend! In December, we're signed up for two straight days of driving lessons. 

Thank you again for your kind words about Julius. I was very touched. Hope you all have a great weekend, and to my American friends, have a very happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful to live in a peaceful country with my lovely husband, and to have so many beautiful animals in my life.

Good bye, sweet Julius

Tonight we said good-bye to our dear cat Julius...

He wandered up to our house in Nova Scotia in 2000, and never left!

He had been suffering from renal failure and had also gone blind, but that didn't deter him.

But when I came in from barn chores this evening, he refused supper and I could tell something was very wrong.

I always knew he would tell me when it was time to go, and he did. We rushed him off to the emergency vet. His heart and respiration rates were very rapid and the vet thought he might have thrown an embolism. She said he would not last through the night. I wasn't surprised. I knew when we left the house that we would not be bringing him back with us.

He went peacefully with Gordon and I stroking his soft fur. It was just his time.

He had a great life and travelled across Canada twice in our car. Born in Nova Scotia, he also lived in British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario!

One of his cross-country treks. He's with his friend Mashka now.

He was always a placid, happy coming. Even going blind didn't seem to deter him.

He loved to snuggle up in warm places...

...and tolerated belly rubs!

He inspired my art...

And was just plain cute!

And very, very...

...fluffy! Which is why we often called him...

...Mr. Fluffy!

He was pretty easy to love!

And it won't be the same without him. 

On the way home from the vet's tonight, we saw a shooting star. It passed through the constellation Orion... the hunter. We used to call Julius a mighty hunter. 

I think that flash in the night was him was telling us good-bye.

Sleep well, buddy. We are so glad you wandered into our lives, and we will miss you very much.