Insert dog here

I know some of you miss the cats when I don't post about them, soooo...

Here is Keaton on his lofty perch in the barn! He is boss of the barn cats.

And LOOK AT MILLICENT!

Yes, the shy gal has finally decided she wants to join "gen pop"!

Only one cat seems to be offended by her, and it's not Alex!

Alex quite likes Millicent!

Nope, it's sweet little Honey who hisses at Mill! And chased her out of the kitchen this morning.
Millicent is so cute... she goes up to all the cats and offers the top of her head for them to wash. Most of them oblige!

and... INSERT DOG HERE!

Dodger was having a blast out in the fields the other day.

Back to cats... here's Alex:

Our vet says his whiskers are in the top 1%. I have to agree.

And here Buttercup looks all innocent, but...

...she had just done this to my neatly-organized horse-grooming box!

And she wasn't sorry at all.

She tried to blame it on Missy, but no luck!

My friend Deb commented on how white Missy is. She does keep herself very clean! She too is a sweetheart of a cat.

Meanwhile...

...Daisy was pissed off she didn't get the mouse pizza she ordered.

And here's Millicent the Adventure Cat this morning..

That look!

So glad she is finally out and about. 

And this is not a cat...

I gave Roo a good grooming on Friday. I can't wait until I can ride him again. June 1st! My concussion symptoms are almost all gone... I still have tinnitus (I have always had it, but it worsened after I hit my head) and headaches but overall, I'd say I'm 99% better. Back to normal activities apart from, sob, riding my horse...

The weather is cold and icky here today. It was 27C the other day (too hot for April) and today it's supposed to be 6C with torrential rain. Ugh...  but we are off to the Stormont Dundas & Glengarry OSPCA for their volunteer luncheon! Gordon and I both volunteer there and we are looking forward to seeing everyone down at the animal centre (from where we adopt most of our animals.) Enjoy your Sunday, whatever the weather!

Mud season

Saul and I are both completely fed up with mud.

Poor Sandy will be swallowed up soon! The paddock is a mess. Every time it starts to dry out, we get more rain! The equines all come into the barn at night so they can dry out their hooves.

Monty stays surprisingly white. He really is a self-cleaning dog.

And what's this?

Ella the boarder loves Buttercup! I caught her grooming the cat the other day. It was really sweet!

Buttercup loved it!

We have another cute interspecies friendship right here! :)

Gordon got out Sandy this weekend. I have five weeks until I can ride again (after my concussion.)

And the cats were being weird again...

Daisy, Mootie and Archie

Mootie always looks cranky but she's actually very sweet and good-natured. Very cuddly!

 And I got the cats a bunk bed...

I bid on it in an online auction to support a local rescue group. Brought it home and put it on the kitchen counter and ended up leaving it there for two days, because it was never free of cats! Finally I dumped them off and put it in my office.

The most I have seen in it so far is six cats!

And here is tripod kitty Alex, playing with tissue paper. We have had him for almost ten years now. Our vet says his whiskers are in the top 1%. Magnificent!

Dodger continues to spend vast quantities of time on our bed.

But Gigi...

...has started agility classes, and she LOVES them!

There is Gordon taking her over the bridge. We go to Shannoncourt, a great facility ten minutes from our farm. They bought the old elementary school in Martintown and offer a full range of services there!

Gigi is always a little sleepy after class!

Have a great week. I am finishing up my taxes today. :P

Will spring ever... be sprung?

We have been having some crapacious weather lately: cold, grey, rainy and the farm is a muddy hellhole! After the deluge we got Thursday and Friday, most of the snow has disappeared. I took this pics before that happened. And here is Mr. Rudy!

Perhaps that should be KING RUDY since he is definitely top pig in the herd. It's nice to see the porkers outside again now that it's a bit warmer.

I keep thinking spring has sprung, but then we get snow or a miserable day, and I think, NOT QUITE! But the goats have headed back to Goat Mountain so winter must be over...

Debbie claimed her spot!

Debbie, Salty and Pepper

The Pygmy brothers Salty and Pepper again!

They definitely have the best beards in the herd, although Penny's comes close (yes, she is a bearded lady!)

The new guys have fit in really well.

Ninja and Cindy are super cute.

And here's Daphne, herd queen! The vet came to see her again last week. Since her Caesarian last year, she has had "crusty butt" issues we're trying to solve. I've washed her butt so many times now, I've lost count, and my barn coat is permanently scented with Daphne's unique aroma.

I just finished up giving her a week of antibiotic shots. As far as we can tell, she is getting recurring urinary tract infections, possibly because she suffered some nerve damage to her bladder during the C-section, and isn't emptying her bladder completely But the vet is still working on a diagnosis. I have to clean her crusty butt again... she has a sort of slow drip which is unpleasant for her. We'll see what we can do. Apart from that, she seems happy. All the goats are getting hoof trims this week.

Ninja....

Bert at back left, Ninja centre, Pepper right, Cindy in front

Cindy has blue eyes! They are a really nice pair of goats.

Pepper and Salty are sweet too. 

And here is my lovely Genny the Boer/Nubian cross.

I think  she was posing for me!

And Bert! I love this guy so much. He follows me around like a dog and is a little ray of sunshine at the farm. Hard to believe someone would leave him for dead on the steps of the SPA de l'Estrie at the age of one week. I'm so glad he ended up here. He's quite a little character.

These two are so photogenic.

Horns are good for scratching!

And there's Pepper the stealth goat!

Geoff the Boer goat is very photogenic. He's a nice boy, second in command after Kevin.

I love the white spots around his face and neck.

Annabelle, Penny's daughter.

Debbie and Annabelle doing some friendly head-butting!

And how do you like my lap dog?

That's my Dodger!

I am truly fed up with the mud here. The horses are ankle-deep in it right now (they come into the barn every night so they get some relief from that.) I seem to have mud on all my coats and most of my jeans. I have nearly lost my chore boots to the sucking muck on several occasions. This crap can't dry up fast enough. We're supposed to get some much-warmer temps next week (up around 20C!) but also more rain. There is some local flooding around here and the creeks, rivers and ditches are all running really high. We have some water coming in our basement walls (stone foundation) which only happens when things are super-wet. We also have three sump pumps working hard in the basement. Our house is on top of a hill, so nothing too bad happens here as far as flooding goes. I am glad we don't live next to a river right now!

But eventually it will dry up and warm up, and then it will be July and I'll be whining about the hot weather. :) I am feeling a lot better as far as the concussion goes. Mostly back to normal; still some headaches and ringing in my ears, and I'm resting more than usual, but I'm back to driving and running, which is great. Can't wait to ride my horse again in June.

Hope you all have a great weekend!