In and Out of the Deep Freeze

We continue having psychotic weather here in Northeast Kansas this year. 

We will have one or two days of balmy, spring like weather, followed by three or four days of very low temps, mixed with a .... wintry mix.  Thursday of last week, I got eight inches of heavy snow here on the homeplace, and it drifted to a foot or more around the buildings in the yard.  Let me tell you, these old legs and feet felt it when I did chores, it was not fun tramping through the heavy snow in my heavy Hunter boots... but thank heavens for them. 

The poor chickens were in for three days, and when they finally got out, they were bewildered by the snow on the ground.  The three silkies that sleep in the brooder cage did not get to go out until today, because their pen was so full.  I did put them down on the floor in the front of the hen house, though, so they could at least get exercise.  

The feral cats mostly hung out in the shop where they at least had a bit of supplemental heat from the electric heater... more about that in a minute. 

Two new cats have appeared.  

This picture, taken through the front door, was my first sighting of "Checkers", as I have been calling him.  He is a HUGE male, not cut.  I have never seen him before last week, and I sent his picture over to my neighbors and they don't know him.  For those of you who don't know, I am the first house on the road, 2/10 of a mile off a state highway.  Across from me is a 26 acre undeveloped piece of ground that is now wooded, with very little water on it, which people have tried to develop several times, but for now, is blessedly "The Wild Area".  My neighbors across the road, Gary and Linda, live just south of that and are far off the road... and my neighbors Troy and Kathy are on the same side.  No one knew this boy.  

This very pretty girl is a kitten, about 3/4 grown.  I have a suspicion she is coming into heat... and that is why the male is there.  Troy sent me a picture from his Blink camera ten days ago, to see if she was one of my ferals.  This picture makes her look big, she is not.  I have got to try to trap both of them and have them neutered.  Do you see Coco's head looking up from the cat bed under the light? 

I have been walking out to the shop at 9 on very cold nights to turn the heater back on, it will run eight hours at a time.  Once the weather lightens up a little, my grandson and I are going to get out there and clean out the southeast corner, bring some order to the place, and next year I hope to use the wood burning stove in there instead of the electric heater. 

My electric bill that came on Saturday was the highest I have ever received here!  Yes, I can pay it, but at some point in time, I will be making decisions about "extras" that need to be dropped.  Right now, I feed the stray cats dry food at will during the day, and take it up in the evening.  I also give them wet food... I am going to start phasing that out, it is just too high now.  

The other decisions are being made about wild bird feed, which has just become very expensive.  I so enjoy watching them... and... I was not plagued with hundreds of starlings, in fact, I rarely have seen them this winter.  But the feed is 33.95 for forty pounds, it was 18.95 a year ago.  

This is the other thing that is going to happen. 

I have been taking up the dry food every evening (they are licking up the rest of the wet food in the bowls.).  They come in through a rotted opening at the back of the shop... the cats come in through a small opening in the wall at the front.  This morning, I went around to look at that hole... it is an area that is totally rotted out, and my worker, Brandon, would have to do an extensive re-build.  I took a picture of it, but this program will not draw on today's picture from the phone, so I may not post this until morning.  My idea is to finally block the possums and raccoons from even coming in.  Yes, they will try the front opening, and I will probably have to do something about that one, but I will have Brandon put on his thinking cap about it. 

(I have decided what to do, and that is to put a temporary fix with fence wiring attached to the back of the barn so that the larger critters cannot get in.  The whole corner needs to be rebuilt, and right now, I can't afford that).  

I obviously forgot to bring that food in early that night. 

They are HUGE. 

This is the reason Zoey never goes out without a lead on after dark. 

Cleo. 

Guess what, friends?  It's March 12.  I began this blog post clear back in February!

I actually have been through several more snow/melt/snow situations since then, 

and this morning, the temperature was 5 above when I went out to do chores. 

I start in the shop. 

Teeny and Wanda. 

Teeny is here to stay, I think, though she would make someone a lovely pet.  She is very, very tame and loving.  On Monday of this week, I took her to Hope Clinic in Leavenworth, where she was spayed, 

making sure there would be no kittens. 

As it stands, the count of neutered cats is... Teeny, Wanda, Cleo, Coco, Rusty (coming only at nights) and Diamond Lil, who is sleeping under Troy's garden shed, I think.  She comes out when I put the food in the garage in the morning.  Yeller, the yellow tiger male, comes daily to the deck to eat.  IF I see him, he gets a can of food.  He is next to be trapped and neutered. 

Checkers, the big black and white male... I believed he would go home once Teeny was no longer in heat.... HAHAHAHA.  He let me pet him this morning in the shop. 

So, in a few weeks, when it is reliably warm, the junk in the shop is going to be hauled away, and I am putting two large cat trees in there.  

On to other things. 

Here are three of the red hens roosting last night in the little hen house. I am still using supplemental light at night, it will be off soon.  (we are going into a week of sixties!) 

These hens are producing gorgeous eggs daily. 

I gave away eight dozen eggs last week... I have four in the refrigerator right now, 

and hope to give away all of them tomorrow and Monday.  I have a hen laying the hugest egg I have ever seen, and I think it is the five year old Leghorn, the only one I have left.  There are so many chickens I would love to try... but I am just too darn old. 

We have discussed putting chickens back at the National Agricultural Center now that covid has slowed down... but the pen was taken down and would have to be re-built, and talks are still in the early stages of planning. 

I will tell you one thing, they are keeping me in good shape, even when I am trudging around in the cold, blowing snow. 

Totally gratuitous picture of my grandson, Nathan, and his 

beautiful little daughter, Aurora.  It is one of my favorites, and he is truly a great girl dad. 

The camera picked up these three on the porch one day.  They are the three almost grown kittens... Coco, (black), Wanda (white) and Bullseye.  All neutered.  

They play together every day, chasing each other around the yard.  

The girls come up to the house regularly, and Coco loves to be petted... Wanda will come to me, but still will not allow herself to be touched, though she clearly wants to. 

Here goes little Zoey, ears flying, across the deck. 

And here she is, thirty minutes ago, staying warm.  Both dogs just went out 

though, for a few minutes, and now are back in until later.  Tomorrow, the weather will be much improved and indeed, go to the fifties. 

My next post will show you how I am making goat cheese after a hiatus of some six years (I hope successfully) and... my garden plans for the year.