The Not-So-Elusive Masked Shrew

Okay, I'm gonna take a break for a few minutes from deskwork to tell you about the itty-bitty Masked Shrew.

For the last week or two and with regularity, we've been finding these little critters inside the house (prominently deposited on a rug) or outside on the deck(s) or walkway(s). Each time, though, they are untouched (oh, and dead). We know they are "gifts" from the cats (now just Annie Blue), but we didn't know what they were . . . nor why there were untouched and not eaten.

A little research in 'Mammals of Minnesota' (one in the series of many useful & easy-to-read field guides by Stan Tekiela) identified the little guy, and here are some interesting facts:

• Weighing in at just 1/4 of an ounce and spending the majority of its life in tunnels underground, this shrew is "rarely, if ever, seen". (Lucky for us, then, that the cats have been leaving them for us in plain sight!)
• They don't hibernate - they are active underneath the snow in the wintertime.
• It's also called the Cinereus Shrew, and it's one of the smallest mammals in Minnesota. Cinereus means 'ash-colored' in Latin.
• Explanations for why we find them unscathed seem to be two-fold: they give off a "strong musky odor [although we've never noticed this] which makes it unattractive" to predatory mammals (i.e, cats). AND, they can "die from fright when captured"! Given the number of them that have been left for us, they must be fun for the cat(s) to hunt!
• And, finally, they are "a desirable animal to have around your home and yard" - killing mice and eating many harmful insects (like . . . ?). They do not transmit rabies and are not harmful to humans!
  

We're happy to have these cute little guys around!

Sad News

I don't much feel like writing, but I should get it out of the way.

Miss Kitty - our "first born" / the feral cat who wiggled her way into our hearts - is gone. She didn't come home Thursday night and was not home by the time I returned last night about 6:30. I looked everywhere and called and called and called for her. Even if she's far away, she'll come when we call . . . and loudly meows to let us know she's on her way. Then, while I was passing the area by the pond where she'd been hunting lately, something made me turn off the driveway to walk across the clover-covered ground. The sniffing dogs led me to a flattened spot . . . and I found some hair. We don't know that it's hers, for sure, but all indications point to that.

I'd always kind of held my breath when Annie Blue started going outside because I knew she wasn't the savvy outdoor cat that Miss Kitty was. So, if either of them were to be "gotten" by a critter (owl?), we fully expected it to be the teeny little Annie Blue . . . and not our big hunter. But, even the most crafty of hunters can let down their guard on occasion . . . which is what we think happened.

Even though seeing possibly gruesome remains would be difficult, there would be that sense of closure if we had a body to bury. As it is, we'll plant a tree today in that spot, putting the bits of hair we found into the hole first. Whatever happened to her, we just hope that it was quick.

Miss Kitty had been with us 6 years as of July 29th. Time goes by so quickly - I can't believe it had been that much already. But, I guess we really expected to her to live to a ripe old age . . . even though she did (we did), on a daily basis, put her(self) in harm's way by going outside. But, that was the life she loved . . . .

Big Things = Busy, Busy!

Well! I'm sorry. We've been SO busy lately! As my pregnant girlfriend recently wailed, "I haven't even had time to cut my toenails!" (And, while my toenails aren't growing like hers are with the extra large dose of naturally-occurring hormones, you get the idea!)

Despite only having three posts so far, I'm loving Mama Pea's 'A Home Grown Journal' blog. Her most recent post - which, for her, may have been just a chit-chatty blurb about her strawberry patch - was a gardening lesson for me as I was reminded about pinching off the runners and blossoms the first year and mulching with this or that.

So, in order to update you, I need to go back in time to one cold morning in April when I went out to do chores. With the mash barrel nearly empty, the resident (chicken house) mouse had not been able to get out once he'd gotten in! While he'd had plenty to eat during the night, I think he was also plenty happy to see me come to rescue him! What a cute little guy! (Hmm, I wonder if he's the one Miss Kitty killed and ate last night?)

This next picture is from the beginning of April, too. Tom installed the only "real" interior door we have in the house: on "his" closet - the one in the utility room. And, even though I love Tom's handmade doors that hang throughout the rest of the house, I have to admit to a new favorite "sound": that of this closet door as the latch snaps into the jamb . . . a feature which none of the other doors have. Unfortunately, the dumb dogs still aren't used to the sound of a door closing IN the house and so tend to bark madly at the "intruder" every time Tom or I close it. (Sigh.)

A little (very little) more house progress took place mid-April when I began painting the sunroom. The first picture here is of the primer (the blue-grey color), and the next picture is of the "real" color - the green. The primer went on SO well, and I got really excited about the whole process.

But then, the green went on fairly poorly. It was gloppy and will DEFINITELY require a second coat. Such a disappointment after the ease with which the primer had been applied. The primer is a different brand than the green paint, and so I don't know if that's causing the difference or, maybe, the age of the paint. We bought the green paint almost two years ago and the primer just last year. But, never having been opened, paint doesn't go "bad" that quickly, does it?

Two Days from Spring

While most people in the country (state?) are thinking SPRING, we are still very much in winter. We're still in the single digits to teens at night . . . although the days are getting up to the low 30s. And, that sun is so warm that there are melting drips even when the mercury stays below freezing. We've been getting a little snow yesterday, last night, and this morning - everything's coated and very wintery looking.

The loggers cleared out of their site across from the end of our driveway yesterday and moved just a mile or two down the road to their new cut. On their way home, they snuck in and left the pie plate in Tom's workshop. "The pie plate," you ask? You betcha! I made the dear, sweet loggers an apple pie last week and left it for them because . . . .

Tom was in Orlando for a Microsoft convention/meeting/thingie last week. But, with him gone and me still not supposed to lift anything heavy, how was the wood furnace going to get filled? (I was planning on doing it myself, anyway, thank you very much!) Well, much to my chagrin, Tom asked the loggers if they would mind doing it each morning. He would pay them, of course. And, of course, they, in turn, refused the very suggestion of payment! So, the upshot is that my "wood elves" (okay, I'm sure loggers wouldn't appreciate being referred to as elves, but you get the idea) tiptoed in under the cover of dark each morning (remember, they rise-and-shine at 3:15 AM!) . . . parking up on the driveway and walking down so as not to wake the dogs and then, in turn, me with the sound of their truck engine . . . and STOKED the fire. I mean, they put so much wood in there I didn't even need to feed it in the evenings! What sweet, wonderful men. And, hence the apple pie, paper plates, and plastic forks I left out in the garage for them one night to find in the AM. It was - quite literally - the LEAST I could do!

Road restrictions go into effect on Thursday . . . meaning that the loggers (or anyone with heavy loads) can't drive on the roads for a minimum of 8 weeks during spring thaw. When the ban is removed, it's usually road by road with the more major (relatively speaking!) ones first. So, it's at this time of year that all the logs cut during the winter are hauled to the ends of the roads that the bans will remain on longest . . . like our little 4-mile road leading out to the main road. I took this photo last week (each log is 8' long), and there is even more wood now. The end of our road definitely looks like a massive lumber staging area (which, I guess, it has become)!

For those of you wondering, I think I'm finally starting to make some forward progress in the post-surgery recovery department. I felt like last Thursday was my "turn-around" day (last Friday was 4 weeks). And, until Sunday afternoon, I hadn't had to take a pain pill in 4 days (and I haven't had to take one since) - a major coup! Although, even though I feel like I'm somewhat getting back to a "normal" schedule, it's still one step forward and 2 steps back in the sense that I get pooped out and my tummy gets sore and swollen VERY easily. But, it's still progress!

Now, absolutely no segue here, but . . . .

Do you remember "Heloise's Hints" in Good Housekeeping? (Or am I dating myself?) Anyway, here is my version of that: Chicken Mama's 'Tips from a Modern-Day Old-Fashioned Housewife'. I discovered this wonderful "trick" this winter. If there's a (fairly quiet) job that you particularly dislike or that takes a long, boring time (think doing the dishes or ironing), get thee to the library and check out a book on tape/CD! It's AMAZING how a good book turns those jobs into something you LOOK FORWARD TO! As I was ripping through the Harry Potter books-on-tape this winter, I would try to actually arrange my day around doing the dishes . . . just so I could listen! It's great for when you're holed up in the kitchen making dinner, too . . . as long as the mixer or sautéing veggies don't drown out the sound! :)

After just barely 6 months of cohabitation, Miss Kitty and Annie Blue have f-i-n-a-l-l-y gotten to the point of "play fighting". Mind you, Annie Blue's been attempting this for ages, but she was always - and very quickly - "shut down" by the Madam of the House. But now, just in this last week or two, we've seen them batting each other and APPEARING to have fun . . . although I did have to admonish Miss Kitty to "be careful of Annie Blue's eyes!" one day as the claws did seem rather precisely poised for a blow. ;)

Speaking of cats, Tom saw our first "big cat" on his way to work yesterday morning . . . just down on the main road after he turned onto it. It was too far away to tell if it was a bobcat or lynx. But, either way . . . pretty cool!

Here are a couple of cute Annie Blue pictures. In the first, we had some bedding & padding stacked by the front door ready to go out to the trapper cabin, and Annie Blue thought the rolled padding made the most PURRFECT hideout! Then, now that the house has been warming and the half-dead flies have been waking up (ugh!), one of her new favorite spots is atop the file folders on my desk . . . avidly watching as they drunkenly buzz around the light of my desk lamp.

Animal Shenanigans

Annie Blue has climbed a tree out of fear (more times just for the heck of it) twice
now . . . and required a ladder rescue each time. When she climbs them just for fun, she comes down of her own accord. But, Thursday night, we were sure she was in deep, deep trouble. It had been my town day, and she'd scooted outside when Tom was helping me unload the car and carry groceries, etc. into the house. Once we realized she was still outside when it was so dark and there were more critters (owls) out and about to get her, we went searching. The bell on her collar and the f-a-i-n-t-e-s-t of pitiful "mew"s REALLY worried us because they were coming from deep within the huge boulders off the deck. (Little did we know she was a ventriloquist.) Anyway, fast forward past a frantic 5 minutes or so (it seemed more like 15) of searching in the rocks to no avail . . . and, out of desperation, we started shining our flashlights up into the surrounding trees. There she was . . . WAYYYY up in a cedar. So, off Tom trudged to the garage to get an extension ladder for the 2nd of two such rescues. (Mind you, had it been daytime, we would have let her find her own way down!)

Miss Kitty - just this week - has finally let us see a glimpse of her old self (6 weeks into the addition of Annie Blue) by playing with her organic catnip banana . . . but she still growls at the new fur ball every chance she gets. And, yes, she did get locked in the garage one night until we wondered where she was at 1:30 AM . . . when we saw (or, more accurately, felt) that she wasn't in her usual place at the foot of our bed!

Tucker has had to go back to sleeping in his kennel (or, more to the point, being locked in his kennel) at night because otherwise we'd continue to find him happily nestled into the corner of the couch each morning as if he'd slept there every night of his life! Darn hairy little dust mop!

And, finishing out the most recent poll: yes, "all the above" was the correct answer because Annie Blue does tackle Tucker at every possible opportunity. Actually, Tom and I were commenting just last night that the animal combination we have now seems to be just right. With the addition of the kitten, Tucker is no longer constantly pestering Maisy, so Maisy and Miss Kitty can live a life of comfort - for the most part. And, Tucker's finally getting a taste of his own medicine from Annie Blue! ;)

Planning for the perfect moment to ambush . . . .

(Good gawd, somebody needs to dust that furniture!)








And I will ATTACK that fuzzy tail!












Then . . . the FACE! (Watch those eyes, please!)











A little up-close-and-personal now (on top of Mom's legs).











Darn! He's starting to figure it out!











Fun's over for the night.

Not Much

Not much to report since we're in the middle of a work week. The rain has been continue, continue, continuing, and we're contemplating building an ark. At least we won't go into winter dry. BUT, if this precipitation CONTINUES into winter, I'm not going to get anything done 'cause I'll be out plowing every single day!

Evening projects have included Tom getting the door that goes between his workshop and the battery room (out in the garage) installed. Then, last night we got the last light mounted in the bathroom (our "reading light" - ha ha - over the toilet). We'd had it forever but just hadn't gotten around to actually hanging it. Then, while I made dinner (tacos with some of the 50 lbs. of bison I have in the freezer), he moved his office area that is in the master bedroom upstairs. His desk had been sitting directly over the space where the stovepipe will go from the woodstove downstairs (until we get the fireplace built) through the upstairs and out through the roof.

On the docket today is both cats to the vet - a first for Annie Blue. She's not the problem, though: Miss Kitty always makes the drive a MISERABLE one because she HATES riding in cars. So, I'm anticipating a very "loud" trip. But, it's gotta be done once a year, one way or t' other.

In closing, here's a shot of Annie Blue from Monday night - trying to "get" one of those pesky flies buzzing around the lightbulb. Everybody all together now, "Awwwww!"

4 October 2007

The beleaguered Miss Kitty escapes the antics of the new kitten by taking a nap out on [the table on] the deck.

I took this second picture on the same day from the walkway that connects the two (south southwest-facing) decks. Most of those leaves and color are gone now - just a week later.

Getting Back to "Normal"

Well, we're trying to get back into the swing of things . . . whatever that means.

Yesterday was Tom's first day back to work after nearly 2 weeks (he'd only been back that Monday when we got the call about Ernie's final hours). I got hit with a bit of the flu bug Sunday night and had a HORRIBLE night that night which lasted well into yesterday morning. So, I was in no shape to get his lunch ready and properly send him off on his "first day back". Felt bad about that. :(

Then, with the cellphone service still being sketchy (apparently our local Verizon towers had a big outage last week), I couldn't get Tom's message last night that he was in a late meeting and wouldn't be home at his usual time. So, I waited until 7:20 before I loaded the dogs into the car and headed out to look for him. FORTUNATELY, I met him only 1.3 miles away from the house! Yayy!

And, regarding the phone service, all I can suggest is that you give it a try (but don't expect much). You might be routed immediately to the voicemail instead of our answering machine (confusing, I know). And, if that's the case, I won't get the message until I'm able to call into voicemail (which has been a problem). E-mail continues to be the surest way to contact us until things are flowing smoothly again.

The bad blood between Miss Kitty and Annie Blue isn't quite as bad as I'd feared. Yesterday, while Miss Kitty was on my lap, Annie Blue decided to jump up for some lovin', too. She did it before I could stop her, and I tensed my entire body and shut my eyes for the bloodshed (to me, too, since it was all taking place - as I said - on . . . my . . . lap!) that was sure to follow. Fortunately, a ferocious hiss and growl from Miss Kitty was enough to send the kitten scurrying, and we all remain unscathed. Whew!

Anybody want to buy a really cute, clean little house in southwestern Minnesota? Corner lot! Lots of closets and a dry attic! Quiet, easy-access back alley! Workshop and extra storage room in the garage! The price is right! ;) Anyway, if you have any interest (or know someone who might), here is a link to Ernie and Jennie's little house. (This is not the one the boys grew up in - Tom and his brother helped them moved out of that house - only about 2 blocks down - in the late 90s.)

Annie Blue

In the midst of everything (and to answer the most recent poll question), Annie Blue joined our furry family on Monday, September 17th.

Her addition is somewhat of a joke because everyone who knows me knows that I've always hated (HATED!) cats . . . until Miss Kitty came to us, that is. And, it only worked with Miss Kitty because she was so "different". She was a wild cat and always did "her business" outside - asking at the door to go out like the dogs. She never got on furniture, etc., until we invited her. She was (is) the perfect cat (although she seems more like a dog).

Then, somewhere along the line, I started thinking about how nice it would be to have a couple of barn cats . . . except we don't have the barn yet.

So, call it fate, call it kismet, call it . . . insanity?! Whatever you name it, I was visiting a friend who mentioned that she thought her cat was pregnant, and the proverbial seed was planted. I dropped the concept of getting a kitten to Tom - probably being more vague about the whole idea of it than my mental plans already indicated. Then we happened to visit the friend - quite accidentally - a week after the kittens were born, and I was hooked. I think even Tom was.

So, fast-forward a few weeks to the time when the kittens would nearly be ready to go home, and Tom's dad was getting sicker and sicker. We knew traveling and being gone from home for a bit were ahead of us. If I waited until the kitten was 8 weeks old to bring her home, I was worried that Ernie's passing would soon follow and she wouldn't have had any time to adapt to us and her new home before we left her. So, the executive decision was made to pick her up just past her 7 week birthday. But, Murphy's Law struck (as always happens), and Ernie passed away fewer than 48 hours later . . . giving Annie Blue only 6 hours to get to know Tom and 4 short days to get to know me.

Fortunately, she has taken it all in perfect stride and is NONE the worse for wear for being shipped to my folks' for the time that we were gone. I think the transition between here and there and then back here again was made easier by the fact that she was with Maisy and Tucker the whole time. And, I'd stopped at my folks' on the way home from picking her up, so she already knew them - albeit for a very short period of time.

Anyway, all's well that ends well, and Annie Blue's a doll! The only transition that's been difficult is Miss Kitty's acceptance of her . . . which is zero. There haven't been any physical fights, fortunately . . . but only because Miss Kitty's hissing and growling keep Annie Blue at a sufficient distance . . . although the kitten is soooooo eager to have a new cat mommy! ;) Maybe in time . . . !

(In these pictures, aside from the first one where she's perched on the [still unfinished] stairway in the house, Annie Blue is exploring the airy walls of the woodshed . . . her first foray outside.)

15 May 2007

Just for fun: 'Kitty in Repose'.

6 May 2007

Today was a beautiful Sunday - although too dry and windy, as usual - and Tom and I (and ALL the hairy kids) spent the day outside doing yard work. If you look, you can see Miss Kitty taking the alpha position on the 4-wheeler . . . surveying her domain.

It's Cold

So, yes, as you've probably heard, most of the Midwest is experiencing a cold snap. This includes us. On Friday, we never even hit zero during the day (for the high), and yesterday, as I said in a previous post, the high was -14! Last night was our coldest up here so far with the mercury finally stopping at -27 degrees. Today, the high got up to a balmy -12!

Thick frost is creeping in every possible spot of our incredibly tight new house . . . mostly around windows and doors. Wherever moisture has accumulated - say, at the bottoms of window panes in the kitchen when I've been boiling pasta or something like that - the condensation has turned into thick and white ice. So, we've finally bit the bullet and plugged in the air exchanger. This is supposed to regulate moisture in the house, too, so we'll see if it makes a difference. While the subtle air movement does make the house feel just a titch cooler on nights like tonight, we do notice and appreciate the fresh smelling air it brings in from outside. These modern, new inventions - I tell ya!

When we lived down by the lake, we'd run electricity to the chicken house when we built it, but, since electricity is somewhat scarce (and precious) up here, we didn't think we'd hook the wires up to the Taj MaCoop here at Swamp River Ridge. But, weather like this really makes you doubt your frugal decisions of the past. During this winter, I've been trying to be stoic about my chickens - reasoning that they're staying warm enough due to their overcrowding more than anything else (butchering day is next Saturday). But, it wasn't until today when my wonderful husband ran an extension cord out from the garage and I was able to plug in their toasty little heat lamp that I realized how much their tough winter accommodations had been bothering me. Now, they are happy, and Chicken Mama is happy. And, Chainsaw Tommy is happy because he made Chicken Mama happy.

Incidentally, the dumb, frozen birds have finally started laying in this past week! The daily egg count had been paltry all fall - my old hens past prime production and the new pullets not yet laying (they were due to start at the beginning of January). But, apparently someone (they, thank you very much!) had the countdown off by a month, and they started producing - as if right on time - amid the frigid temps of early February.

Speaking of animals, who says they don't communicate?! Miss Kitty has tricked (or blackmailed or threatened with potential death by lethal scratch, more likely) Tucker into letting me know when she's ready to come back into the house! It's actually quite amazing, to tell you the truth. (I wonder why she never tried it with Maisy? Or, maybe she did . . . .)

Anyway, the situation is this: since Miss Kitty came to us as a wild cat, she's always asked to go outside when she has to "do her business". She's never gone inside, never had a litter box. This winter, she's become a total pansy and has to - quite literally - be SHOVED outside to "go". Matter of fact, we've even caved and gotten her a litter box so that she DOESN'T have to go outside if she doesn't want to! Does she use it? No. Anyhoo . . . when she goes out, she does her business lickety-split and then meows to come back in. Now, herein lies the problem: this new house is so tight that I rarely hear her meow. So, she has - SOMEHOW - gotten Tucker (who is not allowed to bark in the house) to give one bark and look at the door when she's ready to come in! Ingenious, no?!

15 January 2007

Tom got a motion-activated digital camera for his birthday, and this was the trial run of it (with it just set up in the house). Here is the rear 3/4 of the Stealth Cat, Miss Kitty. Hopefully, future pictures will be a bit more exciting! ;) (But, the point was to make sure it worked, and it does!)

20 January 2007

"The early bird catches the worm" . . . or so they say. I don't think Miss Kitty's quite realized that the birds probably won't land in the bird feeder if they see her hiding in it . . . especially when she's so well camouflaged! ;)