Ernestina Hemingway - Our Polydactyl Cat

Just a quick post to introduce you to the baby of the house.  "Ernie" is a polydactyl cat with extra toes on each of her paws.  She actually has little "thumbs" on her front feet which makes her two times the menace of  the other cats ~ she can open drawers and latches like a person!  I'm baby-proofing several cabinets now.  I did try to get a better photo of her feet, but she kept swatting at me so I'll wait until the monster is asleep for that.  You can see a bit of her thumb in the second photo.

As for her name, it obviously stems from a beloved and well-known figure in American history.  What isn't quite as well known is that the Nobel prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway had a his house full of these "abnormal" polydactyl cats.  In fact, even decades after his death his home in Florida is still a haven for the descendants of his original six-toed cat that he received as a gift from a ship's captain.  


These type of cats are said to be much more common on the East Coast than here in the West.  I personally hadn't come across one until we adopted Ernie after someone dumped her at our non-pet friends' house.  At the time we had a hard time telling if she was indeed a girl, so I called her Ernie and Mr. MoonCat was calling her "Hemi".  Got a little confusing since we already have a "Hammy" in the house.  

Happy Father's Day

to all of the Dads out there including

my own dear Daddy!



Pops and Pete



While I've Been Away..

As usual, I can't make any excuses for the severe neglect that this dear little blog of mine has been suffering.  My only excuse is that I've been super busy in the great outdoors.  Mr. MoonCat and I have been working on expanding the chicken runs and temporary coops.  I have great things planned and my hardworking, ever-suffering hubby usually is the one to make them into reality.  Good thing he loves me...

 A few pics to show why I've been preoccupied elsewhere:


My two-day old babies



Are YOU talking to ME?



My baby blue roo



Voracious appetites

When I am inside the house I spend a lot of time:

Saying "Aren't they cute?":

Then acting as referee:



She's MY mommy & I want to lay in her lap
~Notice my normally rotten Porkchop just
ignores them & continues with his nap


And, trying to convince a large hound that I can still see him behind a tiny pillow:

"Maybe she'll think I'm part of the sofa.."

So that's just a tiny peek at what we're doing around here.  I won't make any promises as to when I'll see ya next ~ I'm not very reliable that way lately....

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all,

whether your kids have skin, fur or feathers.

I miss you Mama

Cowboy Up!

We had a fun time out at the ranch today.  After having a lively breakfast, horseback riding was the scheduled event.  The star of course was Rowan!

Our favorite little nephew dude dragged his parents and his Grandma up to visit Aunty Julie, Uncle Mike and Papa Bill.  He was sporting his brand new cowboy boots and told them he just had to go on the long drive to see us.  We weren't fooled though, he really came to see the horses, the chickens and Adolph the dog!  We're all aware of our place in line :)  I think the tractor we call "Greenie" has also moved ahead of us..

Rowan was all dressed up for the occasion

-Uncle Mike, not so much

Rowan on Hailey, Uncle Mike on Ace

"Tickle, tickle Hailey!"

Rowan showing Papa Bill how to drive "Greenie"

He's a natural farmer!

It was a fun way to spend a sunny morning with loved ones who don't live close enough to see as much as we'd like.  We're already looking forward to Ro's next foray into cowboying.  Look out Hailey!

Recipe - Basil Beer Bread

While I do grow most of my basil from seed, I sometimes can't help myself and MUST buy a beautiful plant when I see it.  I recently snagged two gorgeous basil plants while out shopping.  I was pleasantly surprised when one of them had the following recipe included on the plant marker.  Because I had all of the ingredients on hand and just reading the recipe made my mouth water, I tried it.  And I loved it....So here it is...

Basil Beer Bread

3 cups self-rising flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
12 oz warm beer
1/2 cup chopped basil

In large bowl, mix all ingredients together.  Pour mixture into a well-greased loaf pan or dish.  Put loaf pan into an unheated oven.  Turn the oven on and set at 350 degrees.  Bake for 50 minutes or until lightly browned on top.  Remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool. 

***I think I would leave it in the oven for a few minutes longer and just keep a close eye on it.  This first loaf didn't get quite as brown as I would have liked.

The basil smell alone was enough to get the hubby wandering into the kitchen to find out what I was up to.  I  sliced it up while still warm and used some of this overly delicious herbal butter that I had made up the day before.  I followed the recipe I found at my idol Nancy aka The Lemon Verbena Lady's blog.  (Be sure to visit her site for great recipes and herbal wisdom.)

It was a huge success as we skipped dessert and opted for another piece of bread instead.  Needless to say, this will be a recipe that we'll use quite a bit in the coming months.  Many thanks to the lovely Nancy for the awesome herb butter recipe :)

Dawg Days

The little tyrant tells him off and then attacks

(Cailen and Pippi)

  

The old man ignores them all

(Muttley)

Bottoms up!  Vole hunting..

(Chandler, Cailen & Pippi)

How can you stay mad at this face?

(Pippi)

Mama's big baby boy

(Chandler)

Chandy has the toy and is ready for take-off!

Spring is Sprung

You know you've been a neglectful blogger when the hubby of all people, asks why you haven't posted anything in several weeks!  I didn't even realize that he'd been paying any attention to "my little blog" as he calls it :)  So I have a couple photos for you today..


Our first flowers of the year


Needless to say, I've been spending a lot of time outside this week.  After weeks upon weeks of storms, we're finally seeing some sunshine.  This has been our wettest winter since 1997 ~ we've been having extreme flooding and our ground is completely saturated.  Since we usually live in a state of near panic due to drought conditions and the threat of wells going dry, it really is nice to see an overabundance of water.  It would just be nice if it could rain a few days and then be sunny; then rain a day or two and be sunny.....  We had ten days straight with rain at some point so we're a little soggy.


Super high grass and weeds

Poor Mr. MoonCat is asking if I won't reconsider adding a couple of goats to our menagerie for weed control.  We may have to get the mower deck for the tractor for the front and back yard as the grass and weeds have been growing several inches a day.  The ground is super wet so we can't get the lawn mower in there yet and the lovely sunshine is just making everything GROW!


Our gorgeous Weeping Willow

The photo below is actually a blossom from a weed.  I loved the shading and pattern on the bud.

Weed flower bud

And finally, we already have a rose (or possibly, still have a rose?)



Rose in bloom

More to come...

Woman Eaten by Chickens or Stuff n Such

So, as usual I've been a flake.  I guess my only excuse for not posting is that I didn't really feel like I had anything to say.  I figured I'd better give a brief update on what's been going on around these parts or you'd think the chickens truly had eaten me.  Bad birds.

Mr. MoonCat has been working six days a week, keeping very busy.  I've been working on my new business which is in the infant stages.  I'm excited about getting it off the ground and I'll have more on that at a later date.  The garden is starting to see some activity.

The hubby's uncle passed away a few weeks ago after a very long battle with cancer.  We've spent a day up in Sacramento for the last two weekends helping his parents clean out the house to get it ready for sale. While it was a sad reason for us to all be together, we really enjoyed visiting with his parents.  Hubby's best friend/brother from another mother Chris went with us this last weekend to help us move all of the furniture.  We were grateful for the help as there was a lot of heavy lifting involved.

Most of the critters are doing well.  The dogs and cats are happy that Spring is pretty much here.  The chickens are keeping us snowed under with eggs and attitude.  We have a great bartering deal going on with my "other parents" - my best friend Becky's folks.  They keep kitchen scraps saved up and I weigh them down with eggs.  Everyone's happy!  Especially the chooks - it is hysterical to watch them dig through the goodies.  They recognize the large plastic ice cream tubs that the scraps are saved in.  When I walk out carrying one of those it is a large squawking herd of mini-monsters meeting me at the gate.  (Remember the Velociraptor Chickens?) They get quite rude and scary!

All is not great though as we do have some cause for concern.  Wedgie's leg isn't healing like we had hoped.  Since I posted about his injury we've had him x-rayed and found that he had actually fractured his leg.  The vet seems to think it will heal just fine in time, but it's sure making us worry.  He has to stay in the small box stall and not move around too much.  Poor little guy isn't taking confinement well, he is horribly bored. It's really hard for such a curious and mischievous little dude to deal with forced inactivity.  We try to keep him entertained, but it's a challenge. He is such a good baby though.  He allows us to change his bandages/semi-cast with a minimum of fuss.

That's about it around here at MoonCat Farms and the ranch.  I will try to post some photos in the next few days - truly.  Wedgie really is getting cuter all of the time.  I know he sends his love to all of you who love him from afar, especially his honorary auntie Lemon Verbena Lady :) (Phantom kisses being blown your way)

Building a Small Business and Killing Some Trees

As many of you know (and our new readers will soon learn), we've recently joined the ranks of "backyard chicken farmers".  I mentioned my initial desire to have about six chickens in order to provide enough eggs for us and the immediate family.  Well, the hubby and the Dad decided if six was a good amount then NINETEEN would be a GREAT amount of chickens to have.  Men!

Well, all of this has led to a MAJOR over-abundance of eggs and the addition of "farm fresh eggs" to the things that we are starting to sell here at MoonCat Farms.  I am trying to get completely organized and making sure that everything is legal and by-the-book.  One of the first things I started looking into is insurance coverage. 

It is amazing how much information is out there and just how uninformed I am!  I had no idea the different types of insurance I could or can't get for our little operation.  The green things we grow are covered in one area and the birds are a completely different ball game.  I've learned things I could never have imagined ~ or wanted to imagine knowing.  So for instance, do you know that along with credit scores there are also insurance scores?  (I found an informative guide to insurance score in case you didn't and would like to.)  Needless to say, I'm doing more homework than anything else right now.

I've been filling out so much paperwork lately that I'm afraid I'm responsible for at least two trees being killed.  I've always known that agricultural pursuits are highly regulated, but OMGosh!  I have permantly cramped hands from filling out forms in duplicate and triplicate..blah blah blah... I'm nowhere near done either.  Still have banking to go...

On a good note, we have happy chickens who are happily producing lovely eggs.  LOTS and LOTS of eggs.

Have a great Wednesday my friends.

Wedgie's Week of Woes

Wedgie had a lot of firsts this week - he was FINALLY weaned from his mama, he got his first big boo boo, his first haircut AND he had his first hoof trimming.  All pretty much within 48 hours.  Little guy's world was turned upside down.  We had planned on weaning him a couple months ago, but the unbelievably wet weather the last two months made it difficult.  We didn't have any spare stalls or inside pens that were dry, so the pasture was the best place for him and his mama.



Walking the Wedge

The use of a "butt rope" laid loosely around his hindquarters helps teach Wedgie to walk forward while being lead with the halter.  This is a very common training technique we use with foals. 

He was actually taught to lead and accept a halter when he was just a few days old.  He was then turned out with his mama and the other mares in the pasture where he was allowed to just be a baby. (The photo above shows him getting a reminder to go forward when led.) 

He'll be worked with up close in the barn for a few weeks again while he's completely weaned and then turned back out to pasture to continue learning how to just be a horse.  He'll now be out with the rest of "the boys" instead of the mares.   At two years old, he'll be brought up again and start very light training to be ridden.  Their leg bones are still maturing up to about three years old, so heavy riding at too young of an age can actually be detrimental to their development.  He'll probably be gelded at this point as well.

Boo Boo wrapped in blue

Wedgie's boo boo.  He cut himself on the ankle when he was having a tantrum over being separated from his mama.  We put them in side-by-side stalls when weaning, but he still managed to have a fit and bang up his little leg on the wall.  **On a related note ~ Horses tend to find numerous ways to hurt themselves.  It's a full time job trying to keep them safe.  For instance; if you have a mile of fence posts and only 1 has a tiny nail sticking out, the horse will find that 1 tiny nail and cut himself on it.  I think you could put them in a padded cell, cocooned in bubble wrap and they'd still manage to do something!  It's part of their nosy nature and part of life with horses. 

Wedgie's 1st trim

Wedgie received his first pedicure or in equine terms: hoof trim.  A lot of times this is a very difficult task as the babies don't like their legs and feet messed with and lifted off the ground.  This first trimming was made much easier because we got him used to us touching his legs and looking at his hooves when he was just a few days/weeks old.  The more they're handled when young, the easier it is to do the necessary tasks as they grow.  He was a perfect little gentleman while Dad trimmed his hooves.  He won't actually get his first set of shoes for another year or so. 

Wedgie's 1st haircut

This photo was more of a snarky comment by Mr. MoonCat on the similiarity of Wedgie's wild forelock and mane and my wooly head.  It was pretty foggy that day and with a lot of moisture in the air comes lots of curls and frizz in my hair!  So yes, the Wedge and I both have naturally out of control locks.  We did manage to trim what is called a "bridle path" for Wedgie (not me).  It is a strip of about three inches of his mane right behind his ears that we trim down to the base.  It makes it much easier for the halter to fit snugly and secure.  It's also more comfortable for him as the halter won't be sitting on top of a wad of mane and pulling his hair.

So that's pretty much Wedgie's traumatic week.  He's doing fine and starting to enjoy being in the middle of everything at the barn.  He has already learned to pull the lid off of the grain bin as he goes by and tries to snag a mouthful of hay when passing the bales.  One thing is for certain, Wedgie will be in the middle of things on a regular basis.

Pippi's Opinion

Pippi, aka Peepers, Rodent, Rat Dog, *&#@(&^, etc. recently shared her opinion of Mr. MoonCat while occupying the couch with him.  I told him that it is unclear if she was commenting on his breath or his attempt at whistling.  Could be a combination of both...


What ARE you doing Daddy?



Ewwww, what IS that?



Make it STOP!!!


Just a note, Mr. MoonCat CAN NOT whistle.  It is a major cause for amusement around here.  I have to call/whistle for the dogs (or he has to yell for them) because when he tries to whistle, the dogs all just look at him with their heads cocked to the side as if asking "Why is the air escaping from Daddy's face while he turns blue?  Why doesn't he just have Mom whistle for us?"

OWOH 2011 - One World One Heart - My Blogiversary

Today is a very, very  special day!  First and foremost, it is the start of the

5th Annual One World One Heart (OWOH)

Welcome or welcome back to MoonCat Farms Meanderings.  This is a husband/Mr. MoonCat and wife/Jules endeavor (though as in most good marriages the wife is the one doing most of the talking/blogging :)

Our place is called MoonCat Farms ~ did you notice the cool logo that Mr. MoonCat designed?  We have a large number of animals who call these 10 acres in the California boonies home.  They include cats, dogs and chickens right now.  We have horses and cattle as well, but they're at Dad's ranch a few miles from here. 

Gardening, photography, riding, sewing, cooking and reading (see my other blog: One Book Shy of a Full Shelf for our book reviews) are just a few of the many things that keep us busy around here ~ besides all of the critters.  We try to live as green a life as we can and lessen our impact on this Earth in as many ways as possible.  I hope you'll stick around or come back and see what kinds of things we come up with to "Make It So" ~ I'm a closet Trekkie..

OWOH is the brainchild of Lisa at A Whimsical Bohemian.  She created this event as a way to give bloggers all over the world a chance to mix and mingle.  She dreamed of people meeting others they might never have crossed paths with except through One World One Heart.  Lisa started what could only be described as a phenomenon.  It has increased immensely each year with more bloggers worldwide taking part.

I started my blog TWO YEARS AGO TODAY because I was encouraged by several bloggers that I met through One World One Heart.  They basically held my hand as I jumped into what would become a large part of my life ~ a very important part.  So I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to Lisa for dreaming up OWOH and also to those lovely, lovely ladies who told me I could do it! One World One Heart started me on the blogging highway.

Happy 2nd Blogiversary MoonCat Farms and Happy 5th One World One Heart!

I'm sure you're well aware by now that each of the bloggers participating in OWOH is offering their visitors a chance to win a "door prize".  It is a way of saying Thanks for stopping by and looking around.  Y'all come back now ya hear?

I haven't really decided what I'm going to give away.  I love doing surprise or mystery prizes so I think we'll go with that.  Entry into the drawing is very simple.  You must be an active blogger ~ sorry, but this is a blogger to blogger event.. and you must fill out this very short form.  That's it!  I will draw a winner using the random number generator and then email the lucky number holder.  They will have 48 hours to respond or I'll have to draw another winner.  Comments on the post are appreciated, but only entries on the form below will count for the drawing.

To continue on your adventure through the blogisphere, please click HERE to be taken to the list of participating bloggers.  Have fun!

Fowl Food

Like many of you I spend hours upon hours this time of year drooling over the newest seed catalogs and planning the garden's future.  There's a big difference for us at MoonCat Farms this time around though, we're also deciding what kind of crops to grow for our chickens!

Since becoming the chicken mama to my feathered friends, I've been trying to learn as much as I can about what I can feed them - especially at this time of year.  The ground is bare and there aren't many tasty bugs to be had so I need to supplement their fare.  Trying to give them fresh produce is costing a fortune!  They've been eating some very interesting concoctions that I've been creating in the kitchen as well.

For the most part, I've gathered that if it is natural and healthy for us ~ it should be pretty much the same for them.  They have been enjoying A LOT of fresh spinach, cooked peas and beans, various fruits, a bit of fish or other proteins on occasion, homemade suet cake treats, etc.  This is of course on top of their chicken mash, scratch and pellets.   

When the garden was still in full swing we discovered that tomatoes and watermelon are their top choices.  They'd line up like little inmates at the fence and beg for tomatoes.  Squash and peas were OK once they're cooked by the chicken mama, most greens were welcomed as well.  Strawberries and blackberries were another favorite treat along with cucumbers. 

Besides the normal fruits and veggies that we're growing for ourselves, I'm trying to figure out what we can add for the chickens.  I will be doing a lot of canning, freezing and drying of our own foodstuffs and things such as comfrey, spinach and other greens for the birds.  I would like to get any suggestions that some more experienced chicken keepers might have as to what else would be good for getting us through the winter a bit cheaper..

Anyone?  Bueller?

Our Other Selves

My friend Susan pointed out that I needed to post a few pictures of Mr. MoonCat and I in our Renaissance Faire garb.  I'd been writing about all of the new outfits that we would like to make with our LA Loot and she requested some photos.  So here are some from the last few years; I hate having my picture taken, so there aren't an abundance of me :)  Hubby on the other hand is a ham, so I will have even more of him in the near future.

I think these are in order, timewise:

Me, left.  The lovely Aimee, right. (2006)

My first faire in (borrowed) WOOL garb,

105 degrees - miserable.

 

Dressed as Pirates for a charity event

2nd Pirates of the Caribbean movie premiere (2006)

My man at my feet (2007)

notice his long hair

Our Big Day (2008)

He cut his hair to surprise me!

I loved it :)

Our tavern garb (2009)

he helps behind the bar - I shop

Some of his old, old garb in need

of replacement (2010)

So that's it for now.  I'll dig up some more photos in the near future.  You can see my hubby in his Nobles (fancy) garb where he portrayed Lord Huntley, George Gordon.  I renamed him Lord Pompousassedness as he played his character a little too well!  I still call him that when he gets a little too regal, royal or flat out obnoxious :) 

Rugs to Rags and Back Again

Growing up on a working ranch meant we didn't really have a lot of frivolous decor in the house. Things needed to be useful, practical, and most of all, easy to clean. The hardest working "decorations" were the rugs. They took a major beating. Especially the rugs near the back door where we came in from the barn. We usually had one of the very colorful, very durable old rag rugs placed there. They were workhorses!  They kept the majority of the mud and other things from going further into the house.  I still have a couple of those old beauties that I try to keep anyone from stepping on because they're getting some age on them.



Old Rag Rug section



Here at MoonCat Farms we have our own share of mud and gunk from the gardens and the chicken runs. I had a cheap little throw rug at the front door that was doing a fairly good job keeping the muck out until Pippi ate it.  As in there aren't even pieces to show you!

She is one of the most destructive little dogs I've ever had! She eats my shoes (notice I said mine, NOT Mr. MoonCat's), books and whatever she can get her little pointy teeth on. I have to be sure to get to any packages from UPS or FedEx before she does as she REALLY likes to open boxes and mail for me. Please note that she has more toys and chewy things than a puppy or child could ever want to gnaw on - she just prefers things that belong to moi!

The only time Miss Pippi/Peepers isn't

eating my stuff!

Isn't my sweet big boy Chandler a cutie pie??

So back to the rug issue. Little Miss Peepers has given me the excuse I've needed to replace the rugs in the living and dining rooms (it's actually more like a great room all combined).  I've decided I want to go with somewhat more modern rugs than the plain older rugs we've been using. One of the other concerns besides the dirt trapping is keeping the wet doggy paw prints from being left on the hardwood floors. Here are two examples of what I am looking at:

Woven Diamond

This one is an indoor/outdoor rug that is handwoven. It's hoseable, scrubbable, bleachable and designed for high-traffic, muddy areas. I like that the design and colors combine to add a little punch.

Vine & Leaf RugThis lovely vine and leaf design fits well with my living room/great room colors and I think it would hide dirt well. It's also indoor/outdoor and said to be super easy to clean.


Both rugs are water resistant and could be hung out over the fence or big clothesline to dry when washed - not in the machine, but by being hosed down :)  I am a lazy housekeeper as I'd much rather be in the garden or out at the ranch with Dad and the horses. Ease of cleaning and practicality are VERY high on my requirements for things around here.

So what do you think, any suggestions? I admit I'm leaning more towards the leaves at the moment, but I always let the Mister put in his 1/2 cent - since I get 1 1/2 hee hee..

~~~~~



**I am a CSN Preferred Blogger and will receive an item for review in exchange for this post. My opinions and words are 100% honest and MY OWN and are not influenced in any way.