Look who it is!
That’s sweet little Phoenix, who went home two weeks ago – have you ever seen such a content little face?
Debra says: Phoenix has such a rough life. Seriously, everyone is getting along great and it appears that Amber is somewhat of a mother figure to Phoenix.
I LOVE that so much! Thank you so much for the update, Debra!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sights from around Crooked Acres.
It’s been forever and a day since I’ve done a Crooked Acres post. I had so many pictures in my “Crooked Acres” folder that there’ll be another of these posts next Tuesday.
Fresh figs! After living here for 11 years and trying several times to get fig trees to produce fruit, we were FINALLY successful. I had never had fresh figs before, and loved them so much that I ate nearly every single fig our tree gave us. SO good!
Chickens hanging out in their coop on a cool day.
Those two hens in the middle are glaring at the rooster, and their expressions are cracking me UP.
The rooster’s all “What? What’d I do?”
Cruella, looking fabulous.
Rooster keeps an eye on things.
Pretty Rhode Island Reds.
Ducks, doing their thing.
Stefan has a crush on Cruella.
Another pretty Rhode Island Red.
Persimmon, mid-July.
And mid-October. We got quite a few persimmons this year. They’re kind of a bland fruit.
Got a lot of muscadines, too.
(Despite the bumper crop of pears we got a year ago, we didn’t get a single pear this year. Hmph.)
Another shot of Cruella.
The pot of catnip – which I rooted from catnip that was growing in a raised bed we took apart this summer – is doing well. Look how happy it is!
So many leaves on the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another dishtowel learns its lesson, courtesy of Archie.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previously
2016: Then once he realized there was nothing to fear, he’d casually come out and claim that he wasn’t skeered.
2015: No entry.
2014: Okay, okay. Apparently Jethro Tull is not a one-hit wonder and Molly Hatchet may or may not be.
2013: “I don’t get it.”
2012: “No, we’re going to sit here and look innocent.”
2011: Chuckles loves him some Tommy.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: Pet store kitties.
2007: “What IS it?!”
2006: Ten is TOO MANY.
2005: “Why, yes, we are. We ARE bad.”
Yay! Crooked Acres!
I so enjoy seeing the chickens, ducks, and your wonderful crops. Maybe the persimmon was not ripe enough? I tried one for the first time a few years ago. It came from the grocery store, it was very ripe and I subsequently added it to my “Fruit of the Gods” list, along with mango and avocado. Maybe next year they will be sweeter?
Phoenix is adorable and it’s so great to see updates from former fosters. Glad Archie is back on duty, keeping you safe from rouge kitchen towels.
Oh, that’s certainly possible – I’m not familiar enough with persimmons to know whether it was actually ripe, although it seemed pretty dark. I should have left one on the tree to see what happened!
Regarding your pear tree not producing this year, our apple tree does that. One year, it’s loaded with apples and I can’t use/can them all, and the next year, we don’t get a single apple. Sadly, last year was supposed to be our bumper crop year and the tree was LOADED and then we were visited by a tornado that stripped every single apple (and a good number of leaves) right off our tree. And this year, I think we got 2 apples. So I’m hoping next year will be a good one.
Also, what do you do with fresh figs? I’ve never had one before.
They’re great in cookies, and try a fig compote with pork. (I promise. I did this once and barely saved myself from licking the plate.) They make a sweet counterpart to things like dark leafy greens.
I’ve seen that a lot of people pair fresh figs with goat cheese and I’ve seen recipes with figs stuffed with goat cheese wrapped in bacon, and I considered making fig preserves (and looking for a Fig Newton knockoff recipe), but I ate them pretty much straight off the tree. And there were a LOT of them, but they are just so GOOD.
It’s good that Archie isn’t slacking in his kitchen duties. 😀
A mancat’s gotta do what a mancat’s gotta do. 😀
I’m sure Phoenix’s mom knows this, but cats should not have access to yarn and string – once it gets hooked on their tongues it gets pulled down into their stomachs and needs surgery to be removed, you can really harm them by trying to pull it out. Yes I have to be the old lady here and mention it…
I was right there next to her knitting, so she did not have any chance to eat any. I just looked down and she was all snuggled up. The one room the cats never have access to is my sewing room. But I am glad you asked and cared!
I was going to say, I think Phoenix is learning to knit. 🙂
Thank you for letting us see her (sleepy smug) face. You’re right, life is HARD.
Thank you for giving her a wonderful home!
Look how happy the catnip is? Look how happy the Permanent Residents are. Lol…
Stefan wouldn’t attack the chickens, would he?
(Oh, and Rooster? You should know what you did. Hmph.)
At one point Stefan might have considered attacking the chickens, but when they get all vocal and flap their wings, it scares the bejesus out of him. So he’ll stare in fascination, but never does anything. 🙂
Man, Stefan cracks me up.
A few other notes on Phoenix: she is doing so well that she has access to all the safe places in the house, including the basement. She normally sleeps on the bed snuggled up with one of us humans and usually Amber. She chases her bigger siblings around the house at full gallop and loves to be in your lap or face purring loudly whenever possible. She loves people and, when we have to close her off for eating, she cries till we join her! She is a sweetie!
She looks so happy and content! And I knew it was Phoenix as soon as I saw her cute little “beauty mark” (which makes me think of a “P”, though I know it really doesn’t look like one) over her eye. Thank you for the update!!
I LOVE that she’s doing so well!!
{{swoon}} <3
I wondered if Archie was still on towel patrol!
And I love fresh figs, but rarely come across them. I had a friend with a tree offer me some this year, but I never got my lazy butt over to his house to get them. 🙁
We hit up a few farmer’s markets when our figs were ripe, and I was surprised to find that no one was selling any.
I was looking back at the 2014 post wherein Jethro Tull was described as being hissy—that’s so funny now as both he and TC are the least hissy cats around. Our big ‘Bama Boys (over 20 pounds each and still love being carried around draped over their humans’ shoulders!) are laid back lovers and so very loved by all at 5010! Thank you, Robyn and Fred, for giving them such a great start in life.
I saw that picture of him looking so scared, and thought “If only you knew the awesome story that was about to unfold for you, little man!” 🙂
Thank you for your posts. I don’t think I could start my day without a boost of kittens and the “Farm”. The irony helps too !!! I know that you are still grieving and we are there with you. Really, really are thanking you for your posts.
Thank you, Pat!
What a delicious post: Phoenix, figs, muscadines (I’d take them over pears any day of the week) and so much else — Stefan and his exotic love object, Archie and his quotidian hate object! Thanks as always!
i so love seeing former fosters smug and happy. Love hearing about Phoenix today and Shecky yesterday.
Glad you have a good crop of figs. I have friends who Never have figs between the birds and bugs getting there first.
That dish towel did you stand a chance w Archie around did it?
He’s the Dish Towel Sheriff. No dish towel goes unpunished!
Have you found a house yet? And, why are you moving?
Just nosy.
See this post from June 2016.
That rooser is all like, “Don’t be doing that ladiez, you know you want somma dis!”
mmm figs.. yum!