Sights from around Crooked Acres.
Peach blossoms!
Pear blossoms! Maybe this year we’ll get some fruit off our fruit trees. Wouldn’t that be nice?
At the end of last Summer/ Fall, we left a few okra plants standing with the intention of harvesting the pods for seeds. We forgot about it and the birds ate the seeds. That’s what we get for being slackers.
The Muscadine vine, getting ready to leaf out.
This is the end of the ditch/ stream that leads to the property next door (where there are horses). It was all blocked up (causing the ditch to flood out every time it rained), but Fred cleared it out a few months ago. Looks kind of inviting, no?
Brown Thrasher. I don’t know that we’ve seen one of these before.
Blue Bird.
Gracie, coming over to see just what I’m doing.
They spotted a threat and were off to protect their flock.
The threat vanquished, they come back to see if perhaps I have treats for them.
Happy pup.
Wait for it…
Wait for it…
Gracie grin!
Those boy ducks always have something to say.
Notice that both the boy ducks are talking. Talktalktalk, those two.
“OMG YOU GUYS HUSH UP! ::flapflap::” said one of the girls.
“I can’t believe she told us to be quiet. The NERVE.”
“I know, right? She could learn to communicate a little better, you ask me.”
::Pretending to know how to be quiet::
Last week, all four ducks managed to escape the back forty. They were hanging out near the ditch, which has water in it. When Fred went out to herd them back into the back forty, they CLIMBED INTO THE DITCH AND STARTED SWIMMING AWAY to escape him. Luckily, we were able to get them back where they belonged, and Fred fixed the area of fence where he suspected they were getting out.
The Rock Star needs her head feathers trimmed back a bit.
“PLACES TO GO PEOPLE TO SEE, OUT MY WAY, DUCKS!”
Fred put a bunch of straw down around the coop because it’s been pretty muddy. The chickens think it’s absolutely fabulous.
“Halp! Halp! I’m being kittennapped by this lady! MAMA! SAVE ME!”
Emmy, clearly concerned. She never shows the slightest bit of worry when I’m holding one of her babies, even if they’re screaming their little heads off. As long as she can see them, she’s okay.
“Am sleepin’. You go ‘way.”
I think Emmy’s tongue is longer than the kittens are.
Kittens make good pillows.
“Psst! Lady! You come closer.”
“Closer. I want to poke your eyes out.”
The kittens seem to be deciding that this “petting” thing isn’t so bad after all.
They’re two weeks old! I’ll try to get weights and face pictures of each of them tonight or tomorrow and post them this weekend.
No Joe Bob pics today (what can I say? He’s camera shy!), so here’s Kara instead!
It’s really hard to get pictures of Kara because she prefers to be standing at your feet scolding you about being outside when the only SAFE place for you to be is inside.
Silly girl.
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Previously
2010: “GIVE TO ME THE PREGNANT CAT!”
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Ooh tabby Thursday!
And added doggie/duck/chook action:)
Those kittens are ridiculously adorable, and Emmy is gorgeous. And how I do love Kara! I started following the blog not long after she had her babies, so she’s the original tabby momma in my mind.
So, I’ve wondered this for a while: What is up with kitten claws? Are they just really long/oversized for the paws? Are kittens not able to retract their claws? Do they just like to threaten you, Robyn? Those claws just seem so… out there. I’ve never dealt with kittens that are only a few days or weeks old, so if the question is ridiculous, please forgive me!
Oh, and now I want peaches. Those blossoms are lovely.
I’ve been wondering the same things about the claw situation!
And I’m always amazed that the kittens don’t seem to scratch each other all up…
Inadvertantly, I mean, on the scratching… you know, as they’re rolling about and walking all over each other. I would never suspect one of those darling babies of intending to cause harm!
As I remember, been a while since I had kittens… those claws are not as hard and sharp as an adults. kind of more pliable like fingernails. I don’t think they hurt each other that often.
http://www.petplace.com/cats/developmental-milestones-in-the-kitten/page1.aspx
Kittens are born unable to retract their claws. By 27 days of age, the claws can be retracted at will
Very young kittens haven’t learned to retract their claws yet. The “default” position is for the claws to be out. As they get older, they learn to retract them.
I love Kara, she’s so pretty. She looks so much like my Atticus. Complete with the “gonna give you hell” look.
Man, those kittens are scrumptious.
Awww Logie has mama’s good looks! The claws are all her own! LOL!
Yay for gorgeous duckies, grinning Gracie and gorgeous hens!!
Take care
x
Alexandra, you are right….kittens cannot retract their claws. Takes a bit of age on them to allow them to do that!
Thanks Robyn for all the pics. Love the pups and love Kara! Always nice to see the perms!
I wish I could come live with you. that looks like paradise to me!!!! big happy dogs!! ducks! CHICKENS!! and baby kittens… and lovely cats… oh my.
Love the stripey with his/her thumb in the mouth!! TOO CUTE!!
The Gracie grin was well worth waiting for… just lovely.
I could have told you boy ducks talk more than girls. Okay, in reality I know nothing about ducks, but my boy child could out-talk the girl children by miles and miles when they were small. My husband was once the unlucky driver when the 4-year-old boy talked non-stop for roughly 7 hours. I thank the maker I was not in the car that day or else I quite possibly would not have survived. Now that his younger sister is a tween, she can talk enough to make your ears bleed but I have a feeling he could still talk circles around her if he wanted to do so.
You had a great advertisement for kitten pillows until Logie showed the “poke-you-in-the-eye” feature. I think I’ll stick to the boring traditional pillow instead, thank you very much 😉
Give me the Logie pillow any day! Just consider it an “obstacle ” or a “challenge”. 🙂
You’re right. I shall start experimenting with different kinds of eye protection while I sleep… thinking swim goggles would do the trick. Time to “make it work”!
I’ve returned to this comment several times — it’s that funny
*sigh* everything here is dead, so seeing your flowers is such a tease..
I always really enjoy coming here. I love the pictures, love animals, but I love even more the cat babies. The photo of the baby’s fingernails …. made me smile the whole day.
Thank you for sharing so much beautiful diary!
Holy smokes! I enjoy all the pictures from around the Crooked Acres! makes me wish you were a B & B so I could come visit!
Words cannot express how relieved I am that George and Gracie managed to chase away the evil dust motes which were threatening their flock!! Good pups! You are so brave!!
And blooming fruit trees. Sigh. My crocuses are up, but nothing much else at this point. It’s been a mild winter in New England, so that’s something.
Just so Fred know, he can easily create a duck herding stick by tying a rag at the end of a long lightweight rod or stick such as bamboo. If he holds it out over them, the ducks will focus on the rag and move away from it. It’s actually kind of fun to herd ’em with it!
It was so good to see you made sure the birds had plenty of okra seeds over the winter. You guys are nice like that!
Finally, KITTENS!! Those blue eyes slay me dead!! Especially Logie with those blue eyes and smoky black tabby markings. THUD.
I just love your Great Pyrenees doggies, in addition to your gorgeous kitties!
Ahhh, lovely to see the Spring progress all around Crooked Acres.
Saw this Simon’s Cat cartoon and thought of your house… elder cats, younger ones, no manners – lessons delivered – splat…
http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/cartoons/simons-cat/simons-cat—15th-march-761434
It looks as though the kittens’ ears are beginning to migrate. No, not south – but to their ‘grown up’ position. And those amazing claws!! I can’t wait to see how Logies coloring works out – right now with the blue eyes and ‘smoke’ fur – gorgeous! I have a feeling perhaps even more beautiful as time goes on. And I heart Emmy for being such a patient mom!
What a great Gracie smile! Those are such gorgeous doggies!
The quacky boys, yeah, boys is talkers! Quacky girls aint so silent either, but boys, they gotta keep the girlies in line with the yak yak yakkin’..
Tiny kitten paws and claws! oooo so cute!!
Kara is such a pretty, and intense, girl! It’s too bad there aren’t enough days in the week for each perminant resident to get there own. But that’s ok, they can share! As long as we get to see them all sometimes! 🙂
the Gracie Grin is gorgeous! How she could not have won that competition I’ll never know!
and duck boys are yakky like boys everywhere, oh, sure they’ll tell you men don’t talk for hours but get a few of them together in the pub and…
Logie doesn’t want to scratch your eyes out, wants to boop noses with you, surely? and in the ‘am sleepin’. you go away photo’ why that little baby looks drugged. whatever is their mother eating? Sheriff Kara has a set of rules, that I’m sure she will have explained to you…what’s so hard to understand, lady, what?
Oh, where can I order kitten pillows? I’ll take a gazillion, thanks.
So – the ducks who don’t like to swim in their own pond were swimming in a strange ditch???? They are so silly!
Am I the only one who reads the kittens’ dialog out loud, in a sort of kitten voice???
And I love the way it looks like Gracie and George’s tails fly in the wind when they run.
Eek, Logie looks like Freddy Kruger with those claws there!
(Well, OK, a tinier, cuter and floofier version!)
Love the pups – they are always smiling! And grumpy Sheriff Kara!
Kara most definitely has her game face on: what a cutie!