New on the farm

Recently, we bought fencing on Craigslist- eighteen 12-foot panels with bases.  
How did farmers ever find anything before Craigslist?

It was a good value for a good price and included delivery so we bought it all.  Rather more than we'll need for a while is a nice change from the not enough we've been doing. 

We have a trial rectangle set up for containing our new hens for a few days this coming weekend while they acclimate.  We'll move the fencing to the lee of the septic mound in October and then once the ground freezes, preventing parasites from multiplying, we'll move the chickens into their winter quarters.  We'll be installing some kind of netting or mesh over the top to prevent raptors from helping themselves.

Thanks to Sam for all the consultation on this!

 photo by Mark

Nearly two weeks ago, we welcomed Abigail to R Farm.  She is a tortoiseshell cat we got at the animal shelter.  Because she was rescued from a cat colony and had only been living with people for 2 weeks total, we were advised to keep her confined to the garage for 2 weeks.  Two long, boring weeks which thankfully will end on tomorrow. 

We got her to be a companion for Zed.  Thus far, hissing and avoiding is the extent of their bonding but according to experienced cat people, the fact that no blood has been spilled and fights have been limited to posturing is a promising sign.

 photo by Mark

Mark got to choose the cat from the shelter and on his own, he came up with 3 things he was looking for in a cat:
1.  Friendly with children
2.  Good behavior
3.  Peaceful and calm

"I wanted to pick this cat so that Zed could teach her to mice and then that cat could teach Zed to be friendly and still catch mice.  The other cat (Autumn) was not so friendly but it could catch mice and was interesting.  But I thought Abigail was better because I liked that I could pick her up."  --Mark

Selfie by Mark

At first, I voted for Autumn, the curious one, but Mark insisted on Abigail, the calm and friendly one. After interacting a little more, I could see he was absolutely right.  She was more personable and mellow, a good combo for a second cat.  

It was a good benchmark to get a second cat almost a year after getting our first one.  Cat #2 was a breeze compared to Cat #1.  It's also good to see that Cat #1 was so helpful that we're trying Cat #2.  Way to go, Zed!

Mark, you're growing up and you made us proud with your thoughtful choice.

Abigail, welcome to R Farm.  It's going to be a lot more fun tomorrow, promise.