Look what the mom dragged in

Last Wednesday, a little cat followed me home.  My neighbor Debbie and Anjali loaded her in a kennel for safe keeping.

She'd followed Sandi, Kifah, and I on Monday and had slept on Kifah's porch on Tuesday night so we were fairly confident she was a stray.  She followed me a second day and faced with that trust, I had to help.

No room at the humane society so we took her to the vet where no chip + no spay = stray.  Inspired by Diane, the wonderful lady who rescued and cared for our first cat, Zed, we got the little sweetie shots and medication for her ear infection.  We were now $160 in to a free cat with another $160+ to go for spaying and booster shots for a third cat we didn't need and couldn't afford. 

Zed was our first cat since being rescued by Diane on Halloween 2012.  He's converted us into cat appreciators.  He's very sweet and a good mouser but was unhappy here- crying and scratching at the door to come in.  I thought he needed a friend.

 

 Zed

I had asked Diane to keep her eyes peeled for another stray for me this summer but the only one she found had leukemia and had to be an inside cat.  So I went to the shelter and got Abbi, a former cat colony member who loves her life here.  Unfortunately Zed was less content sharing his garage, his people, and his farm with an intruder. 

 

 Abbi

When the third cat followed me, I thought maybe it was divine providence.  Tim, less prone to mystical rationale for the appearance of 'free' cats, urged moderation.  I slept on it and upon hearing Zed mewing pitifully outside the next morning, realized the solution.  Zed didn't need a cat companion- he needed an inside home.

On Thursday Zed will be going to live at my counselor's office, House of Hope in St Croix Falls, WI, as her indoor-outdoor cat.  We can see him every time we visit which is the kids' dream while he mouses and purrs which is Karen's dream and gets to live the good life which is his dream!

 The third cat

And in one of those fairy tale endings, I am delighted to say that last Saturday, the third cat visited our neighbor's house, the dad fell in love with her, but she wandered away and he couldn't find her until Sunday when they came to a block party at our house and were reunited!  Yesterday, she went to live at their house as their third cat.  She's right next door and can wander over to see Mark or Abbi anytime.  Maybe her name should be Cinderella.


I feel like the Cat Fairy getting to participate in all this happiness.  And Tim is happy to be back to one cat- Abbi, who likes her life here, does her job efficiently and quietly, and eats the food I serve with great gusto.

 Abbi on patrol

Zed has more personality and the third cat is cuter but Happy Abbi is our cat.

After telling this tale at the party and listening to other people's 'free' animal stories (like the $500 'free' German shepherd puppies) I have learned a couple things.

Lessons Learned
One, sometimes it takes a hypothesis or two, a failure or two, some time and cash, and some goofing around to figure out what the problem is and how to fix it.  Zed wasn't lonely- he was unhappy.  The third cat didn't magically appear for us- it was for our neighbors.  Working drafts and learning curves and casting bread upon the water are all part of the eventual solution.

Two, 'free' animals are never free.  And it is easy to allow the 'free' aspect of the animal to trump the 'good fit' aspect.  The cat I intentionally sought out and which Mark chose is the best fit although I never would have gotten to that cat if not for the grace of the first one.  I will both count the cost and be open to grace next time.  


Three, it takes me about three of something- chicken coops, kinds of poultry, cats- to compare and contrast so I can make good choices. 

Four, it is much, much more fun to err on the side of compassion and kindness and get to be a Cat Fairy than it is to refuse mercy and leave the cat on the side of the road.  And as Tim so wisely points out, mercy can mean getting the cat to a shelter and doesn't have to mean adopting it myself or paying $160+ per 'free' cat.  

I am even more grateful to Diane for getting Zed started for us and for getting us started with cats.  It is a great honor to be part of the joy of paying it forward.

I may never get to be the Cat Fairy like this again which makes this magical fairy tale all the sweeter.
 
It is a great day to be a cat and an ever greater day to be a Cat Fairy!

Working on the sabbath

I'm working on taking Sundays off and resting- reading novels, visiting with friends, sitting on the couch- that kind of stuff.

Just how hard I'm working at not working is laughable.

"Is it more restful to leave the wet clothes in the washing machine 'til Monday when I'll have to redo them or start down the slippery slope of laundry?"

"Does making my family's favorite breakfast count as resting?"

"If my friend stops by and chats with me while harvesting vegetables from my garden, can I blanch and freeze them quick or does that negate my rest?"

These all seem silly when I write them down but they are true just in the last 4 weeks since I started trying to take Sundays 'off.'

I grew up being told that I must eat my dinner before having dessert and finish my homework before playing and pick up my room before watching tv.  All good and reasonable advice until the work never finishes and I never sit on my couches.  Or when I do, I feel guilty.  I have never had to grapple so up close and personal with the challenges of choosing to rest.  

My thoughts turn to the writings of the people I'm most familiar with who've grappled with these questions: the Israelites and the Ten Commandments.

¹² “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. ¹³ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. ¹⁵ Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.  --Deuteronomy 5

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.  --Exodus 20

 
I used to think about obeying the Ten Commandments.
Now I am being inspired and challenged by them to live as a free woman and an imitator of God.

Slaves are compelled to work and don't get to enjoy the fruits of their labor. They work until they collapse.

Free beings like God work hard and well and then celebrate and enjoy their creation.

I've got a long way to go until ease and peace and celebration in the midst of my labors becomes a habit.  But I'm taking steps.  Good books.  Time with friends.  Simple meals.  Sitting on the couch.  Popping popcorn and watching movies.  Blogging to remember. 

I'm leaning into the blessing of a sabbath.

Homesteading Map

It's fall, school's starting, and I'm a teacher and a student at heart.
I no longer get the new wardrobe, backpack, and folders every year like I used to but I did get myself some new pens in fancy colors.

Imagine my delight when I found this homestead syllabus.  The blog with it is so kind and true.

This list has really encouraged me.  There is so much work left to do and so much we've already done.  

Thanks Chris Dalziel for sharing your expertise!

Squirrels

Mark and Tim collected bitternuts growing wild by our propane tank for the chickens this winter.  Mark said, "We're squirrels!"
Just so.

From what I read, our chickens will have to be seriously hungry to eat them, but free is in our budget to try.
Butternuts, their tastier cousins, will join our nut grove next year.

Kifah harvested in her garden today and brought us greens- mustard and kale which Anjali and I whacked each other with before blanching and freezing.  

Food fights?  Anjali is setting me a good example.

Then Kifah taught me that heirloom tomatoes harvested green will ripen while those left on the vine will freeze.  So we gathered two boxes full for people and another box full of imperfect ones for chickens.

I figure that even tomato seconds will be a boon to poultry in January.  Again, a no cost experiment.

Speaking of chickens, here are some gratuitous chicken pix.

 

"Brownie is a nice chicken.  He doesn't peck a lot and he crows a lot.  I hope that next spring that he will be a nice dad and protect the chicks." --Mark

" 'Come on, follow me!  I will be the goodest chicken.'  This is Regal's commercial to the girls."  --Mark 

The aforementioned 'girls' 

checkin' 'em out.

As a novice squirrel, here are some of the books I've checked out from the library at least twice:

• Root Cellaring, Natural Cold Storage of Fruits and Vegetables, Bubel
• Preserving Summer's Bounty, Rodale
• Minnesota's Bounty The Farmers Market Cookbook, Dooley
• Build Your Own Underground Root Cellar, Hobson
• Recipes from the Root Cellar, Chesman