Rory Caught a Mouse!

Disclaimer:
If you're partial to mice, please do not continue reading this post.

I mentioned in my previous post about the mini lions pay rent by catching rodents. I also mentioned that rent was due pretty soon or they'd start getting evicted. (We'd never actually do that but I have to use empty threats to get action.)

Well! Rory caught a mouse! I don't usually know which cat caught a mouse but I always have my suspicions as to which one is actually the hunter. This time is was clearly Rory. (Pictured to the left)

It was late at night and my husband and I were chatting with my brother in the living room. Our front door is all window so that Sergeant can see what's happening outside (he can't reach the windows so we adapted our front door to meet his needs). Suddenly, I see Rory prancing back and forth and she starts "meowing" also. She's not a very verbal cat, or easily excitable for the matter so I was immediately alerted to her behavior. I figured she'd been hurt or something. So I go to the door and there she sits, proudly displaying her kill. She looked at me with such happiness in her eyes and I told her immediately what a good kitty she is. I wish I had captured the look on her face but she was pretty camera shy. She continued to ask for attention so I opened the door, stepped out onto the front mat (after demanding Sergeant stay inside - I didn't want to start any fights...Rory is a tough one), and stroked her head telling her I was SO proud of her. She was beaming. I also congratulated her on paying rent for the whole family and suggested she rub it in the other cats' faces. I think she replied that she was never gonna tell them about it so she could eat the whole thing...and I don't blame her - those mooches.

Some people ask me how to make a cat hunt mice. I haven't completely figured that out other than the personality of the cat and something I read in a book. It said that if a cat never learned to hunt as a kitten that it never would. However, we found Rory on the streets as a baby and I never taught her so it might just be instinct.

The only cats I've had that are good hunters are savage, independent, socially awkward but still enjoy minimum human interaction. This is not an end-all-be-all formula for "mousers" but just my personal experience with hunters. If you're wanting to teach your kitten to hunt, I'd suggest getting him/her a toy to play and fight with. Play with her/him by mimicking a running mouse. It's literally a "cat and mouse" routine where the mouse plays dead and then tries to run away. If you've ever seen it in person, you realize how cruel and sad it is but I try not to judge since my house is mouse free. Kittens also enjoy shoe laces, fluff balls, and tiny stuffed animals. Encourage playful behavior with the toy but NOT with your hands. You'll give them the wrong idea and forever being sporting kitty scratches on your hands, wrists, and ankles. Painful and not cute. Good luck with your mini lions and let me know if you have any questions.

Yay for Free TV!

For the past two years, we've chosen not to have cable or satellite. It no longer fit our budget and it seemed like a vortex for laziness. We also had a slight falling out with the company over a bill and cut our ties immediately...which ended up being a blessing because we really needed a break from it any way. We also don't have internet for budget reasons but decided we wanted it when we moved into the cabin. After countless calls to countless companies we found our attempts were futile...apparently too many people are using up space on the satellites and no company will provide us service. Needless to say, it has been a VERY quiet and peaceful, sometimes boring year at the cabin.

We actually were able to receive satellite TV signal (go figure) but still didn't want to fork over the $100+ a month for the 3 channels we actually watch. So we've been making great use of bargain movies and old series on DVD to curve our boredom (the sun goes down at 5:30 so we can only work outside for so long). For Jarrod's birthday, his mom got him an antenna (which looks nothing like the bunny ears I grew up with), we attached it to our TV with RG6 coax cable and BOOM! We've got like 30 channels and connection to the outside world we've been without for years! We really don't want to fall into the laziness vortex we used to live in but I have to admit that it's pretty nice to vegetate in front of the TV for an hour or two at night after dinner. We finally get to be in on the news when it happens and check the weather in the morning which is awesome! We've been so disconnected for the last year that it almost felt like we lived in a different world than everyone else...totally shocked to hear about shootings that happened the previous week or a state of the union address that we missed. We were VERY grateful for the quiet, news-less bubble we lived in but are glad to be back in the know.

ANY WAY, we used RG6 coax cable so that it could go outside but if you live closer to the TV stations, you could probably keep the antenna inside. The instructions say it doesn't matter where you point it because it has 360 degrees of signal but we live far enough away from the stations that I think it matters. We also used those little cable hook things to attach it along the wall and beams of the porch. We get all the local channels except one that is kind of spotty (which happens to be the one with our favorite shows so at least it'll keep us from getting too addicted). It's kind of ugly up there on our roof but I know we'll get used to it and we had to put it where the mini lions couldn't fight it. Plus, the cost of the "antenna" is about as much as a month and a half of satellite TV (and we didn't even pay that because it was a gift!). That alone makes it worth it to me...save that money! It doesn't have recording capabilities but for an added price you can get a DVR or Tivo that gets the job done. Some recording devices require a monthly fee but some are just an upfront cost. A lot of them connect to wifi for streaming capabilities but since WE DON'T HAVE INTERNET, we don't have to worry about that! We haven't ordered one yet but if we do, I'll let you know how that goes. :)

We are so excited to get these local channels and even more excited that it's free! One step closer to becoming self sustained and off the grid.

A Painting for Sergeant

I told you in my previous post about our home decor and how I'm taking my time with it. We want meaningful pieces that generate conversation. I've also talked about how important Sergeant, our yorkie, is to us.

Well, our dear friend from England paints as part of his living and as a gift last year he painted our favorite picture of Sergeant. I cried with joy and amazement at how perfectly he captured Sergeant's expression and personality in the strokes of his painting. We wanted to frame it right away but couldn't afford the $200+ price that goes with properly framing an important work of art. Our friend is coming back to the states and we really wanted his work displayed but still don't have the money.

One day, my mom text messaged me from the bookstore she manages and mentions that diploma frames are on clearance and are $20 apiece! I immediately said yes and drove straight over to pick the one I wanted. We actually ended up with 2 because we still haven't framed Jarrod's diploma from when he got his master's degree a couple years ago. Sergeant didn't go to our alma mater and Jarrod's master's degree was from a different school so I turned the matte over and BAM! $20 frame for our sweet baby Sergeant. It's not pictured here but I added a verse at the bottom and it looks really good. I'm hoping to buy a colored matte later but for now this will do just fine.

So I stand by my previous post and still believe in waiting for that perfect piece and saving money in the process. I'm so happy with the way this turned out and I can't wait for Jarrod to hang it up today!

What to Feed the Mini Lions

I have a lot of people ask me what the heck I feed my cats. It always throws me a little because I don't think I feed them anything special but I figured I'd enlighten you nonetheless. I guess I'm doing something right because all 6 of my cats are healthy (not fat but they've got some meat on their bones) and have great coats of fur. I don't know if their silky soft fur comes from their gene pool (5 of my 6 cats are related) or if it's from a life of love, food, and happiness but I'd like to believe it's the latter. ;)

So here it is: I feed my cats a multi-cat dry food. It has a special formula that is ideal when feeding a wide range of ages and types of cats. I buy the huge bag from Tractor Supply because we go through it so fast and it's pretty cheap for the size we get. I think it's $20 for a 40 pound bag. At your local grocery store, you might find a 15 pound bag for $12 so you get more bang for your buck with the bigger bag from Tractor Supply...even if you aren't feeding 6 cats.

They also get the fat I cut off our frozen chicken, leftovers that I feel aren't too spicy for them (nothing that will upset their tummies - remember they are carnivores so try to stick with meat), and the leftovers from washing dishes. We have a mesh sink drain thingy so it catches all the stuff from the dishes (which in our house is usually some sort of rice and meat) and we throw it out the back porch. It's really not much but I know they enjoy it because the second they hear the back door open, it's like they've been teleported to the back porch. Man those cats are fast. I also throw my leftover coffee grounds off the back porch and for some reason Martin seems to enjoy a lick or two...but I wouldn't necessarily recommend you feed coffee to your cats.

Lastly, they are all outside cats and thoroughly enjoy eating crickets, grasshoppers, moths, lizards, snakes, and mice. I consider this their rent. They can buy a couple months rent by showing up with a mouse on the rug outside the door. Rory brought a rather large mouse up the other day but just as she set it down, Mustachio zoomed past and swiped it. I was hoping she would bring it back to show me but she's a feisty one and kept it all to herself. If I don't see another one soon, I'll start handing out eviction notices.

To sum it up, I give them lots of love, lots of pets and strokes, feed them one and a half times a day, and charge rent in the form of bugs and rodents. They are pretty inexpensive animals if you can control the population and we love the added benefits of having mini lions guard our property. If you have any questions, please comment below or contact me in the contact form. Thanks for listening and I can't wait for my next adventure to share!

Lessons Learned in Winter

Working with Cows in the Winter...

Working with Cows in the winter is... interesting. I'm not really sure how this differs from spring time and summer time work as this is my first winter under the management intensive system. Suffice it to say, that there is a steep learning curve. Below is a breakdown of how I thought winter would go in my head, the way things are really going down, and the kinks that sometimes derail the whole thing.

The Ideal Situation:
  In the winter, the ideal situation for my cows would follow these guidelines. They would slowly work their way through thick green grass that has been stockpiled on the back half of summer/fall. This grass would have been grazed at least one time, in early spring, prior to being stockpiled and would consist of a variety of grasses. Every one of these grasses hitting their growth peak during this fall to winter switch. The "growth peak" is the period of time just prior to maturity or seed reproduction. During this time, the ideal cows would slowly eat every square inch of the stockpiled nutrient rich grass. Not only would they eat it, but they would uniformly eat it. Every blade would be perfectly mowed as if I brought out the ole riding lawn mower to do the job myself. Finally, the girls would be so fat that they wouldn't need any extra hay supplements.  The extra hay supplements, by the way, to which I don't have access. They would continue on utilizing only the grass native to my farm. The team would love this grass so much that even when snow came, they would root through it in search of these tasty green morsels. That's the ideal situation anyway. Let me be the first to admit that I may need to lower my expectations a smidgen. This is the color of my farm in winter. If you find green, it's the exception not the rule.

The Real Deal:
  My cows do not follow any guidelines. Therefore, my cattle operation follows fewer and fewer of the commonalities others enjoy. The frustrating part is that every "old timer" around me is warming up the "I told you so" line. (To cover my rear, an "old timer" does not refer to one's age, but someone totally given to the conventional method of raising beef cattle. They are the first to point out the apparent flaws of my system.) My cows do whatever they want, whenever they want to do it. For instance: The don't do anything slowly. To think that they would take their time working through the pastures stockpiled grasses was apparently a joke. They immediately run into the next paddock and fight for the smallest morsel of fresh grass. This is the same fresh grass that was supposed to be all over my pasture by now. No! I started this little endeavor in the fall. Thus, I was unable to harvest the grasses at the appropriate time. Since I was unable to time this, all of the grasses have reached maturity. Instead of lush winter grasses, I have fully mature old world blue-stem everywhere. The girls hate it! Rushing to the next paddock indicates that they are not getting enough to eat. This left me with two options. The first was to open up larger sections for a paddock to allow the cows more grass to consume in a given day. The problem with this option is that they were already leaving behind mounds of very good grass behind them. They only wanted certain grasses. There goes the perfectly mown grass theory! Secondly, I could augment their daily consumption with hay. This is the method that I have chosen to employ. I have divided up square bales to be available for each move. Each paddock receives the appropriate amount of square bales for the cows. They eat the hay after they have searched the paddock for the grasses that they like and leave quite a bit of hay each day. They are literally never satisfied. Yet, this is my favorite part of the game. Part of the fun of this process is tweaking the different elements to ensure the happiness of my harvesting team. And I'm getting better at it. That is... until the snow came.

The Kink:
  The day after Christmas, Texas experienced a freak snow storm. Actual snow! I mean, we get ice and stuff that they try to call snow from time to time, but this was real white puffy stuff. Snow! I have heard that cows are adapted to handle some pretty extreme conditions. I have even heard from folks that it doesn't hurt to leave them where they are to weather the storm. Maybe I'm a "softie", but I couldn't do that to my harvesting team. So, I abandoned my management intensive grazing system for a few days to help my girls ride out the storm. I moved them from out in the field where there was no cover from the snow to our goat yard where there is plenty of cover. In the goat yard, there are trees, the back side of a barn and many different things to aid in riding out the storm. The team didn't exactly understand why I brought them in from the field, but their concerns waned when I brought them some fresh hay. Also, the grass in the pen has been resting for the entirety of their stay out in the pasture. This meant that fresh young winter grass was spread throughout the cage. I knew that bringing them into these close quarters would mean the end of the stand of grass in the cage, but between the health of grass and cows, I choose cows every time. Grand total time spent in the cage was 3 days. After three days the snow had melted and the cows were restless to see the pasture again.

Wintering Cows Wrap-up:
  I wasn't able to see the results that some have reported about being able to ride out a full blown snowstorm without changing their management intensive plan. However, I don't feel too bad. Reports have come in from across the state and the loss of cattle life was extensive due to the storm. I think the combination of a freak storm and my grass fortitude not being where it should be led me to balk at the first sign of significant snow. I'm glad I did! Maybe things don't need to go perfectly every time. That may be hard for someone like me to hear, but it seems to be essential to raising cows...especially in winter.