Afternoon Walk -Wednesday

Wednesday morning started with taking care of things for my Mom. Grocery shopping , catching up on important business communications, checking on the schedule for upcoming appointments etc....

Coming home to get the paperwork done it was time for a change of pace by mid-afternoon, I wanted to take advantage of the mild temperatures.Snow continued to carpet the ground as I set out to scope the landscape for deer sheds. Hearing about others beginning to be successful on their quest for collecting had sent the twitch through me to see if anything was laying around here yet...

Miss Kitty pussy footing through the snow

I alluded to my walking companions in my last post.

Bless her little heart this is the second outing Miss Kitty followed my usual walking buddy and me through the snow.

The last occasion she went with us, she would stop,  yowl,look around and keep on coming. She could have gone back to the house...silly thing just kept following. I can truly say I have been adopted.

Sadie was having a great time running everywhere to checkout the scents galore. She stopped sniffing for a minute when I called to get her to look at me. 

I'll have to admit she has become quite a ham when the camera gets pulled out. That is unless I make a motion for heading out the door first.

 Poor girl always gets messy paws, and wet all over in this type of weather with snow, or mud, but I know she doesn't mind.

Sadie always must lead the way and  Miss Kitty wanted to be in front of me at this point in our expedition. The challenge began!

These two always have a season of discontent before they finally get on with the task at hand.

I can't remember now how many seasons of discontent there were while we were out.

 

Sadie and Miss Kitty listen to Ruby bay

Attention! Attention,PLEASE!!!

Ruby, our neighbor's Tree Walking Coonhound was visiting on the southside of our property with her owner. They had come to check a  raccoon trap.

Little Ruby doesn't go anywhere without announcing her approach...while she is riding in the pickup anyway. Last summer we had some excitement when she took off and wouldn't answer our calls. Created a worry for a time.

Picking up where I left off before Ruby dropped in - I was still batting zero in my search for sheds this Wednesday afternoon, so I headed the pack back home over another trail in the chance I might pass an antler tucked in a conspicuous spot. By the time we got close to the house the cat was lagging far behind and we came straggling in just in time for the animals to eat their supper.

As it stands now I  am going to have to keep looking, because my score remained at zero for this shed hunting expedition...

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Are You My Mother?

Miss Kitty the first time I saw her

This past summer, specifically July 27th,as my daughter visiting from North Dakota and I were returning from a visit with her Grandma & and truck driving Uncle in Des Moines...We came across an unusual sight in the drive in front of us,across the field from Timber Life.

The little kitty seemed lost and at the time... keeping company with the big doe standing tall for her own candid moment. As we sat and watched for a while the kitty tried to get the attention of the doe. Did she want to play or was she plying the Dr. Suess story question "Are You My Mother"? I believe this little one was a member of another household and dropped off in the country for one reason or another.

A few days later, on one of the hottest days of the week, the kitty showed up on our deck...Meowing loudly as if to share how hungry she was and needing some help to weather the elements.
 
She didn't even wander into the shade when the heat of the sun came around the house, bearing down oppressively on any creature touched by it's light.

I didn't have any cat food  so I scrambled up some eggs with a little cheese for a couple of days.

Learning a little later that dog food could be a substitute for a short time. That I could do!

Our dog Sadie has been an only pet for 3 and a half years...Now, sharing an owner is still a challenge,but at times they can share the same deck.

Miss Kitty is an outside cat, because we aren't prepared to have an indoor cat, not that she hasn't made an attempt to change that status.

Sadie is a guardian against  feral cats, raccoons, and opossums, wanting to dine on the morsels in kitty's bowl. Sadie sits by the steps ready for a chase if something comes to push Miss Kitty aside.

Slaps without a sting, and clawing at a wood post leaving no shredding,  revealed that she had been declawed.

In spite of lacking her front claws Miss Kitty is a stealthy huntress in her own right. She brought me gifts of her kills shortly after she came. I have become a trusted friend.

Not long after her arrival on one of the many walks in the yard with Sadie, Miss Kitty, joined the outing. Now, when I go to pickup the trail camera card and she gets a late start for the excursion, you can hear a mini-stampede come rustling through the dry leaves of fall until she gets to my location. I wasn't expecting her one day and Sadie was off at a distance, but still within my forward view...Turning to see what was in swift pursuit , I had to laugh, Miss Kitty was in  high speed to become a part of the group.

I haven't had a cat since I was a child, way back when.My choice to put food out was more, or less, "You aren't going to die on my watch", reaction.

Now we have been adopted and Miss Kitty has put on weight, so we will see how long nature will keep us together...