Beware of Easter Imposters!

Had a busy day but was so pleased to have received this adorable email titled "Beware of Easter Imposters" from a fellow animal lover...in fact, this is one of my favorite cute animal emails and I receive so many throughout the year. Enjoy!

No Fleas, Flies or Bees, Please!

This is the time of year when my battles begin with the bugs. Sometimes I win, and sometimes I lose.

Today I began the monthly ritual of applying the Advantage Plus topical on the back of the dogs necks. Coty and Nugget stand like soldiers and are easy to work with...Little Bear is always rolling around or barking at something so I wait until she is inside and then she is very good while the cold sensation of liquid meets the small exposed area of skin. Sam is a whole other story. He requires his mother to speed walk in several circles around the living and dining rooms before he will submit by crawling in a large dog pen near the kitchen. Then he meekly allows me to administer the dose. A very difficult patient, that dog! During the night feeding I dropped an Interceptor in each bowl now that the nasty mosquitoes have hatched. Interceptor is a heart worm preventative. The ticks haven't shown up yet that I know of...it is usually May through the end of August on our farm when the nightly scalp searches must be performed if I have been under trees or in the woods. Disgusting but so very necessary! Thankfully the Advantage Plus eliminates the nasty need for plucking yellow looking pus balls that are really gorged ticks full of dog blood. I never saw a tick in my life until we moved to the farm, or a flea for that matter. The cats are next. Revolution will be applied tomorrow and the barn cats need to visit the vet for their seasonal dose of Drontal which is the only deworming pill that eliminates ALL worms for both cats and dogs. The ponies have already had their deworming this month but flies are their bone of contention. Blue had several small ones on his broad face today and I saw Jessie stomping in the field so the battle has begun.

There is a saying...kill a fly in March and you have killed thousands...kill a fly in April and you have killed hundreds...kill a fly in July and you have just killed a fly. How true! The flies get thick in the horse stalls for some reason. I have been at other barns where the problem is minimal. I think it is because I have the dutch doors and the large 8 foot by 4 foot wide openings are an invitation. So, this year, I am keeping the bottom doors closed which still allows for good air flow. So far, so good. Last year at this time I had flies in March. Fly spray is not good for humans and I used get this weird taste in the bottom of my throat when I sprayed. Not anymore which worries me...any way, I am thinking of ordering fly predators and have read encouraging success stories. Speaking of predators, the next insect that I do battle with seems to have no natural predator whatsoever.

Borer Bees a.k.a. Carpenter Bees! I absolutely despise these arrogant useless buzzing menaces. No bird eats them. I have yet to see a bird try. (take that back...just read the pileated woodpeckers love them!) No bat eats them. The bees hide in their tunnels at night. Nothing eats them! I am the only one that attempts to eradicate them which is crucial to avoid being threatened only inches away from my face while entering the tack room door. They are large black and yellow striped divebombers. They are fast and furious. I have read that only the female will sting and the males guard her while she is in the hole with a fierce determination. I do have some weapons though...an earth friendly weapon is to hose the hole! I put the nozzle on 'jet' and spray the hole with a strong stream of water. If a bee is in there, loud threatening buzzing can be heard...hopefully the water pressure has either injured it or discouraged re-entry. Should that not be the case, then out comes the aerosol can of Hot Shot which I have found works the best and has a stronger spray. I have to put the kitties away during this exercise as the spray residue falls to the ground. I water it down when I am finished. I don't like using it but I do not want to experience the excruciating pain of a supersized stinger entering my flesh. (Remember to store your aerosols away from heat sources!) While I am on the subject, sand hornets are the worse. There is an area in the large field that if not mowed regularly, the sand hornets find it attractive and go after the big blue New Holland with a fury and with no fear. My hair stands up on my arms when they get near me. They are the width of my pinkie finger, with orange and black stripes and probably a good inch and a half long, no kidding. I cannot find the exact version of them in my bug book nor online so I am not even sure I have the correct name.

I do not kill all stinging or biting insects...wasps are usually not bad, though the reds are worse than the blacks. Regarding spiders, I do not kill the wolf and garden spiders. I just gently shoo them out of the barn. I will kill the black widows and hornets. Callie is awesome for finding a hidden spider. I have yet to see a brown recluse and pray they do not get near me, near the house, in the house, near the barn or in the barn...too dangerous. I make it a habit to shake the blankets out before putting them on the horses to ensure no insect is hiding in the folds. Tomorrow I must stock up on Revolution and Hot Shot. Tomorrow I will order the fly predators, but today I have begun the battle of the bugs!

Groundhog Girl

Little Princess is the most unusual kitty. She came to us September 3rd 2007, a day after Cricket was born. We discovered a small fluff ball huddled in the corner of an unused side porch where the dogs cannot access. Little Bear was the one who let us know as she was in her pen dozing in the afternoon but upon seeing Princess through the glass door, she let out a strange high pitched bark. The good husband looked outside and alerted me. I slowly approached her with a bowl of canned fancy feast. Quite a bit shy but starved nonetheless, she finally inhaled the food. Moments later her stomach rejected the foreign intrusion and she began to heave but nothing came out. Poor little starved thing. I had no clue she hadn't a decent meal and should not have given her so much.

A few hours later, she allowed me to carry her thin but furry frame and off we went to the 'pink room'. The pink room is a beautiful bedroom with a cherry and walnut floor that Hazel's husband installed himself from the trees on the farm. I put her in this room away from LaQuinta and Rocky so she could get used to the new smells and noises of our home, recover in privacy and enjoy the warm and comfortable surroundings. I believe she stayed in there over a week. I took her to the vet the next day. She was free from disease and received her rabies shot and Revolution which is very good for kitties since it is anti-flea and has some deworming properties. It is topical and applied behind the neck. I refuse to use the store bought anti flea topicals as they are too harsh and I have heard of many a sick kitty resulting from using those types of deterrents.

We never knew what breed Princess was but she certainly looked like something special. It didn't really matter but later when we found out, it made all the sense in the world. Princess loves to go outside no matter what how the weather is behaving. Rocky and LaQuinta and now Tiger (all strays) could care less and prefer to be inside. Princess will wait patiently by the door so if you have packages or the dogs are going back and forth, she will dart out like a lightening bolt if you aren't watching. She is the fastest cat I have ever seen. Once outside she will hide behind the boxwoods. I have a feeling that is what happened to her previously when she found us...so, I run outside, fight the thick stout branches and she eventually allows me to scoop her up to safety.

When the weather is sunny, occasionally I take her outside. She nibbled on grass the other day and loudly purred with happiness while rolling in the thick lawn. I stepped away from her in order to get some good photos and she followed me like a dog! This is not like her, I was thinking and kept snapping away. Then it happened....she turned tail and those stout little legs took off making her a blur. No kidding! I call her Groundhog Girl since this fat little thing wiggles and runs with such speed! She disappeared behind her favorite bushes and crept around the corner. Uh oh... guess who saw her!!! Callie and Big Cricket must have been in the front yard. Not wanting another vet bill, I didn't even let them meet. She remembers Callie from their horrendous meeting the second day she arrived while I was rocking her on the front porch. (Click on Callie and access the cat page to get an entertaining update).

Pretty Princess is a Norwegian Forest Cat. I noticed the December Cat Fancy magazine cover while in Borders and my jaw dropped...there she was! These cats adore the outdoors and can endure cold miserable weather. Mythology speaking, they accompanied the great Norse goddess Freyja leading her chariot during her daily travels. Many believe they joined the Vikings on their world travels and the cats were kept on ships for rodent control. Princess's ruff is very long and thick. Her coat does not tangle and matt as do other long haired breeds. The best part is Norwegians are very loving and affectionate. Princess is all that and the most loving kitty I have known. So, my pretty Princess has quite a fancy heritage but I still love calling her Groundhog Girl.

Run, Runt, Run!

Today was one of those 'I'd rather be inside' days than face the harsh winds that blew away Sunday's balmy breezes. We even had some snow! It didn't lay, thank heavens. I worked a lot in the house but finally decided to venture outside to complete the barn chores. The dogs followed faithfully to guard their mama.

My barn kitties ran down the hill, tails held high. Their little paw pads were very cold! In the tack room they ran, while I grabbed a small handful of kitty kibble for Daddy Cat. Time to clean stall. The ponies were noisily munching their timothy as I was cleaning Blue's bed when I heard the dreaded high pitched whines. The dogs were going crazy. I looked up and noticed two deer at the edge of my good husband's sacred lawn. Half tail. Poor Runt and one of her twins were being chased by those awful stray dogs! At the same time an expletive left my mouth I quickly but carefully backed the full wheelbarrow out of the stall without spooking or poking Blue with the fork, and ran up the hill. It took forever, of course. And wouldn't you know the stupid train just had to pass! Now she couldn't cross the tracks into the huge field and make time. She had to avoid our dogs, and manage to circle back up the hill which means she had to get close to the side of the house. That required a hard left and unfortunately tightened the distance. Those stray dogs would not dare come near me or the farm dogs. They just know better for some reason. I stood in the middle of the road praying Runt would eventually make it my way. Stupid train. Just as I was hoping to see her come near me for safety, out popped Beauty and Brown Tail, passing me hurriedly and stopping in front of the thickets next to the deer yard. Smart deer. They knowingly looked at me. The noisy intrusive coal train continued to crawl. My dogs began their urgent barking in response to more whines which meant Runt's scent was found again. She managed to reach the top of the ridge. She was headed towards the heavy wooded area to the safety of impassible thickets. Maybe none of the others would be disturbed from their beds. Silence came. I continued to stand in the road with the snow swirling around us and for a brief second it was difficult to see. Suddenly the sun began to peak out from the gray sky. Beauty and Brown Tail quietly disappeared down a path behind the pond. Coty, Little Bear, and Nugget hoping for more action sat patiently looking up the hill. It was so cute; there they were in a straight line. Then Nuggie got bored, being a Golden and rolled around eventually playing dead for mama...such a cute baby!

I finished the chores and checked Hazel's garden and discovered more blooms had opened to reveal breathtaking perfection. A threat of frost is predicted tonight and I hope the beautiful daffodils won't be short lived. My tulips refuse to open during this cold snap but they were gorgeous Sunday. My new clematis from last year has grown profusely and has tiny buds! I will get up early (what else is new?) and spray them with water should the frost make an unwanted appearance. I just learned that trick from a landscape company on the local news. They said it worked well.

I fed the deer an hour before dusk and only a few showed up. The wood ducks bravely watched but couldn't stand it anymore as I was invading their safety zone and flew off crying their little animal noises. Brown Tail ran right up to me tonight. He was within 4 feet. He hasn't done that since fall. Unfortunately, I didn't see Runt, but I did see my beloved Brownie's brood. It was a good feeding. All the does found a corn pile and there were no bossy bucks to hog the corn. I hope Runt and her baby are okay and all is well on the farm!