Addison Ranch

A friend on Twitter was talking the other day about getting chickens and I told her I had some. I was going to link her to a post I'd written about them but those posts were relatively old and since I haven't written about them in awhile, I thought I'd write an update about 'Ol Addison Ranch. :)

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Not Entirely Wordless Wednesday: Eulogy

I know today is traditionally Wordless Wednesday but I just wanted to pause today and remember a very big part of my childhood that ended today. My cat Princess had to be put to sleep today. About a month before my sixth birthday, my Dad was leaving work when he saw a tiny kitten in the middle of the road. He saved her from being hit by a semi and brought her home in his jacket. I remember him coming in and saying, "Sara (that's my mom's name) don't get mad!" I went gaga over the little bitty baby kitty who was very cautiously exploring our kitchen and of course we got to keep her. I don't know if Princess was a totally appropriate name for her (as you'll see when you read on) but hey, I was a little girl.
She was never really a typical cat. She'd been abandoned (or lost, we're not sure) before she was weaned so she was always a little shorter and smaller than most normal sized house cats. And she was never really a loving, cuddly cat like some I have seen. I don't know if it's because she had abandonment issues with her mom or just because she had a wild streak, but she would be fine with you petting her one moment and the next she'd rip your hand open. She hated most men, especially my friend Brady - when he walked into our house she'd immediately start hissing and all the fur on her back would stand up. The only men she ever really tolerated were my great-grandpa, my dad and my husband.

In addition to her bipolar disorder and men-hating tendencies, she was also quite fun. She liked to run up and down the piano in the middle of the night and scare everyone to death. She slept in the oddest places and liked to warm her paws on any heat source she could find. She was a good mouser. She could frighten off any dog, regardless of size, that threatened any of our family or came into our yard. I always thought if she could speak she would sound a crazy old chain-smoking lady.
She had a soft side too. When she was in the mood, she adored being petted. If you stopped, she would nudge your hand or stare you down until you started to pet her again. She liked to snuggle up in the crook of my arm when I was going to bed. When I moved out of my parent's house when I got married, Princess was very offended and it took her awhile to forgive me. But the last time I spent the night at my parent's house, I laid down to go to sleep and not five minutes later, I felt something fuzzy climbing across me and burying itself into the crook of my arm.

Perhaps this seems silly, a eulogy for a cat, but she was a part of my family for seventeen years - I guess this is my way to honor her. I was glad to hear that at the vet's office today, even in her final moments, she took some time to attack the vet. She was good 'ol Princess right up to the end. Good luck to the angel in Cat Heaven that has to handle her! :)

Name the Duck!

Our cute little duck needs a name and I'm ready to hear suggestions! She is black and white. I've asked Zeke for names but he's not the best name-picker-outer. (As an example, his baby doll is named SpongeBob.) Leave your best duck names in the comments! We have a lot of chickens that I was going to name but really they all look so similar that I doubt I would be able to tell the difference between them!

Chicken Chasers

My husband has decided he wants to be a farmer, so we are now the proud owners of some chickens and one lone duck! Ok, so we're not really farmers (since we have no actual farm) but he's wanted to have chickens for a long time. My son thinks they are pretty much the best thing ever. I have had an enjoyable time watching them chase the chickens around to put them in the pen! :)

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