Chicken Rental

Meet Gladys and Clarice, the chickens who lived with us for about a week and a half.  Since my brother starting raising chickens, I've wanted some, too.  But we have significantly less space in New York City than he does in Arizona.  

Now that we do have an outdoor space, though, we decided to have a chicken test run--maybe it would work out.  We were ready: we built a coop, bought some hay and feed, then went to our friend's Connecticut farm to pick them up.  They came home and got comfortable pretty quick; we had our first egg later that day.  The cats were both excited and terrified, but were certainly fascinated about the new strange things in the yard. By the end of the week, however, Melvin was comfortable enough to lounge out under the coop.

Our first egg was Clarice's and it was blue.  She's the darker Ameraucana, and Gladys is the brown one. Poor Gladys  tended to get pecked by Clarice, but she was definitely the more friendly of the two.

They both went crazy for greens.  We donated our cilantro to keep them away from the ferns and bleeding hearts, and then we bought them some kale which they devoured with crazy intensity.

When the cats first would get too close for comfort, the chickens would start making this "get away" cluck, and then the cats would get scared and run off.  Eventually Melvin realized that the chickens were too big to be food, and he was allowed to be outside if he ignored them.  I'm sure that if there was a scuffle, the chickens would come out on top, though.

They were great to have, but they did decimate some of our plants (see above)  and while the mess didn't really bother me (chicken poop is way easier to clean up than dog poop), the flies it attracted did. There just wasn't enough open space to get away from the flies. So we took them home again and came home with easier to care for plants. But one day we will continue our adventures with chickens.

Three

Three cats--this was more difficult than it looks, and it involved lots of delicious fish shaped cookies.

morning:

Afternoon:

And night:

All day long she is in the box.  Usually she is with me as soon as I get in bed, asking for her spot next to my shoulder. Last night she picked the box over me until I was asleep.  She has always been a box cat, trying to jump in every box or bag we bring into the house, but apparently this one takes the cake. She is there right now, even.

Greasy Drinking Water

Today is so hot that my brain isn't processing information correctly.  Our air conditioner is on full blast but is is still only cooling about  5 cubic feet.  The cats are all sprawled and sleeping in the least hot place they can find.  Children are playing in fire hydrants everywhere.  I can't think of anything smart and witty to post, so I thought I'd share these hilarious photos of Greasy's favorite trick:  she loves sharing your drink (she wants whatever you have) and if she can't get her face to the liquid, she'll get it with her paw.  It's pretty fun to watch, especially considering how much she hates getting wet in general.

Cherry Season

It's been hot here, and everyone's been somewhat lethargic.  So our cool down trick has been fruit smoothies.  My favorites are cherry and apple: We'll pit the cherries or slice up the apples and freeze them.  After everything is frozen solid, into the blender they go with plain yogurt and some soymilk (or regular milk or --my favorite-- almond milk).  It is so delicious and one of my favorite quick breakfasts or anytime snack.

Sometimes we'll toss in a scoop of protein powder, but the secret to a delicious smoothie is:  cinnamon.  It makes everything more delicious without additional sweetener.  I also like to add a small spoonful vanilla, especially with the cherries.  mmmmm. . . cherry vanilla.

See? even Melvin says it's too hot.

Crazy Cat Lady

I am fully aware that this many photos is overkill and definitely pushes me over the edge into 'crazy cat lady' status but how can you overlook the unbelievably adorable kitty rolling around on the table in the patch of sun?

Antics

Don't you love it when your cats have knocked over the trash can while you're away, and you get to clean it all up when you get home?  This has been happening with more regularity since Subway Cat (melvin) has come to live with us.  Apparently, trash cans contain edible food (I swear that ice cream carton was completely cleaned out!)  There has also been a rash of bag chewing in our household; another likely street habit. sigh.

Tea Time

The book is called Best American Humorous Short Stories.  The foreword is very interesting.

Greasey likes the milk and has no qualms about drinking it right in front of me.  If I shoo her away, she'll come right back.  She will drink anything I leave out if she can reach the liquid, and sometimes if she can't.  I caught her once drinking orange juice by reaching her paw into the glass, dipping it into the juice, and then licking it off.  She also likes to knock things over: sometimes she gets angry that the water level is too low, and she'll push the glass of water off of the table.  I keep telling her "that's why we can't have nice things," but I don't know that she listens.

Sleepy Mason

Mason the Greyhound enjoyed the air mattress while we had it out for guests.  It's his favorite bed.  The cats all find perches near the open windows; the weather has been beautiful since those hot days last week.