All the barn cats have taken to the new location and have been enjoying themselves exploring the place. True to form, they never venture far, always preferring to stay within sight of the buildings. We've had some of these barn cats (Smoke and his sisters Smudge and Skitter) for nine years now. But what I'm seeing here in New Hampshire is that they're spending a lot more time hanging around the house, and it took me a day or two to figure out why. It's because, with the exception of the dog yard in the front of the house, the other dog yards are actually set off from the back of the house by about 10 yards or so (9.1 m). This gives them a corridor where they can walk freely around the house without having to be bothered by excitable dogs.
Smudge in particular has taken to hanging out on the deck between the people wing and dog wing. This not only lets her gaze down on the dogs in the yard below, but also take in the view of the pond and the mountains beyond.
The edge of the deck is just under the kitchen window, and the other evening she hopped onto the railing and was trying to figure out how to get into the kitchen. I was inside cooking, and she could see and hear me from the deck. She stood on the railing staring at me, then leaned forward as if she was going to leap towards the window and grab the screen with her claws. She has ripped open many a window screen over the years, so I sensed her next maneuver and hurriedly closed the window. She went back to admiring the view from her perch.
On occasion, when I've left a door open while I was bringing dogs in or out, I'll end up with one or two of the barn cats in the house and have to shoo them out. Now that they're in New Hampshire, I think they're beginning to wonder whether they couldn't be part-time house cats and part-time barn cats. (Because of Alayne's severe allergies to cats, the answer to that is: No!)
But, you've got to admit, how many barn cats have their own deck overlooking a pond and mountains?
(Note: In that photo above it looks as if there's a power line above the pond, but that's just a reflection of some sort. No power lines there.)
---
Good heavens, did I ever regret posting that update on Margaret and her sisters. I had a number of peevish emails and comments taking us to task over Scarlett. Here's a sample: "I was shocked to hear that a sanctuary would sell a(n) animal to a dairy ... I am dismayed and saddened by this move. Sanctuaries, I thought were to protect animals from exploitation." Another wrote, "How sad that Scarlett went from
a nice retirement back to having to work and then have to reproduce
as well. This makes me cringe." People, please. First of all, we bought all three goats two years ago to help with natural weed control. Scarlett is only two years old and was not "rescued" or in "retirement." She didn't go to a commercial "dairy" but to a couple who want to produce milk for their own family, and do so in a sustainable and humane way.
As for "exploitation," here's an excerpt from an email I received from Scarlett's new family, who also have two other Nigerian Dwarf kids: "Hi Steve, well, no more Miss Shy Girl, Scarlett is right at home here now. When I bottle feed the little girls she rubs her head on my hand my shoulder, my back, wherever is handy. We let them out of their pen almost every evening after work, and yes, they all come in the house for a minute while I put the bottles in the kitchen. On the weekends we take them for a walk up on our treed hill behind our house, we have 50 acres, part is up hill, the rest is rolling hills. They love the hill and huge boulders to high-scale. They stay right with us on our walk and have a blast. Scarlett runs and twists just like the little girls and is so funny. This is turning into a real adventure. We love our funny goaties."
