I went downstairs, and there she still was. Yep, I checked - no testicles. Her eyes seem to have just opened, they were all mucky, so I took her inside to clean them. She mewled but was happy to be held. Took her with me to feed the other 3 cats in the barn, put a bit in a bowl for her, pushed her face into it, but she didn't recognise it as food and the other cats were all in a tither, with Marmalade hissing, growling and swatting at her. What to feed her ? Why do babies always seem to arrive when we don't have any cows in milk ? But I had a carton of cream, so poured some into a ramekin and pushed her face into it. She fought me, seemed to like the taste, but didn't seem to know how to drink. Fetched the smaller bulb syringe, filled it with warmed cream and she licked each droplet off the end while holding the syringe with both front paws. She's a cutie. As she's black and white, I thought Tuxedo was a good name for her.
Unfortunately, she seems too young to have any fear. Saw her saying hi to Daisy May and Eleanor, their faces touching. A tiny scrap of a kitten, nose to nose with a 1,000 lb cow. Sheila surprised me, as she greeted Tux with no jealousy at all. When I hopped into the truck to go get 2 bales of hay from Mike, she disappeared under the truck. Started the engine, she didn't move. Climb out, fish her out from underneath, go deposit her on the big tractor seat, race back to the truck, and shoost down the driveway before she could follow. Stopped at the $ Store on my way back and bought 1/2 gallon of full cream milk. Mixed some milk in with the cream for her, and fed her another syringe. Wonder whether her butt still needs stimulating to make her poop. I asked someone on FB who wrote about syringe feeding small kittens, but I don't know when Tux was born.
Took her with me on the tractor to take the bales off the truck when Herbie came home. So handed her to him, and he directed me so I could get the bales off the truck. The problem with the bale spear on the front of the bucket - I can't see them. When I'm on my own, I spend a lot of time lining the tractor up, then getting off, going to the front to see the spear placement, adjust it, check again, and only then proceed to spear a bale. Took the first bale out to the bulls, and looked back to see this large man holding this tiny kitten. Melted me ♥️♥️. He helped me get the 2nd bale off, then went inside with Tux while I deposited the new bale, tipped over one of our 2nd cutting bales for the sheep, rearranged the bale line, fed the sheep, covered it with a tarp. Back inside, Herbie was sitting in the lounge with Tux on his lap. He said he saw the bowl of milk on the counter and the bulb syringe, but that she dropped down onto the counter and started lapping at the milk before he could suck any into the syringe ! Wow, she wouldn't do that for me.
Took some videos on the farm this evening. Can't post them here, but may put some on FB. Sheila and Lisa chasing each other around the back yard, Rosco taking a stroll past the hay bales, Anni chasing and catching the frizzbee, Tux walking in the grass, following me, the sheep with their heads stuck in the feeder eating hay, just farm mignonettes :)
Made jam and some sauces from the blueberries I picked with Jackie, the 2nd lot of blackberries from my bush after burning the first lot, and 8lbs of apricots from Meijers. Made 2 jars of preserves, and then 1/2 of the balance chunky and whizzed the other half with the zoop zoop machine and pushed it through a sieve for smooth. All in all, 24 jars plus 1/2 a squat pint jar of apricot jam in the fridge. Spent most of yesterday slaving over a very hot stove. Didn't get distracted by anything as it took 3 days to clean the burnt pot from the first attempt of blackberry sauce. Herbie likes the taste but not the seeds, they get stuck in his teeth, so I sauced them. Have the pulp and seeds drying in the dehydrator as a chewy fruit leather.
Maddies' Garden is looking good, a bit of chicken damage, but not too bad. Need to take a photo, especially as it's currently mostly weed-free :). Planted some lavender in between the roses in the front garden, with the Snowball bush in the middle. Still need to finish weeding that bed. Also planted the paw paw, apricot and 2 hazelnuts, but haven't staked and built a chicken wire cage around them as protection from the geese. Am out of stakes, so need to go shopping. Think I've decided where to plant the witch hazel, spice berry, highbush cranberry and one other that I can't remember, all in the berry garden so need to go make holes for them. Found 2 gorgeous fig trees at Meijers for $7 each, love mark-downs. Need to fit them into the new orchard too, and work on protection for the Winter. Also have a Shagbark Hickory which I want to go plant in the hayfield next down from the pecans I planted last year. Still need to find homes for another 3 lavender and made the hole for the new butterfly bush, just need to add some compost and plant it.
We have peaches ! It's the 4th year since I planted them, and it's the first harvest. It's weird, but the one tree only has 1 peach on it, and the other has about 50, but all on the North side only. Betsi speculated we must have had a frost and the North side was protected by the old apple trees and wild olives. Herbie picked one and ate it, but it wasn't quite ripe yet. My dad warned me tonight that something would probably eat them before I could pick them. I've been watching them, think I could pick this weekend. We also have a goodly amount of apples around the farm from the old trees, nothing on the 2 new ones. Maybe it'll be a good cider year.
Our hummingbirds are back. Have 2 feeders up, and watch them drinking and chasing each other around.
It's mid-August, and this past week the evenings have been chilly. Down to the lower 60s. I even pulled the down duvets out of the linen cupboard.
The sheep are in the chicken yard. Herbie wants to reclaim our front lawn, so we'll be pulling fence posts out after unscrewing the fence panels. Think we'll put them around the lower barn enclosure, hiding the wire farm fence.
Time for shower, hair washing and bed. Sleep well.