Cats of the Farm: The Pride Goes On

[dressagetraks]

Just doing some interior caulking and tightening at this stage.

This week is musical rush hour of the year. Two different choir performances and one solo in the next seven days. Project time will be at a premium. [ATTACH=JSON]{“alt”:“Click image for larger version Name: 78380547_10212549211724653_3949759303878967296_o.jpg Views: 1 Size: 9.4 KB ID: 10531245”,“data-align”:“none”,“data-attachmentid”:“10531245”,“data-size”:“full”}[/ATTACH]
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[dressagetraks]

“Let It Snow.”

Saturday night, I went to the symphony Christmas concert in the city. When they started playing “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow,” they threw out a few dozen fake snowballs from the stage into the hall. So the crowd was getting into this, tossing them up again like people would if you threw a beach ball into a crowded pool. I was seated about 3/4 of the way back, behind most of this action, and I remarked to my neighbor, “I wish I could get hold of one of those; I’d take it home for my cats.” Right then, kerplunk, a snowball landed in the lap of my neighbor on the other side, who had heard the comment. So that snowball promptly got retired from the fight.

The cats were very grateful when I got home. They, pun intended, had a ball.

So now that particular carol will always remind me of cats, but there are far worse things to think about than cats.

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[Horse_with_No_Name]

“Build it and they will come” Loving the progress of the cat hut. A lucky bunch they are

[CanadianTrotter]

@Horse with No Name

“Build it and they will come” Loving the progress of the cat hut. A lucky bunch they are

She makes it look so much easier than it truly is!

[Marla_100]

@Horse with No Name

“Build it and they will come” Loving the progress of the cat hut. A lucky bunch they are

Anxiously awaiting the arrival of the roof and then getting to see how many are smart enough to enjoy it.
This has been fun watching!!

[Brown_Derby]

That cat shack hack looks better built (and more comfortable) than booths I’ve scribed in. Maybe add a few potted catnip plants and a regulation-sized cat dressage court erm sandbox.

[dressagetraks]

Hopefully the roof goes on tomorrow night in an abbreviated session. Today is work crazy getting a few work orders in by midnight (I’m on feeding the zoo break right now). There are still things needing doing inside, more tightening and comfying, not to mention building the “porch” and hole covers, but I want to get the roof on tomorrow because we have possible rain/snow/ice/nothing coming in Sunday and Monday. I wish our local weather forecasters would improve on winter predicting. Tornadoes, now, we have those down pat. They can say, “There is a tornado in Bob Smith’s back yard off of Highway Something. It is heading northwest at 50 mph, and it will hit here in five minutes, here in ten minutes, and here in fifteen.” And they nail it. But winter forecasts are often still a coin flip.

Music week is going hectic but well. The first concert was awesome. I have a dress rehearsal tomorrow, and then Sunday a solo and a cantata. After Sunday, musical rush hour is over for another year. But I love every rush hour note of it.

I did start picking up a few paint color cards Wednesday night at Walmart. I want to match the new house. White for the trim is easy, but mocha/tannish/coffee with two creamers (to quote a friend on the last) isn’t that simple. Paint will be the last step, of course. Still more to go. My mental blueprints are working, but they are taking more time to construct than I realized. It will be nice, though. My east coast brother said, “I thought you meant something like a little dog house.” Nope. I could lie down myself in the hut if I wished.

Meanwhile, as we wait for more time on the hut, here are a few other pictures to tide you over. That is a cat toy that Pilgrim has, not an actual string of lights. I made the Christmas tree skirt. I did not make the gargantuan cat tree, obviously.
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[dressagetraks]

Very quick session, all I had time for. The hut is about 1/2 inch out of square, so I’ll have to trim the sides down before really fastening the roof. Not a big deal since the sides were going to be trimmed down anyway. The roof is just loosely fastened now, but it’s heavy enough it isn’t going anywhere. This little building all told weighs several hundred pounds. The hut still has several things left to do; the roof step was bumped up some.

We still have rain/snow/ice forecast (they’ve dropped nothing), but no firm agreement on how much or proportions or when. I hope it holds off until after the music performance tomorrow night. Dress rehearsal today with the orchestra was awesome. As a special treat, we’re ending with the Hallelujah Chorus, and doing that with full orchestra is even better than doing it with just piano and organ.

In the first pic, I’m trying to demonstrate the slope. The roof does have a bit of a slope front to back to allow any rain/snow/ice to run off. Rascal was my demonstration cat sitting on that far top 2x4, but she moved right before I took the shot. [ATTACH=JSON]{“alt”:“Click image for larger version Name: 79189383_10212585374428698_3944571653400297472_o.jpg Views: 1 Size: 9.0 KB ID: 10535441”,“data-align”:“none”,“data-attachmentid”:“10535441”,“data-size”:“full”}[/ATTACH]
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[Marla_100]

Looks like Cotton likes the roof top deck. Is the straw inside yet? Great job and I hope you get things squared away before the storms hit.

[CanadianTrotter]

Cotton is trying to tell you he wants a string of patio lights on the roof!

[Larksmom]

well I know I am a couple of hours north of you, and it is snowing furiously here. They are threatening snow till tomorrow at 6 pm! egad! our music program is tonight and I bet they cancel.

[dressagetraks]

Yeah, I’m right on the edge of this front, which is why we had the rain/snow/ice/nothing debate. I have relatives in Kansas City to the north, and their forecast wasn’t debating rain/snow/ice/nothing, only how many inches. It’s a cold rain right now, but if the temp drops a few more degrees, it will be a mess. We are definitely on for tonight at this point, though.

If anybody is curious, here’s a link to me singing this morning. They put the solo right at the beginning today, just after the welcome, straight out of the gate. With this song, I ideally would have liked a few corporate songs first to warm up on, but it was a fun song and even includes reference to a horse. No cats, though. I’ve always thought there had to be cats in Bethlehem in the stable. Cats can always find a good stable.

https://www.facebook.com/firstbaptistSGFMO/videos/813572202415452/?t=144

Now for the last musical event of the month tonight. I’m not sure how much work will get done on the hut tomorrow, though; tomorrow sounds worse than today, per the forecast.

[Larksmom]

that is what we are facing Even I am watching because even I cannot ignore Mahomes! I’m about 5 miles north of Arrowhead stadium. If you are watching the chiefs massacre the broncos,
You have a lovely singing voice!

[dressagetraks]

We have usage!

Ice yesterday and then snow last night, for a bad slick combination. I didn’t do much outside except chores, too slick and icky. But just now, I got curious and walked outside around the house. The hut isn’t on my regular feeding route, so I wasn’t up to it this morning. I wondered if there were any tracks of entrance. There are clear tracks to one of the three doors, so it was being used last night. And it’s not even done yet! More caulking, bracing (though it’s pretty sturdy now), and straw still to come for the inside. The snow won’t blow in as much when the porch is on, but it didn’t extend far in.

They approve! Even in the undone version.

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[Marla_100]

oh that’s good news. With all the storms coming through your area I was hoping some of them used the hut. Wonder how many used it??

[Rain]

@Marla 100

Wonder how many used it??

Well CLEARLY she needs to install a little camera (preferably 24/7) so we can watch the kitties!

[CanadianTrotter]

Oh, good stuff that they’re using it so soon! Maybe some sort of a roof over top of the doors or cat flaps to stop the snow from covering the entrances? There’s a chance they could go in to avoid the cold and weather and get stuck inside.

Love your singing, you remind me of a lady that would sing before and after the sermons at our church every Sunday when I was a kid.

[dressagetraks]

We don’t normally get snow up above door level here, but there is going to be a “porch” that will additionally shelter the entrances. It just isn’t put on yet. I will also trim off rough screw edges sticking out outside. Still have to finish caulking, paint, etc. And put in the skylight. I have a small sheet of plexiglass, and I decided to add a skylight (thoroughly caulked and braced beneath) so that I can look in to take inventory. I know that if I didn’t, I’d wind up spending an inordinate amount of time on my hands and knees in front, trying to peer through the holes. The top will open, of course, but that would let in a draft. I need a way to check without disturbing them. Patience, it isn’t done yet.

No project hour tonight due to rehearsal, but tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday should all see progress. Not Sunday. Sunday, we’re taking the cantata from last week to a local nursing home in the afternoon, and in between church and that, I’m going to go visit my nursing home friend and take her some final pictures from blooming season of her rose she asked me to adopt. Also pics of the cats. She’ll like seeing the hut project, and she always loved pictures of the cats. Her cat is actually buried here on the farm. The time came for her cat to go, and I took the cat to the vet because she was in a Hoveround and couldn’t fit in a normal car, had to have the access van. That was before she went to the nursing home. Then when I took Kitten to the vet, they wanted some insane disposal fee. I told them forget it; euth alone is bad enough for someone on a fixed income. I have plenty of space to bury cats here.

[CanadianTrotter]

Ooooh, a skylight…great idea!

Yes, vets charge insane prices for disposal, maybe try calling your city? Many vets send their disposals on to the city and pay the city’s much cheaper disposal prices. Having a large property with space for burials is great but for those that don’t have it, check to see their city’s policies.

[Marla_100]

Here’s hoping all the kitties woke up warm in their new hut. Merry Christmas to all of you.