The Cats and Sheep

Both Millie and Munchkin have settled well. Munchkin Millie's baby never goes far from the house and despite her feral background is very much a home cat. Now aged 14, she is still a strange little soul unlike any of the other 9 cats we have had over the years.

Millie mummy settled in straight away. She is now anything between 18-20, being a rescue cat we are not sure exactly how old she is. The vet always declares her 'disgustingly healthy for her age' at her annual check ups. She enjoys mousing down by the barn.

My two little book ends warming themselves by the radiator in the kitchen, not as yet decorated.

Millie asleep on the back of a chair. December 08.

Our darling girl passed away on August 5th.09. She is now buried in the Rose garden.

Peter came to us from Argyll Animal Aid in September 09.We thought he was 4 but the vets think he is 8. he has had a very traumatic past and was in the Centre for months before we rescued him. He is a lovely, affectionate and handsome boy. He allowed us to brush him, clip his claws and take him out on a harness to get use to his surroundings. Within a week, he was using the cat door and coming and going with no bother. he will stay in at night though. cat door is locked, the only way I can sleep knowing they are all safe.

He sleeps between us on our bed at night and we hope is very happy in his new home.

On the same day as we got Peter. Seamus our farmer friend brought us these two kittens from Ayr. he had found them in a barn where another farmer was going to shoot them and thought we should give them a home, so no pressure there then.! So we took them in. Here lying against Nigel's arm. They were very wee, but a week later are doind fine as you can see further on. As they came from Ayr they are Robbie and Burns if male or Roberta and Bernice if female. Yet to have the vet sex them.

Robbie in a plant pot. The conservatory is their play room and it will never be the same again!!

As you can see they are very small still.

Playing chase the tail.

Burns.

Burns on the new armchair April 2010

Burns watching the fire Christmas 09

Roberta, now called Rosy

Peter and Burns at the bedroom window.

Many of you will already be familiar with Lindy Lou one of the 6 black Shetland sheep that comes to spend the summer with us. We have a number of different breeds of sheep but the Shetlands are one of our favourites. Lindy Lou was the first to be friendly and she eats out of your hand almost stands up and begs like a dog. The sheep are not ours but belong to our farmer friend from the Isle of Seil. He brings them here for summer grazing. Our payment is their company and they act as lawn mowers for the fields.

This little sweetheart is Loulabel lamb. She is Lindy Lou's baby this year 08. Like her mum and unlike any of the other lambs she immediately became friendly. She knows her name and comes running, for food of course. Likes, bread, apples and carrots as well as sheep nuts. Unlike the ewes she is not yet keen on all the grass cuttings that go over the fence for them. Nigel picks up a dozen cheap loaves from Aldi each week when they have passed their sell by date. So we always have a bucket load to give them night and morning, when Nigel does his good shepherd bit and counts them. All of them give us great joy and we are sad to see them go. This lamb will be returning with her mother next year along with the Tups/rams. The rams are taken away from the ewes in early September so that the ewes don't give birth too early in the spring. Normally lambs here are born about a month later than in southern England.

Here one can see Lullabel with Geraldine McKewan waiting for their titbits, while Joanie looks on in the background. All the sheep that I can recognise I name. So that is all the Tups, most of the ewes and some of the lambs. Contrary to belief sheep are not stupid and do in fact all have their own personalities if one goes to the trouble of treating them as individuals and spending time with them. of course most farmers just treat them as money on legs. As a vegetarian I obviously don't think that way. At least we endeavour to make the time they spend with us as pleasant as possible.

Little Elf, was one of the distinctive little lambs. I am guessing a little boy, sadly he has been taken away.

Freda a ewe that was with us last year and this. Sadly went back to the farm and is no more. Literally the expression' long in the tooth' applies to sheep and once their teeth start to fail them they have to be destroyed to save them starving to death. She was a dear creature always with rather a startled expression.

Three of the Tups. McInroe left so named because of his head band!! Fred the black faced Norfolk and Paul the second Texil, I think. By now you'll think I am mad but as Seamus, the farmer says 'just a little eccentric'. I think he agrees they return to Seil in better condition than they arrive and are well looked after.

Dear Joanie with her 'this years lamb' She has also been with us for a couple of years and is very friendly. The first of the 'mules' as the farmer calls them, because they are cross breeds to come to us. Nigel fancies some Hebridean sheep because they have 4 horns and look 'evil'. I fancy some Wenslydales, because they have rasterfarian looking coats.

Jessica with her new lamb. I think these few photos prove sheep do not look all the same?

Nigel feeding the sheep as usual it is Lindy Lou who is jumping up

Brownie centre. She took a long time to become tame and eat from your hand.

The twins. Nigel named them Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. They are only just tame enough not to run away. Since renamed Thelma and Lkouise.

Nigel feeding sheep. Loulabel is right in there.

Patch by the burn and weir Nigel dug this year.

Little Louise one of the twins left to winter with us. The twins were so small that the farmer would have had to pay to have them taken away. So Thelma and Louise along with our Loulabel are staying with us.

In August 2010 Nigel found 4 kittens in the barn. We think their mum was ferral as Nigel found her dead outside the barn. So the 4 babies had to be taken in. Only about 2 days old. We had to hand rear all 4 of them. 2 hour feeding night and day for 2 weeks then every 3 hours etc. We kept 2 of them and 2 were wanted by a friend. So we now have 5 cats!!!!! Barochreal Kittens. Typical of feeding time. This at a week old. Lily.