“OH!”
“HELP!”
“MOM!”
“HELP!”
“BOO Berry Betty”, Mom yelled,
“Come help me put the chickens away,”
“OKAY, MOM!”
Teeee heee, chuckle, snort!
Boo Berry Betty
I get this “Scatter” thing, Boo Berry Betty. I always scatter when there is a HUGE BIG MOTOR somewhere close.
I mean like RUUUUUUUUUUUUN! Is the word.
And RUN to the house is the answer.
Hiding in the house is the only way to go.
BUT—
Sometimes in the house—
MOM does the unthinkable!!!
SHE VACUUMS!!!
When that happens you and I have to
SCATTER!!!
TLC Cai-Cai
“Boo Berry Betty,” Mom called.
“Come now. The hens need to get out and go scratch around.
Come On. Leave them alone.”
What?!?! Stop? I haven’t even started.
I’m just standing here in front of the chicken house, not doing anything.
“Boo Berry,” Mom swooped down and picked me up.
“No herding chickens until I tell you.”
Off we went to the sidewalk.
Then Mom put me down.
“Here you go. Stay around here and play.”
Then Mom went to mow the lawn and I
RAN TO THE HOUSE
BIG MOTORS SCARE ME
“IN MOM! IN!”
Whew, Thank Heavens.
In. Mom can do her thing WITHOUT ME!!!
Boo Berry Betty
“Okay, Dog. I guess you are here to stay.” TLC sorta kinda growled at Boo Berry. “If you are going to stay you gots to learn some things.”
Boo Berry cocked her head, “Okay. Like what?”
“Well, for one thing–-HOW TO BE A DOG!” TLC shouted.
“I know how to be a dog.” Boo Berry replied. “But my world has been rather limited, you know. From birth actually. I have always lived in a kennel. From the very beginning.
Then when I left Mom, I went to the kennel at my new home. I only heard other dogs unless a boy dog was put into my kennel with me. After that I had puppies and then the whole process was repeated. I was a very good dog and did everything a dog in a kennel does.”
“Well, now you are here. With Mom, Dad, and ME—-it’s time to learn a few other things.
Like ‘doing your business’ outside and not in the house.
It’s okay to RUN fast and turn circles in the air.
And the grass is ever so soft and nice and green.
But most of the all—you need to learn about mice.”
“Mice? Why?”
“They are yummy to eat.”
“Ummm, I don’t think so. I only like soft food that comes out of a hard thing. I don’t like that dry cereal stuff I had to eat in the kennel.”
“Well, your choice. I like canned food also, and cereal for a treat, but MICE! Why MICE are the best!”
“And while we are at it—there are birds. SHHHH don’t let Mom know I told you that…she gets very upset if I chase and eat a bird. But…BIRDS ARE YUMMMMMMMMMMMY!”
“What about those birds that live in that little house Mom goes out to off and on? You know the one with those BIG BIRDS! Birds bigger than the both of us.”
“Oh, well…hummm, well, I did try to tackle that white one, but she pecks very hard, and her toenails can dig in DEEP! My advice is not to eat any of those birds.” TLC advised.
“Okay. They don’t look soft and yummy anyway,” replied Boo Berry. “But I can tell you this.” Boo Berry paused for effect.
“THEY ARE FUN TO CHASE!!!” (But only if Mom says I can, which is when she wants to put them up for the night and they won’t go.)
“You have a job!” TLC puzzled. “WOW! Already. Well, I have a job eating mice and you have a job rounding up CHICKENS!”
“Hey, Boo Berry! You do know how to be a dog!” TLC exclaimed
Farm Dog and Farm Cat—buddies.
TLC and Boo Berry Brown
MOM!
Mom!
I have something for you!
TLC Cai-Cai
(Oh, you ask how BBBB and I are doing. We got it figured out. I’m bigger than her and therefore, I am the boss.)
Oh. One more gift for Mom or Dad
Yep.
That’s Me. A good protector of the farm,
TLC Cai-Cai
Mom said I needed a dog.
Mom said she needed a dog.
Mom said Dad needed a dog.
Who would have thought?
I don’t mind dogs. Actually, I like dogs. All dogs any dogs.
So, guess what?!
I have a dog! Of which I am bigger.
Who would have thought?
Anyway, this is Boo Betty. She came to Mom from a friend of hers and Dad. Boo needed a new home.
Mom said we were dog-less.
Therefore, I now have my own dog friend (of which I am the boss) and the family has a dog and Boo Betty has US!!
(Oh, by the way, Boo Betty has chosen Dad. I have Mom, Boo has Dad, and we all have each other!)
TLC Cai-Cai
Mom and I had just come out of the house
Where I had been eating BREAKFAST!!!
I go out early, early in the morning
Just at Daybreak
Not Daylight
Daybreak!
Why so early?
Gosh, there are things to do
Stuff to see
And MICE to catch!
Anyway,
Mom and I came out the backdoor together
Mom going over to feed the Humming Birds
And I, to walk with Mom
WHEN I SAW
What is it?
Just as I saw IT, so did Mom
I saw Mom put her hand down by the It
Then
No more IT
I wonder what happened to IT?
Oh, well, gone.
TLC Cai-Cai
We have a chipmunk…
actually, two that live with me in the farm yard. But Mom can never seem to get a photo of them. These Chips are the descendants of two Chips
who were friends with Sam-Sam.
And Fuzzy.
And Boomer. Now their great, great grands are friends with me.
Since Mom can’t get a photo of them, she is posting one she saw out on the farm—where I NEVER go.
We also have several ground squirrels who share the chicken feed with the chickens.
Once more these are the descendants of Stanly and Stewart and their lovely squirrel wives—Shirley and Shelia.
It seems whenever Mom is around and the squirrels are around, she never has her camera. BUT— out on the farm, Mom saw a squirrel hiding behind his tail. So cute-thought Mom.
We also have a family of bunnies.
Momma bunny told me it was much, much safer to hang around the farm yard, than the farm proper. She knows, she was over by the equipment area when she grew up.
It was a dangerous and very scary place to live.
The Gambol Quails have migrated in to share dinner with the hens. They are extremely fast. (and, of course, Mom never has her camera when she is working in her yard.)
The pair of Gambol Quails have BABIES— that run and dart very fast. I have a goal….no! No! NO!!!! I don’t. Never! I can’t even think of that goal! EVER!!!!
One day I was a tad bored, Skitter Bug was close, I was bored so I hopped out from under the peony bush right on her back. (Mom saw). Mom screamed NO!
She didn’t need to scream.
Skitter Bug turned around very fast and pecked the heck out of me, then when I fell over, she flew up and pounced on ME!
Let’s just say—hens are off the grocery shopping list. (Although to be fair to me, I didn’t want to eat her, just play with her.)
We have
birds,
and birds
and
lots of birds.
One day we had a hawk…
WOW, THAT BIRD IS BIG!!!
I had to hide in the wood pile. Mom was outside and saw the hawk. She yelled at the hawk—“SHOO! Go away!
(I’m not sure if this IS a hawk—any ideas?)
These animals in the farm yard are NOT your dinner.” The hawk just looked at Mom, but he did fly away.
So—that’s the working list of animals in the farm yard.
Plus, Me, Dad, and Mom.
(We also have a badger…Mom…did you hear me?)
TLC Cai-Cai
When Dad goes out to the farm with one of his HUGE, BIG, LOUD machines
Mom goes into her yard, or out by the farm buildings, or into the corrals, or something or other.
The second I hear the back door open and then shut
I know Mom is outside somewhere.
Someplace.
Somewhere.
I stop what I’m doing and start looking for Mom.
Sometimes I look for Mom in a sneaky way—like hide here and there.
Hide under this.
Or that.
Then I walk very quietly to Mom
Sit down and wait for Mom to notice me.
Other times I run down the road
As fast as I can.
Soon as I get to Mom, I start rubbing myself all along her legs.
Either way, Mom always stops and gives me really nice rubs and pets
Then Mom ‘gets to work’
Sometimes that means dragging the hose all over the lawn
Or loading up the wheel barrels with shovels, rakes, and the hoe
Other times it means Mom sits down on the side of the flowerbeds and starts grabbing the weeds
No matter what Mom starts doing I hang around with her
I hang around
And around
And—
This is so sooooo boring.
I don’t mind waiting and waiting if there is a mouse to torment
catch
But just laying in the shade, under a big leaf, waiting on Mom
IS—-
I’m done!
See you later, there are things to do, and mice to catch!
TLC Cai-Cai
I was finally outside running free, free, free!
I checked here
And there
And over here
Then back behind here
Down the road
Behind the grain bins.
I was just turning around to head back to the house for
BREAKFAST
When
I heard a ROAR!
Not just a roar, but
A BIG ROAR, ROAR
It scared me so bad I ran under some weeds next to Dad’s tractor shed
The ROAR got louder and louder
THE ROAR WAS HUGE
I made myself as small as I could get—keeping my eyes peeled on the sound
Then out backed Dad and the tractor
OH! Yes! The TRACTOR!
The scary thing that lives on the farm
Well, one of the scary things
Dad has five tractors—FIVE! And they are all huge, green, with giant tires that could smash a cat flat and LOUD!
I mean LOUD!
I slunk way down to the ground where I got so flat I was part of the ground.
Then I waited there. All still and tiny and flat.
As I watched, Dad fueled up the loud tractor, then headed toward the equipment area
That means the tractor, the VERY LOUD tractor has to go right by my hiding spot.
I made myself flatter and flatter
Whew!
Dad is gone!
I jumped up—all fluffy and my full size again—and dashed away, away from the tractor shed and all those potentially
LOUD TRACTORS!
As I was dashing away I saw Mom come out of the Backdoor—
MOM! I yelled.
WAIT! I need breakfast!
Mom waited.
Swooped me up, gave me a kiss on my kitty nose, and put me in the house
Where I got BREAKFAST!
Purrrr, purr, purr
TLC Cai-Cai
Life on a Colorado Farm 