The Reindeer Keeper

The attached photo is misleading. This post is actually about a stray cat residing out back in the barn, but I can't get close enough to 'her' to get a good picture. Why did I choose to post a photo of yummy Creamsicles? Let me tell you the story. The old barn has housed many a stray cat. Most check in for a night or so then keep on moving along. We normally don't see them again. I'm sure some have homes with heat, food, and hopefully lots of loving but despite what they have, they like to wander. Go on an adventure, then head back home for a while before going back out around the neighborhood or, in our case, back out around the fields and old barns. Last year we really took to a particular stray. Every time I would see him, I would hurry to feed him in hopes he would stay around a little longer than before. It usually worked. It got to the point where he would come up from the barn to a certain tree. Then sit there until I brought food out to him. Eventually he di...

Pets make their way into our hearts and a family's legacy. They mark an era; bring tears and laughter and make great stories when remembered. Growing up in the country we were blessed with many little friends. Some were given names while some remained generic like "that" chicken or "the" pig. There was Pepper-a small kind of a dog hanging around the farmhouse when we were little. He was short with a long sort of a nose. He probably had been named Pepper because he had black and white fur with a tinge of butterscotch-an odd pepperish mix. There were two particular horses I remember hearing stories about when sitting around the kitchen table; remember being told which stalls had been their's but I can't recall their names. One might have been Molly. No particular barn cats come to mind although there must have been a few of them. After all there was a barn with haylofts and nooks and crannies. Barns are full of mice. Nearby stood a small grain shed whi...