Taught I Taw A Puddy Tat

We have long realized that our trees, poultry and felines receive far more appreciation as authors on the blog than Rob does - so it seemed like it was time to feature some of the Farm Supervisors and Office Managers at the Genuine Faux Farm.

Being the senior member of the current Outdoor Farm Supervisory Crew, we asked Soup if she would like to author today's blog.

Soup has been with us now for a few years and she was clearly one of those "take the cat out to the country and drop it off near a farmhouse" gifts that apparently some people provide when they decide a cat or dog is no longer good for them.  She has a tendency to stay close to the house and the immediate farm buildings and has never been much of a hunter.  Instead, she finds ways to be nearby, but not seen.   

In this post, she shows part of the motivation for lounging in - of all places - an old kitty litter bucket.  You see, she's usually ok with her fully grown son.  I mean, she remembers when he and his brother were pretty darned small.  But, he is a bit of a big lug sometimes.

When I asked Soup if she would like to write a blog, she declined.  

Well, actually, she walked away.  

I can take a hint, I guess.

We have had some... um... success getting some of our Outdoor Farm Supervisors to write blogs for us in the past.  For example, Cubbie was willing to help us out once in a while.

For example, she gave us this nice little interview in 2014 and I think there is another one we are reviving for next Thursday that might have been in one of our newsletters before we had a blog.  She even organized a "Sit-On" one Spring with Mrranda and the Sandman.

Cubbie lived to be a ripe old age and was the Mighty Huntress on the farm.  She taught the Sandman and Mrranda how to hunt, even though they were not her kittens.  Cubbie loved a really GOOOD skritching and would show her appreciation by purring up a storm and drooling all over you.  

Yes.  She drooled.  No getting around it.  Let's just say that we sometimes had to change our shirts during our three-shirt days on the farm because the cat drooled all over them...

Cubbie was not "original" to the Genuine Faux Farm.  You know, when your god-daughter asks you if you'll take her cat because they are moving into town and can't bring her outdoor cat along - what would you have done?  Yeah.  Us too.

Drool and all, Cubbie was a great cat.  A few Winters ago, we were preparing to bring the outdoor cats into the basement at the start of an extreme cold period.  Cubbie could not be found, even though we had seen her the day before.  I guess cats sometimes know when it's time.

Most of you who read the blog will not be at all familiar with Strider - our big tuxedo cat who roamed our homes as we moved from one place to another place to another place.  This poor, long-suffering feline wasn't fond of 'snorts' (big equipment), was terrified of repairmen, and loved watching his humans from a window as they worked in the garden.

Strider surprised us more than once with his intelligence.  He was big enough to reach up and turn door knobs and he shocked both of us one day when one of us asked, "I wonder if cats can wink?"  And Strider promptly winked at us.  At another point we noticed some flies buzzing against the screen door and one of us wondered out loud if cats would eat a fly.  Once again, Strider obliged.

We're not sure if that showed intelligence or ... something else... you can decide.

He and his sister, Eowyn (gee I wonder where we got those names?), were added to our family not long after we were married.  They actually prompted one of our first attempts to build ANYTHING when we constructed the Almighty Perch!  

Looking back, it is actually pretty amazing that these two actually survived all of the moves, home remodeling efforts and other shenanigans we were involved in until we actually landed at the Genuine Faux Farm in 2004.  

Eowyn was nicknamed "Bat" (short for acrobat) for her leaping abilities.  But, she also looked a bit like a bat when she faced you.  She was a tortoise shell kitty, but her face was very dark and her ears were a bit bigger than the face seemed to call for.  I think she took delight in nibbling off her brother's whiskers when she cleaned his face.

"Take that smarty-boy!"

After Strider left us, Eowyn kept us company for a couple of years until she too went to visit the Almighty Perch in the sky.   

After a brief stint by Cocoa and Rosie (my brother & sister-in-law's cats), we recruited two new Indoor Office Managers when Hobnob and Bree joined us in 2010.

What you see above is the last time Hobnob seemed to pose to allow us to take a photo of her.  Normally, she gets a picture taken when she is grumpy and just not willing to walk away from the photo.  Tammy is definitely her human, but she isn't afraid to demand attention from either of us.  She has this abrupt way of doing things too.

Time to sit?  Plop.  Time to leave a lap?  Just go, no need to stretch.  Being invited on to a lap?

Well, she does like to walk around the chair several times until it is clear that the human is about to give up in that case.  THEN, she'll jump up.

Bree has claimed Rob as her human.  We tried to avoid this situation by being very careful not to show favoritism when they were little.  That experiment didn't seem to matter.  Both of them, when they were kittens, required soothing to get them to go to sleep at night.  I tend to believe that kittens can be influenced by some particular event early in their lives to 'imprint' on a particular human.  I have no idea what it would have been and neither Bree, nor Hobnob, have offered any insight.

Bree is especially good at finding a nice Sun Puddle and then leaving it in time to attend nearly every Zoom meeting Rob has to be involved in.

Many of you might not remember that we brought a Farm Supervisor with us when we first came to the Genuine Faux Farm.  Doughboy was one of the friendliest outdoor cats we've ever met.  He was a kitten at the farmhouse in Decorah that was part of one of Pandora's litter.  Ya, she had the kittens in a box - why'd you ask?  

We initially dubbed him the World's Cutest Kitten (WCK), but then Pandora took the litter to a neighboring farm and left them there.  She returned so she could have peace and quiet with us, I guess.  However, it didn't work.  The WCK found his way back and was then dubbed Doughboy (or DB).  

People who came to some of our earliest GFF gatherings might remember being warned to watch their food.  He was expert at snagging things off of plates!

We were graced for a time with two excellent Farm Supervisors who came to us as kittens in 2012.  The time was right as far as their arrival and our presence with the blog and they both became "stars."  Well, ok, people seemed to like hearing about them.

Mrranda was at her best when we featured her efforts to help Tammy roll up electric poultry netting.  Never had another cat do better in that department!

Mrr had a tendency to be just a little wild sometimes - doing things we would have rather she didn't - like climbing on TOP of one of the high tunnels.  Let's just say we discouraged that one because we did not need to replace the plastic all that soon!  She also liked to untie Rob's shoes to get him to stand still and give her the attention she desired.  

Or maybe she was just trying to trip him up.

Then, there was the Sandman.   The Sandman loved the spotlight.  He liked to pose for the camera.  He liked to hitch a ride on Rob if he was crawling along a row weeding.  He especially liked to dispense his wisdom.

In short, he was the perfect Spokescat for the farm.  Mrranda served as the Farm Supervisor while the Sandman took a position in Public Relations.   

Both cats had a tendency to disappear for a day or two at a time, but always came back.  But, the time lapse for Mrranda just got longer and longer... and we had to assume she had met her demise in some fashion.  We're pretty certain it had to be with a certain amount of flair.

A year or two later, the Sandman also retired.  Which left us without a Spokescat - and forced Rob to write more of the blogs.

And so we turn to the Inspector.

Ok.  So, the Inspector has a different vibe to him.  And, he has no dignity - or so it seems.

He has been willing to take questions and actually give answers in the past so we could post them on the blog.  He even has a quick video interview in this one.  So, he may have some ability to serve in the Public Relations field.  However, he doesn't actually seek out the limelight as much as the Sandman did.

He also doesn't really supervise like Mrranda did either.  Perhaps she was too much of a micromanager?  (Hey!  Your shoe's untied! Ha!)  The Inspector, on the other hand, is pretty laid back about such things.  He'll check in periodically - as can be seen here.  

Actually, he reminds me more of the supervisor who drops by to chat for a while, but actually never really does anything that you can observe.  Like that type of supervisor - who will leave after you give them the conversation they desire - he will move on once he's gotten the skritches he has need of.

The Inspector is not above a practical joke or two.  But, above all - he's just REALLY laid back.  

But, I suspect I can get him to answer some more questions - even if he won't muster the energy to write his own blog.  

What say you?  Do you have questions for the Inspector?