Murphy Tours the Farm

Murphy made sure that the farmers provided breakfast first, as Murphy always does - each and every morning.  She has learned that an effective Farm Supervisor (cat) must keep their energy up if they are going to keep the farmers on their toes.  

It is becoming clear to us that Murphy is going to be a smaller cat once she is fully grown.  While she is still a kitten there are signs that there might not be lots of physical size to be gained.  We've noted for some time that the tail and the head are a bit small for the rest of the body.  Now her proportions are... well... proportionate.  In other words, she has graduated to the status of "mini-cat."

The weather has become suddenly - and almost startlingly - pleasant, encouraging us to head outside to do chores and other farm tasks without jackets and coats.  We were even able to move onion,lettuce and other hardier seedlings out to the high tunnel over the weekend.  

On our farm, this is actually a momentous occasion that is met with gladness and resignation.  The positive vibes have to do with a growing season that is beginning to look truly possible.  And it's so much easier to care for the plants in the high tunnel than it is when they must be in our basement growing area.   The resignation comes with expanded responsibilities for the humans...  we won't speak for the Farm Supervisors.

Actually, our Farm Supervisors, going all the way back to Doughboy and Cubbie, have always seemed to like having the farmers out and about more often.  It might be the fact that they get more attention.  It might be that they, too, are also appreciating nicer weather.  I think it isn't hard to see how Spring weather might also be appreciated by our feline contingent at the Genuine Faux Farm.

Murphy, on the other hand, is finally getting the license to explore the farm in more detail.  Up until recently, she has resided closer to the farm house - bouncing back and forth between the Poultry Pavilion and the house.  During the worst weather, she's been in the basement of the house, of course.  Otherwise, she pretty much sticks close to our highest traffic areas, which are the paths that lead to and from anything that has to do with the hens. 

Even during those moments when I have taken a walk around the outside of the farm, Murphy has had some self-imposed limits as to how far out she would go.  This Monday was different.  She followed me out to Valhalla when I watered the seedlings that were there.  Then, she went with me to visit Crazy Maurice, the Weeping Willow (you can see her by the base of the pole in the picture above).

Maurice is awake and was actually pleased to meet Murphy.  You can see some evidence that Crazy Maurice is breaking his slumber by the nice yellow color we see from a distance.  But, if that is not enough, we found the buds swelling on his branches too.

According to the Old Oaks on the south side of the farm, Crazy Maurice is a positively hasty tree that is too willing to speak to non-trees - including farmers and, apparently, Farm Supervisors.  Although, there has been evidence that the Oaks are probably more fond of Maurice than they let on - but that's a story for another day.  After all, this post is supposed to be about Murphy - as she just reminded me a few minutes ago.

Crazy Maurice was actually pretty impressed with our littlest and newest Farm Supervisor.  There seems to be a gentle soul inside the body of this zippy, pouncy, little fur ball.  We've noticed it, and so did Maurice. 

Yes, she does take running leaps at Inspector and Soup.  Neither of the other cats like that much.  But, when she does make contact, it is actually pretty tame.  It's the difference between flag football or touch football versus tackle football.  She'll pounce and "tag" the other cat and then bound away.  She'll also back off if either Soup or Inspector turn and tell her with a hiss or grumble that this is not the time for it.

Probably the most humorous interaction thus far has been Murphy waving both paws in the air in front of the Inspector while he put a single paw up and waved it at her once.  Murphy then spun and bounded happily away.  It was almost as if she was celebrating getting the big lug to "play" a little bit.

Murphy is learning to test soil temperature and to determine if soil is workable.  The picture above shows her testing out an area in the plot we call "Middle Earth."  By my test, the soil temperature is still pretty chilly, but the soil moisture is about right to work it if we wanted to.  Murphy's conclusion on the other hand was that this process was interesting for only a moment.  

Then it was time to bound back to me and try to dart between my feet as I walked to the next location on the farm.

Murphy was also involved in this morning's farm tool inspections.  She's still a kitten, so her attention span wasn't really sufficient to complete any individual task.  But, I was pretty surprised by her willingness to involved in the entire farm walkabout.  Perhaps in the future, she'll decide she won't need to accompany the farmer everywhere he goes on these walking tours.  Or maybe, she will.

There's still plenty of cat to grow into.  It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.