Category: cats

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Day 5 at the farm …

Nico’s introduction to sheep and trees

My, what a busy life Nico has. He has now been introduced to the great outdoors and it’s all about ‘oooooh what are those BIG things’ and ‘how high can I climb’!

First it was the introduction to the sheep. He was very curious but decided that his side of the fence was the best option.

Next it was learning to climb trees; ‘ooo love this, tiz fun’, and for the next 20 minutes it was up and down, higher and higher.

A bit about Manx; these cats are very good at climbing even though they do not have a tail. These are not cats that have had their tails removed, they are born with a specific gene. To compensate for no tail they have extremely powerful back legs, long than the front legs which enables jumping, climbing and balance.

And sheep introduced to cows …

The neighbours dairy cows were put onto our paddock to help eat the long grasses. The cows are most interested in the sheep (but as they have 2 sheep in their own paddocks across the road, are not concerned about them).

Our mob on the other hand are …..’ ‘Maa baa, what are those BIG things, wez don’t like them’.

So a lot is happening here at present, watch this space for more antics from sheep and kittens. See you again soon.

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Day 3 with Nico …

We are adjusting to life with our kitten, Nico and he has bonded quite nicely with Leigh and me. His favourite place is either on the computer desk with me or on Leigh’s computer desk.

We took him go outside for the first time on Sunday as it was such a beautiful day, weather wise. He only explored to the extent of where we were standing and would chase leaves, do lots of sniffing and walking through the ‘jungle’ (the garden has lots of tall plants as you know).

After an hour though, it was nap time – ‘tiz very tiring being a kitten’. We will not open the cat door yet but he seems content to go outside when we do and come back inside when we have chores to do.

I am very impressed on how quickly he is learning ‘our routine’. Sleeps all night under our bed and is very quiet, gets up only when the first person rises. Follows either one of us around most of the day and naps nearby whatever we are doing.

The other ‘learning’ is to push the boundaries; “I can walk on the table, I can jump onto the bench” all no-no’s in this house – with a ‘no’ and distraction to something more interesting such as a ‘ball’ to chase, he is learning quickly.

It will be interesting to introduce him to the sheep but that will be much later. Well time for me to return to chores while ‘Nico’ has a nap. See you again soon.

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Our newest member the family …

Remember back in December I said that we were going to get another Manx kitten; well he’s finally arrived. We have named him Nico (said as Neko, a Sicilian name). As cute as a button and already making sure we are ‘his family’.


Tired from the long trip (to Hamilton airport at 6am to Christchurch airport by 8am then home to Springfield 9.45am. and running around getting familiar with his surroundings in the house, he finally went to sleep about 3pm (just like having a baby around again).

‘The Manx cat (/ˈmæŋks/, in earlier times often spelled Manks) is a breed of domestic cat (Felis catus) originating on the Isle of Man, with a naturally occurring mutation that shortens the tail. Many Manx have a small stub of a tail, but Manx cats are best known as being entirely tailless; this is the most distinguishing characteristic of the breed, along with elongated hind legs and a rounded head. Manx cats come in all coat colours and patterns, though all-white specimens are rare, and the coat range of the original stock was more limited. Long-haired variants are sometimes considered a separate breed, the Cymric. Manx are prised as skilled hunters, and thus have often been sought by farmers with rodent problems, and been a preferred ship’s cat breed. They are said to be social, tame and active. An old local term for the cats on their home island is stubbin. Manx have been exhibited in cat shows since the 1800s, with the first known breed standard published in 1903.’

Wikipedia.
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January 2020 – my goodness what a start …

While having a lazy few days at the start of the new year, I am thinking about all our friends and family in Australia. The sky here is clouded with smoke from the bush fires of Australia so much that I have stayed inside these last two days.

Today we had rain and so is starting to clear our skies. The photo doesn’t accurately describe what we are seeing, the mountains have faded to a grey/pink sky and the sun is a watery circle. You can smell the smoke in the air and it is hard to see to the bottom of the road.

A little snow still on the Torlesse Range

Comparing the two photos you will understand a little of what we see. Our thoughts are with our neighbours across the ‘ditch’.

The other processes underway are the cutting and drying of the Grosso lavender, making lavender infused oil with the 2018 dried lavender plants, continuing with the knitting of the jersey for next winter, giving the flock tasty new grass to eat, oh and purchasing a bed and toys for the newcomer who will be with us at the end of January.

Happy holidays to you all and we’ll chat again soon.

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Last day of the decade – Happy New Year to everyone

Well another year has almost finished. It is this time of year that I like to look back to see what I have done in the year; the highlights and the challenges.

For me, the highlights were:

  • Learning the complete process of wool, from sheep to finished product
  • Making friends with other Gotland Pelt breeders and being able to talk and discuss ideas and the challenges of shepherding
  • Learning how to spin the wool and creating my first piece of knitted product
  • Having a glorious holiday in winter at Lake Tekapo

The challenges of the year were:

  • Knowing when the sheep were having health issues; they are very good at hiding the fact that they are not well. This will always be my biggest challenge, not just for this year. Luckily I have a great vet who doesn’t mind me ringing up for a chat and who is willing to help a ‘novice’ shepherd.
  • Keeping up the maintenance of the farm is another challenge; getting the jobs done and keeping everything ticking along is a full-time job but also a good job to have.
  • Thinking about the long term aspects of the farm is also a challenge; do I buy a ram for the flock, or do I lease a ram, or buy stems? These questions have been going around in my head and in discussions with Leigh for the best part of the year.
  • How do I promote the fleece from the sheep, where are the outlets for my products? These are all valid questions which I hope to answer in the new year.

The sad parts of the year:

  • We have had a very sad year in terms of our pets; Lacy, our lovely girl died in June at the age of 18. I hope she had a good life.
  • Pippin, our Manx cat, born in 2006 also died this year, this was very sudden.

Looking forward to 2020 we will have a new member of the family join us: We are still thinking of a name. He is a Manx also and is from the same breeder as Pippin. He will be joining us at the end of January 2020.

I hope you all have a great new year and a safe one and I look forward to sharing my story about the birches, the farm and the animals with you all in the coming year.

Best Wishes for 2020