Must Have Been the Full Moon

 It is getting a bit frosty in these parts, and that of course means adding warm and cozy things to our surroundings, and certainly their is nothing more warm and cozy than little fur baby kittens. On a blustery November day I climbed to the top of a hay loft of a local farm with some friends and all six of our little hooligans with the intent of helping just one of these said friends pick a kitten. That, of course, is not what transpired. Now, you might not guess, but catching a kitten in a hay loft is more than a little tricky. There was random farm equipment and hay bales stacked every which way for them to nestle in, and their mama's tried to divert our attention away from their precious babes in anyway they could. It didn't help that the children were half-haphazardly traipsing around trying to catch them too, but of course only making them run farther into the labyrinth. Finally, someone herded the children out of harms way, and another clever Mama rounded up some milk to lure them into our kitten trap. I must say, it did feel quite villainous trying to trick them away from their families with tasty milk. But finally, we were successful in catching the sweet little black kitty you see below, a kitty who resembled my beloved Terrapin far more than I could take. My friend was looking for a female kitty, and I'm not sure why I didn't promptly put him down, but I didn't. Another kitty was caught, also a boy... a roly-poly fluffy grey fella. And another friend held this one, and was quickly smitten. But we still didn't find a female, so the search went on. A second grey male was found, and I held them both in my arms and they seemed to snuggle together for protection. Finally, the elusive female was caught... another grey darlin'. What were we to do? They were so sweet, so cozy, so purrr-fect (couldn't resist), and back down the ladder we went to a barn full of cows that did nothing to dissuade us! Four kitties found new homes that day. Ours had to drive home in a large purple bag. Two? Yes, they were a pair... I wouldn't dare separate them. Sneaking them in the house was another story. I think Jake was more than a little surprised at the adoption. There were certainly twinges of guilt at my impulsiveness, but it quickly fell away as they showed us that they were happy to be with us too!

I'd like to introduce you to the newest members of the Wildwood gang, from left to right, Banjo and Kazoo! And while Banjo does bare a resemblance to my dear lost Terrapin, they are distinctly their own kitties, which pleases me immensely because I could never replace him, only find more room in my heart for love.