Recently a friend of mine (who shall remain nameless) performed a covert operation in order to save a neglected and sick little neighborhood cat. The operation was coordinated by me and “nameless” under cover of darkness and behind the veil of secrecy because we are pretty sure that this little girl is “owned” by someone in the neighborhood. We think she has lived outdoors most of her life and she has a very bad skin condition that needed proper treatment. I told “nameless” that if she could catch her and bring her to me, I would get her well and find her a proper home. So I put my kitty carrier on the porch with some food in it, my friend came and got it and put the poor little kitty in the carrier and brought her to sanctuary.

This is called a “bed”? I think I like beds.

 She was very thin and scared. Plus her body was covered in sores. It was very hard to even find a place to pet her because of the many sensitive areas on her body. Fur was almost completely gone from her neck and her ears were so covered in bites that she looked like they’d been chewed up. I fixed up a little safe area for her in my office and she ate some food and seemed like she would eventually calm down. The next morning she was happy to see me and wanted to sit in my lap and be scratched. Scratching her was impossible without hurting her but I found a little place on top of her head without sores and she began purring as I carefully stroked her there.

Yes, I REALLY like being inside. Nothing tries to eat me here.

 I got an appointment for her to see Dr. Glasscock that day and took her for a check up. Dr. G said that sometimes cats and dogs get so flea-bitten that they develop an allergic reaction to the bites and their skin erupts in sores. Upon examination, she found out that she HAD been fixed. Whew! She gave her a flea/worm treatment plus a steroid shot and said that we should begin to see improvement soon. And we did. 🙂 The sores began to clear up almost immediately and it was easy to find spot where we could pet her and scratch her little body to her heart’s content. She is very loving and sweet. I named her Dinky because she’s so small. I want to find a good INDOOR home for her soon so please let your friends know about her.

A neighbor stops by for some kitty love.

She’s had a very rough beginning to her life and I want the rest of it to be wonderful and happy. Thanks in advance for your help.

My foster kittens have all gone back to the shelter to find “forever” homes.

This is Cindy, the Volunteer Coordinator for MHS and my personal hero.

I always let the babies climb a tree ONCE before they leave my house. It’s against the rules, but I don’t think it’s a Federal crime.–DO NOT read this part Cindy!

Mulder keeps a watchful eye on his pupils.

You can do it Big Stripe!!!

Look at MEEEEEEE!

What you don’t see is the poor kitty inside this boot.

I rescued him. 🙂

They had a lot of fun and learned a lot at the Kitten Ranch.

Rowdy instructs on the art of the perfect sunbeam

As always the kittens enjoyed a steady stream of young lady visitors.

These kids swim in an AMAZING gene pool!

My lovely pet sitter was sad to see them go.

And of course the other furry animal in my house will miss them too.

Little Stripe

But she knows it’s worth it for them to find loving “forever” homes.

TOTALLY worth it! 🙂

No wait, let me explain. If there is an orphaned chicken within 100 miles of me, she will find a way to make it to my back yard. As of last count, I’ve actually had 7 foster chickens (or ducks) in singles or pairs since 2012. No kidding. Complete strangers have called me and asked if I’m the “chicken lady” who lives in the Waters. I love the title and am happy an honored that folks come to me for help with homeless birds and animals of all kinds. Recently I got a call from my beloved vet, Dr. Lydia Glasscock (Goodwin Animal Hospital) and she wanted to know if I could take three urban chickens and a rooster, who could no longer stay in their owner’s city back yard.

Meet Mick, Opal, Emerald, Pearl & Barley

Mick had to relocate his pets and Dr. G said I could possibly help. So I switched into my SUPER CHICKEN LADY suit and started making some inquiries.

Farmer Jim & his “chick”

 My yard was not an option because at the time I still had my foster ducks and also because a rooster would not be a friendly addition to our neighborhood. I actually DO  know where to draw the line sometimes. 🙂 It took about a week but I found an excellent home for the birds so I called Mick to arrange the transfer. I arrived at his home in Highland Park (right in the city of Montgomery where chickens are actually LEGAL!) Just sayin’. 😦

Barley did NOT want to relocate!

Poor Mick. He was recovering from recent surgery and was having a tuff time catching Barley. Any decent person would have offered to help, but I ain’t gittin’ in no cage with a mad rooster! My mama didn’t raise no idiot. (OK back to good grammar)

Just WAIT til I get outta this cage!

I loaded up the Subaru with 3 chickens, one rooster, three bags of corn & feed and headed to Fitzpatrick, AL where my pals GT & Leigh live. See my recent post about their lovely farm. https://kittybunnychicken.com/2016/05/05/a-country-adventure/

They generously accepted the new chickens even though it’s usually tricky to get two roosters to live in harmony on a farm. They took their time introducing the new kids on the block to the rest of their flock and Voila! Here are some very nice pictures of the new feathered family members enjoying their new home.

Barley meets some of GTs ducks. Don’t they look just like Webster & Winnie?

Listen Pearl, just cuz there’s another rooster around here, don’t forget I’m the boss o’ you!

Groovy new chicken house!

The Jewel Sisters get comfortable. 🙂

So Mick you see, your chickens could NOT have found a better home with better peeps.

My heroes.

Part of me wanted to draw the blinds and shrink from all human contact today. Then I decided that would not be honoring my mom or my daughter on this Mother’s Day. Plus Hannah wouldn’t want me to wallow in self pity either. So here’s to my mommy, otherwise known as “Peg Peg” by all who know and love her.

Mulder loves her too.

My mom is a tuff bird who faces life with humor and spunk. She’s had some challenges in the last few years, but I admire the way she tries to see the good in everything. I wish I had her kindness and patience…and her cream puff recipe.

Hannah was Peggy’s first grandchild and they bonded like cement.

Hey, these aren’t cream puffs!

Most of her life folks would tell Hannah that she looked just like her daddy.

And I can certainly see the similarities.

But we had a lot in common too.

We both loved bunnies and animals of all sort.

The pictures below were taken exactly 25 years apart. 1964 & 1989. The one on the left is moi.

Notice, the pooched tummies, ruffly panties, covered in dirt and same hairstyle.

The only difference is I have brown eyes and Hannah’s eyes are green.

 And Hannah and I spent a lot of time alone together when she was little.

Taken when Jim was in Kuwait.

Halloween without Daddy. He was in Saudi Arabia.

He was in the United Arab Emirates this time.

Come to think of it…Jim took a bunch of long vacations to the Middle East in the early 1990s.   Wonder wazzup with that?

My last mother’s day was bittersweet. Hannah was home recovering from an illness and we were so happy that she was under our roof again. She spent some mysterious hours in her room secretly making a beautiful present for me.

bouquet made from Sculpey Clay

Sculpey clay is Play Doh for grown ups. She played with it for hours when she was girl, making animals, jewelry but mostly FOOD. She is a Burlingame after all.

Zoom in to see the pizza, cake, chips & salsa, sushi, hamburger and ice cream sundae. 🙂

Jim is taking me to brunch today to a restaurant in the country where we had one of our last meals out with Hannah. She loved it and I took a picture of her beaming over her salad.

Our girl REALLY loved good food.

I know it will be challenging to hold it together when the waiter wishes me a Happy Mother’s Day, but I’ll try hard to just smile and say “Thank You”.

So thank you Peg Peg for putting up with me for 53 years.

The Pegster

2010

And thank you Hannah for 27 Mother’s Days with your sweet and beautiful self. I’ll see you again some day. I love you, The Mommymonster

Mary Hannah Burlingame

My friend GT and his wife Leigh live on a beautiful hill in the country. We recently visited them and had a great afternoon hanging out with their lovely granddaughters and taking in the sights, sounds and smells of their rural kingdom.

A variety of chickens live quite the luxurious life here.

GT had recently taken a trip to the “critter” sale and come home with a couple of rare breeds of feathered fowl.

This little chick is most likely a Cochin and will grow up to have beautifully feathered feet.

And this beauty is a Wyandott. She has “lacy” feathers and is so pretty in the sunlight.

 GT has a large pond with a goose and some ducks in residence. He recently got some ducklings and built a tricked out floating home for them. This is a the bottom of an old pontoon boat that he modified to keep the babies safe in the water and able to eat food away from predators.

See the ramp going down into the water and up into the safety of the duck house? Ingenious.

Later we took a long bumpy ride through the woods to see some property GT is improving.

I’m pretty sure our driver wasn’t licensed. 🙂

He showed us an abandoned shed that housed a mamma buzzard and her baby.

Well they’re cute when they’re little!

Before we left he offered us some farm fresh eggs and of course we accepted!

GT it takes a real man to wear that shirt!

My friend GT is a renaissance man but he doesn’t know it. The guy can build and create almost anything. He wears the façade of a just a good hard-working country boy, but within his heart beats the soul of an Artiste! I should know. He built my house and it is a work of art. Thanks pal, and I’m out of eggs! 🙂