FRANCIS'S BLOG 04/21/2026
Iris and Misty have fun with Mara and Mary 🐎
I’m not sure what must feel better—the ride, or the “spa treatment” they’re getting:
Sunny Friday! 🔆
This morning I pulled cow-watch duty:
So I had my breakfast outside:
You can’t take your eyes off cows for an instant! 🐴
Misty and Henry look after each other.
Henry and Misty spend more time together now that Stormy is at school.
His grayness must remind her of her son. Here they are this morning eating side-by-side. 🐎
You don’t have to live inside to have a cat pan. 😺
Zelda has converted one of our old feed dishes into her own personal fortress:
This way, she can keep company with the other kitties, without having to leap up when a shovel or broom comes threateningly close. 🐴
Julia is a wonderful horse-girl! 🐎
We all had so much fun watching Julia ride RC:
RC said she was a great rider, and he just loved her bright, confident smile:
She is our new best friend! 🐴
Stormy at school 🐎
Stormy catches a nap in his dorm room, after a day of performing very well for our Mary 💛
Anouncing a new arrival! 🐴
Luigi inspects Bill’s shiny new Chevy Equinox:
The verdict is in: “We love this car!”
”Nothing shows off paw prints better than black!"
Pooped-out ponies 🐎
Our steeds may snooze. . .
. . .but they never lose (if my legs were two feet longer I’d race the hooves off them 🐴).
Poor Pumpkin 😿
Poor Pumpkin pines, “No birds, no mice. How bored am I, you ask?”
”I’m watching you clean the stable!"
Stormy had a surprise this morning 🐎
Yes, you are, Stormy. We all got a little suspicious when Mara and Mary got you all prettied up and put you in a nice new coat:
They even gave you a new “tail-do”:
Here’s Stormy saying goodbye before Mara and Mary put him in the trailer. Since our truck is in the shop, we were so grateful that our friends Barb and Brian took him to Galva in their equipment:
Routine Maintenance 🐓
Ann, Mary, and Bill clean out the rooster house:
Even with this cold weather—stinky!
Trouble Brewing 🐓
Schrödinger faces off (for a while) with a rooster. Fortunately, he and all the kitties know not to provoke them.
Here is our Henry, looking good this morning! 🐎
Poor Luigi! 😿
Someone locked Luigi in the car garage last night!
From now on, he’s not going near that place without witnesses (Evil Cat’s guarding the door).
Henry, by the way, is feeling still better. Here he is standing with RC by the water tank this morning:
Henry spent the day outside! 🐎
He’s still taking it easy on his hurt leg, but he’s using it!
He will spend the night in his stall again, but we hope it’s the last time!
Here is our Henry, getting better. 🐎
Here he is, eating his hay this morning, as the sun rises:
Hopefully he’ll be well enough Sunday to join the rest of us again!
Here’s Henry in his “hospital room” 🐴
Henry looked ok this morning and this evening. He was very brave this morning when Mary gave him his shots, and made hardly any fuss. We all have been having our hay in the stable, so we can keep him company while he eats in his stall.
Henry’s only complaint is that he wishes the plug to his water bucket wouldn’t get mysteriously pulled so often. 🐎
Get well Henry!
Our poor Henry has a joint or tissue infection in his leg, and a temperature of 102. He saw the vet Thursday evening, and is resting in his stall, wearing a blanket because it’s so cold!
We love you, Henry! 💛
Itty Bitty Kitty 😺
Maybe it’s just me 🐴, but I think this picture makes Schroeder look like a little baby kitty:
Happy Birthday to Mary on Monday! 🐴
But today it was a dreary snowy morning. We all know the routine: (1) it stops snowing, (2) the temperature drops below zero, and (3) the wind whips 2” of snowfall into 2’ drifts.
But it does highlight how lovely pastel yellow are Ferdinand and Percy.
Kitties get some excitement! 😺
Two sparrows got caught in the rooster coop Thursday afternoon. Luigi, Kanna, Zelda and Schrödinger found this all quite stimulating:
Check out the video below. It may pay you to watch it twice, or expand it to full-screen, to better track the sparrows along with “us.” They got caught of course because food is inside and the door stays open while the roosters are free-ranging. Most of the time they escape, but not today. You may notice that in my YouTube comments I said the sparrows eventually escaped (to fend off the “oh, how could you?” crowd)—which is technically true:
They did escape, but Schroeder saw to it that one didn’t get far:
