FRANCIS'S BLOG 04/18/2026
Anya’s settling in (video) 🐴
Good morning!
Sophie is showing Anya around her new home with Mary in Mason City:
Here they are in the backyard:
This is Anya’s first snow! 😺
Cute baby kitty eyes (video)! 😺
Good morning!
We’re still all a-buzz about Anya:
But now she’s on the way home to Mason City, with Mary and Sophie:
All the excitement at the farm has both Anya and Sophie tuckered out!
Anyway, the babies eyes are open:
So cute! 😺
SUCH AN EXCITING DAY! 🐴
Good morning! I know I thought we might not be back until Sunday. . .
But we had to hurry home and introduce—ANYA! ❤️
A new Borzoi puppy for our Mary, and a little sister for Sophie!
And Dukie!
We’ll tell you more about Anya in subsequent posts—but right now we’re so excited, we don’t know where to begin! ❤️
We should be back Sunday (with a surprise)! 🐴
Good morning. We’re back to cloudy weather (Onslow says Good morning, too):
As you well know, no matter how shiny clean the cats’ water bowl is, they always end up drinking rain water. Buttons is no exception:
Hey, Tails, how did you lose that chunk of hair?
“I snagged a little hair on my way down the stable wall to nurse my babies. . .
But I’m ok!” 😺
Kitten news! 😺
Good morning! The sun’s back out. And Tails has some news for us!
“Indeed I do, Francis. . !”
“One of my kittens has opened its eyes!”
“I’m sure the others will too, very soon.” 😺
Cats will be cats 😺
Good morning. We seem to keep bouncing back and forth between sunny and rainy:
Onslow has just had a drink:
And Betty has caught a bird!
As you know, all our kitties practice “catch and release!” 😺
I wish they made one of those in MY size (and a video)! 🐴
Good morning. Will this nasty wind ever stop?
Jewel and RC say, “Good morning!” too:
Mini and Betty look so snug and comfy…
I figure that the horses and I would need a heated sleeping pad about TWELVE FEET BY FIFTEEN FEET! 🐎
Finally, we have the latest video of Momma Tails and her kittens. Tails, I’ve been telling the cat-cops to stop bothering you...
But they find your babies irresistible (I made them promise to leave you alone until at least Wednesday)!
Rain is better than snow 🐴
Good morning. We’re looking forward to a rainy week:
Jewel says, “Where are you going, Mac?”
“Oh, you’re running out to be with your friends.”
“Eat all the worms you want, but stay away from the budding grass—that will be horse food in a few weeks!”
Other than that, our friend, Jake, cleaned out the coops and put down fresh wood chips:
The chickens will have it nicely spread out by this afternoon. 🐔🐓
Two videos for Saturday! 🐴😺
Good morning! I have a couple of things to show you!
First, let’s take a peek at the baby kitties (Momma Tails will be right back to feed them, after she grabs a quick bite of breakfast for herself):
And here’s our latest YouTube video, in case you missed it. It’s of me, opening the door to RC’s stall:
Aren’t I clever? I figured out that opening the door was a two-step process. 🐴
Happy Friday (and a video) 😺
Good morning! Yesterday’s snow is gone:
The chickens are back under the manure spreader:
Mini is playing with her latest toy:
“It won’t be long until I pull off all these festive feathers, and I’ll be left with just the ribbons and bells.”
Finally, here we are, coming in to dinner yesterday evening:
I’m bringing up the rear! Did you see me slip under the fence? 🐴
Mini caught a starling 😺
Gray-Stray says, “Good morning! I’m looking a little grumpy because it’s mid-March and we’re still getting snow!”
You’ve got that right, Gray-Stray. I’ve had my fill of snow!
I see the chickens have found a dry spot:
Mini says, “Look everyone! I caught a bird!”
“That starling is frozen, Mini.”
“Really, Gray-Stray? I wondered why it was so easy to catch.” 😺
All HAIL broke loose! 🙀
Good morning. Oh, HAIL NO!
A short but nasty hail storm just blew through:
Just listen to this racket!
Go inside, Stormy and Jewel—I know it’s noisy, but you’ll stay drier. 🐴
Dust Busters! 🐔🐓🐔
Good morning! Pardon me while I have a drink:
The kittens are huddling together, keeping warm while Momma eats breakfast. She won’t be gone long:
On the other side of the stable, Martha has just laid an egg:
Inside the farm house, Tyrus is snuggling with Dukie:
Finally, let’s watch the chickens have a bath:
Bust that dust! 🐴
Snow? Please say NO! (and a video 😺, and we’ll be off tomorrow 😿)
Oh my, look at this:
Good morning! Did I hear a teeny tiny meow?
If you listen carefully, about halfway through, you might hear it too:
Keep your babies warm, Tails. 😺
What a good cat! 😺
Nasty windy morning 😾
Good morning! Jewel is eating from a bowl, like I usually do:
Why. . ?
Because her feed bin is just too easy to get to. 🐴
Love those kittens! 😺😺😺😺
Good morning! I’m happy to see you!
I don’t think we’ve had anybody lay an egg on the canoe before:
Anyway, let’s see how the babies are doing today!
Tails is a good mommy! 😺
Babies on the way 😺
Good morning! Our friend, Travis, is doing our hooves today:
But the big news is—Tails is having babies!
She found a place between the inner and outer walls of Stormy’s stall:
We think we have three so far—but stay tuned! 😺
Someone is “expecting!” 🙀
Jewel says, “Good morning! Sorry the camera caught me with my tongue out. I would never be rude to nice people like you!”
“Francis would normally greet you, but he’s busy ‘helping’ me with my breakfast (whether I needed him to, or not).”
“What are you looking at, house cats?”
“Oh! Tails is telling you she’s going to be a mother—AGAIN!”
“My goodness. . !
“The ‘blessed event’ looks to be very soon!” 😺
Cheer us up, Mother Nature! 😺
Tails says, “Good morning! The sun is lighting up my light copper eyes.”
Everything is glowing today, including me and Stormy:
The warmer temperatures are working their magic:
We know winter’s probably not done with us yet. . .
But the plants say “We can’t wait!” 🐴
Slow news Sunday 🐴
Good morning! Not too much going on today.
“It’s a nice day to get out and enjoy the sun,” says Eva.
Tiger says, “Why am I thinking the sun should be higher, Tyrus? I’m also a little tired.”
“The time changed, so we lost an hour of cat-nap.”
Birds, birds, and more birds! 🙀
Good morning! It’s crisp and sunny—let’s dry up some mud!
A sign of the season, the trees are full of noisy birds:
Speaking of birds, let’s check in on our most popular nest:
Two hens in the nest, plus one hen that is tired of waiting! 🐔
Snow and mud 😾
Good morning! It’s an “inside hay” day:
PLEASE let this be our last snow of the season:
Just when we dry out, we get more mud:
“Stormy, you’re muddier than me.”
“I don’t think I’m that bad, Jewel, considering all the rolling we’ve been doing.”
“Not from where I’m looking. . .”
“I’m putting in an EMERGENCY ‘BRUSH ME!’ request.” 🐎
We hear from Sophie! 🐴
Good morning! It’s crisp and sunny. We’re delighted that we’ve heard from our Mary, Sophie, and Willow!
You know we’ve had a little bit of snow recently with nasty wind. Mason City had wind too, but much more snow—two-foot drifts!
Let’s watch Sophie go out on the porch:
And here’s Willow, where it’s warm and cozy!
Cute kitty and pretty puppy! 🐴
Pitiful Puss! 😿
Good morning! It’s a cold, wet mess this morning, so we’re eating inside:
Tiger is exploring the bottom of this bucket. Why? We don’t know:
Buttons normally spends the night in the hay barn, as you know:
But it’s been so rainy, she spent the night in the tractor garage with the rest of the cats, so she wouldn’t get wet this morning:
Speaking of cats, Tails was elected to hurry up their breakfast:
Who could say no to that face? 😿
At least 3 chickens read yesterday’s post! 🐔
Rose says, “Good morning! RC and Stormy and I are bright-eyed and ready for breakfast!”
I’m ready too:
Tyrus and Greg are “helping” with the trash:
Yesterday we told you how the chickens have been laying eggs here, there and everywhere. Well, at least three Easter-eggers decided to lay eggs where they should:
I know 3 chickens who will get extra worms tonight! Of course, since we can’t tell one Easter-egger from another, everybody will have to get more worms. 🐴
Egg hunt! 🥚
Good morning!
Onslow is having a drink:
The chickens are ramping up their egg production:
There were 16 yesterday—that’s the most this year:
It would be nice if they laid them all in a convenient location, like the coops. 🐔
Nestless egg 🥚
Good morning! The ice is back for a day, but that won’t stop me smiling!
It looks like someone tried to lay an egg in that pan, but missed:
As I said, the ice is back, but it’ll be gone by this afternoon:
Mini loves to explore the tack room:
Onslow says, “It’s a great place to spend the night, Mini. It’s heated and air conditioned.”
“But you have to hide from the cat-cops, or they’ll kick you out.” 😺
Don’t look at me, Rose 🐴
“Good morning!”
“I have something to show you on my left haunch.”
It wasn’t me, Rose.
Oh, Ann is in Florence. . .
Say hello to David for us, Ann. 🐴