Another one of those Christmas Letters

[altivo]

Fuzzy Bear Farm
December, 2005

Hey Folks, Happy Holidays from all of us here on the farm. I’m called RikkiToo and I got delegated to write to you this year. The sheep insist they can’t do it because they only have hooves, but since two horses managed it last year I think they are just trying to skip out on the responsibility. Anyway, we had a discussion about it and everyone decided I should do it.

Those of you who are interested in those big clumsy-foots called horses may be interested to know that Miss Dawn departed for her own place last spring. She was getting too uppity and didn’t seem to want to take any advice about behavior, so she got shipped off to a place where there are other horses who will put her where she belongs. I think she has a lot to learn, but she’ll turn out all right one day. Her mom, Tess, was kind of unhappy at first but then I think she decided that having all the grass in the pasture and all of Gary Lee’s attention for herself wasn’t so bad after all. Here is Tess "in jail" waiting to be let out in the morning.

If you ask my opinion about it, all horses seem to do is stand around and eat, anyway. Fortunately, they eat stuff that no one else wants. Except maybe the sheep. There’s some sort of rivalry between them, though it seems to me that a horse can easily out-eat any sheep. Just look at the size of them, after all. As you can see here, they don’t do much otherwise, so they have lots of time for eating, eating, eating. Of course, Archie here will tell you that I’m just prejudiced because I share living quarters with the sheep while he and his brother Asher live in a separate barn, but that’s not true. I’m friends with the bunnies who live in that other barn, so I get all the word about what goes on over there. And most of it is just eat-eat-eat. You can see me here chatting with my friend Buster. He keeps me well-informed, even though he’s a bit shy about talking to anyone else. That’s why he’s hiding behind the feed bin in his cage and you can just see the top of his head.

The sheep really are my special friends too. After all, they let me sleep in their lambing pen most of the year when they aren’t needing it. I don’t mind too much having to move out when the lambs are due. They’re so cute and bouncy they are fun to play with. Besides, they are more a suitable size. I keep eating more myself in order to try to get bigger, but somehow I only get wider and not taller. Still, the sheep don’t seem to mind me hanging around. I keep some of the mice and birds out of their hay. Well, it’s the horses’ hay too, I guess, but I kind of like the sheep better. They’re not so snooty about things. No one, and I mean no one, can look down their nose at you the way a horse can. Here I am with Salt, one of the first lambs born here three years ago. As you can easily see, he’s not snooty like those horses are.

Since I make it my responsibility to patrol the whole place against intruders, I get to see nearly everything that happens. The neighbors on the west side finally built a henhouse with a fence, so their chickens don’t come scratching around here any more. Unfortunately, they haven’t built a fence to keep their dogs in line, so the two mutts keep wandering around, even right in my barn. Speaking of scratching, I’ve taught the little one (his name is Gus, but he looks like a Toto to me) about scratching all right. All I have to do is look at him right and he runs away with plenty of yelping. The neighbors on the east side, now (that’s the lady who trims five acres to look like a golf green) have cats as well as dogs, and yes, I’ve been known to sneak over to visit and sometimes steal a snack. You have to keep track of the enemy, I always say.

I will admit that not all the birds are as obedient as I’d like. Those chickens were a problem, they just didn’t seem to care what I said to them. We have some ducks here that are much the same, but there’s a difference. They have their own pen, and they stay in it. As far as I can see, that’s the way it ought to be. Birds that cross my territory are either potential food or invaders. And I don’t care for invaders. The two dogs here on the farm aren’t much help, since they are also behind a fence all the time. Of course they have one advantage, and that’s that they get to sleep in the house. But obviously they aren’t trusted to patrol territory on their own, and I have to do that for them. On the whole, I think I can settle for a warm spot on top of the hay as long as I have the freedom to check up on everyone.

Oh yes, and eat. Even I have to do that sometimes. It’s dinner time now, as a matter of fact. So I’ll wish you a Happy New Year and all that traditional stuff. Let’s chow down!

--RikkiToo

Comments

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

Awww ^^ That's cute !

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Not terribly informative though, typical for a barncat. Last year one of the horses wrote it, which gave a somewhat more "elevated" viewpoint.

[kamodragon.livejournal.com]

I had some friends that had Baboons (yes red butts and blue noses) that used to write letters too. Baboons are a bunch of monkeys when it comes to writing letters, cats are so much smarter >..o

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Last year a horse wrote it. ;)

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

So this year, we get to hear from the brains of the operation, eh? Except RikkiToo doesn't seem to care much about what the humans have been doing. Typical feline. :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

He's a rather peculiar feline, but yes, you've got that part right. The doings of humans interest him only if it's time to eat (it always is in his opinion, which you can probably tell from his not-so-girlish figure) or if it means he might get rubbed and petted. He is extremely friendly to humans, but crotchety about dogs or other cats.

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

Our cat wrapped a few presents this year, and wrote tags. Badly in both cases. On top of that, he's the sort of present-buyer who will happily say "Aw, you don't like beef cat treats? What a shame. I'll take those back off your hands..."

On the other hand, he got a beautifully wrapped box of catnip from his friend - glitter, heart-shaped cutout for the tag, everything. That took me Ziggy entirely too long to confect.

And then there was my dad's house, where the dog managed to giftwrap a bag of dog biscuits for his mummy - except he got the wrapping paper inside out.

nergye and I reckon the animals did best of all in the present stakes this year...!

[pioneer11.livejournal.com]

Awr! I have a cat that looks exactly like that! But he's a bit
more trim.

I have to go, he's merrrowing down the steps, he might see
life as a barn cat and run away.

^_^

[kamodragon.livejournal.com]

I was reading some of your older posts... you have a wonderful family! I hope for the day I can have so many animals romaing about my land... Lucky 'tivo!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yes, and don't think I'm not thankful that I finally got to here. It took about 35 years of planning and waiting. I still wouldn't be able to do it except for my mate who helps so very much with the chores and animal care. We've been together for 23 1/2 years now. During the first part of that, he had dogs, birds, and cats, and I just went along with it. But he always knew that horses were my craving and finally the day came. We've had a couple of slight rough spots over how much work they take, but fortunately never a problem over the cost. Miss Dawn had to go last spring, she was making him so paranoid he was starting to be afraid of all the horses. I think we've gotten past that now and things are getting better again.

The land is paid for because we first bought a house in Chicago and lived there until the mortgage was paid off. Then we sold it and used the money (it had appreciated in value a fair amount) to buy our five acres and buildings. Of course the taxes and insurance are almost as bad as mortgage payments were on the house, so we don't get off for free by any means. ;p

[kamodragon.livejournal.com]

I know you are greatful by your general attitude and disposition. I think you are an interesting and very neat hoss! I can only hope to have a stable mate like you have someday and by all means, land and horses... Its nice to see others already there and doing well...

Eep!

[favouritewindow.livejournal.com]

I must have missed something. What did Miss Dawn do to make him nervous ?

Re: Eep!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Poke back into my journal for last April for details. Dawn was getting too obstreporous for us, and finally I sent her off for a month of training where she'd be with other horses who wouldn't indulge her the way her mom did. She returned much improved, or so we thought, but within a week she was being really obnoxious. Pulling stunts like charging you from behind as if to knock you down and run over you, or rearing up over you when you tried to lead her on a line.