Good-bye and Good Night

Our kittens are old enough now to find new homes, which I started working on thanks to the impetus of a neighbor who loathes cats. That's a story I am not going to share, but I did want to share how we have found a home for one of our kittens, Sparky. She is the light orange, stripey kitten and the only one of the three with the normal number of toes per paw. I put up an ad in the KSL Classifieds last weekend and we got a call Sunday night asking if it were an okay time to come over to see the kittens. I agreed, and when the family came we noticed some amazing coincidences with our families. They have four children, three boys and a girl in the same birth order as we do. They keep chickens and have a mouse problem (hence the need for a cat). We have chickens (even if they're aren't laying now). And they wanted an outdoor cat that would be happy living in the garage and was litter-box trained. Well, I think Sparky was made to order. They happily carted off the cat and left behind two very weepy children. Evan and Bronwyn started talking about Sparky as though she had died, saying they would at least get to see her again in heaven and even though she was gone they could still pray for her. Both of them cried for about half an hour over Sparky's departure. I reassured them that Sparky had gone to a great home with people who would love her and hold her. I also told them that Sparky had an important job to do for them, that they really needed her. That helped them a bit, and as the days have passed they are mentioning her less and less. I've decided we could keep Ginger, but we still need to find a home for Snowshoe, our orange and white cat. So if any of you know a home where she would be loved and needed, let me know!

The gorgeous weather we have been having coaxed me back outside to try putting my garden boxes to bed. I spent Tuesday raking up leaves around my yard and my neighbor's yard to pile in my garden boxes for mulch. I mucked out the chicken coop to spread manure and pine shavings on top of that to compost over the winter. I was so proud of myself! And last night it started blowing fiercely. There is a storm coming in today. It's still blowing. There are leaves all over my backyard now, but very few left on my garden boxes. Sigh. Do I get points for trying?