Raising the roof!

HOME SWEET HOME with a new roof!

It doesn't rain often here, but when it does, we get some pretty wicked winds with impressive thunder and lightening! We've had roofers out 3 or 4 times to repair the roof when the wind blew off shingles and leaked through to the ceiling. So we knew we'd have to have it replaced!

The roofers started almost as soon as the sun came up! Here you can see the old roof (the ORIGINAL roof) and they applied the new shingles on top of the original roof after they inspected and repaired any problem areas.

The installation took about 3 days with the whole crew working till mid afternoon in 100 degree heat.

Then the boss man would come back and work till dinner time (about 7 pm) before he'd give up and go home.

Here's the back view of the new roof, and the color goes quite nicely with the brick!

There's also progress on the hen house. Mike worked quite a few mornings before the temperature outside reached into the 90's and low 100's - making and installing his trusses!

Then it came time to do the roof! As you can see, it has a metal roof and interior walls. It too should last for a long time without leaking and without giving the chickens a chill! Now for the siding - dependant of funding for the lumber purchase!

It's a CAT-tastrophe!!

This has been a terrible week in kittendom! Last Sunday morning I had a full complement of kitties, short 2 with new homes. By Friday morning, I was minus 4 kitties! (Three 14 week old kittens and Mama Kitty!!!) Now I have these eight little orphans - just 4 weeks old. Last Sunday, we saw 5 or 6 buzzards fly off as we approached about 1000 feet down the road on our way to church. We tried to spot what they had from the car but saw nothing. It wasn't till I went to feed my brood, that 2 kittens (little white spotted male and 'Bibs' pictured below) failed to report when called. They ALWAYS come for meals. They weren't there the next day either! Then we wondered about those guilty-looking birds. My 2 boys loved chasing bugs in the living room window in the evening when we were watching TV!

On Tuesday I went to do my Pink Lady duty and when I came home, there was a buzzard eating something at the intersection of our road! When I got home, I took a kitten count and couldn't find my beautiful, most loving, Red. The fur on the road has confirmed his demise!

Then Friday, Mama Kitty was NOT waiting for breakfast and she wasn't under the porch with her kittens! By noon I knew something was really wrong because she's the BEST mom and would NEVER leave her kittens for hours! I can only guess that she came to the same end as the others. I thought she was safe because she was bigger, street-wise and feisty. When attacked from above, I suspect one is helpless with nowhere to instantly run for shelter! Here's Kitty just after she adopted us (Feb 2008) - I think she was pretty young there. To the right is Little Kitty, fulfilling her role as an awesome mom!!

It breaks my heart to say goodbye to my babies! I'd so much rather have found them homes. The little white one had a new home for a day, but it didn't work out for him.

For now, I'll be Mama to the babies, but I can't do near the good job that Little Kitty did!!!