I opened the door and there was Minnie feasting on a chipmunk. I had to step over her. Really I didn’t want to distract her. If she’s going to kill the chipmunk, then I’d prefer she eat it too.
I know the cats are eating well.
They do every spring and summer and show little interest in the dry cat food I put out for them twice a day. I’m grateful they show little interest in birds, it’s usually, mice, voles, moles, chipmunks and sometimes even baby rabbits.
But that’s their work.
Minnie and Flo are barn cats even if they now spend their winters inside the house. When we first moved to the farm Minnie left us a few dead rats. I haven’t seen anymore rats since that first fall when we moved here.
So even though I’d rather not have to witness Minnie eating a chipmunk or baby rabbit, I know I can’t choose which animals she kills and eats or get her to see my point of view.
When I came back to the house after feeding the animals, Minnie was sitting in my garden.
I put up a small fence around the front of the garden to keep the chickens and cats from digging up all the seeds I planted. And just yesterday I lined the back porch with my potted cacti to make a barricade to keep Minnie from peeing in it.
When I saw Minnie sitting in the garden I thought of how little control I really have.
Instead of getting upset, I put a couple more cacti in the line-up on the back porch and at the same time accepted that it may make no difference at all.
Nature has a way of humbling us humans. No matter how often and determined we are to control and destroy her, I believe, ultimately, she will survive us.
There was a wonderful program a few years ago titled something like “Earth after Man” or “Earth after Humans”. I take solace in the fact that the planet will survive us. I just hope we render ourselves extinct before we take our act on the road to the rest of space, as if we’ve earned the right to destroy the entire universe.
I remember the first time I realized that the earth would most likely survive us Jill. It was a great relief to me. I think the same about peoples idea of colonizing space, as if we have the right, I have no doubt we’d do the same thing.
Thank you, given the pollution in our environment it was a nice grounding reminder that Mother Nature is wise and able.
Ah, the perils of having outdoor cats! I remember those days…we were up to 9 of them at one point! Not much in the way of rodents got past those rascals. My sister’s current cat is a spoiled indoor princess and guess who gets to deal with the litter box–me! I sometimes get fed up with that chore. 🙂 I don’t know how you manage with all the donkey and sheep “stuff” Maria! All I can think is you must be very dedicated and strong!
It’s all pretty easy Fran for most of the time.
My ‘gardening humility’ came in the form of two goats. I had planted cacti along the pasture fence and it was growing beautifully, there were prickly pears to pick, beautiful flowers when in bloom…and then we got two goats. And they also loved every bit of that 150 feet of cacti that was growing along the fence! Needless to say I now look at the ugly pasture fence and realize it’s easier to live with the view then to keep refilling the ‘goat buffet’!
From what I’ve heard goat are always getting into trouble! yet still we love them. but I never thought they’d eat cacti!