Update on Snake

What an amazing time we have had raising this little bundle of joy.  When he came into our lives he was only 2 weeks old and by all rights too young to survive.
On the third night, we had a terrible scare, Snake was so gravely ill we had to take him to the vet at midnight.  During the day we had been given bad advice about putting him onto powdered milk formula.  Sadly it nearly killed him.  It took a lot of hard work and tender loving care to save his life. ( a big thanks to Jenni the vet, she was wonderful).
Now a 4 week old, he has gone through some incredible changes.  He got all his teeth in one day and promptly began to chew and bite us. Next he found out he could run,  hmmm , now we also run..after him.  Then he found out that long, skinny thing at the back of him would go side to side if he concentrated very hard. His tail wags all the time and he finds it such fun. Once his eyesight settled in, he began to play with toys much more and to chase us into the kitchen when we make his bottle.
This week he worked out if he runs to his feeding cushion and meows loudly,,we would make a bottle.  He also began to eat his big boy food.  In the form of soft kitten foods.  I was surprised at this because he still refuses to lap milk from a saucer.   He now goes to the bowl and taps it with his foot and meows for his meat.
When he gets dirty or his fur becomes a bit oily from the paraffin he has to take we have to bath him.. Imagine our surprise when he actually enjoyed it.  He now spends bathtime splashing the water and trying to catch the drops.  Tonight he began to stalk and chase his shadow.  The most curious little mite I have ever encountered.

                                      

I can only wonder what he will get up to next and am constantly pleased to see his little life prosper.

Rescuing Our Latest Family Member. "Snake" the Kitten

After a trip to town for supplies yesterday, I went out to water the gardens and clean the path down.
We have a lot of feral cats around here and one had parked beneath the tree in the yard.  So to make
it leave I gave it a quick squirt with the hose.
Upon doing this the cat moved and I heard a tiny squeak,  yes, you got it in one,  a kitten.
The mother cat, as it turned out had been bitten by a snake and brought her kitten to the yard for protection.  I got the impression she wanted it to be looked after, so of course, soft hearted Martha that I am, I brought the poor little mite inside and began to feed it with a dropper. 
Once the stores in town were open, I went in and got a proper bottle and teet to feed him.  He took to it pretty quickly and once fed settled to a deep sleep in my son's beanie.
Said son has become rather clucky with the kitten and we have decided to call him "Snake".

So, for me, it is back to night feeds and raising a young one. Oh for the joy of it all, looks like Snake is here to stay.

A week with Kevin the WWOOFER

Kevin is a 20 year old lad from France. His hometown of Llion lies between Paris and Merseilles.
When Kevin arrived here he had no experience with outdoor work or using tools.  In fact, Kevin is a student in Geography and Maths back home.
So in the time he had here with us, we had him clearing slashed grass, barrowing manure to the newest garden bed, feeding chickens and then got him using power tools during construction of the woodshed.
He was a quiet lad, possibly due to the language barrier.  However at the end of the week he did begin to come out of his shell a bit more.
During his time off, we took him to our usual places of interest in town, along with a few fishing trips at the channel not far from home.  He got his first taste of Australian bush food (as he called them), yabbies.  Kevin said they tasted lovely and would eat them any time.

We surely wish Kevin an enjoyable journey, while he is in Australia.