Important Duties

I posted a picture a few months back of a lovely cat who lives on our farm. We call her boots, because of the white sock on each of her legs. She is not one of our barn kitties (well, not officially), but she eats her meals in the barn (she's quite stealthy....eating only when I have left the barn), and I think she sleeps in the barn (I often hear a flurry of kittty footsteps up in the hayloft when I first come into the barn in the morning). She is always quite shy....I have been unable to get close to her.

On this particular morning, I returned to the barn after a visit to the manure pile. Underneath the old pine tree I saw......

I tried talking to her...enticing her with "Here kitty, here kikikikiki" in my highest pitched,

squeaky mouse voice. And this time, instead of running, she stayed. She started to dig a little hole.....

And then I realized why she didn't run. She had a little business to attend to....

fertilizing the old pine tree. She tidily covered up her little duty and then took off running. So much for socialization! Oh well, I will keep trying.