Another Mystery Solved

There is no more perfect sunrise (in my humble opinion) than that which happens each morning on the farm.  Although this one was not spectacular - it was still wonderful to witness it!

You have probably guessed by now that this is my happy place.

And theses precious little faces make me smile every single day.  (Please feel free to comment about how svelte Red is looking these days.  All of the equines have been receiving their hay after it's been soaking for a while to reduce the carbohydrate count in it.  "Easy keepers"  like donkeys, mini horses, and haflingers are always at risk for obesity and the metabolic disorders that accompany it.)

 Everyone is healthy - and - Life is good!

Today is a big day for these gals (and guy).  Because the temperature is going to be much lower, we will keep all of them in their yard, but lift the net that has separated them from the rest of the flock.  I'll document first introductions to share with you tomorrow.

Meanwhile, down at the pond... it is apparent that we are headed towards autumn as our daily duck count is increasing.  Yesterday we had 15 ducks awaiting their breakfast.  It looks like the feed store bill will increase as well!

While we were gone, there was an explosion of Roma tomatoes.  Yesterday, I roasted them with the intention of making spaghetti sauce.  Suddenly it occurred to me that one of my Kitchenaid attachments was was for making tomato purée.  It was a bit messy at first, but I eventually got into a rhythm, and ended up with a lovely pot of sauce.

 Although we have not been able to catch a photo of dear, shy Cheerio - the long-haired orange tiger cat that has made the farm his home for the past couple of years - we do catch a glimpse of him coming and going from the barn.  You might remember that earlier this year, we placed a game camera in the barn to see who had been eating all of the cat food - as more dry food was gone than our 5 barn cats normally consume.  In those photos, we saw Cheerio and another lighter yellow cat that we now call Creamsicle.  Over the past few weeks, we have had a marked increase in the amount of food consumed in the barn.  Fearing some wild intruders, we closed both the front barn door and the back door to keep any varmints from entering the barn.  As for the barn kitties - they are very adept at entering the barn either by jumping over the stall walls, or by sneaking down chutes located above the stall hay feeders.

As we do to solve all mysteries, we placed a game camera in the stall that houses the cat food.  Here are the culprits... caught in the act...

That's right... not one...

Not two...

but, three chubby raccoons have been mooching the cat food.  It's no wonder these critters have the facial markings of a bandit's mask.  They are most definitely chubby little four-legged, nighttime thieves!