Some of the things I learned in Cheddahville

This is Maine in fact-my very own dooryard complete with out of commission minivan!

This is NOT Maine!

I have learned many things in living here only five and half years. The first thing that I learned was how much people up here do not like "Flatlanders". So, within the first days I lived here-I made a mad dash to change my license plates from Massachusetts to Maine. Whew! however, since it is such a small town, they knew about me already and still have to prove that I am not a typical Flatlander. I used to dress up just to go into town (I always did before moving here). That was one of the things that made me stand out! Now I wear the usual jeans and sweatshirts etc... hair up in scrunchie .

People love to call the Sheriff's Department on me for some reason or another. One time was when I had some friends up from Massachusetts in the middle of February and had hiked out to my field on the side-found it was too windy and the snow was too deep. We then meandered (carefully without snow shoes and falling in several times) down to the field out back. I was inside cooking when I looked out my window and found a sheriff outside with a wide brimmed hat. There is no local police in town and we have to rely on Farmington Police or Franklin County (which leads all of the way to Canada) Police for help, and sometimes the Maine State police. The sheriff told me that they had received a complaint about the gunshots from out back. Many people target shoot out of their yards up here (and even from their windows!) and there is always a lot of that going on-not to mention the hunters out back in the fall each year! We make sure to wear orange when just out walking the dog and I even put orange scarves on my sheep out in the field. There is also the necessity of protecting our livestock from predators which still roam the Maine woods-like Fisher cats, wolves, Coyote etc... The sheriff seemed very upset to have been bothered when the proper paperwork was produced and after the long trek to my back field-he wanted to call for a snowmobile to rescue him! He rolled his eyes at the whole matter since he was called out here before for other stupid matters.

When I asked one of my neighbors why they hated us (Flatlanders) so, he responded it was for many reasons. The first was that people from my area move up here and buy out all of the land (because there is not much left on my home turf and most other places). Then they ("people from away" (anywhere other than Maine), mention how much they love the land and its natural beauty and are fast to close it all off and if a section is open to the public-they charge people to see it. This, understandable is very upsetting and sad. When more property is purchased by people from out of state the already insane property taxes go up drastically and drive out people who have been here for generations. Farms that have been held and maintained for many generations had to be sold-because they could no longer afford to pay those radically raised property taxes. There are also the slowly encroaching subdivisions that have wandered up here from the farms that had been bought out or when people had to sell their property parcel by parcel to survive. Alas, that is the story of America! It was just kept from here until the last decade or so. Probably because people like me, who had never heard of this area before had found these same farms on the Internet! I think over the years they have slowly accepted me and realize my intentions are pure. But, there are always my neighbors who still do not seem to like me! I have moved up here to have a farm and to become self sustaining from the food from my garden and the wool items from my sheep.

Most people here have small farms and raise their own meat. This is a new culture which I would love to someday do, but have not grown up around it. They raise chickens-called broilers (usually 1 a week) and then beef cattle and pigs for pork and bacon etc. you know exactly what is in the meat and it is very healthy and tastes way better than supermarket meat which is processed, and pumped with hormones and who knows what else! There is also the small farms with fresh milk,which I have never tried before moving out here. I purchased local milk for while and only had to bring a jug to scoop it out in! There are also the local farmer's markets all over the area and many road stands of the surplus from farms all over. I still have an issue of bringing the animals to slaughter that I have raised from a baby and would probably name and treat as a pet! I still have the suburban mentality in that aspect-though hope to change it!

Also, the businesses that come up here. For example Wal-Mart. Due to the severely low pay index of the area most people who live here are forced to shop there since that is the most that they can afford. Including me. However, the low prices drive out the local farms, since they are not able to charge competitive prices against them. Thus, the small farms are forced out of business.

It is so rural up here that you have to be tough to survive this climate and very creative as well. Most people who live here are very geared toward the outdoors and very little keeps them inside-all year round. In the winter, there is the plowing and shoveling just to get out of our houses and in the Spring, the fields need to be tended and gardens started. I sheer my sheep and put them out to pasture. I am always fixing the fences due to their constant breaking out of them. Then there is the fire wood for the winter, that needs to not only be chopped down, but split and stacked in the basement or woodsheds for the winter.

There is also ice fishing (which a lot of people do). Most of the people up here also use this as a time for getting very drunk and sitting in heated shacks dotted all over lakes. There are always pics of this passed around work of the latest foray on the ice. I never see that many pics of fish caught on those photos-or very rarely. I still have not done this. (Update from Papa Skddls: "Why the h--- do people fish for ice? We've got plenty here anyways!")

When I first moved here my neighbor's father would plow my driveway for a 6 pack of Budweiser-cans (the son liked the bottles)! He has since passed away. The barter system is very much alive here and it is very common to have to pay for help around my farm with the hats that I have made from my sheep or from food from my garden.

There is also the famous; Radar Runs. This is when the locals go out on the lakes and ponds in town (many in Cheddahville) to chart how fast their snowmobiles run. They have races and drink a lot of beer. I heard once that my neighbor Don won one year when his snowmobile was clocked at 130 miles per hour! It might have been beat by now. Of course they get drunk then too-another part of that tradition! I have only been on a snowmobile two times. I have a huge field which leads to an access path to the Maine trail system. Everybody seems to have one (snowmobile) up here -but me :( . You see them daily stopping at Ricks market in Wilton, on my way home from work. Most Corner Stores here have stews and chowder for them. I have not seen that either.

There is also the dog sled races in Farmington when they race them on this huge field by Route 2. It is certainly a treat to bring the family too. Then there is the Farmington Fair. Held once a year in September. Kids are excused from schools if they are showing their animals there-horses and livestock.) The kids are let out early on Wednesday so they can go on the rides and the buses drop them off there! Update: they happened to be going on today_ got to see them on the side of the road today while going into town! Yea. Pretty neat! I also saw some man on a snowmobile trying to race me on the side of the road-he beat my car and waved as he turned the corner and went further out to the field past the dog races. Only in Maine! On the way home there were a bunch of other snowmobiles resting by the Cheddahville Mall and probably stocking up on more beer! lolololol

There is also snow shoeing, which I try to do often-it is a great workout and the only way I can travel in my back yard this time of year.

Also, there is the maple syrup! In the fall the trees are gorgeous all through the mountains. I have a few trees on my own property and hope to tap them myself-though I really need help since it is a very messy process. In March, the farms open their Sugar Houses which I tour with my daughters. They put syrup on everything including snow as a treat! When I went this last fall I went to Randy' Sugar Shack in town and he knew the house I lived in and mentioned that it was known to be haunted. Naturally I asked him about it and he mentioned that one of the former owners shot himself in my living room! I had not found out any evidence to support it, though love hearing local lore-especially on my house (built in 1787).

Then there is the tradition of smelting. Smelts are a tiny fish that run up the rivers once a year and people go out to catch them in the rivers. My neighbor Pete told me that there is a small window of time for this. You go out late at night (usually around 1 am) to good spots that the locals know about and wait. The state allows only a certain amount for the catch and I don't know how that is reported. You also need a license to do this. They take their family with them-usually bringing the kids and wait with their nets for the smelt to swim up river. I was always too tired to do this since I hate being up so late. One time he invited me over their house when he had cooked the catch. His wife Angela told me that she lets Pete cook this-it is his thing-he has a special recipe for the smelts. All I know is that they are cooked in a deep fryer with a covering of breadcrumbs and secret ingredients. They were wonderful! He also deep fries huge onion rings to go along with them. Yum!

Road kill Moose; People actually love to hit moose with their cars up here since after reported to the game warden-they can take them home and cook them! This happened to one of my neighbors and they invited the girls and I over to have some "moose burgers!. It tastes like chicken! Not-but very good all the same. I also heard one time of a dead moose on the road one spring and some of the locals decided to count the ticks on it! They had found a few thousand of them - how some people pass the time!

Deer; they love to hunt them and everyone seems to know how and wait eagerly for hunting season! The Corner Stores make special stew for them too and always have fresh coffee for the hunters. I also learned that you can shoot a deer if it comes near the garden! I don't know if I actually will though if that happened to me. Thankfully it never has!

There is also the "Hornpouts" (Catfish). I do not know how true this is since my neighbors love to scare me. I was told that they go out in the middle of the night (they do that a lot here-with lots of beer) and know spots where there are a lot of these fish (hornpouts). They have a lantern to see by and when they catch one-they reel it in and hit it dead with a hammer! I was told they were good eatin'. I have still not tried that yet though! Whew -yet again! (Update from Papa skddls: You don't need to hit them with a hammer-just take them off the hook! There is a spot on the back that you can grab without being stuck with the barbs. The whiskers do not sting you-like most people believe. To cook them, you cut the head off, gut them (eeeeew!) and fry them-pretty easy. )

There are also the Fiddleheads and Dilly Beans and Pickled Eggs. These are sold in most of the Corner Stores around here. Fiddleheads are the top parts of ferns that grow locally and are bitter in taste-they are stored and pickled to eat and are sold in preserve jars. They are a delicacy here and the places where they are found are well guarded and hidden. You find them out by the marshes where there are a lot of black flies and you brave them to pick them. When you bring them home you clean them really really well! Then you put them in a pot of water and salt pork (it is a piece of meat you buy at the store that is really salty-you can cut it like bacon-but for this is best to leave it in a chunk) and boil it until tender. Or, you can saute them with Sesame oil until tender.

I live in a very rural area and time seems to have stopped here. I have been here since 2003 and a few things of modern times has sprouted up here-though lost in the surrounding traditions. Wal-Mart is here along with a few Dunkin Donuts and even Rite-Aid. But, other than that, most people still have shares in the local Farmer's Union and buy their supplies and Feed for livestock there.

The Grange is still very active and I have had the honor of belonging to it a few years back. I would love to still be a part of it and know I would be welcome, but I have been too busy working full time and on the farm at other times and in just being a single Mom. Without revealing any of its secrets- the Grange is the last of "Americana" in all of its glory and rural traditions. Most, if not all of the members are farmers. They always have a booth at the Farmington Fair and mostly my local Grange wins. They put in the booth items from their farm and handmade crafts. The Grange is filled with wonderful people. They have bean dinners on Saturday nights and the members volunteer to cook and serve at it. I have done this a few times when a member. They compete with their bean recipes and many if not all are equally delicious! They also have lots of advice for farmers at meetings and even ceremonies with old Americana songs sung. I loved those meetings and would love to join again-I hope some day my time frees up for this.

Most of the women up here are very creative and it seems like all of them know how to crochet and make granny squares. All of this and the Grange have long been lost where I grew up in Southeastern Massachusetts. There were no traditions left there and it was wonderful to find out that they are still very much alive here today!

I have learned to plant my potatoes after the first full moon after the last frost. I have learned to let the dogs to walk around the property to mark it to keep the deer away. I have learned that I could afford to have my monster garden plowed (I used to do it by hand-due to the prices of this in Norton). Now I have a huge garden. I have modernized it a bit with storage by freezing everything in my extra fridge since I still have not learned how to preserve them in jars. In the summer we cook everything from the garden. We have a fire pit outside and cook a lot on that too, including coffee. I now can cook meals on it over a grate.

This is necessary up here with the lost pay and high cost of taxes. I have six years of college and get paid weekly similar to what I was paid before college in Massachusetts working at the YMCA in the late 80's!. I looked for work for over a year and was told that I was overqualified. I took a job in Wilton and am still there since I need to pay the bills. I rarely get any child support and have grown used to this. I have supported my children on my own their whole lives. I live on a farm that I own completely as well as the cars that I drive. My bills are very little, just utilities, food and clothing. There are also the expenses on the farm. My father and I raised the garage and barn-that was falling over from age and snow and built the stalls for the sheep. I have also put in the fences for my side field along with some help for that.

Then there is the beef jerky. You can buy it every where here and most people even know how to make it! I was told that if you eat it before bed-it takes a while to digest and can keep your body warm and keep off hunger. (Update from Papa skddls: bull----!)

I have learned that humidifiers only bring up the astronomically high electric bill and I have since learned that if you hang the wet clean clothes in the middle of the house-it not only dries them-but provides the much needed humidity required in a very dry house heated by a wood stove! I hang up the cloths in the yard in the months when it is above freezing and am never ceased to be amazed by the smell of the country dried in them when I bring them into the house! The grasses and local herbs like lilac fill them with their scent!

I have also learned about my area from interesting perspectives. For example, one day I saw a helicopter overhead. Now, where I was from that would mean that a convict had escaped from the nearby Walpole State Prison. My daughter had told me that it was the state police looking for local pot farms-it is apparently a very popular crop here! I nearly laughed and fell off the chair I was sitting on with that told-though it was verified by many other people!

Most people up here take pride in reusing things for other uses. Most of us are poor farmers up here, including me. I have learned to be creative for many of the things on the farm and household. That is a whole other blog for another day.

Three of my closest friends up here have led incredible lives. I grew up with food from supermarkets and clothes from the mall and weekends at the tennis clubs and summer in the pool out back and family trips at cottages all across New England. They grew up here and it was even more rural than what I moved up too. they are very strong hearty women and they have taught me lots on survival. All Three of them grew up in houses without electricity and plumbing! They told me about the outhouses (some attached to the houses out back)-I cannot even imagine that in the winters up here! They told me of lugging the snow inside to thaw in buckets and heated on the wood stove for baths! I grew up on Sesame Street and they had to haul in wood and buckets of water from nearby streams since they had no running water! I find it amazing and they have taught me on many occasions what to do when times get rough for us.
I wish I had even half of their strength! They are strong women and are always full of ideas on how to survive and battle each hardship with determination and creativity. They never hesitate to come over to help out when I need them.

There are many thing that I have learned up here and these are just a few of them.

Ayuh for now....

Brrrrrrr! it's cold outside!

Winter in Maine is definitely not for the weak! I Discovered that the hard way, as usual. I grew up in Southeastern Mass and thought Winters there were tough! The coldest that it ever got was maybe 10 below zero. It would snow and then melt and then snow again-all winter. It usually melted before the next snowfall.

That is except for the Blizzard of 78', of which I was the perfect age of 8- to fully enjoy it. I remember no school for two weeks and piles of snow on which we built excellent forts at the end of the driveway. That was the year my father bought the snow blower! We also had a tennis court in the yard-we were tennis brats and my little sister Kristin became the tennis star of the family. We built huge forts and tunnels all around the fence of it! This is what I remember of it. I also recall a police man coming by on a snowmobile (the first one that I ever saw- and only one until I moved to Maine) and asked the people of our neighborhood if we needed anything at the store. For our mail we put a bucket on a pole since our mailbox was buried. That was my memories of lots of snow and it kept me interested. I never recalled the adult perspective of it all though-until I moved to the mountains of Maine. I found out later that the snow in that blizzard was 48 inches that fell in a matter of hours (pretty much the weekly snowfall of 08' up here!).

That first winter the snow came in fast and never left, it just kept piling up. I learned the hard way about frozen pipes. I had since learned that you have to leave on the faucets of water overnite (slow trickle) with the cabinets open so the pipes will not freeze. I actually learned about that on the news when they told us of the two weeks ahead in our first winter of temperatures of 40 degrees below zero!!!!!!! This I certainly had not ever experienced-nor even imagined!

The buses put chains on their ties and only cancel school when there is more than 6 inches of snow and ice. The roads are very dangerous with all of the hills and curves. Kids need many pairs of snowpants and even we do (for shoveling and other outside chores). They need them just to wait for the bus due to the windchill.

The mailboxes here are very sturdy and should be made to withstand the monster plows up here. I have had to refinforce mine many times and always find mail in the Spring at the thaw! I have also heard from people in town that the plows sometimes wait until dark to plow to ait for overtime! Who knows for certain on this. I know that the hill that I live on is very scary on just a normal day due to the amount of snow on it. I have arrived home many days after braving that hill to have a glass of wine (after I bank up the fire) just to calm myself down!

I went out fast and purchased all of the wool items I could find, socks, hats (pre-sheep),scarves etc... I learned the value of wearing layers upon layers. This is mainly due to being outside in the frigid temperatures and coming inside to houses heated with wood stoves (usually inside the temperatures are around 80 degrees!).

I learned why the driveways are called dooryards here. In the winter, everything freezes and the yard becomes a whole new landscape. The snow piles up so high that you have to have plenty of room for it to be moved with the plow (only this year could I afford this luxury). The plow comes in and moves all of the snow out of the way-creating whole new boundaries in the yard-way past the actual area for the cars). This new area becomes smaller and smaller and there is less room for the snow to be moved. Normally I park inside of the garage. Now it is used to store hay and grain and tools. I park my car in the new area near my door so that I can run out fast to heat it up for a half hour before going anywhere! You need to heat up the cars for quite a while. Also, I mentioned in a past blog that the tires freeze when temperatures dip 25 degrees below zero! In the years before the plow here-I would park my car at the end of the driveway facing out to the road so that I had less to shovel to get to work. I would have to practically snow shoe out to my car-find it and then shovel out. This process would take an hour-plenty of time for it to heat while while shovelling out of the rest of the driveway and through the amount left by the plows! Last winter I was also carrying out buckets of water (filled in the kitchen for the sheep) and bringing in the frozen buckets to thaw for evening. This year my daughter Jacqui helps me with this since she is older and stronger. I also make sure the cats and dogs are taken out and fed before I leave for work and the coffee for my thermos is made (my one luxury I have from the old days is my flavored coffee). I also make my own cigarettes as most people do here in the mountains of Maine. The tax is so high. So, there is quite a lot to do in just getting out the door here in winter!

The normal snowfall for my town in 90 inches. This was certainly surpassed last year when we had over eight feet! This was when I barely had enough money to survive and was living on a shoestring budget. I learned to plan ahead for this winter though and put some money aside for this and other possible events I now knew about! Last winter it seemed like each week we had one day of a foot of snow and two days later another 6 inches. This went on tirelessly for months. We wondered if we would ever see the grass again!

I tried to snowshoeing in my front yard and actually fell in over my shoulders-I screamed and screamed and no one heard me at all. I wondered if I would die in my front yard about a hundred feet from my living room window! The snow banks were so high that when I shoveled by hand (I had to beg my daughter Jacqui to help)-the snow would fall over on our heads-the banks were so high (way over our heads)!

I worked (and still do) at a place a little to the North of here in Wilton (where I sell insurance to people in New Jersey). They do not have sick days at all and myself and my other co-workers braved this tremendous amount of snow to make it on time to work each day. During lunch we would come out to shovel out our cars so that it would not be that bad when we finished work at the end of the day. The banks were so high they towered up to most of the first floors in town at at work. We would walk out through a tunnel where you could not see over it to get out to the parking lot.

My normal commute is fifteen minutes and sometimes in the Winter it would take two hours to get home. I had to make sure that my daughter had shoveled out enough so that I could get back into my driveway (dooryard)!. The snow would fall and on those days-the ice would cover it. It would not be so bad if the way there was flat-but in this area-there roads are very rural and treacherous. The hills are monsters and I had learned to drive uphill into skids and learned the true meaning of "white knuckling it!". The hills wound and dropped off-but the scenery was beautiful. One night I could barely see the road from the side if it- had not have been for the treeline-the snow was so deep-it had not been plowed in five inches of recent snow (the roads were desolate). I had noticed an enormous buck (male deer) meander onto the road in front of me and look right at my car. I dimmed the lights and sat there waiting for him to finally turn and walk away. Another good thing about the back roads here in dangerous weather is that there is hardly any traffic! Many times I had been thankful for an empty road! I had learned out of pure survival that you can drive in the middle of the road (more area to recover from a skid)-there are no cars coming in any direction for most of the commute! This is common practice and I can see why!

Most people have four-wheel drives. I do not in either my van or the car that I inherited from my great Aunt Gyneth (1990 Chrysler LeBaron-35,000 miles on it 2 years ago!-She lived in Frammingham, MA) . Both have front wheel drives and I had done well with those for the most part. Each year I would buy two new tires for the front and prepare my car for the winter besides the tires. I learned that you really need things like, water, snacks, blankets, flashlight-in the car-antifreeze etc... and it is always good to have duct tape-you never know! I also have a small shovel in the back and extra boots).

This year my boyfriend (lasted four months or so) told me about a place in New Sharon to buy tires. I bought four of them. I naturally thought that they would be aligned and found out that they were not. Therefore, when the winter this year hit-I was all over the place!!! It was horrific and I prayed even more than before and did not know why. I found out that the tires were not aligned and that my front two band new tires were bald! I soon after had new SNOW tires put on them and am finally getting over my fear and am gradually healing from my many skids and near snow-banking frights!! I also learned that up here in Maine-people actually get drunk and on purpose try to snowbank their cars! Interesting.... NOT. (well, that is what I heard of someone recalling the"good Ol' Days here in Cheddahville).

In the winter it is wise to have many sources of heat for the house. Most people have wood heat and others to supplement it or to back that up. I used to have the wood furnace in the basement as my main heat source until I finally retired it. It would last wonderful for a few months in the Fall and when the weather turned downright frigid-it would almost explode! This happened each winter around January (when it gets too cold to snow!). The furnace would back up and the last Winter actually backfired into the basement-we ran for the yard and prayed! The house was filled with smoke and I promptly called the fire department. Up here the fire department is not a paid position-but a volunteer one as I understand it. It is very rural and there are a lot of barn fires-especially in my town it seems. They got to know me. My roof is very steep and they probably dreaded climbing it. Each Spring I have my chimney cleaned and almost tried to myself when people warned me about it-good thing. The pitch is much steeper than the average roof so the snow can fall off it. Anyways, the fire department came and went and cleaned out the chimney-again! I could not stand it anymore and decided to buy a wood stove that I could safely monitor from my living room!

I used to use the wood stove for main heat and the oil for supplemental-it would kick in when the fire died down and allowed for travel over the weekends. When the wood stove was installed in the Spring of 08'-they had to disconnect the oil completely for code. Therefore, I cannot go anywhere unless I have someone to keep the fire up. If the house is cold enough the pipes will freeze.

Also, since my house is so old and a farmhouse-the rooms are not all heated by the wood stove. The main area is gloriously warm while the exterior rooms-like the kitchen and bathroom are frigid. On most days and nights when the temperature is below 20 degrees- I have to put on the space heaters in those rooms. I also have a large heater in the basement so the pipes would not freeze. My wood is free and from my own property-thank goodness for that! I have an agreement with neighbors where they cut down 6 cords of wood for me and take 6 cords for themselves! However, my electric bill shot up from a normal $58 dollars a months to over $220! Ouch! I turned off the space heater in my bedroom-have my youngest daughter snuggle with me for warmth and pile on about twenty blankets in that room. I also turn on the other heaters when it is under 20 degrees (Unfortunately that is most of the time!-Right now it is about 3 degrees outside!).

Since my driveway is now an ice pit-I was told by my friend that you can use the ashes from the wood stove to put out on the pathway. It was a wonderful idea for a while. It makes the walkway easier to walk on and melted it a little if straight from the fire. However, I could not handle washing my floors two times a day-very messy!!!!!

Proper footwear is another necessity. There are slippers for inside-the floors are often too cold, clogs for running out to heat the car fast before work and out to the barn to check on the sheep. Then were are the boots. You really need safe and warm boots. The bigger the tread the safer. You also need something water proof and for frigid temps! I used to wear fancy heeled boots when working in Boston. The walkways were always neatly shoveled and well sanded. Here, well this is the country and you really need protection from the ice that seems to be everywhere! My boots that I brought up with us-were not safe or warm enough here. I got rid of those long ago. They only collected dust from memories of another life far away from the tundra up here!

I got rid of the nylons before I moved up here and vowed that I would never wear them again. I heard that up here the only use for them is in fixing a belt from a car and for washing the wool from my sheep in. I would never dream of wearing a dress up here in the Winter anyways. I would not even make it past my tundra and iced driveway-let alone to any place else in it! I wear jeans or corduroys (yes cords-I hated them as a throwback from the 70's-but here they are warmer and help) with thermals underneath! I sometimes wear two pairs of socks when I have to stay out in the barn for long periods of time as well.

You cannot be cool and go outside without a hat up here-you would literally die of frost! Most men wear beards-I certainly understand that one! They shave them off in the Spring and you get used to the differences of them. At first it was odd-since in Mass a beard was well groomed and a fashion statement-not a necessity as up here for men and kind of scraggly as they more often are for warmth instead.

You cannot joke about the cold up here. This we had learned a tragic way. My ex-husband Jim (who I still get along with well) had a horrible accident with frostbite. This happened last winter. He was out plowing my driveway and had gone on to plow someone else's that was the last anyone had heard from him until I got a call from his second wife. She told me that he had fallen and somehow passed out in the snow and was in the hospital in Rumford fighting for is life with frostbite! We did not think that he would make it so I rushed over with our daughter-Jacqui to visit him. He did live and had lost several of his fingers on both hands. He was a welder and traumatized. It took him many months to recover and now is back to welding! He is amazing and I am thankful that he prevailed. He has grown up quite a bit from when were were married (from 1991-1997).

So, needless to say-we are tough people up here and can pretty much handle anything! Now that my fire is banked and the house nice and cozy-I am jumping in my bed under layers of blankets to snuggle up with my little Tiffy (my 9 year old daugher)!!!!

Brrrrrrrrrrr for now :)

Cat House

(little kitten "Trouble" warming himself by the woodstove)

Currently I have three kittens and four cats. Trust me, there is a story about this. It started out when I purchased my first house back in 1996 in Attleboro. My first house was a "fixer-upper"-as most first houses tend to be. I loved that house and worked hard bringing life back into it. It was built in 1880 and was a very charming townhouse near the center of town. Every home needs a pet and I thought that I would start with a cat. We had pets growing up and grew up around the "town cat". They were purchased at the pet store and treated like another member of the family. They were fixed and declawed so as not to destroy the furniture or have little kittens so as to to deter from already expensive pampering.

I was all excited and wanted a black cat-just like Mickey (A wonderful cat that I grew up with). I never knew Mickey personally since he was sure to be hiding when I was around as a kid. I probably tried to dress it up and make it dance like most little girls tend to do with their kitties. It was still the idea of him. He always was there for my mother who was certainly his adopted mother. He had his own bed and fancy food and was taken to the groomers often. He was definitely declawed and fixed. I loved the shadow of Mickey and wanted my own cat now that I was all grown up and finally a homeowner.

Unfortunately, I could not afford the pet store kittens and went to find one finally in the shelter in Mansfield. I paid only $95 and then went back because there was another kitten in the cage above him that I could not get out of my mind. So, I went back with another $95 to purchase two adorable little kitties-the black male cat was "Osiris" and the female long haired-Maine Coon cat was named "Isis"-see the pattern here!

I brought them home to my home in Attleboro, where my daughters genetically programed- began to immediately catch them to dress them up and put them in carriages to walk around town! Yes, I loved the karma on that one! I made sure they were fixed and de-clawed so they would not ruin the furniture in our home as well. Besides my mother insisted upon this and well, she was the pro. I then bought them each a fancy bed with climbing post and various toys. they had their own ceramic dishes (which I have no idea where they ended up as I am writing this and thinking back). They were definitely loved and pampered. I kept them indoors and they played about the house.

Then we moved to Norton, in a house that I believed at the time was in the country and they discovered the outdoors. I could not keep them from it. Eventually I gave in to their always sneaking out during the day-they would then be home for the evening. I was initially nervous-since they were de-clawed-but it did not stop them at all! I found out how much they loved me with their gifts that they had started to leave me on a daily basis. I had never witnessed this side of a cat before. Everyday, I would get ready for work and find on the front steps of my house either a small bird or a small field mouse. It was horrifying at first until-my neighbor had told me that it was actually a compliment and that I should not get mad at them-but to reward he "hunter" in their inner kitties!. It was very difficult, especially the day that I caught my beautiful Isis in the act of catching a tiny defenseless little finch and chased it around the house. I was horrified and put my foot down and shooed it out of the house to save it. I could not witness the pure carnage of it! He looked like a little bird right out of a Disney movie! I did get used to it and we all settled into a wonderful bliss watching out kitties grow into cats and proud hunters who loved us. I was always told that you cannot chose cats as pets-they chose you to be their companions.

Isis was definately the princess cat and loved to lounge about. While Osiris was the family cat and was the playful one. He loved to eat Doritoes and Cocoa Puffs-the kids had figured this one out! Also, you had to make sure the bathroom door was shut when taking a bath, because he would jump in it! He loved the water and bubbles!

Then one day, another black cat came by scoping out out home. He and Osiris would battle-so bad that Osiris was bitten and we had to quarantine him in the basement to make sure that he did not have rabies! The two blacks cats looked so exactly alike that I could not tell them apart when they were fighting! It was horrible. Then one day-Osiris did not come by anymore and the other cat stayed. I did not give up hope and eventually found out that another family on a street down the road had claimed him-or he went to them out of frustration and wielded to the new black cat that had taken up residence in the household! He (the new cat) would cry and cry at all hours of the night until I finally relented and took him in! I had to give him to my mother because the vet bills were getting extremely expensive there in Southeastern Mass and I could not afford him on even the required shots. I did not give up hope on Osiris returning either. Eventually, he went to my mother's house where my parents named him Max.

Max stayed there for a while until they decided to move to Florida and I decided to move here to Maine. I then ended up with Max and Isis. I and the girls cried for Osiris. We had since found out that Max had belonged to a man down the street who had died of cancer and was abandoned. He had chose us for his new family and we welcomed him and brought him up to Maine.

In Maine with a lot more wilderness and many more dangerous predators I was initially afraid to let the cats out of the house. Eventually, Max broke out so many times and always found his way back that I let him go out on his own. He refuses to go out during winter months though-who could blame him!

Then, due to the farm we added "Butter" to the household. He was to be our "farm cat" (Even though he would be fixed and would have his shots). Isis refused to leave the house and Max did not have claws. I found out that in having a barn-there was the problem with rats (we have grain stored in there and hay).

Butter was from a house down the road that had a batch of kittens each year and the girls chose him and named him. His formal name was "Butterfinger". My oldest daughter Alex named him. He was definately a Maine cat since it was hard to keep him indoors, though he always came in at night!

One winter when I had more sheep and had quite a few lambs born we discovered that we had a rat problem! I had only seen cute field mice and almost screamed when I saw my first rat! It was huge. Apparently a barn had been torn down and they had sought refuge in my barn. I would go out to check on the lambing ewes (Freyja, Skaadi, Grimhild, and Brunhild-another sheep that I had purchased the fall before) and would find many rats crawling out of the woodwork! It was scary and almost like a horror movie-I was very concerned about the lambs and the mama ewes! I eventually had my friend Eleanor's husband Lloyd over and we would both go out in the barn at night and shoot as many as we could with a pellet gun! I was pretty good-but he got many of them. I then decided that I needed more cats. We had quite a few lambs born that Spring and naturally each of the birthing occurred during a snow storm-when I had to check on them and the new mama's each hour. Rats love to come out at night! And I had so many that they came out in the day too! (Currently with all my cats-I do not have a rat problem and have not seen any in quite a while).

When Spring arrived-I had asked the family for two more kittens and bought home "Butterina" (who looked exactly like "Butter" and was probably related) and "Stripey", her sister in the litter.

In Maine it is a lot more affordable to get all of the required shots and to have them fixed. I had to do that with with the three additional cats and even had money left over to have all of the cats and now two dogs microchipped (I never got over the family down the road claiming Osiris!). However, I had to space it apart since I was now living on a farm budget. When I had Stripey fixed this past Spring about a month later Butter came inside and seemed very lethargic. He had trouble walking so I called the vet-they told me to rush him to the closest animal hospital which was 45 minuted south of here. They suspected a urinary blockage. I rushed him down there with the girls and after an hour they determined that he was too far gone. We had to say goodbye to him and he had to be put to sleep forever! I had him cremated and we brought his ashes home with us. With that tragedy-we had to hold off on Butterina being fixed. I simply did not have the money!

I had to cancel another appointment to have her fixed in between since I could not afford it at the time and then finally had one scheduled for the 7th of this past July. Just before that final appointment-I had noticed that she was getting rather big and then one day-the day before the scheduled appointment-she started moaning and then Jacqui and I rushed her upstairs where she delivered SIX kittens! About two months later-we finally had her fixed! We watched her deliver the kittens-something I had never witnessed either before and of how she was an excellent mother. We were always trying to find her and the kittens and she was always moving them! She would nurse them and teach them and was very attentive. I never wanted any of my cats to have kittens since I am like my mother-I love them. (My own mother is notorious in sneaking kittens by my father-one time I had to sneak one in the house in a lunch box by my father-until he finally noticed it a week later!) This is certainly a genetic trait passed down from mother to daughter. I knew that I would grow as attached to the new kittens as my other cats, dogs and even sheep (who I witnessed all but two of their births-under my care). Eventually we found homes for three of the kittens of that litter and there is one male kitten left (named "Trouble" and two female kittens named "Dot" and "Little Miss" (The runt of the litter and last born). We have tried to find a home for "Trouble" and it gets harder by the day since they all are a part of the family-though I cannot afford to have them all fixed! My neighbors make fun of how pampered they are and have told me that cats are for the barn and should be left outside to fend for themselves and to catch the rats. I am trying-though find it extremely difficult!

And to tie it all up with today-the two female cats are now 7 months old and have gone into heat! I had to put poor "Trouble" in a cage before he started more trouble that I definitely cannot afford right now! That is my latest dilemma. I would love to find a home for him and am having a rough time with this with the economy and all. It is wonderful living in the country-though in this area the employment rate is pathetic and a lot of people are out of work and are struggling to maintain on small farms. Hopefully I will find some way out of this dilemma as I always seem to do. I have been thankful for my creative mind in what I have survived so far. I currently cannot afford to fix one cat-let alone three of them!

My cats are no longer declawed-as they need every defense possible in this wilderness and they sleep wherever in my home-usually near myself or one of the girls and now by the woodstove in the cold winter months. They leave gifts for me on the front porch-they had long since clawed out the screens on the porch door and even most of the windows of the house-trying to get in or out! I even tried to replace them the second Spring were were here and went to a place in town to have the screens professionally done-it cost almost $300. They destroyed them as well-not even a month later! I finally ended up in purchasing my screens at the local Farmer's Union (I have a share there) and buy a roll of screen when those get wrecked from my country cats! I fervently try to duct tape them all summer long and finally throw them out when fall arrives! I almost went without screens-it lasted three days before the blackflies tried to kill me! I then went back to the game with the kitties!

Meow for now :)