Friday, October 16, 2020

we like Mike

Just before our barn shut down for the covid quarantine last March, we welcomed a new resident: Mikey the barn cat!


This was pretty exciting for us all, bc unlike all past barn cats here, Mikey is decidedly not feral. In fact, he'd previously been a house cat (returned for unknown reasons).


Mikey has taken to this new job with gusto, too. He's basically the best barn manager cat ever -- with no task too minor or insignificant to escape his attention. For instance, you can always rely on his help while grooming your horse!


Tacking up, too!! And, bless him, Mikey takes a 'light touch' approach to his supervisory duties -- often staying back and out of the way even as his presence is always felt.


Really, tho, safety is Mikey's biggest concern.


He's a big believer in routine trailer inspections, especially at nighttime when small issues might be easy to miss.


Daytime too - tho! Bc Mikey likes to make sure Charlie and all Charlie's friends are always comfortable and safe for their many adventures <3


Which, while we've been a bit delinquent in writing about adventures here, anybody keeping track with the YouTube sidebar would have seen Charlie's been getting out and about lately. More to come on that soon!


Really, tho, it's so reassuring having Mikey around and checking everything out for us, making sure everything is packed up and secured down!.


"All cleared for takeoff!!" - Mikey, probably


Obviously in-barn duties are his specialties, tho. Like mixing supplements and organizing our tack lockers -- Mikey's always there to lend a helping paw!


Fall is coming on strong in these parts so it's a good time to switch out fly gear for all those winter wardrobe items fresh back from the cleaner's.


The nicest part about having a cat around to help is that he won't let you cut corners or rush through things. No no -- the job isn't done until Mikey says it's done. By which he means, it isn't done until he's finished napping on top of your stuff, thankyouverymuch.


Lately, Mikey's gotten a bit more 'hands-on' too -- his favorite new trick is climbing right up onto your back whenever you might happen to be sitting or crouching in his general vicinity.


It's pretty cute tho, and at least he's good about not scratching while he's treating his minions the boarders like his own personal jungle gym.


And anyway, esp in this year 2020 in which basically every single person I know is feeling exhausted and threadbare in one way or another, you gotta appreciate Mikey's energy and 'go-get-em' type attitude haha!!


Or at least, that's what I try to explain to Charlie whenever he startles at my sudden sprouting of a second head haha.... Bc omg, Charlie's face in this picture cracks me up lol


Mostly, tho, it's just nice having a buddy like Mikey around all the time. With shorter and shorter days, and a barn that remains closed during PM feeding (continuing covid restrictions), I've been doing more midday barn trips. It's great for getting the best of the fall weather, and having Charlie already in his stall (vs having to hike out to catch him). But it means quieter and less social visits.


That's ok, tho. Winter is coming, as is an eventual end to this godforsaken year 2020 (please dear lord). But in the meantime, fall is basically my favorite riding season -- and it's been refreshing to just follow Mikey's lead. We're getting involved with anything that looks fun and interesting, and otherwise just laying low and chilling the F out when the rest of the world gets too noisy or chaotic.

Anyone else out there wishing to be a little more like Mike??



21 comments:

  1. First of all- YAY BLOG POST!
    Mikey sounds like the perfect life coach. Or couch maybe 😁

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    1. Curling up on the couch with cats is basically my solution to everything these days lol

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  2. I love Mikey! Also I need to text you back with dates... basically to say I'm pretty much free every weekend.

    Question, from the looks of it, are you still feeding platinum? I have Nay on it and he's doing really REALLY well. Every once in a while I think, "I'd love to find something cheaper!" And then I counter with, but he's doing fantastic on this so why fix anything so I don't... My changes seem to be putting him on and then taking him off Succeed which he seems to do so well on it, but I'm not wealthy enough for... He's just finished his last 2 month supply so we'll see if we can stay off it this time...

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    1. I had Charlie on platinum at the beginning and credited it with sorta getting him over the hump in his transition from racehorse to riding horse. Put him back on it this year after his feet basically crumbled to pieces when the grass came in. It’s expensive but.... so are farrier problems, and he does so well on it, that I’ll probably just keep feeding it tbh

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    2. Nay's coat just blossomed under it and he looks so good (feet as well) that other than cost, I can't see a reason to stop. Plus it's soy free...

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  3. Awwww Mike looks awesome. We just got a couple of "feral" barn cats from the shelter and one of them is like Mike, really not feral at all and loves people. The best kind of barn cat, as long as he's also a good bird killer, boy do we need that.

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    1. aw that's great tho - i like that barns can be good homes for animals that might not otherwise be desirable. tho.... one downside to ferals is that it can be really hard to get them hands-on care when they need it

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  4. He's soooo cute and I'm crossing my fingers that you are back :P

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    1. He’s basically the best barn cat ever ;)

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  5. I need a good barn cat in my barn life, Mike is adorable. We had a few feral ones hanging around over the winter, but they disappeared when spring came.

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    1. Aw yea.... the feral ones are so hard esp bc I always want to be friends with them haha. Definitely need a good friendly fluff ball!!

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  6. Aww, what a fun cat, I mean manager. Glad to hear from you and that you've been out adventuring!

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    1. A very attentive manager haha! And thanks yes lots of adventures, sorta haha. More on that later probably ;)

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  7. Mike looks like a premier snoopervisor lol. So cute.

    And threadbare is EXACTLY the right word!

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    1. mikey is the best <3 <3 <3 and yea. threadbare about sums it up, i think. other alternate 2020 emotions include frayed, worn ragged, on edge, strung out, twitchy, uptight, shitting bricks..... i could go on lol

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  8. Barn cats are the best! Love the pics of Mikey helping with all the barn duties. Cats do make this exhausting year a little brighter. :)

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  9. So cute!! Great to hear from you again too!

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  10. Welcome back!
    Our barn cats are all feral, we need a Mikey!

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  11. Hey, nice to read you again! Mikey sounds like a great barn buddy! Glad he takes his job so seriously!

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