look what we found

Last summer the ugliest black & orange tortoiseshell cat I've ever seen showed up, spent a few weeks wandering about and one day I saw her leading a litter of kittens off our property. We didn't see her again until this summer. Again, we left her alone; she left us (and our birds) alone until one day, last week, when the girls and some of their friends came to show me the kittens that they found in their "bear tree house." (There is a nice area under one of our weeping willow trees where the kids play, and they "live" in it like the Bernstein Bears) There was this light orange tabby cat, two darker orange tabbies, and a black kitten that escaped with his mom. I was seriously tempted to feed them because the kids just loved them so much. Then I remembered how our bird population decreased significantly when we had cats (to curb our field mouse population) a few years ago. I've been so happy with the variety of birds we've been attracting and I didn't want to risk losing them when these cute kittens, unfortunately, grow up to be cats. So, we've had our fun, mama cat has led them away...perhaps she'll be back next summer with a few more kittens to play with for a day.