We have spent the last few days arguing with a cat. Yes, you heard me correctly a cat.  Sweet Byra had a crazy and wild idea to climb a tree.  This, however, is not just any grove of trees.  We have very large towering cottonwood trees around our new homestead and they take a bit of getting used to compared to the pines we had before.

While cottonwood trees are much easier for anyone to climb compared to the pines of yester year, they are also much easier to get higher in. Sadly you get higher much faster than you realize and I fear that this is what has happened to poor Byra.

Two nights ago I came home from a photo class and heard her meowing from back where I had just put my bees the night before. I knew she wouldn’t be silly enough to get caught up by the bees and it was to cold for them to be out flying anyway.  So at 9pm I ventured out following her meow.  When I got to the trees I went back for Sir Swine.

I truly feared the worst. On the other side of the tree grove are the neighbors corn fields which they had just been working in that day.  My thought was that I would need his support as we tried to move her after some sort of farm accident.

Thankfully, a farm accident was not the case. Rather instead we have a cat that simply climbed to high up in a tree.  So high in fact that Sir Swine and I had no ladder or piece of machinery big enough to get her down.  I don’t feel that this is something that you really call the fire department on for help like in all the children’s movies and books.  Our theory she got up there she will get down.

So I went to check on her, call to her and try to bribe her down again today for the hundredth time. S he was now in a different tree and only fifteen feet from the ground.  If I could have jumped up and gotten her down I would have believe me.  So I planned to grab the ladder quick and left Tractor Man to watch her.

I no more than got to the garage and Tractor Man was yelling that she had moved again. Which way?  Up of course.

I am completely baffled that this cat has gotten itself so far up a tree. Really what could she possibly have gone all the way up there for already?  We do not yet have baby birds since the birds are just returning.

Sadly, Tractor Man and I returned to the house to make supper. That poor little boy kept yelling to her where she should be going but did not understand why the cat was not listening to him.  He really tried even telling her that “we have treats for you but you have to come down.”

Just like many things in life, when you want something bad enough you expect to find a way to achieve it. The homestead has a way of solving its’ own troubles though.  The homestead work and proves for us even when we think we have done all that we can do.

That my friends, is exactly what the homestead did last night. We will never know how it happened but Byra somehow got out of the tree!  I went out to try again but yelled at the dog first, he has been after baby bunnies but that’s another story, and Byra came running from the garage looking as though nothing had happened.

We spoiled her rotten of course with food and some loving. Short of letting her in the house, I’m extremely allergic to cats, I would have given that cat anything to keep all four of her legs on the ground!

May the sun shine on your homesteads and your cats stay out of trees-or at least know how to get down once they are up.

Happy homesteading!