I got up this morning at 7 and Mortie always greets me. This morning – no Mortie. I searched the house, all 3 floors, then the garage and the room above, then the quilt shop. No sign of her. I changed into chore clothes and went to the barn – she’s gotten very familiar with the barn – but no Mortie.
I went inside for a cup of coffee and then went back outside searching in every outbuilding. Oh, I forgot – Michele dropped Hank off at 8 so the dogs thought all of this outside time was great fun.
Then we took the golf cart on the parts of the wilderness trail that was accessible. No Mortie – but Barney followed us the whole way.
Mid morning and I decided to check the ditch calling her name while out there. Suddenly I heard a meow cry. I kept calling her name and following her answer and my heart nearly stopped when I found her in the evergreen tree. Remember Greta was up there 4 days and 3 nights when I begged our tree guy to bring his lift truck to get her down.
I called and begged and cajoled and begged some more but she wouldn’t budge. I got a broom to reach up higher.
I could tell she was scared but I couldn’t convince her to come down.
I drove the golf cart into the ditch to stand on.
She was just too high. We had a ladder, too, plus Rick brought the tractor and loader. There were 2 bags of feed still in it so I had to crowd in the remaining space. Then with me hanging on for dear life (I’m standing in the loader mind you) he started lifting the loader – not gently. He lifted it in jumps to get above the fence. Then he lifted me right into the tree limbs which could have knocked me off balance and thrown me over the edge of the loader and possible right on top,of the pointed picket fence! I was terrified and screaming at the top of my lungs and he wouldn’t stop. I’m not sure why he did finally stop but I was screaming and asking him why he didn’t stop. Oh – he didn’t hear me! WTH! What have I complained about relentlessly – his poor hearing!!!!
I sat on the ground and caught my breath while he went and got a long pole with a board on top that we tried to put up on the branch for Mortie to slide down on. Nothing worked – she was paralyzed with fear.
About 5:00 Michele came to pick up Hank. She offered to help and being 6’ tall with long arms, we needed her. We put the ladder on the ditch side of the fence, I held the ladder, she climbed up and grabbed Mortie. Of course Mortie dug her claws deep into Michele’s hand but she didn’t let go, thank God. She put Mortie into my hands and I held her so tight there was no way she could escape and I walked calmly to the house where I collapsed in tears.
The dogs meanwhile thought it was a big game! Here she is now after eating, drinking and having a nap.
Here she was earlier today.
And like Becky always says, “You can’t make this stuff up!”
I gotta end with a joke tonight- just to keep my sanity.
Speeding ticket
The Policeman recently stopped a woman for exceeding the posted speed limit. He asked the driver her name.
She said, “I’m Mrs. Ladislav Abdulkhashim Zybkcicraznovskaya from the Republic of Uzbekistan visiting my daughter in Tallahassee.”
The cop put away his summons book and pen, and said, “Well… OK… but don’t let me catch you speeding again.”
We must get assigned as many lives as each of our furry loves because for everyone they use, we use one, too. Glad she is safe, sound, and survived her adventure. Odd about cats and trees. I’ve seen my out door kitty teach his babies about climbing trees. He is a very, very good hunter and a very, very good teacher, and a very, very good daddy. BTW, he is very “officially” OUT of the baby making business thanks to a local TNR group!
Mary,
I realize I’m late reading this story…oh,my!! Im so grateful you are all ok. Robbie 🌻
What a stressful day! I’m very glad you weren’t hurt hanging out of that bucket and Mortie is now safe and sound in the house. It could of gone wrong very quickly. Reading this a day late, since we are traveling.
Oh my! What a time you all had! I’m so very glad you didn’t fall from the bucket! What a mess you’d be in. Hugs to all!
Here’s a hint for picking up cats. If you grab them on the back of their neck (exactly like mom did when they were a kitten), they will always curl up in a ball so you can handle them. It doesn’t hurt them at all.
Mary, you are so very lucky you weren’t hurt. Don’t try that again.
Janet – that’s exactly how Michele picked up Mortie who still didn’t want to let go – she was paralyzed with fear.
My first thot was something chased her up the tree. Coyotes CAN and do jump 8′ fences (in my back yard!!!
Fox could have chased her as well! Oh boy Mary! As I read on that you were in a loader, hanging over the edge my heart missed a beat. One fall with your shoulders, hips and brain could be the end! You need to behave yourself and not get injured. Make sure Michelle has someone look at her hand! I used to get called out for surgery at night after someone got bit by a cat. (they have a lot of bacteria in their mouths) It was always a young man reaching to pet his girlfriend’s cat (on their first date) and within 4-5 hrs. his hand was blown up with excruciating pain! We’d have to do an incision and drainage at 1:00 AM! Followed by antibiotics. I hope Mortie has learned her lesson-I’m not sure you won’t do this again tho! PS-My husband was stone deaf by the time he got his hearing aids. I thot I would leave him first!! Why are men so damn stupid and stubborn?!?
Arlene – the hearing issue causes lots of trouble. All my life Mom told me not to be so loud so I taught myself to speak quieter and now I’m yelling again. We most definitely think Mortie was chased – she never ventures to that side of the yard. I’ll we ever know the whole story?
Oh, Mortie!!! Stressful day indeed!! I am so glad she is safely back where she belongs, hopefully having learned her lesson about climbing trees!!! I have to wonder if they have any idea how much stress they cause us when they go out exploring and don’t come home. Hoping you will have a much calmer weekend ahead!!
Poor Mortie and poor you. Becky is right—you can’t make this stuff up! You need to thank your lucky stars also that you didn’t fall off the loader. End result is that Mortie is safely out of the tree and you are safely in the house with Mortie. I was nervous just reading your adventure.
Loved the joke too.
Thank the good Lord this story had a happy ending! Please take good care, stressful situations like this are hard on a person! Hugs~
Oh Mary!!
What if you had fallen?? I’m so glad you got Mortie down and everything turned out okay.
Brenda – wondering if you got a delivery last Monday.
Oh Mary! That was a terrifying story! Michelle must have been very focused not to let Mortie’s bite keep her from getting her down. Bless her heart. Thankful everyone is safe. My dear FIL also would not get hearing aids—it was so isolating for him and hard on my MIL. Remembering that helped me when I needed one in my 60s. They are so good now.
So glad you & Mortie are safe. I can’t imagine standing in the front loader trying to reach the cat. I’m glad your story had a happy ending, last time I searched for a missing cat it didn’t have a good ending. You just never know what’s going to happen on a farm!!
Thank God there is a good outcome to your story. So much could have happened in hindsight and it rolls through your mind later of all the what ifs.
I stopped letting my cats outside many many years ago as I couldn’t take the stress of them not coming back in once I learned coyotes and fox were around. You pray they run to a tree to save themselves. Thank you Hanks mom for helping Rick and Mary.
Hope you can quilt your new quilt tops today. It’s a good day here for sewing with bright sunshine coming in my windows that need cleaning but oh well.
Oh Mary, that is so scary. I am glad you got Mortie out of the tree. Now will you have the tree removed so she does not go back up there? or any other kitty.
Never a dull moment there!
Returning home from retreat today. Had a great time but ready fo r home until the next retreat. I got baby flannel for two baby quilts and I need to get on Quilting these two quilts before the baby, another great grand baby, gets here.
Wow! That was a stressful day! I’m thankful everyone is OK.
Oh no! I would be tempted to cut that tree down! What a dangerous situation. God was watching over y’all for sure. Doesn’t Miss Mortie sleep with you ? I would have needed a few iced teas 🤭 after that! Hugs 🥰!
I am so sorry what you went through, so happy for both of you she’s back home! Thank You Michelle for helping Mary and Mortie out, you are an Angell!
Oh Mary, I hope you have a calm weekend with lots of sports on TV & some cold iced teas to drink. So glad that you & sweet Mortie are both safe. The things we won’t do for our pets!
When I read the first part of your post about Mortie being missing, my heart skipped a beat and I had to jump ahead to see that you found her and that she was safe. Then i went back and read the whole story, and was petrified again by you being on the loader. Thank goodness you were all well in the end …..except for Michele’s hand—I hope she heals well from it. Thank goodness she was able to reach Mortie—some cats would have climbed higher to avoid being rescued. We saw one cat chase another one up a tree (not our cats). It took awhile, but the cat finally came down on its own, backwards of course, since that’s the only way their claws would have worked in their favor.
Thank goodness you’re both ok!
What a story! Thankfully, all ended well. Tell Rick hearing aids aren’t a bad thing. It’s nice to hear the birds chirping outside with them.
You probably used up all your nine lives too! Glad you are all back home safe n sound. Our fur babies can certainly get into alot of trouble…thank goodness you found her.
Oh Mary! My heart was in my throat reading about Mortie!!!! Oh these silly animals that we love so much! Glad you found him, glad you got him out of the tree. Poor baby! Glad you didn’t fall. All I could think of when I was reading that was if your shoulder was messed up now boy a fall would not be good for it!!!!
Well Mary – Unbelievable!!! I think you used up one of your 9 lives too!
Oh Mary, you definitely did have a stressful day!!! You deserved more than 1 iced tea. Hopefully Mortie realizes she has enough places to explore & enjoy inside 🙂
God was definitely watching over you & helping you handle the situation you were given. But why were you given that situation? We are not to question, but we sure wonder. Hoping today is peaceful & calm Mary!
Mary…are you kidding me with your bad shoulder…and your other issues. Angels were definitely watching over you. Did Mortie sleep in the house….do you have coyotes that maybe she climbed the tree to save herself? Hopefully Mortie learned a lesson and will stay home where she will be safe. My number one rules for myself is to “stay off ladders” and you on that farm equipment trying to rescue Mortie. Thank God you did not fall and end up in a body cast. I wonder if you sat under the tree and talked to Mortie and had some food she liked if she would have come down on her own. I know we ALL LOVE OUR ANIMALS, but they need you alive. Mortie & Mary..please stay safe…you both need each other!
Mary – I dumped a can of cat food on top of the golf cart and I did sit there talking to her. There are coyotes in the area but not inside our fenced yard. We do think something chased Mortie – an owl maybe? I’m quite sure Mortie didn’t learn anything from this but surely she used up one of her 9 lives!
Never a dull day at your house.
So thankful you didn’t fall out of that bucket. There’s really no way to gently lift a bucket like that. I personally know 2 men who fell out of buckets while they were being lifted up to cut tree branches. Both are now in wheelchairs and paralyzed from the waist down. Gave me chills to read your post. You and Mortie were both very lucky today.
Cindy K – oh, heavens! I was so scared and couldn’t turn around to motion to Rick – I was actually sitting on the top edge of the bucket which is even worse. He didn’t think a thing of it and couldn’t hear me screaming. I’m thankful not to be in a hospital tonight or dead.
We are all thankful YOU are not in a cast or dead!
It’s getting harder and harder to grow old. I’m disliking it more every day.
Oh Mary WOW what an ordeal! I absolutely love Mortie… I feel like I know her and you! Happy to hear you did not get hurt. Take care 🙏🤩
Mortie’s adventure was hilarious!!! Not for you and Mortie but I had to read it out loud to the hubby. The funniest part? The WTH at the end. So typical of farm life.
I have a speeding ticket story. I was driving up to the city I went to college in; got left late from work, traffic was horrific, and a farm truck and I got into a passing battle on a divided highway. I would pass him going up hill and he would pass me going down. And there were al lot of hills. Coming from the opposite direction is a police car with lights flashing. Not my worry-he’s not going my way. Cop pulls in behind one car and they stop. Cop pulls out and stops another car and pulls out agoin. This happens a third time. I’m thinking this is really strange but as I made my turn onto a local road, I notice in my rear view mirror the cop has turned onto my side of the road with lights still blaring, makes the turn I took and follows ME! I pulled over and he comes up to the window and asks if I may have been going a little fast. I said I may have been but explained about passing with the truck and getting left late from work and the heavy traffic. He asked where I was going and I told him I was going to visit college friends. He ask if there was a boy friend waiting and I replied yes. He laughed, torn up the ticket he had written out, said he had a daughter my age so I was to drive carefully so the boy friend would see me and I wouldn’t see the ditch or another cop. And then he said he had to go write out some tickets and reminded me again to keep the speed down. I thanked him and took off driving carefully and the song “Radar Love” by Golden Earring came on the radio. 50 years later and I still remember this story every time I hear the song. Still want to drive fast to it also.
Deb – oh my, there’s a story!!! When I was writing the GOAT Gazette, I had a column called Everybody’s Got A Story! I think I should revive that for the blog – just like your speeding ticket story!! Loved it!
Hi Mary, l hope you had a iced tea after that! There was an English tv series,,one foot in the grave,, where the bloke got into some funny situations, l reckon this could be an episode! I could not even stand on my bed to fix the curtain hooks,let alone on a front end loader! Take care everyone, especially you Mary! Best wishes from Sandy
No, you can’t make this stuff up! Poot Mortie, poor Mary and poor Michelle. I assume Mortie has discovered the cat door. Glad you did not end up on a picket.
I closed a string of ads and one of them was relief for rotator cuff. I blame AI reading your blog.
Silly Mortie! Hopefully this cures her of climbing. But it might be like dogs with porcupines & skunks, they never learn.
Oh Mortie! I hope you learned your lesson. I got stressed just reading about it.
Like Christine first I was stressed about Mortie being missing and then was very worried about you!
Honestly, we are quite sure something chased her up there – she has known how to use the dog door for a long time and we always trust her. She has never climbed anything before this.