Lofty Ambitions

We used to have a wonderful cat, Willow, who could not only go up the vertical ladder into the stable loft, but could (very carefully) come back down. It was an adventure, this descent. It's easy for a cat to fall off a vertical ladder built into the wall... So Willow would hop down onto the top rung, then quickly twist his head and front legs down the back of the ladder, so he was held in place by the wall. With front legs on the next step down, it was just a matter of waiting for his rather round tummy to sift it's way down past the rung, then kick his hips sideways, land on the next step... and repeat. It was a hoot watching him in action.
Our current cats, Napster and Achmed, have both (dare we use the word) chickened out on this methodology. It is full of risk, and Napster's body shape is not really designed for leaping about in the rafters. Achmed lacks the patience.
Up Napster would go -- the summit attempt was usually a success... and then he would peer down with a wistful expression, yowling, until someone climbed up and rescued him. That someone was far too often Nancy.
A cat ramp was constructed at the other end of the stable. This was lovely -- it let him climb up at a more leisurely pace, spend some time at the Base Camp getting acclimated before completing the summit attempt. And it let him come sliding back down. That was the issue -- claws don't work well in that direction. It acquired a strip of carpet. And then a hammock at Base Camp, which is a huge hit with Achmed on hot summer days.
Now at least one of the chickens has decided that 'Because it's There' is, in fact, reason enough. She has taken to carefully climbing up the cat ramp, all the way into the loft, where she has carefully constructed a wonderful nest. Not easy for us to get to to collect the eggs -- that still requires someone going up that vertical ladder we mentioned...
And now she's got some of the other chickens wandering up with her. It's a popular spot, up there in the high altitude.














We were calling her Himalayan Chicken, for her propensity to mountaineer... but with due consideration, she really should be called Her-'A- Layin...