Noble Moments: Animal Husbandry

Audrey's favorite part, by far, of our vacation was consorting with the animals. She fell fast and hard for a cat called "Moppat" ("Muppy" for short), although she was also enamored with Muppy's sister, "Figgy" (short for "Figaro).

The cats were good humored about their lot of constantly being hunted, and once found cuddled and loved. (Though they were pretty good about escaping when windows of opportunity opened). Audrey is now convinced that cats are the most divine creatures on earth and often asks when we can own one.
Alyssa was also pretty jazzed about the cats, but they were far to quick for her to get very close. I wasn't able to capture it with this picture, but when Audrey would cuddle a cat, she'd extend its tail for Alyssa. Alyssa would gently finger the tail as she would her blanky, and contentedly suck her thumb. (Good thing these were extraordinarily patient cats!)

Instead, Alyssa found her friend in Opus, a gentle, elderly, arthritic dog with a sweet disposition. Being roughly the same size they fell into a fairly symbioitic relationship. Opus would fulfil Alyssa's need for puppy love, and Alyssa's toddleresque table manners caused lots of snacks to fall from her bowl to the waiting Opus.

There were also chickens to feed,, and several injured birds that landed in the yard. Audrey jumped right in to her former "Steve Irwin persona" and played the role of animal rehabilator in her attempts to rescue them.
Of all of the pets in the Noble Menagerie, none were as beloved as the rabbits. They lived in cages under the deck and I think that is where Audrey spent the majority of her time. I'm not sure exactly what she did there, as I wasn't small enough to investigate, but it seemed many a happy hour were spent in the rabbit cages.


One of the rabbits is caged just outside the window where Alyssa and I slept, and she was passionate about looking out at them. She could be in the middle of a big nap protestation, and all I'd have to say is, "It's a bunny!" and all would turn to sweetness and light as we enjoyed looking at the bunnies together.

It was so fun to see my girls run and explore and live such an idyllic and carefree childhood How lucky we are to be part of the Noble crew.