The Woods Kitty & Freezing Basil

Yesterday I noticed the dogs barking and caught a glimpse of a cat up on the hill. I thought it might have a home so I let it be. But, last night while I was trying to sleep I kept thinking about it and decided if it was still there today I needed to do something. This afternoon I saw it again, followed it for a bit and realized it's much more kitten than full grown cat. Way too small to make it with the wild dogs, coyotes and predatory birds on our hill. 

A big part of my day was spent trying to trap this wild little kitty who wasn't in love with me at first sight. I set up my live animal trap with some stinky cat food and watched for hours while the cat moved all around but never went into the opening. She was curious about me, but when I would try to get close she would head further into the woods. So I waited and waited. At one point I sat and collected acorns.  When she thought I looked busy she got curious and would get very close.

  

 A few days of this and she would have probably ended up on my lap keeping me from my task like any cat would do. As much as I would have loved to amuse her daily, it was starting to get late. I could hear the hawks and see them circling above and the woods were making unexplained noises. I could not stand the thought of that little girl spending one more night out there. She was in no rush and got quite relaxed. I think she was enjoying the company but had no intentions of letting me pet her. She pressed her face against and rubbed her cheeks on all the twigs around me as if she had been starved for affection.

 I wanted to pet her, but we weren't at that level of trust just yet. I decided I needed a better strategy, so I went and got more canned food and made a trail into the trap. And I sat down prepared to wait. Luckily, this did the trick. I watched eagerly as she started into the trap and when the door slammed shut I felt victorious!! Tonight she will be safe, though not extremely happy. Aside from being very skinny she appears healthy. I will work with her and try to find her a home. 

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Summer is coming to a close here. It's getting cooler so I decided it might be time to cut back the basil and do something with it. I saw the idea on Pinterest to put it in a food processor with just enough olive oil to cover it, blend and put into ice cube trays. I did it and it was messy. As of a few minutes ago, they don't want to come out of the tray :-/ Hopefully by morning they will so I can store them in freezer bags to use this winter for cooking. The idea is to pop one into soup or use it for pesto. 

You can imagine the oily mess this made in my food processor and all over the counter. I wasn't thrilled about that! Doesn't look too appealing at this stage. I'll post an update on this basil freezing method. If things go well with the greenhouse, I'm hoping to keep basil most of the year. Just in case that doesn't work, I'll have a little bit of my summer basil to hold me over.