LOL Elvis is so aggravated that other cats are getting so much air time. Love the chicken ladies, by the way. I always wondered if they got bored, brooding all the time, but now I know they have hobbies like all of us hens.
Is that a “BN” on the microphone in the crate? For “Barn News”?
And Tommy looks so happy with all those string-like objects… I have to be careful plugging in my phone ’cause my Thumper often thinks it’s time to play strings (She also thinks that when I’m tying my shoes, moving the air conditioner, winding up the cord on the vacuum, putting up Christmas lights, walking on the same floor as her string, walking on a different floor as her string, getting dressed, sleeping, cooking…)
Doesn’t it seem like every farm has one ancient barn cat who is like, 20 years old and all the other barn cats’ great, great grandmother? I had to include one on Burt’s farm. She is loosely based on a cat we had growing up named Mouse. And Mouse was the real inspiration behind last year’s BCN Christmas special! I will add some photos and more about this to the ‘real cats behind BCN’ pages when I can.
Speaking of barn cats, when I was a kid my great aunts had a berry farm. There was an old male cat, “Old Puss”, who slept on the back stair landing. He was over 20 years old (phenomenal for a working cat), had notched ears, was blind in one eye and didn’t like men, but was a fixture on the farm. Dear Baba made me think of him.
I was about to ask if there was a real Baba Mouse on Burt’s farm and would we get pics! Baba Mouse has a wonderful mix of old lady cat and old lady Russian in her. That “GIT!” frame reminds me so very much of our Chessie. She was an indoor/outdoor cat who was convinced to become indoor, had no kittens, and a different set of health issues than those Gramma Mouse has, but they share that Old Lady Attitude. Chessie was old, frail, and DON’T YOU FORGET she’s Alpha! Baba Mouse “GIT!”ing those mice reminds me so much of seeing Chessie glare the young upstart boys into submission.
I am happy to report that though Baba Mouse’s personality and appearance are based on my family’s late cat Mouse, I was inspired to create her in the first place by an actual 20+ year old cat on Burt’s farm named Sheila.
She was indeed a wonderful cat for all the years she was with us! Full of unique personality and spunk. …And I’ll stop there, because given half a chance, I would talk your ears off about all the family cats.
Her name is Calicoiy! (Named by a 7 yr old.) She is a long-hair calico with a double coat. She can’t stand her current great-great-grandkittens and hangs out with the dogs. Meaning she shares space with the ones with thick enough coats to repel her claws and kicks the short haired dogs out of their houses…
I look on in complete awe (and awwwww!) of your artistic/storytelling prowess – so much on this page to marvel at (tho’ this is the most gentle barn in the history of barns if Baba Mouse merely sweeps the mice away)!
Thank you again and again and again for this strip!
After picking myself off the floor bellowing with laughter over the first panel, I read the rest through tears of laughter running down my face. Beautifully done and I love Baba Mouse. I also love the colors – so different from their regular environment! And it appears that the mic is labeled “BN” for “Barn News”. I haven’t seen such wonderful farm animals since Richard Scarry illustrated “Boss of the Barnyard” in the late 40’s/early 50’s. I still have those books, btw. (And a shoutout to Puck peeking up into camera frame in the first frame!)
Well, you know Elvis wouldn’t want to go… at least not yet. He’s far too annoyed by the appearance of this new stranger. And Lupin, of course, tends to be more of an anchor cat. That leaves Puck, who seems to be just a bit mesmerized… Of course, if any of them were to go, they’d have to sneak out of the house to do it.
Actually, I kind of picture Elvis sneaking over to the barn after hours…
Where to start? The llamas haughty looks and the hat, the chicken in the bathing suit, the burgler mice and Baba’s outfit so funny and well done. and the answer to Tommy’s question “are all farm animals female” is, all the ones that Burt knows are. He really is coming off as an Aristorcat! I had to read this several times and read the comments so as to not miss anything. This one was packed with your signature surprises, thanks Georgia!
MY new book, Kentucky Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey is about to be out (find it on Amazon, a travelogue of distilleries and touring), and I have a piece on distillery cats. They’re very like barn cats. I felt very lucky to meet Elijah, the 20 year old distillery cat at Woodford Reserve, before he passed away last year. He was a cool elderly yellow tabby. He’d turned the mousing over to others, but he was still the symbol of the distillery until he died.
I grew up on a farm. We had a cat when I was 9 who had litter after litter of kittens. Her name was Mittens, and then one of her progeny picked up being the old Barn Cat.
I’m 43 now, and there are still cats at my parent’s old farm that come from that lineage. I don’t know what generation we’re on, but my dad pointed out that’s 34 years of cats right there. Insanity, if you ask me.
This November will mark 50 years since my parents bought this house, and there’s been cats here almost from day one. I’ve seen pictures from before I was born (I’m 45) of a pure white long-haired Persian sleeping curled up with my Mom’s black lab. That was a male, and he lived to be almost 17 years old. The cat we have now is all black, with just enough Siamese to see it in his face, and he’s 15 years old. Other than that, I don’t think any of our cats have made it past 10 years.
My two cats (one now) came from my mother’s cousin’s farm (True barn kittens too! Their mother was a feral barn cat.) Cousin’s mother always had cats and you could see the generations because they were white and had a gray ‘cap’ between their ears that was passed down through the generations.
Hey Louise,It took me a long time to find it,but I found it to!It’s in the middle
of that box with the wires.(Even though the hidden BN looks like a hidden
PN.)
The new cat’s a dude? He looked like a girl to me. Hey, what if, one day, one of the new cats the boys meet turns out to be related to one of them? A nice little family reunion.
I love Baba Mouse! I lived in Kazakhstan for a while and learned Russian – Baba is short for Grandma or Nana and while I was there I was given a beautiful Snowshoe cat that I named Mouishka – Russian for Little Mouse! Sadly at the ripe old age of 16 and much world travelling, Mouishka passed away last year. She was a feisty old lady and I miss her terribly
Awww I’m sorry for your loss! Hopefully Baba Mouse can be a happy reminder whenever she happens to pop up in the strip. I promise she will be very fiesty.
I’m pleased to hear that, Baba Mouse is hysterical – I’m with a previous commenter (can’t remember which one, sorry) who wants Baba Mouse saying “Git” to the robber mice on a T-shirt!! Rock on BCN!
I just have to comment – I have been seriously struggling with depression this year, and that update notification popping up is one of the biggest joys/comforts I have. I just light up the tiniest bit every time there’s a new strip to pounce on, and very little does that for me right now. Every new strip is delightful in a new way; I’m never disappointed, and having that one thing to count on is a colossal help. Thank you so much for all your help this year, unwitting or otherwise!
That being said…
The best (for me) in this one are Puck’s “still here and involved and curious” pop up; Lupin’s appearance of lying on his belly, tail up, propped on elbows in excitement like he just hopped up there to lie on the desk and stare happily at “story time”; Elvis’ pencil-tapping; the hens who put me in mind of three quirky sisters who might be from any number of TV series; that EPIC expression on Baba Mouse!; the mousies!(omg the mousies!) they look like like little grandkids dressing up to play robber in grandma’s kitchen, maybe hoping to swipe a treat or overhear an unfamiliar naughty word. Maybe hear a story if they’re persistent enough. They don’t seem active, just like they’re sitting and staring at her; Tommy’s utterly delighted face of glee; and finally, the fact that that suave, debonair, cat-about-town type Burt is the behind the scenes AV guy! I feel like he’d be flirting around the edge of the camera and annoying the stuffing out of Elvis while Lupin’s chuckles tolerantly and Puck is focused on a bit of food the report subject has. Your comics are just so visual and the characters endearing… And I love all the background info around the site.
Sorry for the long post; it’s been an extra hard week and this really perked me up. Extra fun when I pull the strip up on the XBox and read it big screen! I can’t wait to order several copies of the book for myself and as gifts! Thanks again!
Are the llamas meant to be French? Or at least that middle one? It’s got the Disney-style stereotypical Outfit… Though it would be a male outfit, wouldn’t it…?
Thank you for your kind words Julie! I’m so sorry you have been going through depression. It can be so brutal, and society is not always the best at dealing with it. (A few dear, dear friends battle depression. It is a battle, for sure). It makes me really happy that the comic can be a bright point, and give you some comfort right now!
You nailed the mice and Baba Mouse. In my head, I look at their little scene and imagine it has played out so many times between all of them that she likely has bits of advice/stories peppered into her admonishments.
And for the llamas I was sort of shooting for retro casual looks. French could definitely work for the gal in the middle. A couple of the llamas on Burt’s real farm have french names!
Thank you again, and especially thank you for sharing what the comic means to you. I’m glad these ‘broadcasts’ can help!!
<3 Nice when someone understands. Sadly, Depression is an extremely overused term. I have a service dog now in relation, but that only goes so far. (luckily she gets along ok with the cat!).
Ha! Love it! Now they'll always be like that in my head.
Perfect for the llamas! How funny!
I'm happy to be able to tell someone who's helping how much it means!
There’s so much wonderful detail in this. I pick up something new every time I re-read it. (This time was the little sack one of the mice is carrying to put stolen stuff in. Too cute!)
Is it too much to hope for an eventual meeting between Elvis and Baba Mouse? Somehow I don’t see him poofing up for any great extent of time around her.
Hi, Georgia! I’m a newcomer to your world, and I am already in love with it! The cartoon about the bacon reminded me so much of my late guy, Oliver, and his attempts to get to the chicken juice in a baggie that was in the sink. I heard noise in the kitchen, and I walked in just in time to see him on the counter. His head shot up out of the sink, and I saw that he had gotten his whole head in the baggie! He started shaking his head to get it free and then realized that if he lowered it and shook it, the baggie would fall off. Poor guy — I think he thought I’d be mad, so he jumped down and ran down the basement (either that, or he was humiliated at being caught in such a “compromising position.” I was laughing so hard, though, that I couldn’t have yelled at him even if I had wanted to. Ollie, Ollie, Ollie…may you rest in peace, my mischievous silly child!
Are the mice wearing old style thief costumes (with the white and black stripes)? That’s adorable! Hehe, and her knocking them away with a broom is definitely better than the usual method. I was wondering how you were going to do that.
In frame 5 does Burt remove his hat out of respect for Baba Mouse?? This one is full of details! I’m sure I will have to look at it again and again to see everything! Awesome, Georgia!!!!!!
I think barn cats have all but, disappeared. When I was growing up if you wanted a kitten we would go to a near by farm they always had kittens and, I am sure the mama kitty’s produced many.
I also remember most people that had cats had a mama kitty.
We had a barn cat when I was a kid. Klondike was a king… twenty pounds of raw muscle, claws like razors, and the most affectionate, gentle personality when dealing with toddlers (like me!)
But one day, when he was eight or nine years old, he lost a fight with a raccoon. We took him to the vet, and got him patched up, and while he was recuperating, he stayed in the house. Afterward, he didn’t want to go back to the barn. So we said that he’d retired, and ever after, he was one of the inside the house cats.
I also want a Baba Mouse plushie! Does she have a cat tree on chicken legs? She reminds me of my own ‘old lady’ Nimue. (Nim’s human went off to Europe to study medicine and music, so her mother said either find her a new home or she’s off to the shelter. No one wants a grumpy old lady who detests other cats, so she’s here terrorizing mine. )
My late life partner Meriadoc started out life as a barn cat, though he was only 8 weeks old when he arrived in my life. Barn cats are marvelous beasties, and sometimes it’s a great way to rescue strays and feral colonies that unreasonable humans refuse to accept. Despite the high mortality rate. Coyotes eat barn cats here in Illinois, sadly, but mostly just the really dumb ones who refuse to keep an eye on things.
A cat tree on chicken legs is a spectacular idea!!! If I can find a place for that somewhere in the barn I will, I love it. (I already hope that perhaps the chickens will be somehow close to Baba Mouse )
Judging from his box of “stuff”, I envision him being listed in credits as “technician”, “best boy” or “grip”. Looks like he’s a sort of “Jack of all trades” behind the scenes. Television (and movies) cannot happen without them.
Baba Mouse reminds me of several of Patricia Polacco’s grandmothers. My first thought was Natasha’s grandmother in “Babushka’s Doll.” Then I thought of the grandma from “Thunder Cake.”
And of course I has thoughts of Baba Yaga. I think Ms. Polacco must have been humming Mussorgsky when she drew the grandmas, but then she made them sweet – tough, but loveable, like Baba Mouse.
I adore Russian grandmother-figures in folk lore. Baba Yaga is one of my favorite folks in stories of any culture. I love how she can be so dangerous if crossed–but will sometimes intervene to help people in need. It makes her character fun and unpredictable, and a little scary and mysterious too.
Dear Girl: I have to (belatedly) comment on the mice. In my mind I love them, in the feed bin at the barn I detest them. Years ago I went into the feed room to take the push cart down the barn isle to feed my boarders. There was a mouse sitting there in the cart! I grabbed one of the girl cats, put her in the cart and in seconds she leaped out, mouse in mouth. There was a second mouse! Got a second girl cat and the same scenario. I was pulling the cart out of the feed room and here came one of the boy cats running toward me meowing. He could only have been saying “FREE MICE IN THE FEED ROOM!” How did he know? That was many years ago in a different time and place, but I will never forget it. Cat communication is wonderful!
julie thanks so much for sharing about your depression.
i understand.
the photo next to my name is of my heart friend and service dog lily.
i stumbled across this comic a few weeks back and just fell in love with it. the creativity,the personalitys of each cat and now the barn animals. i love the ‘from the house’ reports and i’m really looking forward to more barn reports.
could there be a horse please and a milk cow. every farm needs a loving work horse and a mooing cow.
there are moments when my depression feels heavier and this comic alone never fails to make me laugh. like many of your readers i read through the comments and pick up on things i missed.
just wondering? is the barn cat wearing an actual barn coat seen quite often worn by farmers? i can’t image not having pockets. where would one put stuff?!
p.s elvis is such a siamese lol.
years ago our friends had a siamese they named me too. he lived to be an old man of 16
It is indeed meant to be a barn coat, great catch! I am so happy the comic always gives you a laugh, that means a lot to me. I’m glad in some small way that it can help. (And I agree about the loving work horse and mooing cow… We shall see! )
<3 Thank you. Lily is such a beauty! I love those colors! My service pup Inku is a huge help, as is my little torte cat. My two princesses always stare when, in the middle of a few hours either crying or just deadness, I bust out laughing at the arrival of a new comic… I have to give huge props to anything able to hold a candle to Depression.
…your horse comment has just made me realize I have not passed this comic on to my aunt (who has horses, digs, cats, fixes, coyotes, birds, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, possums…). I must go re tiny this!
Good morning, I was hoping after reading and rereading all the comments, that someone would mention the character that is in the second panel in the upper right hand corner. I even got out my magnifying glasses. Is it a bat? Anyone? And I know a new one is coming out today, so I may be too late in asking.
G L. (Greased Lightning) the Farm Cat of my childhood Liked me best. I was the one who found Rabbits (not mice or rats – rabbits) on my bed. GL considered other rodents beneath her dignity and Kangaroos were just too fast.
I adore Baba Mouse! I have snaffled the “GIT!” panel to use as my avatar on my favourite forum. I’m not sure of the legalities of this, but I have given you the credit in my “about” page, and I promise to buy your book when it comes out.
Baba reminds me of my mysterious neighbor from Norway when I lived in the outskirts of my hometown. She was rumored to be an immortal Salem witch which makes sense because she was actually 203. She was a cat.
THE LONG AWAITED REVEAL! Woo Hoo!
Is Baba Mouse “the source to be nameless”?
LOL Elvis is so aggravated that other cats are getting so much air time. Love the chicken ladies, by the way. I always wondered if they got bored, brooding all the time, but now I know they have hobbies like all of us hens.
I loooooove the chicken ladies! Especially the white one.
Do I spot a Barn News mic in the box?
Love Elivs with the tapping pencil.
Yes, you do!!! Yay!!! Great spotting!
Love baba mouse and the mice bandits
Is that a BN (Barn News) mic in his crate of goodies?
YAY!!! Yes!! Exactly, great eye Deanna!
Love the little “burglar” mice and their striped outfits!
One of the mice even has a swag bag!
Oh! Do the mice all have bandit masks??? This truly is the comic that never stops giving…
Yes they do!!!
Is that a “BN” on the microphone in the crate? For “Barn News”?
And Tommy looks so happy with all those string-like objects… I have to be careful plugging in my phone ’cause my Thumper often thinks it’s time to play strings (She also thinks that when I’m tying my shoes, moving the air conditioner, winding up the cord on the vacuum, putting up Christmas lights, walking on the same floor as her string, walking on a different floor as her string, getting dressed, sleeping, cooking…)
Yes, indeed it is!!!
But’s a stagehand!
Doesn’t it seem like every farm has one ancient barn cat who is like, 20 years old and all the other barn cats’ great, great grandmother? I had to include one on Burt’s farm. She is loosely based on a cat we had growing up named Mouse. And Mouse was the real inspiration behind last year’s BCN Christmas special! I will add some photos and more about this to the ‘real cats behind BCN’ pages when I can.
Speaking of barn cats, when I was a kid my great aunts had a berry farm. There was an old male cat, “Old Puss”, who slept on the back stair landing. He was over 20 years old (phenomenal for a working cat), had notched ears, was blind in one eye and didn’t like men, but was a fixture on the farm. Dear Baba made me think of him.
I was about to ask if there was a real Baba Mouse on Burt’s farm and would we get pics! Baba Mouse has a wonderful mix of old lady cat and old lady Russian in her. That “GIT!” frame reminds me so very much of our Chessie. She was an indoor/outdoor cat who was convinced to become indoor, had no kittens, and a different set of health issues than those Gramma Mouse has, but they share that Old Lady Attitude. Chessie was old, frail, and DON’T YOU FORGET she’s Alpha! Baba Mouse “GIT!”ing those mice reminds me so much of seeing Chessie glare the young upstart boys into submission.
I am happy to report that though Baba Mouse’s personality and appearance are based on my family’s late cat Mouse, I was inspired to create her in the first place by an actual 20+ year old cat on Burt’s farm named Sheila.
And Chessie sounds great! I love cats with a little bit of spunk to them.
She was indeed a wonderful cat for all the years she was with us! Full of unique personality and spunk. …And I’ll stop there, because given half a chance, I would talk your ears off about all the family cats.
I would probably enjoy that very much, haha!
Her name is Calicoiy! (Named by a 7 yr old.) She is a long-hair calico with a double coat. She can’t stand her current great-great-grandkittens and hangs out with the dogs. Meaning she shares space with the ones with thick enough coats to repel her claws and kicks the short haired dogs out of their houses…
Burt’s a Stagehand!
Total O’Malley vibe from Burt now. Squeeeee chicken in a bathing suit, how insanely adorable!!!!!
I love the little masks on the robber mice. And Baba Mouse is a hoot! With her perfect hearing.
Love the BN microphone in Burt’s basket. The criminal mice with Baba Mouse could have starred with Ralphie in the Christmas Story backyard hero scene.
So I’m gonna need a Baba Mouse plushie. Like right now.
I love the hens embroidering and reading books as if they were well refined ladies in Elizabethan times!
I keep seeing looming Puck in the first frame and laughing.
This should be interesting
Once again panel 1 does it for me
I look on in complete awe (and awwwww!) of your artistic/storytelling prowess – so much on this page to marvel at (tho’ this is the most gentle barn in the history of barns if Baba Mouse merely sweeps the mice away)!
Thank you again and again and again for this strip!
Oh, the faces, the FACES! Every little kitty face is so perfectly expressive, they just give me joy.
Pucky is so excited to learn all about “barn catting”! Could he be any closer to the monitor?!?!
After picking myself off the floor bellowing with laughter over the first panel, I read the rest through tears of laughter running down my face. Beautifully done and I love Baba Mouse. I also love the colors – so different from their regular environment! And it appears that the mic is labeled “BN” for “Barn News”. I haven’t seen such wonderful farm animals since Richard Scarry illustrated “Boss of the Barnyard” in the late 40’s/early 50’s. I still have those books, btw. (And a shoutout to Puck peeking up into camera frame in the first frame!)
Poor Elvis is suffering.
I hope Burt can have a black tshirt when he is AVing for them!
Are they alpacas? I want a Git tshirt now
Close! They are llamas.
Olwen Hawker. BOOM. *mic drop*
HAHAHA!! I *almost* sent you a picture of Baba Mouse last night but I wanted you to be surprised!
I totally was. You should have heard me yell!
I look forward to seeing the personal interest stories from the barn
I always read the strip, then read all the comments and scroll back to see what I missed ! Love it all !
ooooh, are those llamas? Wonderful work as always.
Yes, they are!
Strange.I thought lupin, puck, and elvis would go to.
Well, you know Elvis wouldn’t want to go… at least not yet. He’s far too annoyed by the appearance of this new stranger. And Lupin, of course, tends to be more of an anchor cat. That leaves Puck, who seems to be just a bit mesmerized… Of course, if any of them were to go, they’d have to sneak out of the house to do it.
Actually, I kind of picture Elvis sneaking over to the barn after hours…
90 kittens! Don’t forget to neuter your kitties
I keep going back to look at the robber mice and smiling. This might be my new favorite strip.
Where to start? The llamas haughty looks and the hat, the chicken in the bathing suit, the burgler mice and Baba’s outfit so funny and well done. and the answer to Tommy’s question “are all farm animals female” is, all the ones that Burt knows are. He really is coming off as an Aristorcat! I had to read this several times and read the comments so as to not miss anything. This one was packed with your signature surprises, thanks Georgia!
My husband spotted the BN Mic and I didn’t!! I hang my head in shame….
I recognize the fore-teeth on a certain cat!!!! Is this Olwyn’s??
MY new book, Kentucky Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey is about to be out (find it on Amazon, a travelogue of distilleries and touring), and I have a piece on distillery cats. They’re very like barn cats. I felt very lucky to meet Elijah, the 20 year old distillery cat at Woodford Reserve, before he passed away last year. He was a cool elderly yellow tabby. He’d turned the mousing over to others, but he was still the symbol of the distillery until he died.
I grew up on a farm. We had a cat when I was 9 who had litter after litter of kittens. Her name was Mittens, and then one of her progeny picked up being the old Barn Cat.
I’m 43 now, and there are still cats at my parent’s old farm that come from that lineage. I don’t know what generation we’re on, but my dad pointed out that’s 34 years of cats right there. Insanity, if you ask me.
This November will mark 50 years since my parents bought this house, and there’s been cats here almost from day one. I’ve seen pictures from before I was born (I’m 45) of a pure white long-haired Persian sleeping curled up with my Mom’s black lab. That was a male, and he lived to be almost 17 years old. The cat we have now is all black, with just enough Siamese to see it in his face, and he’s 15 years old. Other than that, I don’t think any of our cats have made it past 10 years.
My two cats (one now) came from my mother’s cousin’s farm (True barn kittens too! Their mother was a feral barn cat.) Cousin’s mother always had cats and you could see the generations because they were white and had a gray ‘cap’ between their ears that was passed down through the generations.
Hey Louise,It took me a long time to find it,but I found it to!It’s in the middle
of that box with the wires.(Even though the hidden BN looks like a hidden
PN.)
Seems the tan and white llama is wearing earrings.
She is! (Just in the comic, of course).
I adore the chicken bathing suit!!!! And I hope we see a lot more of Baba Mouse!
Thank you!!
The new cat’s a dude? He looked like a girl to me. Hey, what if, one day, one of the new cats the boys meet turns out to be related to one of them? A nice little family reunion.
I love Baba Mouse! I lived in Kazakhstan for a while and learned Russian – Baba is short for Grandma or Nana and while I was there I was given a beautiful Snowshoe cat that I named Mouishka – Russian for Little Mouse! Sadly at the ripe old age of 16 and much world travelling, Mouishka passed away last year. She was a feisty old lady and I miss her terribly
Awww
I’m sorry for your loss! Hopefully Baba Mouse can be a happy reminder whenever she happens to pop up in the strip. I promise she will be very fiesty. 
I’m pleased to hear that, Baba Mouse is hysterical – I’m with a previous commenter (can’t remember which one, sorry) who wants Baba Mouse saying “Git” to the robber mice on a T-shirt!! Rock on BCN!
I just have to comment – I have been seriously struggling with depression this year, and that update notification popping up is one of the biggest joys/comforts I have. I just light up the tiniest bit every time there’s a new strip to pounce on, and very little does that for me right now. Every new strip is delightful in a new way; I’m never disappointed, and having that one thing to count on is a colossal help. Thank you so much for all your help this year, unwitting or otherwise!
That being said…
The best (for me) in this one are Puck’s “still here and involved and curious” pop up; Lupin’s appearance of lying on his belly, tail up, propped on elbows in excitement like he just hopped up there to lie on the desk and stare happily at “story time”; Elvis’ pencil-tapping; the hens who put me in mind of three quirky sisters who might be from any number of TV series; that EPIC expression on Baba Mouse!; the mousies!(omg the mousies!) they look like like little grandkids dressing up to play robber in grandma’s kitchen, maybe hoping to swipe a treat or overhear an unfamiliar naughty word. Maybe hear a story if they’re persistent enough. They don’t seem active, just like they’re sitting and staring at her; Tommy’s utterly delighted face of glee; and finally, the fact that that suave, debonair, cat-about-town type Burt is the behind the scenes AV guy! I feel like he’d be flirting around the edge of the camera and annoying the stuffing out of Elvis while Lupin’s chuckles tolerantly and Puck is focused on a bit of food the report subject has. Your comics are just so visual and the characters endearing… And I love all the background info around the site.
Sorry for the long post; it’s been an extra hard week and this really perked me up. Extra fun when I pull the strip up on the XBox and read it big screen! I can’t wait to order several copies of the book for myself and as gifts! Thanks again!
Are the llamas meant to be French? Or at least that middle one? It’s got the Disney-style stereotypical Outfit… Though it would be a male outfit, wouldn’t it…?
Thank you for your kind words Julie! I’m so sorry you have been going through depression. It can be so brutal, and society is not always the best at dealing with it. (A few dear, dear friends battle depression. It is a battle, for sure). It makes me really happy that the comic can be a bright point, and give you some comfort right now!
You nailed the mice and Baba Mouse. In my head, I look at their little scene and imagine it has played out so many times between all of them that she likely has bits of advice/stories peppered into her admonishments.
And for the llamas I was sort of shooting for retro casual looks. French could definitely work for the gal in the middle. A couple of the llamas on Burt’s real farm have french names!
Thank you again, and especially thank you for sharing what the comic means to you. I’m glad these ‘broadcasts’ can help!!
<3 Nice when someone understands. Sadly, Depression is an extremely overused term. I have a service dog now in relation, but that only goes so far. (luckily she gets along ok with the cat!).
Ha! Love it! Now they'll always be like that in my head.
Perfect for the llamas! How funny!
I'm happy to be able to tell someone who's helping how much it means!
Burt is now my spirit animal. I was an AV geek.
I’m with you! In fact, my official title at the school where I work is “Audio/Video Technician”
There’s so much wonderful detail in this. I pick up something new every time I re-read it. (This time was the little sack one of the mice is carrying to put stolen stuff in. Too cute!)
Thank you TeaBQ! And yes! I like to think that little mouse got away with a corn kernel or two.
Is it too much to hope for an eventual meeting between Elvis and Baba Mouse? Somehow I don’t see him poofing up for any great extent of time around her.
It may be
I know I’d like to see that myself…..
Oh my gosh! I love all the little outfits you designed for all the barn animals! This comic strip is so colorful and cute!
Thank you!!
Hi, Georgia! I’m a newcomer to your world, and I am already in love with it! The cartoon about the bacon reminded me so much of my late guy, Oliver, and his attempts to get to the chicken juice in a baggie that was in the sink. I heard noise in the kitchen, and I walked in just in time to see him on the counter. His head shot up out of the sink, and I saw that he had gotten his whole head in the baggie! He started shaking his head to get it free and then realized that if he lowered it and shook it, the baggie would fall off. Poor guy — I think he thought I’d be mad, so he jumped down and ran down the basement (either that, or he was humiliated at being caught in such a “compromising position.” I was laughing so hard, though, that I couldn’t have yelled at him even if I had wanted to. Ollie, Ollie, Ollie…may you rest in peace, my mischievous silly child!
That is so funny!!! Haha!! Picturing it had me laughing, thank you for sharing!
As an AV sort of person myself, I appreciate this page so very much.
Are the mice wearing old style thief costumes (with the white and black stripes)? That’s adorable! Hehe, and her knocking them away with a broom is definitely better than the usual method. I was wondering how you were going to do that.
Yes, they are!! And thank you, I’m glad these little mouse bandits will see another day myself!
In frame 5 does Burt remove his hat out of respect for Baba Mouse?? This one is full of details! I’m sure I will have to look at it again and again to see everything! Awesome, Georgia!!!!!!
Oh, and I meant to mention how much I love it that Baba Mouse is in the very first frame!!
I think barn cats have all but, disappeared. When I was growing up if you wanted a kitten we would go to a near by farm they always had kittens and, I am sure the mama kitty’s produced many.
I also remember most people that had cats had a mama kitty.
Adorable! I love the “Puckish” hen!
Baba Mouse is a scream!
We had a barn cat when I was a kid. Klondike was a king… twenty pounds of raw muscle, claws like razors, and the most affectionate, gentle personality when dealing with toddlers (like me!)
But one day, when he was eight or nine years old, he lost a fight with a raccoon. We took him to the vet, and got him patched up, and while he was recuperating, he stayed in the house. Afterward, he didn’t want to go back to the barn. So we said that he’d retired, and ever after, he was one of the inside the house cats.
I also want a Baba Mouse plushie! Does she have a cat tree on chicken legs? She reminds me of my own ‘old lady’ Nimue. (Nim’s human went off to Europe to study medicine and music, so her mother said either find her a new home or she’s off to the shelter. No one wants a grumpy old lady who detests other cats, so she’s here terrorizing mine. )
My late life partner Meriadoc started out life as a barn cat, though he was only 8 weeks old when he arrived in my life. Barn cats are marvelous beasties, and sometimes it’s a great way to rescue strays and feral colonies that unreasonable humans refuse to accept. Despite the high mortality rate. Coyotes eat barn cats here in Illinois, sadly, but mostly just the really dumb ones who refuse to keep an eye on things.
A cat tree on chicken legs is a spectacular idea!!! If I can find a place for that somewhere in the barn I will, I love it. (I already hope that perhaps the chickens will be somehow close to Baba Mouse
)
I’m sorry, what is an “AV Cat”? I’m not very familiar with newsy terms.
Never fear, Burt will be explaining what that means in the next strip!
Judging from his box of “stuff”, I envision him being listed in credits as “technician”, “best boy” or “grip”. Looks like he’s a sort of “Jack of all trades” behind the scenes. Television (and movies) cannot happen without them.
This is an excellent way to put it! Thank you!
Reminds me of my Grandmothers barn cats! They would chase the mice away just like Baba Mouse! I also love Elvis’s annoyed face! So cute!!!
The housecats got into my bag of tortillas today. Looks like I’ll have to get little “bandit” costumes for them now!
Awwww!!
Baba Mouse reminds me of several of Patricia Polacco’s grandmothers. My first thought was Natasha’s grandmother in “Babushka’s Doll.” Then I thought of the grandma from “Thunder Cake.”
And of course I has thoughts of Baba Yaga. I think Ms. Polacco must have been humming Mussorgsky when she drew the grandmas, but then she made them sweet – tough, but loveable, like Baba Mouse.
Is there a way to edit typos?
I’m not certain if there is a way for users to, but if you let me know I can go in and amend a typo!
(I have many typos myself I often have to double check).
I adore Russian grandmother-figures in folk lore. Baba Yaga is one of my favorite folks in stories of any culture. I love how she can be so dangerous if crossed–but will sometimes intervene to help people in need. It makes her character fun and unpredictable, and a little scary and mysterious too.
if baba mouse can hear so well, why wasn’t she mad when burt said she is older than dirt?
Are you kidding? She looks plenty ticked off to me!
Dear Girl: I have to (belatedly) comment on the mice. In my mind I love them, in the feed bin at the barn I detest them. Years ago I went into the feed room to take the push cart down the barn isle to feed my boarders. There was a mouse sitting there in the cart! I grabbed one of the girl cats, put her in the cart and in seconds she leaped out, mouse in mouth. There was a second mouse! Got a second girl cat and the same scenario. I was pulling the cart out of the feed room and here came one of the boy cats running toward me meowing. He could only have been saying “FREE MICE IN THE FEED ROOM!” How did he know? That was many years ago in a different time and place, but I will never forget it. Cat communication is wonderful!
Love Elvis and Puck in panel one, and also Grannie Barncat shooing the mice away with a broom.
julie thanks so much for sharing about your depression.
i understand.
the photo next to my name is of my heart friend and service dog lily.
i stumbled across this comic a few weeks back and just fell in love with it. the creativity,the personalitys of each cat and now the barn animals. i love the ‘from the house’ reports and i’m really looking forward to more barn reports.
could there be a horse please and a milk cow. every farm needs a loving work horse and a mooing cow.
there are moments when my depression feels heavier and this comic alone never fails to make me laugh. like many of your readers i read through the comments and pick up on things i missed.
just wondering? is the barn cat wearing an actual barn coat seen quite often worn by farmers? i can’t image not having pockets. where would one put stuff?!
p.s elvis is such a siamese lol.
years ago our friends had a siamese they named me too. he lived to be an old man of 16
It is indeed meant to be a barn coat, great catch! I am so happy the comic always gives you a laugh, that means a lot to me. I’m glad in some small way that it can help.
(And I agree about the loving work horse and mooing cow… We shall see! 
)
<3 Thank you. Lily is such a beauty! I love those colors! My service pup Inku is a huge help, as is my little torte cat. My two princesses always stare when, in the middle of a few hours either crying or just deadness, I bust out laughing at the arrival of a new comic… I have to give huge props to anything able to hold a candle to Depression.
…your horse comment has just made me realize I have not passed this comic on to my aunt (who has horses, digs, cats, fixes, coyotes, birds, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, possums…). I must go re tiny this!
Good morning, I was hoping after reading and rereading all the comments, that someone would mention the character that is in the second panel in the upper right hand corner. I even got out my magnifying glasses. Is it a bat? Anyone? And I know a new one is coming out today, so I may be too late in asking.
Hello Debbe! That’s the first little sneak glimpse of Baba Mouse chasing the mice through the barn rafters. She may be old, but she’s still spry!
I love love love the little prisoner outfits on the mice!!!!
btw Georgia, Baba Mouse reminds me a little of Gramma Hawker!
Yay!!! I have a deep love of old, mysterious crones.
The moment I thought of a way to work one in, I just had to.
G L. (Greased Lightning) the Farm Cat of my childhood Liked me best. I was the one who found Rabbits (not mice or rats – rabbits) on my bed. GL considered other rodents beneath her dignity and Kangaroos were just too fast.
I just lost it laughing at the kangaroo bit. Thank you for that…
Same!!
I adore Baba Mouse! I have snaffled the “GIT!” panel to use as my avatar on my favourite forum. I’m not sure of the legalities of this, but I have given you the credit in my “about” page, and I promise to buy your book when it comes out.
Thank you, Vastra! As long as credit is given, I LOVE when folks do that!
Baba reminds me of my mysterious neighbor from Norway when I lived in the outskirts of my hometown. She was rumored to be an immortal Salem witch which makes sense because she was actually 203. She was a cat.