The Art of Melanie Eberhardt

Category: Aunt Mels Animals

Illustrated stories of the animals that live on Aunt Mel’s farm

  • Unsupervised and Bored – Whatz a Dog to do?

    Lucky has lived at Aunt Mel’s farm for many years. When she leaves to run errands, Lucky stays behind and guards the farm, ok, he guards the bed.

    Lucky one of Aunt Mel's Animals

    Whenever Aunt Mel puts on her shoes, Lucky runs to the bed and lays down. He knows his duty is to secure the home and he chooses to do so from the comfort of a bed and cushy pillows and warm blankets. Usually one or two of the cats join him. They are his leutenants. So as Aunt Mel leaves the house, she peers into the bedroom and everyone is at their post. Lucky wags his tail. Confident in his abilities to take care of things, Aunt Mel leaves, softly closing the front door behind her.

    But recently, Lucky has asserted a bit of a passive aggresive streak. As soon as the front door latch clicks closed, he tears up the blankets on the bed, tosses the pillows to the floor, brings his bones, stinking socks from the laundry, muddy barn boots and places them on the bed. Exhausted from all this work, he takes a short nap, then wakes to re-arrange his display followed by another nap. This pattern repeats until Aunt Mel returns to find Lucky proudly sitting in the middle of the bed, happy for her return, tail wagging amidst the mess.

    Aunt Mel loves Lucky anyway.

    Lucky one of Aunt Mel's Animals

  • Mystery of the Blue Things

    Aunt Mel finds lots of strange things in her yard – arrow heads, strange looking beetles, shot gun shells and broken pieces of kid’s toys to name just a few. Recently she found lots of these little blue things. Do you know what these are?
    AMA_bluehands_MelanieEberhardt

    They were all over the farm. These little blue pieces of something just laying on the ground. Its strange!

    AMA_bluegate_MelanieEberhardt
    AMA_blueside_MelanieEberhardt
    Aunt Mel found one at the driveway gate, another on the sidewalk in front of the house.More were found inside the garage.
    AMA_bluecans_MelanieEberhardt
    AMA_bluecat_MelanieEberhardt
    Even Frank was caught carrying one around in his mouth! What are these strange bright blue, slightly rubbery things? They’re blunt or torn on one end and taper to a pointing tip. Suddenly something slithered nearby and Aunt Mel caught a glimpse of something as it crawled across a rock. The mystery was solved!
    ama_blueskink_MelanieEberhardt

    A Blue Tailed Skink
    A Blue Tailed Skink

    LIZARD TAILS – GROSS! The Blue Tail Skink is a common Georgia lizard. Their bright blue tails come off when attacked by predators (Frank). One must have a strong stomach and plenty of disinfectant soap when one lives on a farm.

  • STOP THIEF!

    frank one

    We all put things down and forget where we left them. But its been happening a lot lately. Pens, plastic spoons and money are among the many items that keep disappearing. Way too many things to blame it solely on bad memory. There’s only one explanation – there’s a thief at Aunt Mel’s Farm!
    Last summer someone broke into Aunt Mel’s garage and stole her toolbox and gas powered weed whacker. Aunt Mel put a heavy chain on the driveway gate and that seemed to keep the thieves out, at least until a few weeks ago. Now someone is stealing items inside Aunt Mel’s house! They don’t leave any trail. Things simply keep disappearing. Who is sneaking into the house? Where is all the stuff?
    The doors and windows are always locked so the culprit must be a resident – its an inside job! One of Aunt Mel’s sweet animals is a miscreant, a troublemaker, a prankster and they must be identified. Aunt Mel lined up all the suspects for interrogation. When in the middle of the questioning, a clue!

    frank two

    frank three
    frank four
    frank final

  • The Rats must die!

    There are lots of cute animals that live on Aunt Mel’s farm including several rodents. Tiny grey field mice make nice cat snacks. There are dozens of chipmunks along the tree line. The squirrels are like clowns with their crazy desperate antics to pilate from the bird feeders. Then there are the rats. Rats are not welcome at Aunt Mel’s farm.
    AuntMelsAnimals_Rats_Melanie_Eberhardt
    Rats normally live in the fields, burrowing in the tall grass and along fence lines where they’re somewhat save from owls and hawks. But when it starts to get cold, the rats look for warmer homes and they’ve poorly chosen Aunt Mel’s garage. Once a rat finds a safe home, they start having baby rats. And pretty soon, the baby rats are having their own baby rats and within a few weeks, Aunt Mel’s garage becomes a nursery for field rats.

    They wreck havoc. They chew through metal tubs to get to the horse food. They make nests inside Aunt Mel’s riding mower, stuffing the battery cavity beneath the seat with all manner of soft bedding – hay, straw, chewed up bits of paper. They boldly dash around including running up Aunt Mel’s leg causing a horrific scare. Twice they chewed the starter wire to Aunt Mel’s car disabling it. Two tow truck lifts, two missed days of work and $600 in repairs and, well, simply put, those rats must die!

    Aunt Mel hates to kill any animals, all life is precious. But there is no sleep lost over dead rats. Aunt Mel took a trip to the hardware store and purchased a $12 poison feeder that was strategically placed near the horse’s grain bin. Within a few days, no more rats and good riddance!

  • The Drive In Diner – for Birds

    Each winter, Aunt Mel puts out a few bird feeders to help the wild birds forage. There is a feeder of fine thistle for the finches and two feeders of black oil sunflower seeds for everyone else. All sorts of birds from miles away stop by to dine. I guess word got out that the menu at Aunt Mel’s farm is top notch!
    Aunt Mels Animals crazy bird
    One little finch is not afraid of Aunt Mel. He will ride along on the edge of the feeder while Aunt Mel fills it with fresh seeds. These are just a few of the types birds commonly spotted at the feeders.

     

  • Barney’s Sweet Demeanor

    Many cats have shown up at Aunt Mel’s farm. If they hang out for a few weeks, Aunt Mel takes them to the vet for vaccinations and to be neutered. Barney showed up one day and immediately took up residence.

    Big and fuzzy, he marched into the barn with his tail straight up in the air and took charge. Barney followed Aunt Mel everywhere and when she sat down, he immediately jumped in her lap. He would curl up and purr with his big thick fuzzy tail curled around him like a hug.

    Barney was a wonderful cat, very large but he was well behaved. Sadly Aunt Mel learned that he was sick. Being a former wild cat roaming the fields and woods, Barney grew up with no one to care for him and no one to ensure he had the vaccinations that would protect him from infections. Barney had feline leukemia.

    The vet asked if Aunt Mel wanted to put Barney to sleep. But she did not. The other cats were all vaccinated and safe from becoming sick and Barney was an otherwise healthy and happy cat. So Barney lived his short life at Aunt Mel’s farm. He visited with the horses, sat in Lyndon’s nest of straw and hunted mice and birds. Barney was a lovely cat who deserved a longer life than he was afforded. RIP sweet Barney.

  • The Obsessive Dog and the Pink Plastic Disk

    Lucky is Aunt Mel’s farm dog. He helps with chores, supervising feeding the horses and pig. He barks an alarm when the coyotes are in the pasture or when the morning doves are sitting on the electric lines. He is very helpful except when he is distracted by his one nemesis. The Frisbee.

    More than anything in the world, Lucky loves to play with his Frisbee (always hot pink). He runs in front of Aunt Mel and strategically drops it in her pathway. Positioned so she must either step around it or on it. Rather than do either, Aunt Mel obliges Lucky, and picks it up and throws it. Again and again and again.

    Let's play frisbee!
    Let’s play frisbee!

    I'll chase it down
    I’ll chase it down

    Catch it in mid flight
    Catch it in mid flight

    Return it by shoving with my nose
    Return it by shoving with my nose

    Just so you can throw it again
    Just so you can throw it again

    Lucky loves to chase it. He loves to jump in the air and catch it. Then he drops it to the ground so he can growl at it and push it with his nose. When he reaches the driveway, he places it upright and gives it a good nose push. With a little air underneath, the frizbee floats across the drive making a loud scraping noise. Lucky chases it and puts his front feet on the suspended Frisbee, pushing it further along with his back legs. Not unlike someone riding a skateboard. Somehow around all his frenetic chasing, after a few short minutes, the Frisbee is dropped or pushed back to Aunt Mel’s feet. And once again, she picks it up and gives it a yet another toss.

  • FRANK!!!

    Frank moved in about a month ago. He’s a naughty kitten.





  • Frank Moves In and Takes Over Aunt Mel’s Farm

    Aunt Mel needs another cat like she needs another hole in her head – but there is a new cat, actually a kitten. His name is Frank.

    Coming home late one night, Aunt Mel saw his eyes reflecting in her headlights. He was barely off the road in the tall grass. Aunt Mel stopped to make certain he wasn’t hurt. Instead of running off like most animals would do, he stood up and marched right up to Aunt Mel. Crap.
    So Frank came home with Aunt Mel and settled in immediately. He’s all white with green eyes and he does not lack confidence. He spends much of his day trying to reach through the bars to eat Miss Peep. He tackles Aunt Mel if she steps over him without acknowledging his presence. Frank is precocious.
    The first morning in his new home, Frank was napping on the wood-burning stove. Aunt Mel was across the room enjoying her morning coffee. Suddenly there was a noise and Aunt Mel only had time to turn her head to see Frank flying toward her like he was shot from a gun. He leaped right into her coffee cup, spilling everything.


    Having a young kitten in the house with many elderly pets has certainly livened up things. Surely there will be many more posts about Frank and his misadventures.

  • Alex and Aunt Mel Go to Work

    Alex was Aunt Mel’s first dog. He was incredibly smart and understood hundreds of words. For many years, Aunt Mel worked at a design studio and Alex was allowed to accompany her to work every day.

    Early in the morning, Alex and Aunt Mel would get in the pick up and start their 2-hour drive to downtown Atlanta. Alex would sit in the passenger seat gazing out the window. Sometime he got sleepy and would lay with his head on Aunt Mel’s lap until they reached the office.
    At the office, Alex would follow Aunt Mel around the office and to every meeting. When working at her desk, he would crawl under the desk and nap. Everyone enjoyed Alex’s company and he certainly enjoyed all the attention.
    Alex was given several duties in the office. He would carry things from desk to desk in a basket, like a delivery service. Sometimes Aunt Mel had to meet clients away from the office. Alex would patiently wait at the front door until she returned.

    Alex’s award for being a good co-worker was a set of his very own business cards! Good Boy Alex!