Animals
- Even Turkeys Recognize True Beauty
Yesterday morning I found the turkeys outside their houseat the far end of their yard...staring at the horizon.Literally...staring! I turned and faced the horizon myself... "Well, no wonder, Tom and Chuck...that is one magnificent sunrise!" Sadly,...
- The Wild Calls Me
Yesterday was Wednesday, my usual day off from farm chores.Having spent the morning doing household chores and errands,I decided to take the pups for a walk to the barn in the afternoon.They were in dire need of burning off mass quantities of energy!...
- Reform School For Annie
Our Annie has left the puppy stageand made the transition to adolescence. And (if you have had dogs then you know this all too well) with adolescencecomes a whole new set of "problems". Our Annie has been causing a few problems around the neighborhood,as...
- A Tender Story
This is a little tale about Annie Oakley... Every morning, the dogs and I go out "to work." Just announcing that it's time for work puts everyone into a tailspin of excitement.Oh, how they love to run! I head to the barn and the dogs run ahead of...
- I Don't Even Know What To Call This!
I am sure that it seems like life is always rosy around the farm...my daughter always says I describe life like "rainbows and blue skies",but I have to say... This week I feel like crying "UNCLE!" Let me start my story with the ending.... Yes, that's...
Animals
Fox Hunt
Monday afternoon.... and it's snowing again.
There's not much that I can say about that (that hasn't already been said.)
I'm thinking that Madame Spring has decided to catch a later train.
It seems her baggage arrived about a week ago...
but she remains yet-to-be-seen!
The dogs don't seem to mind the snow,
but I have to admit that I am ready for it to leave us!
It's hard to believe that this summer marks the third year since Sammy and Oakley
came to live on the farm.
Since their arrival, our losses from predators has dramatically decreased.
These two boys love to hunt,
and the chase....there's nothing better!
The other evening, after dark, I was out closing up the animals for the night
and doing the last feeding,
when I heard Sam and Oakley barking (like crazy) down in "the holler."
The holler is a small valley to the back of our house that runs between our house
and that of Dr. Becky, on the next ridge.
(You can see Sammy staring wistfully into the holler in this picture...
(probably remembering "the incident.")
It seems the ruckus heard that evening was Sam and Oakley
with either a coyote or a fox cornered in the holler.
Barking....howling....shrieking... such scary sounds were coming out of the darkness.
I called to the dogs.
They ignored.
More barking.
More shrieking...to me it sounded like a fox.
Then the cry of a wounded dog.
Panic struck me.
My heart sank.
I called to the dogs again.
Finally, two four legged figures emerged from the woods, out of the pitch darkness.
Into the house I bade them.
The reason for the wounded dog cry was instantly obvious.
Sam had sustained a couple of nasty bites on his nose.
Oakley was bleeding from somewhere, but his black coat
prevented us from seeing his wound.
It wasn't until the next morning, when the dried blood appeared
that it was apparent that Oakley had been bitten in both his ear
and under his eye.
I spoke with Becky, and she decided to give them each a Rabies booster.
(All of the dogs are always up to date....but we thought we would play it extra safe just in case.)
We started them on antibiotics to prevent abscess.
Considering that both dogs received wounds on their face,
we concluded that they had chased a fox into it's hole,
and proceeded to taunt it.
Sticking their noses into the hole made the dogs easy targets.
Having a secure feeling that our birds are safe when free-ranging
is the upside of having two dogs that like to hunt.
The downside is always the possibility of injury...
not to mention the skunk sprays (several each year) and porcupine quills
that go along with this activity.
Oh, you silly boys....
will you ever learn?
(Probably not.)
- Even Turkeys Recognize True Beauty
Yesterday morning I found the turkeys outside their houseat the far end of their yard...staring at the horizon.Literally...staring! I turned and faced the horizon myself... "Well, no wonder, Tom and Chuck...that is one magnificent sunrise!" Sadly,...
- The Wild Calls Me
Yesterday was Wednesday, my usual day off from farm chores.Having spent the morning doing household chores and errands,I decided to take the pups for a walk to the barn in the afternoon.They were in dire need of burning off mass quantities of energy!...
- Reform School For Annie
Our Annie has left the puppy stageand made the transition to adolescence. And (if you have had dogs then you know this all too well) with adolescencecomes a whole new set of "problems". Our Annie has been causing a few problems around the neighborhood,as...
- A Tender Story
This is a little tale about Annie Oakley... Every morning, the dogs and I go out "to work." Just announcing that it's time for work puts everyone into a tailspin of excitement.Oh, how they love to run! I head to the barn and the dogs run ahead of...
- I Don't Even Know What To Call This!
I am sure that it seems like life is always rosy around the farm...my daughter always says I describe life like "rainbows and blue skies",but I have to say... This week I feel like crying "UNCLE!" Let me start my story with the ending.... Yes, that's...