We had an unpleasant awakening last night at 1:30am. I was deep in REM sleep when G was suddenly standing up, calling me, telling me something was out there trying to get the guineas. As if to prove that he wasn't just sleep walking I suddenly heard the two guinea hens start to vocalize, with a tone I knew meant trouble for sure. Luckily I'd left my flashlight and boots by the door, which I used to make a point of doing every night in case of emergencies, but have mostly stopped doing.
I ran out and saw a large dark figure around the little chicken tractor where our two 'special needs' guineas are housed, and I started to yell and hiss and try to haze it the best I could in my sleepy state. I can normally snap out of it pretty fast and leap into action, but for some reason I had a serious brain fog happening and couldn't quite tell if I was chasing a very large raccoon or a river otter. I'm guessing raccoon. Neither would be welcome here of course. One of the things I like about winter is that I can at least see tracks in order to identify who's been lurking around, and up to no good.
We slept horribly after that. I'd discovered that our guinea hen I'd put in a cage in the basement had indeed passed away in the few hours we'd been sleeping, as I thought she would. More on that later.
I think we managed a few hours sleep, then woke up to constant rumbling thunder and the comforting sound of the rain.
We had to get up and do morning duties of course. No sleeping in when you have animals to attend to. We also had a small road trip to do. I'd arranged to pick up a used tailgate at a salvage yard north of us, so away we went. I was feeling pretty sad about our guinea, and G was trying to cheer me up of course. It didn't really work, but I appreciated his company. Going into a weekend losing one of your animals sets a pretty awful tone for what is supposed to be fun.
Tailgate secured (wrong colour for our truck, so now it really looks like a beat up farm truck), antique store and new farm/feed store visited, all we wanted to do was get home. Managed to pick up some groceries on the way. Cheered for a huge flock of chickens ranging out in the rain at a petting farm along the way. By then we were so tired we didn't listen to music or talk very much. I'm sure I rambled on occasionally attempting to keep G awake while he drove.
I thought we'd attend to a few things outside and then have a nap, but we both kept going and going. I couldn't let OOPSIE(Daisy) duckling swim in a dirty pool. The drakes had eaten all of her high protein grower food. The Flan crew wanted to be let out to range. The banties deserved fresh greens. I realized I'd left the fan on in the chook palace and since it was actually cold out figured I should turn it off. I kicked our two broody hens out of their boxes, supervised for a while to make sure they were able to get food and water without being persecuted by the flock. Put new clean nest material in the seven nest boxes. The list goes on, as it always does!
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A few weeks ago I bought comfrey plants via craigslist, and they are doing pretty well with all the rain we've been having. I planted them mostly to provide shade for the guineas and banties. They will grow to at least three feet tall and become part of our compost, chook food, natural cosmetics, or all of the above. The late day sun in merciless here in July and August, and shade is probably the next most valuable thing to our animals other than water.
All of the other medicinal plants in my garden are doing well, and I finally got all of my calendulas planted yesterday (Sunday). We had to order the seeds from Johnny's, as they are really hard to find here.
The squashes that G planted out in the field in mounds are doing well, as are the various types of corn. It's because of our corn that the ducks are now penned in by electronetting with the Flan crew. They had started to go out and nibble all of the fresh shoots on their way out to Middle Field every day. We also wanted to secure them all in the backyard with electric since my neighbours claim to be seeing many mink across the road by the huge pond, and one day they called and warned me that one was heading towards our property, and it was only 5pm, not even close to dusk when you'd expect to start seeing them. Also with that raccoon attack attempt the other night, I feel like we've done the right thing.
Eventually we'll have to put electronetting around the sweet corn, as raccoons know just when it's ripened perfectly and will trash your entire plot overnight. Our drakes also complicate things when it comes to safety from night predators. The ducks don't seem to have the same drive to roost at dusk, and will stay mobile and awake until well after dark. If we try to push them into their secure coop too early, Bossy drake will chase and attack Buff drake, and it's all pretty horrible. If they go in of their own accord, it tends to go without a hitch.
Maybe on some level I understand, since I don't really like being told what to do either. Hoping that our attempts at overlapping safety measures will keep everyone safe. It's really an ongoing battle--all the work to keep them safe from predators, disease, weather, freak accidents. But then there's the battle between getting complacent, and trying to stay on your guard. The longer you keep animals I think the more danger you are in.
Doesn't sound very pleasant when I put it like that. But really in the end it IS all worth it. G had a great monologue that I wished he would share as a guest blogger here. While we laid in bed Saturday morning listening to the rain and thunder, he talked about all of our animals, what sort of entertainment, curiosity, and experiences (and lost sleep!) we've had because of all of them. The chickens, ducks and guineas have provided the most laughs over the years. The sheep are just plain friendly awesome wool dogs--a big surprise to both of us. They are very dear to us. The horses are majestic, sweet, challenging, and more my passion than his (so far) but he sees their beauty and intelligence and won't miss a chance to watch them galloping around the pasture.
I don't think I did his essay justice, but I think you get the point.
I'm taking our guinea to the pathology lab now. Hoping to find some answers. Later I will make sure I get some good hugging time with Oak and Win, and G for that matter. G always worries that when I'm sad about a loss we've experienced, I forget about all of the good things, and our successes. I certainly don't!
We managed to have some fun this weekend, especially petting and interacting with the sheep, and watching them enjoy their new pasture rotations between the swales where the grasses are over their heads! If anyone tries to tell you that sheep don't express emotions with their faces, don't believe them. We know that contented look well. The good thing is, it's infectious. I wish I had a photo of G watching them graze like that. Not a worry on his face.
Take nothing or no one for granted my friends!
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| No longer a duckling!! Daisy (we're hoping she's Daisy, not a Donald) |
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