Our recoil reaction was a unanimous election to resort to total annihilation of our entire flock of she demons. Three beautiful ( but evil) white birds were caught beak deep in egg yolk or avidly devouring an entire egg shell ( which had previously been gorged by another evil white bird) and unceremoniously removed from the henhouse pending transformation into chicken pot pie. A quick phone call and Larry ( the bird man) was going to be taking the remainder of the guilty ones to who knows what ( but I have a good idea, and it wasn’t going to be egg eating !!)
The next visit into the den of iniquity and all was peace and tranquillity, white birds were nesting, eggs lay in nest boxes undisturbed and uneaten alongside brown black and red birds. The three birds awaiting their fate had also laid….and hadn’t eaten their eggs….now what ? Clearly they had heard us conspiring and with no eggs eaten we felt justice wouldn’t be served by genocide in the barnyard. The three very vocal and extremely aggressive potential pot piers were returned to their community…. And our next visit…two more devoured and we are back to where we started. Who would be a chicken farmer !!!!
I sailed around the orchard with gay abandon, the riding lawn mower creating geometric patterns in the deep early summer grass. It was looking good, I hadn’t eaten even one of the black plastic sprinkler heads, I hadn’t chewed up a fence and the hose pipes stretching like serpents across the grass were intact and undamaged….but I still had one pass, still one hosepipe was lurking in my path and it was to be my undoing! The mower screeched to a standstill with a very loud “thwack”, ( because it had stretched the hosepipe as far as it would go) we were on the end of a potential bungee and we were going nowhere fast. It was one of those DOH moments. I was REALLY glad that we have a no blame policy here on the ranch as Greg had to extricate the amputated end of hose from under the mower... judging by the pained expression on his face it wasn't going to be fun. oops
Update……it appears I hit the jackpot…and the hosepipe,.. a little more than once and it also appears that the “no blame policy” is a little (lot) selective. OK…so I had a mowing malfunction….I didn’t hit a sprinkler head, things could have been worse (I think)…I blame the mower !
It was Macho (the man) and Rodney the ram’s day for a manicure/pedicure. I’m sure that both boys are wondering what exactly they base their trust on as the team really took advantage of them yesterday. Armed with two buckets containing a miniscule amount of much coveted grain, Macho and Rodney were enticed, unsuspecting into the shelter. Two heads buried in buckets and oblivious to any clues of treacherous dealings going on the boys were enjoying their unscheduled and unexpected meal when Greg arrived with the manicure box. Not good news for a ram and goat who hadn’t scheduled a visit any time soon. Rebecca and Carla pushed and shoved, Greg pulled and before Rodney could shake an irritated ram’s tail he was prostrate on the tilt table and he was wearing four new feet. Macho put up a little more of a struggle but clearly he concluded that he may as well resign himself to the inevitable and launched himself into the frame almost taking the waiting team by surprise….not bad for a goat who has been squelched by Molly Moo the cow. I think it may be a while before our buck/ram duo trust again.
Finally, I would like to go on record and say that I am NO LONGER a lover of all things 4 legged . Doris the doe (deer) who had previously been very welcome to browse our bramble patch and munch on my weeds has taken advantage of my good nature and extended her smorgasbord to my roses, my bedding plants, my flowering cherry tree and the flowers on my geraniums and bedding plants. I think it is safe to say...I am no longer amused and my next visit to town will include a spay can of "DEER OFF" on my shopping list !!!
Well, time I got this entry posted. I'm late again !!
Take care, keep safe, M