So, it was a great morning--other than the 6,000% humidity, raccoon proofing the chicken coop, an air attack by the bug brigade, etc. I kept telling myself sweating cleanses the body. If that's true, I'm cleansed through 2030.
Any ways, around 2:00 p.m. I noticed my chickens were having a chicken fit and turned to see a raccoon just a few feet away from them. SPOILER ALERT: Don't read the rest of this paragraph if you are faint of heart. Raccoons like to kill chickens but they don't do it in a nice way (not that there's a nice way to murder something). Raccoons like to rip chicken's heads off--literally--then discard the little lifeless body like a broken ragdoll. I told you not to read it...
One more thing about raccoons; they aren't really supposed to be out in the middle of the day. I have always been told that they only come out in the middle of the day if they are sick (like they're going for a doctor's appointment)? Actually, they come out when they are hungry and see food. And this guy had his heart set on Raccoon KFC--my live chickens.
I did not want to kill the raccoon, I have a hard time killing even bugs. So, I let my hunting dog, Lucky, (well, he was born a hunting dog but chose the wrong people for his owners) out to tree the raccoon so I could at least keep an eye on where he was. Lucky will never fulfill his destiny on this farm but treeing a raccoon has to make up for his lack, in some small way, of being used for real hunting.
I call my defunct hunting dog over to the tree where the raccoon now is at the top of and Lucky looks up, turns around and walks away.
Next I try my Dachschund, Buddy, who goes in and out of the coop all day kind of like the farm's self appointed Chicken Watcher. Surely he will see this raccoon as the serial chicken killer he is. He too looks up in the tree, sees the raccoon, turns around and walks away. There must be some telepathic connection between the raccoon and these 2 dogs that I, a mere human, can't possibly ever understand. My mind is too simple for the complexities of raccoon and dog brains.
So, I decide to get my chickens into coop #2 where the raccoon is not. Yay! Success, finally...after lots of sweating and body cleansing.
In the meantime, I can't find the oldest farm cat, Muffin, to get her settled for the night. I do get my latest rescue old man cat, Alfie, in his apartment only to look up 10 minutes later to see him walking around the side yard. How did he get out? Who knows? At this point, who cares?
I am also filling sheep waterers, checking the burn pile so it does not burn down a nearby barn, still looking for Muffin, keeping an eye on the raccoon (who is keeping an eye on me), and trying to get ahold of my lead Livestock Guard Dog, Molly, to treat a surface wound she has. Oh yes, the humidity hasn't gone down 1% either and the mosquitoes have launched enough air attacks on me that the Red Cross won't be expecting me to donate blood this century. In fact, I may need a transfusion before it's all over with.
Where are my guineas? It's almost dark and they should be in the coop by now. They're roosting in the trees. Oh, that's right, they won't go in the coop because I put the new chickens (I just got last night) on the other side of the guinea coop this morning and the guineas won't roost next to new chickens. How could I forget something so significant in the grand scheme of things (tongue firmly planted in cheek here)?
Finally it's dark outside and I can't see all the craziness going on except by flashlight. But I can still imagine what's going on and that can be even worse than reality when you have a very active imagination.
It's approaching midnight and my energy level is almost nil. I could pull an all nighter here but my body says no. The spirit is willing but...
Instead I bow my head and say this simple prayer: "Bless you guineas, and chickens and Alfie. God, as always, is watching over you. Thank You, Lord, for letting me find Muffin. Please put the raccoon in the live trap so I can relocate him tomorrow morning. Help me let go of the cares of the day and to realize all that happened today was not a surprise to you. In the grand scheme of life, these are all just minor inconveniences. "
With that I fall into a semi-deep body cleansing sleep.
Shepherdess Blog
July 16, 2013
Jackie Deems Copyright 2013
