Homeland Security

Wanted: A Guard Dog of Great Proportions with a Gentle Heart.

Wanted Dead not Alive: Two Pointers

We have had a breach in security along our fence line-- we lost 4 chickens and have experienced a sad setback in our Egg Production Project.. Three survivors, all hens, have earned their mettle against the coniving pointers--Brownie, Jimmy and Gecko. I let them out in the morning to scavenge, left for a meeting at 9:30a and returned home at 6:30p to find Spike, Emma, Joshua Quinn and Afro scattered dead about the yard and canal. Goose is still MIA.

What I am most grateful for is that I won't have to tell the Zigler boys that I was a delinquent Mom and that they all died, as I had initially anticipated last night. I also found the missing adult hen on the search for my babies. She is brooding again and I have a plan now. I will take all of her newly hatched chicks and raise them myself for a better living ratio.

Travis and I need a stronger homeland security for animals and creatures in general. This has been the week for unwelcome and strange critters: I must confess-- I have jumped three times this week. I have never shied away from creepy crawlies, or been timid of burying dead chickens. The week has proved me more tender than I assumed.
Along with visitors from the East Coast, we have had a slew of local visitors: on Sunday I found what appeared to be a large, dead scorpion in my sunken living area. Then, Steve poked it, only to prove it was dead. It was not. It had been pretending the whole time. I didn't know they do that. Now I do. I have been tip-toeing around my house in socks and shoes.
Then on Monday, we had a flock of predatory roadrunners. I thought they were prehistoric creatures. Raptors to be exact. Janis said something like, "Now you know you aren't in Kansas anymore". Nothing could be truer. Travis laughed at me. How was I to know? Have you ever seen a flock of small raptor-like birds scurry around your yard?
The final straw was literally the icing on the cake. Besides the fact that I kill about 5 flies every day, I found a spider at eye level as I was icing my Easter Cookies. I squealed.
But that's life.
Life in the country.