Skunked

I walked up to our chickens’ house yesterday with their usual daily apple core treat and to check for any eggs. It wasn’t a usual day. There were four hens. There should have been five. They had never before left the confines of their relatively large chicken house. I walked around the chicken house, seeking clues. A mass of feathers ten feet or so to the west lay on the damp ground. My impulse was to put some of my blood in a kettle to boil.

I assumed a neighbor’s dog had killed one of our hens. They bark constantly and enter our property presuming dominion.

My husband knows far more about farming than I do. He grew up on a farm and, like his father, became a lawyer with a heart for farming. He thought a skunk was a more likely candidate for a chicken killer than a dog. I Googled “do skunks kill chickens?” and discovered that skunks are notorious killers of chickens. Good. There are no residences close enough to our chicken hutch to make it illegal to shoot a chicken-menacing skunk.

Thanks go to Ellen Pilch of the https://15andmeowing.com blog for reminding me I hadn’t posted in a month. I appreciate you, Ellen!

Two cats and a tiny snake

A very small baby Gopher snake (center, looks like a brown cord between Effie’s and Paladin’s paws) fended its way through Effieland yesterday. Effie, a veteran of carrying a full grown Garter snake around in her mouth, and Paladin, treating the Gopher snake as a living toy, took turns carrying the snake in their mouths and playing harmlessly with it on the ground.  Eventually they freed the tiny reptile, which slithered its way to the fence. Paladin laid on top of the snake. Somehow the snake made it out of Effieland.

Oh deer!

M’lady Doe has no tea, but she has a lawn good for a brief rest.

Preview of Thanksgiving Families

Wild turkey Mom and kids

Mom Turkey

Turkey family

While having breakfast, we noticed these wild turkeys joining us as we watched them through our dining room window. It’s early for Thanksgiving, but not too early for wild turkeys making rounds. They come through our yard every year, and they are always welcome to enhance our scenery. My husband Vic dashed out with his SLR and took these photos.

 

 

 

Paladin of the Vineyard

Grape leaves give the impression of a crown as they surround Paladin sitting among the grapevines of Effieland.

Effie and Paladin and 102° in Effieland

        It’s 102°– hot, but Effie and Paladin find shade everywhere.

        Our sun-dappled Effie burrows under a poplar.

        Our clever Paladin discovers he can combine some shade with a lookout.

Promises

Halvor: I promise I will not drive the tractor until I get my license.

 

Grapes: We will ripen in summer and we will be delightful. You will have many pounds of us from many vines.

Paladin’s window in the sun

Paladin sits on a window sill, looking out toward farms, subdivisions, and basalt hills. We see them very clearly, but the glass collaborates with the bright sunlight to virtually erase what we see.  The sunlight and window also conspire to cause Paladin to appear green. For the record, the room is green, Paladin’s eyes are green, and his fur is not green.

100° in Effieland

Effielanders Effie and Paladin refuse to leave their grounds and come into the house when it’s a mere hundred degrees outside and their water drippers are providing only very warm water. Paladin naps, and Effie walks around drinking warm water. They seem not to mind in the least.

Effie finds a bit of shade in some grass, intermittently drinking warm water without flinching.

Paladin rests in a small patch of grassy shade by a pot of fresh growing catnip. He’s not punch-drunk; the sun’s in his eyes.

Paladin and Grapevine

Effieland has much diversity for a cat to explore. Here Paladin is transfixed by a grapevine.