Critters Everywhere

For those of us who live off the beaten path on farms everywhere we understand the trials and frustrations of fighting the marauding critters on a regular basis on our farms.  I read where my friend Rebecca had a close call with her guineas the other night at Sunny Morning Farm. I have to admit I woke up about 2 am with those guineaus on my mind and was sure to read her post the next day for an update on the marauding critter situation. That is one thing all  of us women who raise farm animals understand is the pain and frustration of losing one of our animals like that. Or crops for that matter. Even though they may be farm animals in some instances we have raised and nurtured these animals almost as our children. They rely on us for food, water, care and protection on a daily basis. I remember in 1964 when Hurricane Betsy hit Louisiana the neighbors trying to get my mother to evacuate. Her response was nope not if she couldn't take her cows. Determined that she would not leave her animals to face what she was not willing to face herself. I did not understand it then but do now. When O Wise One and I first married we lived in the little blue farmhouse in Louisiana. I had quail that Fred, then a child, had raised from eggs. I will never forget waking up one night to strange noises in the quail house and O Wise One going outside to find a huge chicken snake had killed a large number of her quail and was eating them.  I remember looking out the second story bedroom window as O Wise One, the great defender, triumphantly emerged from that quail house wearing a pair of boxer shorts, rubber knee boots and a shotgun slung over his shoulder bearing a huge dead chicken snake at 3 am. Wow what a man. Now anywhere but the country he would probably have been arrested for lewd behavior. Probably end up with his face plastered all over the morning news. This is the same man that last year found a baby coyote in the shed that was covered in ticks so severely that it was near death.  So what does he do. Sit down with a pair of thick gloves and pick as many ticks as possible off the coyote, put a dose of frontline on it and feed it for a week to nurse it back to health and let it go. Yep this is my deer hunting, turkey shooting, coon trapping man! So now everytime we see a coyote we immediately assume this is our baby coyote back for a second Frontline dose. Who Knew! Only in the Holler : 0

Blessings

The Canned Quilter