Living on a farm is hard work. I know I joke and make out like it's all tripping over chickens and falling in the mud, and yeah, there is that. But there's also the hard realities of cleaning up chicken poop from the porch when your entire flock adopts that as their home. And there's the constant fight to stay ahead of the fox.
We lost two more birds today. A chicken and a turkey. We have a trap set for the fox, but as the name would imply, they're pretty crafty. So far the trap has been tripped twice with no fox inside. And despite what the locals have suggested, I'm not inclined to use inhumane methods to catch this predator. I feel like the only way to maintain my integrity is to fight him at his own game. The high-tech redneck hubby, of course, agrees.
So today, we're in the pasture reinforcing the fence and setting new humane traps. I've also called out a challenge to him, promising to make a hat out of him if he doesn't stop killing my birds. But he's either confident he's up to the challenge, or he doesn't speak English. I'm not sure which it is.
Oh, and in another crazy twist, hubby and I heard a barn owl in the trees outside our room last night. They're not really large enough to take off with my flock, but they do make some interesting sounds in the night. Admittedly, once I realized it was just an owl and not something scarier, I rather enjoyed listening to the mating call. I guess you could say, I've fully adapted to my surroundings here on the farm.
Well, except for the ghost. She still scares the crap out of me often, and last night was no exception. With the cat outside and both dogs in bed with us, I heard the sound of footsteps in the rooms upstairs. I guess I'm a big chicken (fitting, I'd say) when it comes to things like that. She must get lonely when the kids aren't home. As long as she stays upstairs, I suppose I'm ok with it. Maybe I can even get her to help with the fox.
Hey, it couldn't hurt, right?
Until the next time...I'll be getting dirty in the yard.