 |
| Note Pete, outside the window. |
First, an update. It continues to be February, and wintry February at that. The car repair we thought would be $$$$ turned out only to be $$, so that is a big relief. I am still sewing and listening to podcasts and trying to stay patient with the snow but also really really wanting to plant three more cold frames, rake the yard, finish painting the porch, and drink a beer on the lawn.
I've been waking up at 3:30 am for about three hours each night, almost every night, for no particular reason, for about a week straight. My mind starts going ten miles a minute, I stare at the ceiling, I glare bitterly at the snoring Patrick beside me. I try to imagine I am a buoy on the ocean, rocking up.... and down... with the surf. Sleeplessness has never been my problem before; I'm not sure what's up.
On Sunday night, we went to close up the chickens for the night, and found only Genevieve and Loretta inside. That is about par for the course-- lacking a rooster, they sometimes have a hard time getting themselves in the coop autonomously at night. We started looking around.
Dolly was dead in the snow not too far from the coop, and Patsy a little further away, still alive but injured. The dog tracks went all around.
It's completely nauseating.
Patsy has moved into a cardboard box in my office. Last night, we set her broken leg, and today she's eating. I have no idea how hopeful I should allow myself to be.
I have talked to the town supervisor, the mayor, the dog warden, the sheriff, the department of environmental conservation. And when I'm awake at 3:30 in the morning, it's something I try really hard not to think about beyond that. This tide of bum luck needs to turn itself around and be gone. Go haunt someone else's house.
Share with a friend
5 comments:
Kristina~ So sorry about your sweet chickens. I have so enjoyed watching them grow and seeing the pics of them wandering about. Mother nature has tough rules. I wonder if it may have been a coyote. We lost a dear sweet Siamese cat (in CT) to a coyote several years ago. Watch Geneveive and Loretta....and who is Pete????
Well said. Mother nature does indeed have some tough rules. I guess I don't have enough information to rule out coyotes entirely, but the thing is-- what kind of hungry wild animal would kill one chicken and injure another, and leave them both uneaten? At least that's my feeling-- and domesticated dogs were seen running the street earlier in the day, by other neighbors.
Pete is our big gray cat! :)
Domestic dogs seem likely to me. There are some nasty weasel-family-members who kill for fun, but they don't leave canine tracks.
Good news for you and Patsy: If she's eating that's an EXCELLENT sign. It sounds like you're making sure she has plenty of food, water, and warmth. Those are all good things. You might put some antibiotics in her water, in case she has a puncture wound you can't see under her feathers. They should be available OTC at your feed store...
I'm so sorry about your chickens. That's really sad. My cousin's chickens were all picked off, one-by-one, by a fox. I hope your other ladies survive the roaming dogs and anything else that mother nature throws their way. Your run of bad luck will turn around soon. Spring is right around the corner, so try to look on the bright side. I like it much better when you are happy!
Me too! :)
Post a Comment
Thank you, so much, for taking the time to chime in here. Your comments make my day. Let's do our best to keep the snarkiness at bay and be a happy, friendly place in the interwebs.