Monday, May 1, 2017

FURTHER ADVENTURES ON LAUGHING WATER FARM

 
We awoke to a dusting of snow; not bad, since the prediction was three to five inches. I am blogging late; it is already 11:15AM and the snow is all melted.

Yesterday Morning, it was just getting light, I saw a chicken running from the direction of the coop. I didn't investigate as I was making a bathroom visit and was not ready to arise. I haven't been able to figure anything out. I lock them up at dusk every night. She must have been out roosting somewhere or she is setting on eggs. We used to have hens surprise us by appearing with ten or twelve fluffy offspring. It hasn't happened for a long time.

Then when I got up, Jame said, “There is a sheep out!” It was about the last thing I wanted to hear, because we were going to the theater in St Croix Falls, and we needed to leave Noonish. I had a quite a few things to do first. I went out and counted and recounted the sheep. They were all in the pasture. I questioned Jamie, hoping I could get her to agree, she might be having an optical illusion. She convinced me she wasn't. Hmmm, two mysteries.

We returned home from the theater about 4:45, in time for me to gather the eggs. A short time later Jamie said, “I just saw a sheep run through the front yard!” I gathered this was no hallucination. I went out, and there was one of our wethers, racing around the fence in a panic to get in, and join the flock. I was able to use, the rattling corn in the bucket trick, to lure him from the other side of the fence to the gate where I could get him in. I checked a part of the fence, that was recently constructed, to see if there was a place he could have got out. I found none. I suspected this might be the case, because earlier, I discovered a part of the fence down, because the lad, we had do it, missed wiring a spot to the post.

Now it is close to six, I am involved in creating a libation, when I looked out, and saw, not one sheep but six, in our front yard. Thank God, they were trained to the corn in the bucket trick, and they were only feet away from a gate. It didn't take long to get them in. But, my libation would have to wait, we needed to find where they were getting out. I walked along the fence one way, Jamie went the other. I found nothing. Jamie found a low place and there were tufts of wool on the wire. It wasn't terribly convincing a place, where that many sheep would get out that quick, but we couldn't see anything else. I double checked the new areas of fence, there were no places they could get out. The sheep, that I had lured into the gate in the North pasture, now had come around to the south pasture to see what we were up to. They were all congregated in a spot. I walked over and could clearly see where they were getting out. They looked like they were disappointed that I found the spot. Yes, sheep can look disappointed. Part of the fence, that had been stapled to a wooden post, about 30 years ago, pulled away, allowing a slot the perfect size, for a sheep to exit. They're not so good about getting back in. It was the most unlikely place for a breach in the fence to occur, and if the sheep hadn't helped me by rushing to the place, we would have settled on the low spot, as the place they got out. We would have had fresh adventures this Morning. We put new [large] staples in the fence post and that should be it.

One mystery solved. I still don't know the story about the hen.

I did get the libation.

Take life as it comes to you. It is all great!

Love and Peace, Gregg

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