Saturday, January 26, 2008

The Good and The Bad



Well, yesterday was a very emotional day.. at about chores time, 4pm, Jake discovered a chicken massacre... Not just any massacre, but the kind that brings an 8 year old boy to tears and wailing... Jake is the keeper of the chickens, and as he said "I loved those Chickens!" Dick, Thank God, was outside, and ran to his aid.... One of our female dogs had gotten loose, and took it upon herself to kill and eat my favorite hen.. Goldie... Thank God Goldie was out of her misery when I showed up... I would not have been able to hold my rage in if she was still alive...

Poor Goldie.. she was such a good mommy hen...a sweetie. (I introduced you to her over the summer)...

Another hen was chewed on.. Not sure what her fate is.. She's still in shock. And, a rooster is dead... Another rooster is walking around with a severe sideways look... Rooster Stroke? No telling...

I raked up feathers and stuff this morning... trying to rid the horrible scene so the remaining chickens would not be taunted with the aftermath .. Raking on top of snow is not a hard task...
It's supposed to snow this afternoon... Good. cover up everything...

So, that was the bad.... well, actually, one more thing happened. One of my Portmeirion plates got broken at dinner time.. I have a mixture of the Variations and Botanical line.. They are my wedding dishes and they are rapidly becoming extinct.. RATS.. but I know they can be replaced...

Now for the Good News...
Patch is now an inside puppy... He came in last night... He's a cutie pie... I am having flashbacks to young motherhood - up at 11pm, 3:00 am, 3:30 am... sleep deprivation is setting in... Yet, Sami is doing a great job of puppy watching and assisting with clean up during the daylight hours.

The other good news... Maggie had her litter of pups this morning... Sami demanded that she get moved into her birthing shed last night.. Wow! What a intuitive nurse she is! Not sure how many pups yet... We will see later...

And so goes the cycle of life here on the ranch...

6 comments:

*karendianne. said...

I'm going to stay focused on the congratulations for the good part of the day else I'll conjure up emotions that are best left alone.

So a warm welcome to Patch! What a punkin!!! I'm so so so happy for ya'll. I look forward (wait...WE) to all sorts of stories and photos.

Muppet Love, *karendianne.

{ps: from one intuitive to another - my respect to Sami! - please pass that along. It matters)

reflections:0) said...

Well, a great BIG congrats on the new pups and also Patch getting to move into the house...

I am soory you lost your sweet hen I know how much she ment to you from reading your posts...

reflections:0)

P.S. It is snowing here as well...

Sue McGettigan said...

Wow Andi, sorry to hear about the chickens (but you did make me laugh with the 'Rooster stroke' comment). The new pup looks so cute, you have a definite 'circle of life' thing going on there at the ranch.

Rescue that Portmeiron dish (yes, even if you have to dig it out of the trash :) and use it for some sort of mosaic project - check out Kaffe Fasset's work for inspiration. That way your plate didn't die in vain :)

Sandy said...

Yiaks, did the dog get a punishment for all that carnage?? So sorry to hear about Goldie! I never had "met" a chicken til her so it's sad to lose my first poultry friend. :(

But dang that lil puppy is CUTE! Ohmygosh does she just wiggle that tail like mad?

Lauren said...

Soo sorry to hear about the chickens!!!

But what an adorable pup!

Kerilou said...

we used to raise birds...no chickens, but pheasants, quail, ducks, turkeys, etc...I know how attached you can get to them!!
That puppy is divine! there is something about little puppy buns...love that tail!! He is a sweetie!! Keri

2023 December Daily : Monday December 5th

  Monday's Morning Adventure This word keeps showing up for me! Again. Hope.  This is Dukey! This is Carly Sami and Lane's Dirt Road...