Predator

 

Jill the Border Collie has to wait for first light to go outside. She knows it, and although she barks when I take Mack out into the darkness, after that she waits patiently. 

The reason for the delay is the proximity of creatures of a predatory nature. 

There are beasts out there in the darkness of this northern jungle and she is just a little girl. Mack is actually even smaller, but he has his any port/any ocean master's license since he can never be outdoors without a leash. Because...chickens....Jack Russell Terrier...etc. He will, (and did once) take on a bull, let alone a tiny bird. 

Thus today as the sky faded to grey I sat in my outdoor office waiting for her to tend to nature. In an unusually short time she trotted glibly past me, head down and bent on business. I spoke her name quietly, because hey, what was going on here?

She dropped the reason at my feet and looked up at me all guilty and apologetic, but kind of proud too.

Half a cottontail, the latter portion, entrails dangling, spine bitten clean in half. Treasure indeed if you are a little canine scavenger.

O-o-o-kay then...

We knew there was something bold and bad around. If you are my pal on Facebook you probably saw that cute pic of the little silver hen and her chickies the other day. She took to coming up to the house for corn, and although I don't like the hens scratching up the garden, I got a big kick out of her cut-cut-cutting to her little ones when she found a goodie.

The day after I took that photo she was by the back door when I took out some laundry to hang up. I walked back inside for probably about five minutes then went out again. 

Feathers everywhere right on the back doorstep. Broad daylight! In fact along about noon. I hoped it wasn't her. I hoped she had escaped. But no, she was gone and within days so were the chickies, several of the other hens, and possibly the Black East Indies female duck. Actually I haven't seen the drakes in a couple days either. 

The Call Ducks seem to be fairly well protected, but they were going nuts when I took the Mackster out this AM. They are well-named and can be heard on the moon when they really get going. I went over with my headlamp but didn't see anything. There is a lot of dark out there.

We used to free range dozens of hens and seventy or eighty guinea fowl hereabouts. Not so much anymore. I hope whatever is out there moves along pretty soon or meets up with the twenty-cent solution. I like having the birds around, although the creep feeding lawn lambs were banished to the barnyard when they gnawed on my banana tree....

So, anyhow, I slipped a baling twine noose around the bunny's hinder paws and hauled it away, no doubt spoiling Jill's plans for future culinary delight. I gave her a garlic bread stick from our spaghetti dinner from Romana's the other night as a consolation prize...I know I would certainly prefer one to that gnawed up rabbit carcass....

I guess we will be keeping the headlamps charged and the predator control devices handy now...and also go out with Jill every single time. 

This is getting plumb annoying.