Helicopter Parenting

I had heard of the term helicopter parenting but did not expect to see it in the animal kingdom.  All of the geese or duck families I have seen have been a tidy line of goslings or ducklings with one parent in the front of the line and the other bringing up the rear.  Not so with Cirrus and Sal and Eloise.  Eloise,  the gosling, seems to think she is a princess and can decide where she wants to go anytime of the day.  Instead of directing her away from the sheep, C and S move all animals out of Eloise's way.  This has lead to Cirrus losing many of his feathers in defense.  The poor chickens and sheep have had to put up with so much harassment.  When will the geese trust the others not to bother their babe?

Maybe, it is just a single child situation.  With a larger family there would have to be a little more direction.

The ducks have not come yet and I am not sure if they are coming.  I am not sure they would be treated kindly if they did join the animals here.  Cirrus had one of the small black hens cornered in the goose run this morning- the poor thing was so stressed.  He just didn't want her to get too close to Eloise and there was no way to get around her.  When the chicks were younger, one of them was making quite a racket and Sal went to investigate. Moma Black Hen charged at Sal and sent her running.  That was funny to see.  As cute as they are, it will be nice when the little ones grow up a little and can fend for themselves, and stay out of the way.  At least the chicks have a better sense of the sheep movement and know how to wait until the sheep go by, before crossing.  Eloise seems to just be thinking about herself, again maybe an only child thing.

Eloise, sometimes goes through a fence where Cirrus and Sal can not follow.  They used to honk and she would return.  Then they honked and she disregarded their calls and warnings.  Now she strays and C and S just watch and don't bother to call her back.

I wonder how many feathers will be lost over the princess.

FIRST FIBER CAMP OF SUMMER 2015

 It was a hot week but we survived with nice breezes and pop cycles.  Most of the sheep hung out in the barn to stay cool.

It was a week of insects and caterpillars and butterflies too.  

 We did a lot of weaving, some with a master weaver, sorry no pictures.

And now we are on to the second week, with fewer students and higher temperatures.  We will survive.

Some Lives Are Very Short Lived

I found Eli dead this morning.  Eli was Cirrus and Sal's gosling.  Last evening he was having a little trouble walking but was getting along O.K.  Don't know if he got stepped on or tripped or what.  I thought about bringing him in to care for him but figured Cirrus and Sal could do a better job and I didn't want to cause stress.  There was a small wound on the top of his head when I found him, but nothing else.  Don't know if it was a predator that was fought off or what.  Another question that will probably never be answered.

Cirrus, Sal, and Eloise seem to be doing alright with their loss but it is sad.  Farm animals and especially the very young are so vulnerable.  Evie and her three siblings (the four bantam babes) are out and about now but Moma black hen calls them in around 7P.M. for the night.  Tomorrow, two ducks may be coming to live with us.  A woman who moved to town asked us if they could come live here.  I think they will be penned in for the night which means I have to finish reinforcing the run in the morning.  I wish the geese would go back to the run at night, but they don't sleep at night so that is difficult to keep them penned for so long, especially since they have known freedom.

It is always hard to make decisions for other lives but I try to interfere as little as possible.  I don't try to pretend to know what is best in life and death.  Who knows why some lives are long and other so short.

Last Count 23

Some of my family was here for a few days to celebrate two of my sisters' birthdays, but, actually only one of them was here.  Anyway, the hen that has been sitting for the last 3 weeks, hatched out 4 new chicks to add to the birthday excitement with 3 of the 4 hatching on the actual birth date of my sisters.  Here are the latest arrivals.

I was out at the barnyard with one of the great nieces and she asked me, how many animals are here now.  When we counted them all up, there were 23.  

The 3 year old great nephew ask his mom why there were worms in the chimney in the cabin.  When she went to look, she found tails of 2 snakes wrapped around each other dangling in the fireplace from the chimney.  We couldn't get them out, so John put a piece of plywood in front of the fireplace to keep them from coming directly into the cabin.  Later S. asked why he did that because now he couldn't watch the snakes. 

 Ah spring, a time to make more babies.

CUTE

Finally got help downloading videos.  Here is one everyone has been waiting for.  Why is it everyone is captivated by new babies?  Hard to believe these goslings  are a week old.  In a few days we will see if there are new chicks on the farm.  There are maybe 8+ eggs under the broody hen but who knows how many are viable.

I have a 3 year old great nephew visiting and he is pretty fun to  be around.  He loves to feed watermelon rinds to the chickens and loves everything about the farm.  He told his parents he likes this place better than any other place.  He went to the recycle center today with me and threw the aluminum cans into the container.  The recycle attendant gave him recycling stickers.  When we left, he told his mom he wanted to stay longer.  I guess everything in life is fun at that age.  I am reading Voice of Knowledge, currently, and I am hoping it will bring me back to that feeling in life.

The Goslings Have Arrived

Yesterday morning, when I opened the barn closet door to say good morning to Sal I saw two fuzzy goslings with her.  They are SO beautiful.

Sal continued to sit on the other 5 eggs for the rest of the day while bonking the goslings on the head to keep them in line.  It was very cool yesterday, and I didn't see Sal leave the nest at all.  This morning- still cool and still 2 goslings.  I ran a couple of errands and was thinking I would come home and offer to babysit, when it warmed up, while Sal got a break.  When I got home, Cirrus, Sal and the two goslings where out and about.

Having trouble putting the video on.  Maybe tomorrow.  It was a nice warm day today but it is cool tonight and they want to be out.  What can I say; they are parents now.

Today's Adventure

I knew the latch on the fiber shed needed some attention.  As the wood on the door dries out it shrinks and the latch moves over.  It has been difficult to unlatch.  Just yesterday, I was saying I better fix the latch before I get locked in.  But, I put it off and today I went into the fiber shed and the door closed behind me and latched.

I tried shaking it and fiddling with the latch through the gap in the door with a stiff rod- no good.  I tried kicking it-- no good.  I tried yelling out the window since I knew John was around somewhere-- no reply.  I got an enamel basin and a dowel and tried banging out the Morris code.  I couldn't remember if it was 3 dashes 3 dots 3 dashes or the other way around but figured maybe John wouldn't remember either.  I thought at least a rhythmic banging would be more noticeable than just making a lot of noise.

After the racket didn't attract any attention I decided I better go to plan B.  I had already considered the windows, but only 2 are possibilities.  One would require taking a screen off and that would put me out on top of my rainwater reservoir.  The screen (the only one in the whole studio) was held in place by a wood block and I could not find my hammer.  I wasn't ready to tear the screen yet, so I went to the front window and tried to judge the drop.  I pondered if I should try to lower my high stool out the window to climb down onto or leave it inside and make a rope decent.  There is a bed of tall plants below the window and the ground is uneven, so I knew it would be difficult to steady the stool.  I started thinking about my summer 2 years ago, recovering from a broken ankle which was caused by something much less dramatic.

After banging some more, I decided I better go to the rope idea.  I found a good rope that is part of a loom and started making some loops for my feet and wondered if I had a chance.  Just then, John appeared outside of his shop and I finally got his attention.  He had heard the banging but didn't bother to investigate and thought the whole thing was quite funny.

You know how you feel when the power comes on after setting up candles and enjoying the pioneering?  That is how I felt.  I almost wanted to try going out the window but that feeling only lasted about 14 seconds.  I was thankful that John came along when he did.  I usually have my cell phone with me but not today.  Even if I had, I think John's was on his desk in the house.

Oh well, everyone needs an adventure once in awhile.