by Pa Rock
Farmer in Summer
One of the things that I worried about last week as I traveled around the American West was the little colony of chickens back home who were just getting used to life at Rock's Roost. Would they stick together as a big family unit and follow their leader, Ralph the Rooster, around and around the yard each day, or would they roam off individually and fall prey to the many predators who reside in close proximity to the farm?
When I left there were, in addition to Ralph, four guineas and fourteen assorted adolescent chicks. When I got back on Wednesday afternoon, I immediately went in search of the poultry troupe. Once I found them I took a careful count - and that is not easy because young poultry are always in motion. All of the chickens were accounted for, but one guinea was missing. That wasn't too bad, and, in fact, considering all of the cur dogs in the neighborhood and the chicken hawks, I thought it was fairly amazing that eighteen of nineteen birds were still in the group.
I did hate losing the guinea. The guineas that I have had in the past generally kept themselves separated from the chickens, but these have remained in the group and seem to consider themselves siblings of the little chickens. Guineas are great at eating ticks and chiggers - and I wish I had fifty of them!
The cat was also gone. It has been two days now since my return, and he is still missing. Young tomcats are known for roaming about - sometimes for days at a time - so he may yet wander home. If not, another one will eventually show up and take his place. Cats around here seem to come and go, especially since the death of Fiona.
I spent quite a bit of time this spring putting out flowers, tomatoes, and peppers in big pots around the farm, and was pleased to find that they not only survived in my absence, but seemed to thrive while I was away. I will be picking tomatoes in another week or two, and the peppers won't be far behind. And the flowers are in full bloom and beautiful!
It appears that life at the little farm can go on quite well without the farmer. I'm not sure how I feel about that!
No comments:
Post a Comment