Monday, April 9, 2012

The Mutinous Horde...

The setting: After a long day of working, Sean and I were blissfully looking forward to a quiet evening home together. Perhaps, a game of dominoes after the laundry was put into the machines and this morning's clean dishes were put away. Sounds nice, doesn't it?

Sadly, our critters had a different idea on the docket. Sean and I discovered, upon turning into our driveway, from working this rainy day, Miss Ellie and Leah walking about, grazing quite contentedly at the far corner of our house, no where near inside their barn nor paddock area. As we approached the house, we discovered the other 3 goats similarly inclined to being on the wrong side of their fencing.

A story in pictures....
This is not where you belong, Young Master Jedi. And, Miss Rachel, you are not to go into the grain room unescorted! Pepper and Leah are only too pleased to show Sean where they made their exit, through the side of the barn.

At first, Sean attempted to coax the goats back into the barn the same way they escaped. After wrestling with a 100+ pound Momma goat for a few minutes, he decided perhaps, there is a better way- GRAIN.
  
With grain in hand, Sean walked the herd to their gate, opened it, and allowed them to return home. Where were the kids during all this time? Curled up and snuggled in the stall--- out of the rain. Smart little wee things.

The goats repatriated to their homeland, Sean mended the wall, with the satisfaction of a man successfully defending his home against the machinations of his naughty herd. As if on cue, the skies opened up, pouring just buckets of rain on our hero. And, not to be outdone, one hen and 2 Mallard ducks had joined the coup. Little Rhode Island Red watches Sean's workmanship, but no match for Sean's wit and mad chicken wrangling skills, is quickly gotten back into her yard.
While all this fuss was happening, the ducks decide that retreat was the wisest course and promptly made a dash for the river that borders the far end of our field. Their ploy was successful. They happily splashed about while Sean tried to think of a way to elicit their recapture without having to go swimming himself. Not that it really mattered at this point, as he was drenched from the rain and muddy, to boot. You may notice the lack of pictures of this event. While I am sure it would have provided much entertainment (to me), like the goat kids, I chose to remain inside, slaving over the recording of this adventure, instead (read that: warm and dry).
As of this writing, the ducks remain in their freedom. The rain has passed and Sean is planning his next move in Operation Recapture Mallards, possibly involving the eager assistance of a Fenn dog, who would love nothing better than either swimming or chasing wayward fowl.

Sonja♥

1 comment:

  1. Poor Sean, but he is such a good farmer, he just does what needs to be done. Oh, I do love the living room color and decor. Well done!

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