Seekers, wanderers, a bonus

Cori and Nate seem to have gotten off to a good start yesterday. They sent a video of a house they were looking at somewhere in the town where they will be serving. It was definitely a Latino abode. The walls and ceilings were all painted green – not an ostentatious green, but not a pastel green either. Once the overwhelming sensation of seeing so much of one color was past, it was a fairly nice home; tile floors throughout, two bathrooms, three bedrooms with a decent kitchen and a fair-sized living area. What was uncommon for the area was the large yard. It was fully enclosed with prison wire across the top of a brick fence.  Somewhat intimidating, but not unexpected. Today they are scheduled to look at another, even bigger house. Either way, they are having success seeking out a home to move to in just a few weeks.

Meanwhile, back at the farm we are having some minor issues in the combination of children, gates and dogs. Each time the kids have been with us there has been an incident where one of the gates to the back yard has been left open and the dogs have gotten out of the yard. On this visit, it happened last night. When I got home – after having to go to Walmart for items Mama needed for dinner – the kids were playing some form of tag. Since they were barefooted, they were using the sidewalks that encircle the house for their boundary. Of course, there are two gates on that sidewalk; at the garage and at the west end of the house. Each time they raced through those gates in their game, each gate had to be opened and closed. In one of those passages, the gate at the garage was not closed and Bella, Kobe and Kira got out.

I had made an additional run to the grocery store in Chico right after I got home because we still needed one item to complete Mama’s dinner plans and when I got home, Kira was just exiting the yard. Fortunately, Sam and Sasha belayed her exit and I was able to get her back into the yard. I guess she was a little late in discovering the open gate that Bella and Kobe had run through already. We could fuss at and scold the kids, but they already know better. So, we called out to the dogs and waited. By the time Victoria got home, neither dog had returned. It was well after dark, sometime just before 9 pm that Bella came back. As of this morning, I am not sure if Kobe has returned. I told Mama, if this continues to happen we have to expect that at some point the dogs will not make it back.  Between predators, hunters and fast drivers on the road, there are some significant dangers the dogs face once they are out of the yard.

On the brighter side, all eleven of the chicks that the broody Banty was sitting on hatched. Mama and the kids gathered all the remaining chicks yesterday morning. They are growing safely in a tote in the garage – warm, watered and well fed.

Those eleven chicks were a bonus to the farm.