Victoria is home, the ballet, chicken thief

Mama and I had to be at the airport at 7 a.m. Saturday morning to pick up Victoria. That seemed early but when you think about Nate or Cori getting her to the airport for the flight, it was not so bad. While we were on the way, Victoria called to tell us the plane had landed – it was 6:40 a.m. We were still twenty minutes out so we advised her to go to baggage claim and we would see if we could time it to pick her up as she was getting her bags. That is almost how it worked out. I had to sit in a NO PARKING - ALL VEHICLES WILL BE TOWED AWAY AT THE OWNERS EXPENSE zone right behind a police car for about fifteen minutes. Mama did not have an issue with that. She rarely does. But it did work out that the carrousel started spitting out the bags pretty quickly after we got there so we were on our way home by 7:10. Other than stopping at both Chick-fil-A and Buc-ee’s it was a quick trip. Victoria went straight to bed after a few minutes playing with Kobe and Kira.

I spent the morning picking up and cleaning various parts of the farm and buildings. I needed space in the garden shed for the cages we just bought to be stored and I needed to get some things out of the garage so we could clear that space. But I was hurting too badly to tackle too much. I did tear off the tarp I have had closing off the west side of the goat barn so the rabbits housed there could have more light and more air circulation but that just means that I will have to get the barn doors built soon. I need to get it done before winter anyway. I still have not decided what type of doors I want but am leaning more toward rolling doors since I have everything I need for one side. Building the supports for the tracks will be the challenge.

Saturday night we had a ballet to go to. Yilin and Cheyenne were in a ballet production of the Wizard of Oz. Cheyenne was a chick on the farm and Yilin was a snowflake. I know it had to be difficult for the young ones because the ballet was over two hours long. Cheyenne was in the first scene when Dorothy was on the farm and then in the last scene when Dorothy awoke – back on the farm. Yilin was in the scene where Dorothy and her entourage had to be wakened from the sleep induced by the evil witch’s poppy flowers. Other than that, there was a lot of waiting. It was very cute and a bit expensive. Cheyenne’s daddy, Alex, paid $18 each for the three tickets he bought for me, Mama and Victoria. Sunday morning when we picked up the girls for church, I called Cheyenne our little dancing chick. She kept telling Mama, “Papa Tim called me a dancing chick.” By the time we got them home after church, they were exhausted. The only problem was they had a second performance Sunday afternoon. Alex thanked us for taking the time to come and get the girls and take them to church. We assured him it was a pleasure.

Friday night and Saturday night, we lost a chicken each night to some predator. The ones killed were the last of the hens that roosted under the coop. Each night only a portion of the bird was eaten but it left a gruesome mess for us to clean up. I lit fires each morning to burn the carcasses. I was not sure if it would work but I set out a livetrap baited with a bone from the port we had cooked in the crock pot and an ear of dried corn. Grandma and Grandpa were sure it was an opossum. I was thinking it was a coon but you can never be sure so I set bait that I thought would work for either animal.

I got up and dressed this morning and went out to check the trap before first light. As I opened the gate to the chicken yard, I could see that the trap had been triggered and the door was shut but I could not tell what was in it until I got close enough the shine the light on it. It was a very large raccoon. I am not sure how the trap managed to enclose it. It could barely turn around in the confines of the tarp – which was the largest trap I have. I went back to the house and got the rifle, a large trash bag and my gloves. Once I dispatched it, I opened the trap and pulled it onto the ground. It was a long as the trap. I bagged it and headed for the garage so I could put it in the bed of the truck. The only problem with that was that Mama and Victoria had stretched a rug over the bed of the truck so it could uncurl. Fortunately, Mama was opening the garage door as I came through. I asked her to heft the trash bag that the coon was it and she was amazed at how much it weighed. She happily helped me move the rug so I could take the coon carcass elsewhere.

Hopefully, that is the only one, but just to make sure I will reset the trap tonight.