Wednesday, March 25, 2020
A postcard from Abby
Abby Normal, that is!
You won't be angry?!?
I'd surely have been a mad scientist if my lab came equipped with a flouncing Teri Garr. Bet!.
Sigh.
One of the red hens was being curious this morning and seemed willing to come closer to both me and the dogs than usual. Which makes me curious.
They usually keep more distance. It's interesting. I have no idea if it means anything. Probably not. Kind of fun though. I'd have never had the chance to ponder such a deep and important question if we had no chickens!
I wonder if the chickens wonder about human behavior. I tend to think of myself as a superior form of life, and certainly superior to chickens. But am I? I guess it depends on how one defines superior. I can think of a number of metrics wherein I am not, in fact, superior.
As I was fetching the chickens their water (would a superior being fetch water for an inferior being? Hmmm...) I saw something wonderful.
It's a sharp-shinned hawk. Beautiful. Sharp-shined hawks are also known as chicken hawks, being one of three or four species of small North American hawks which routinely predate chickens. When this one flew right past my face, between me and the chicken house/enclosure, I immediately wondered if it was there to eat my chickens! So I watched (and filmed) it closely. Magnificent!
When it flew away it formated on a pair of Eurasian Collared Doves. I believe it was attempting to predate one of them. It occurred to me that that the sharp-shinned hawk may prefer smaller wild prey to large chickens inhabiting an area frequented by humans. Perhaps I don't need to freak out until the chickens are in actual danger.
Man, that is a beautiful hawk.
I really enjoyed ozzy man's take on the present unprecedented worldwide existential disaster thingy.
Here's a thought. Maybe I don't have to lay down and die just because a bunch of experts on the teevee say that's what I'm supposed to do.
Just a thought. For what it's worth.
Be well and embrace the blessings of liberty.
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Rule one- Ignore the TV prognosticators... Rule 2- See rule 1... sigh
ReplyDeleteGood rules!
DeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting!
Beautiful hawk! Birds of Prey are magnificent animals. I see some (I think...) red-tailed hawks cavorting in the sky around here. They'll be gliding along, spot something on the ground, and BAM! Power Dive! They pull their wings in and drop like a rock. Just amazing.
ReplyDeleteAnd after reading your opening, all I can say is "What Knockers!"....
And, "Put the candle back!"
DeleteScience used to be so fun...
Those small hawks are really amazing. Nature serves up amazing stuff.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting drjim!
Last summer we had a falcon hanging around our chicken coop. We have a 6 foot fence and getting over the top. That falcon got in the pen one day through a narrow opening in the net. The chickens retreated to the house through their door which was too small for the falcon. He had a check of a time getting back out. Beautiful bird!
ReplyDeleteThey are very cool birds. Fortunately for us we've had lovely climate conditions following the 2012 drought and there is an abundance of easy non-chicken prey for all the predators. All you can eat buffet! We've got at least 50 large hawks in the area of our north unit where the chickens live. Swainsons, rough legged, ferruginous a few red tailed. A good handful of northern harriers in the mix and it's not uncommon to see a golden eagle from time to time. Our windbreaks host great horned owls. None of them seem to give our chickens a second look. If they start going hungry that might change. :-O
DeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting Howard!
Love the Ozzy Man, he's insane. In a good way...
ReplyDeleteYeah, he's pretty cool. Always reminds me of my visits to Perth. In those days, not long after the earth had cooled and the seas had formed, a great many of the Aussies I met sounded just like him and had the same great attitude.
DeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting Sarge!