A trip to my paddock..all creatures gathering

A trip to the back paddock to get some kindling for the fire and i came upon this sight..Kangaroos..my sheepies..a Fox and of course in the bottom left hand side of the screen Nelson the willy wagtail…a busy time of day for all the fox poses no threat to my sheep or the fullgrown Kangaroos..who will defend themselves with a swift kick..the rabbits are the target for the fox..and i could see them in the further paddock hopping away..while the fox kept looking…a busy weekend here with Hubbies birthday and Anzac Day and a modem that needs replacing.so getting on line has been laborious..i will catch up as soon as i can as commenting has the circle of doom spinning..yet posting is alright ??? ..

 

 

 

Monday by the dam

Hi guys Well today i noticed the Roos were not in the street as i went out to the shops..so when i returned from the shops i took a walk down to the dam. I could see a big mob in the neighbouring property..so as i walked down to take some pics i stopped as i noticed a fox was taking a casual stroll through the paddocks. I sat down and started to take some pics..i was watching the Roos watching the fox.. I must admit that they are really a beautiful looking creature but sadly they are also quite brutal..of course it is there nature and it is the way they survive..but any farmer can tell you the devastation they cause. I myself have seen it when we had chickens at our old house..they kill as many as possible with the intent of coming back for them..they seldom do. And they do not stop at chickens or rabbits but also lambs and i think it would be fair to say joeys. So i watched waiting to see if the Roos would give the fox a hard time..seems apart from watching her they did nothing. It will be interesting to see if a Roo with a joey behaves differently..so i plan on keeping my eye out. I know foxes are hated by many people..and they are certainly not native to our country..being bought in by the colonists.but as with  all creatures i try and see the beauty..knowing humans can be pretty brutal also. The second thing that struck me as i took pics was that i spotted a lone Roo..he did not see me for awhile and i actually almost missed seeing him. He was grazing alone but not too far from the others…when i looked at the pictures on my computer i could see he has a tattered ear maybe from boxing with others or from fences…clearly healed up so not a recent injury..i also noticed he was looking a bit thinnish ..his ribs a bit more pronounced than usual for a Roo. Perhaps the harsh summer has meant less feed for him ..when i zoomed in i could see his lashes were quite thick and not so much sweeping upwards..he looks to be a boy who maybe has been trying to start out on his own …i will keep an eye on him and if i feel he gets thinner i will call a rescue to see if they can check him out..he appeared very bright and uninjured and was grazing and quite content..i guess  living on the land can age us all..i feel for this sweet roo…i have called him Shaggy due to his shaggy ear…..he will be easy to spot by them . So please enjoy my time at the dam..which as you will see is almost a puddle..and i hope you can appreciate the beauty of the fox……despite her reputation.. Hugs Fozziemum

Here comes the fox see the Roos posture at first

Then decides this warrants further investigation

Fox using the now uncovered tyres in the dam as a pontoon

Having a drink

Wonder if she is admiring her reflection?

Clearly not at all worried about me

Showing those teeth

We all get an itch

Shaggy

A sweet boy

Yep..like i said we all get an itch!

He has seen me

Now he is smelling the air..is it me or the fox he is smelling?

He stands when i move..keen to show he is alert and aware of my movements

Taking my medicine…and loving it

Afternoon flock of Cockatoos…

This afternoon I decided I needed my medicine..not the squillion pills I take already but the medicine that i get from nature..here is my afternoon medicine and I hope it cures your ails too….

See that little tail tip…

A little head popped up from a burrow…

Enjoying the wattle blooms…

Fox watching the bunnies play …..

This boy was courting this little girl….

This big boy was scratching an itch…

This roo was enjoying a roll around…

Whoops..i was spotted…

The harsh realities of rural life

I headed off to do my chicken sitting today and was looking forward to it as i miss having my own at the moment.

When i arrived at my destination i remembered why we don’t have chickens yet.

You see we have not got an area that is ready yet to protect them from foxes and snakes.

The harsh reality of rural life is that foxes kill chickens,and they not only kill them but leave them behind,they kill as many as possible and just leave them..it’s horrid and this was what i faced today.

At sometime during the night a fox has found a weak spot and gotten in and killed 9 of my charges.

I was shattered,the remaining girls were skittish and upset and i felt so sorry for them.How terrifying for these gentle creatures,to have to witness this seemingly pointless slaughter.

I quickly fed the girls lots of fresh greens seed and grains and then had to work out what to do.

I had a rubbish bag in the car and picked up each poor darling,apologising to each one for what had happened.

I had to put them in the rubbish bin and this upset me even more..what an undignified end for these sweet girls that i had enjoyed spending quiet reflective time with.I again apologised but i knew of nothing else i could do.

You see,i would often ,when we had chickens,find myself sitting on the ground,talking to them,getting sat on by them and just taking in the quiet while they dust bathed and pecked my painted toenails.

You can’t stay angry or upset when you take the time to step into their world.

Having said sorry i went around the perimeter of this huge enclosure and finally found the spot where the fox had gotten in,i filled it with rocks and bricks and double checked the perimeter again..all the time swearing and on the verge of tears.’

I understand that all creatures need to eat,but i cannot understand how foxes kill so many with the view to come back yet they never do…9 gentle girls giving me the gift of their beautiful eggs all dead,heads taken off and just left.

When i left i went straight to the shops and bought myself a chocolate bar,i have come home,i have made a coffee and i am going to have a good cry.

You may think this is over the top,but this is me.

I am 51 i am married i have four adult kids and i cry over animals all the time.

I am i think perfectly normal.

Tribute to the humble chicken…my charges

Getting my Chicken fix

Chicken sitting, and by this i don’t mean actually sitting on eggs like a chicken, is a great way for me to get my chicken fix.

I love chooks,i miss having them but until we can snake and foxproof  an area for free range chickens then i can only dream…….

Our old place we had chickens and they were rescue girls from raids on horrid farms.Poor darlings had their beaks trimmed,hardly any feathers and just stood on the grass with no idea what it was or what to do.We made up a soft almost porridge like meal for them to get them back to pecking and healthy.Gradually these humble but beautiful birds would start to sprout new feathers,they would graduate to grains and pellets and of course fresh grass, vegetables from the garden and the bonus of snails and worms , even an odd field mouse or so.

Every night they were locked up safely so we thought,but foxes had worked a hole in the wire and i was devastated to find all but two girls dead.I rang hubby who was almost at work and …this is why he is my main man…he turned around and came straight home to a very upset wife,he was armed with more wire and bag upon bag of concrete..he went straight up pulled up the old wire redid it and then concreted the entire bottom of their night coop…not even a fox with a jack hammer  could get in by the time he had finished.

Eventually we lost these girls too,we dont know why they just died.We were in the process of putting our house on the market and decided that until we knew where we were going to be and the environment we would be in,we would wait to get more girls.

And so ,we have different threats now,yes foxes,but snakes are attracted to the eggs also,a problem we did not have before.We need to ensure we don’t encourage snakes close to the house yard as we have the dogs and cats to consider also.We have some ideas and once the other property priorities are dealt with it shall be operation Chook Chalet..and i will be getting an old chandelier to hang in their coop as i think these birds deserve a bit more fanfare than they usually get……

So for the moment Chicken sitting is a joy and also a treat as at least 18 eggs a day these girls are providing…oh and i always say thankyou for the eggs 😉