Yes it might have rained all night and yes, there are puddles in the grass and the pond is overflowing, but for once in Gladys’ life, she was dry, warm and protected! Gladys…as you know is our new resident Canadian wild goose here at the Cluckin’ “A” Farm. She showed up with eight other geese and hung around for a few days before eight of them left and One remained…with a broken (or severely injured) wing. We watched her for days and were content to see her staying out of harm’s way, by sitting in the middle of the Pupskill lake all night long... and feeding close to the water’s edge during the daytime. It was soon obvious to us that she was not going to get better, as her left wing continued to drag on the ground. She must have gotten hurt coming in for her last landing, through the tree limbs as she approached the pond, or something caught her during the night on the bank…but the result was the same…a broken wing that would not heal. We agonized over calling the state for the number of a rehabilitator…but were afraid that they would simply put her down in lieu of the surgery cost to fix her wing... and we knew they would not bring her back here, so we neglected to call. She had a right to live her life, long and free, without our, or the state’s righteous intervention, so we did nothing. In time, she became closer to us, knowing we cared for our own geese, ducks and chickens…leaving them in at night and out in the morning. Geese are very intelligent…and Gladys…is no less than brilliant, for she soon recognized that we would give her a ration of corn and pellets if she came to the barn or us when we were out there. Soon, she was eating from Vick’s hand and following us around like Doodles, our other adopted Canadian wild goose. Doodles has been with us for two years now. Anyway…Gladys now resides in the barn at night, with a bowl of corn, grain and pellets, along with a nice clean bowl of water to sip at during the long night. So…last evening was her first night of sleeping in the warm, snugly dry confines of the barn as the teeming rain poured down all night long. Normally she would have been out in it, with her head under her wing, constantly alert to any approaching danger. SHE is an injured, but happy goose. Her eight friends came morning and night for a week or so, then abandoned her for their flight south obviously…But she is not alone…for she has Doodles as her new friend and he now has her. See their pictures below…
 |
| Gladys' good wing |
This is her injured wing side...
See how it drops down?
 |
| Not scared at all...Just feeding.... |
 |
| Doodles |
Doodles has Perfect form......
Two friend's together.....
 |
| What Rain? We're Eating...
Yesterday, Vick worked in the garden and we wrapped the fig tree to protect it from the winter elements. The garden is looking pretty good after she removed all the old, dying summer plants and we tilled the garlic bed. She set her next year’s garlic and covered the bed with straw, so we’re about done in the garden for this year. She had Snavely on farm duty with her…as the photo shows. The Alpacas sure enjoyed the old plants she threw over the fence to them too.
 
The fig tree is in that tower of straw
The garlic bed is in the foreground...
Well…Not such good news for me again…Last evening, I picked
an embedded tick off myself again. At first I thought it to be a tiny mole or
scab, but removed it anyway…Not until we looked at it with Vick’s “jeweler’s
eye”, could we see the legs and it’s head…and when Vick turned it over with
tweezers, we saw blood around it on the white cap of a spray can we had it
lying on. Now I’ll be off to the pharmacy for my Doxycycline tablets again. The
Doctor called in a prescription for three tablets and I have to watch for the
rash in four days…and any other signs of Lyme’s disease again in four to five
weeks. Jeeze um… I’ve had Lyme’s before and still suffer from the effects, so
how will I recognize new ones? Anyway…I’m putting a picture of this little
twerp below so you can see how easy it would be to miss these guys. BE CAREFUL
and check yourself….even if you live in the suburbs of a town or city. They’re
all around you if you are in the United States……
See why so many people miss them?
|
If you like what we talk about and the pictures we show, why not become a follower? Join at the left by clicking on "Join this site". Also, feel free to leave a message anytime about anything I write. Skip
No comments:
Post a Comment
If you try to advertise on my comments section, I will delete your advertising. All comments must be posted in English or they will also be eliminated.