Posted Jun-18-08 19:50:54 PDT
As I checked my email this evening, I was saddened to receive notification of Tasha Tudor's passing. What an endearing, unique and wonderful soul she was... and blessed are those who were touched by her life; whether personally or through her books, artwork and stories. How fortunate we all were who enjoyed Tasha that she was so willing to share! I finally was able to purchase several packets of her flower seeds earlier this spring, and planted them just last week. I had attempted to splurge on them for the past few years, yet each time, they were sold out. I will treasure their presence in my garden...
I have a story to share, which happened late yesterday afternoon...
I was out in the farthest garden, and was watering the aforementioned seeds, as it has been so dry again. I headed to the well to adjust the hoses, and heard a bleating sound off in the back field near the woods. I knew it most surely was a baby fawn, but I couldn't quite place what direction to head in. As I was running out, I noticed several crows flying about and cawing loudly... and right then I saw a doe run down from the woods to where the crows were darting about. She was frantically stamping and running back and forth, so I jumped into the jeep and carefully drove out there, dreading what I would find. It appeared that two large crows were on the ground, attacking the tiniest fawn I had ever seen, but I suddenly realized they were not crows, and I'm still not sure if they were mink or fishers. They ran not 8 feet away to the stone wall that divides our property from the neighbors'... one was on top and kept his eyes on the fawn. I pulled the jeep between the fawn and the one mink(?) who was not the least bit afraid of me but was intently fixated on the poor little fawn, and was attempting to run in front of the jeep to resume its attack. My youngest son ran out to help me, and after a few minutes, the mink ran off with the other one, and the little fawn caught his breath and finally could stand and teeter off to find his momma. We stayed out there for a good half-hour to keep the minks at bay and can only hope all turned out well for the little baby.
Now I know I should have let nature take its course, but before you scold me, let me say I just could not have stayed out in the garden and worked with that ruckus; knowing what was going on in the field behind me. And those critters were fierce and fast-moving. I came in and researched several photographs online of wolverines, weasels, mink and fishers... but I'm inconclusive as to exactly what I saw... the toss-up being mink or fisher. Only one photograph of an all-black mink looked right, but there was also one photograph of an all-black fisher that looked the same. They both were jet-black, their fur was NOT sleek and short, but rather long and tousled, and they were easily triple the size of a large house cat. They had long full tails, tiny ears and fierce faces. Can anyone offer any help? Gary... if you're reading this... do you have any suggestions?
Needless to say, the full of today was spent running a new fence around the other side of the field to offer a fresh grazing spot for the biddies and friends... fresh grass and much-needed shade, but is it secure enough to keep out those marauders? The whole episode made me more than anxious, especially because yesterday morning, I adapted the teenage chicks' pen to be outdoor-accessible. I will again sleep with one eye open!
Well, it is time to get some shut-eye, but if anyone has any idea what type of critter I could have seen, I'd be interested to hear from you. Blessings to all... ~Laura of Wildenblue Farm
As I checked my email this evening, I was saddened to receive notification of Tasha Tudor's passing. What an endearing, unique and wonderful soul she was... and blessed are those who were touched by her life; whether personally or through her books, artwork and stories. How fortunate we all were who enjoyed Tasha that she was so willing to share! I finally was able to purchase several packets of her flower seeds earlier this spring, and planted them just last week. I had attempted to splurge on them for the past few years, yet each time, they were sold out. I will treasure their presence in my garden...
I have a story to share, which happened late yesterday afternoon...
I was out in the farthest garden, and was watering the aforementioned seeds, as it has been so dry again. I headed to the well to adjust the hoses, and heard a bleating sound off in the back field near the woods. I knew it most surely was a baby fawn, but I couldn't quite place what direction to head in. As I was running out, I noticed several crows flying about and cawing loudly... and right then I saw a doe run down from the woods to where the crows were darting about. She was frantically stamping and running back and forth, so I jumped into the jeep and carefully drove out there, dreading what I would find. It appeared that two large crows were on the ground, attacking the tiniest fawn I had ever seen, but I suddenly realized they were not crows, and I'm still not sure if they were mink or fishers. They ran not 8 feet away to the stone wall that divides our property from the neighbors'... one was on top and kept his eyes on the fawn. I pulled the jeep between the fawn and the one mink(?) who was not the least bit afraid of me but was intently fixated on the poor little fawn, and was attempting to run in front of the jeep to resume its attack. My youngest son ran out to help me, and after a few minutes, the mink ran off with the other one, and the little fawn caught his breath and finally could stand and teeter off to find his momma. We stayed out there for a good half-hour to keep the minks at bay and can only hope all turned out well for the little baby.
Now I know I should have let nature take its course, but before you scold me, let me say I just could not have stayed out in the garden and worked with that ruckus; knowing what was going on in the field behind me. And those critters were fierce and fast-moving. I came in and researched several photographs online of wolverines, weasels, mink and fishers... but I'm inconclusive as to exactly what I saw... the toss-up being mink or fisher. Only one photograph of an all-black mink looked right, but there was also one photograph of an all-black fisher that looked the same. They both were jet-black, their fur was NOT sleek and short, but rather long and tousled, and they were easily triple the size of a large house cat. They had long full tails, tiny ears and fierce faces. Can anyone offer any help? Gary... if you're reading this... do you have any suggestions?
Needless to say, the full of today was spent running a new fence around the other side of the field to offer a fresh grazing spot for the biddies and friends... fresh grass and much-needed shade, but is it secure enough to keep out those marauders? The whole episode made me more than anxious, especially because yesterday morning, I adapted the teenage chicks' pen to be outdoor-accessible. I will again sleep with one eye open!
Well, it is time to get some shut-eye, but if anyone has any idea what type of critter I could have seen, I'd be interested to hear from you. Blessings to all... ~Laura of Wildenblue Farm
No comments:
Post a Comment