Category: Animals
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Festivus
Erin arrived from China a week ago. She’d been there on tour with her orchestra and was on her way back to Montreal, by way of “home” in the Kootenays for a week or so. She had picked up a killer cold in China and spent the better part of the week recovering from that […]
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Holidays 2011
There was no Christmas in this family. We went to my mom’s and ate her turkey. But other than that, no Christmas. We’re waiting for Erin to get back from China next week, when she’ll stop in for a week’s visit. Irish Cream. We’ve been making it, 3 litres at a time and enjoying it […]
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Humbug
Look who joined the family yesterday! Since our old cat’s demise we’ve seen a steady climb in the rodent population hereabouts. So we’re thrilled to see Humbug stalking flies, developing her hunting instincts. Noah, a.k.a. Cat Boy, is completely smitten. The rest of us are quickly following suit.
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Beware of small bears
We had these two in our yard at least once today. Probably twice. A mama and a cub. A tiny, cute little cub. Standing up and peering around, curious about everything. We think our dog tangled with them this morning, though. Probably got between mama and her cub, a very dangerous place to be. The […]
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They’re growing up!
The chickens, that is. They’re a little over two months old now, our dozen Ameraucanas. We got them as fluffy little day-olds and have successfully grown them through their lanky pre-adolescent phase. They’re now feathering out resplendently and there’s such variety! They all have the jowly ear-tufts and blue-grey legs and feet characteristic of their breed, […]
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Nestlings
Ever kid should have a nest of baby birds to watch every year.
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Bear stories
Last week it was beautiful and sunny and I decided to sneak in a quick afternoon run. I took the highway out towards the junction to the east of us. Typically this highway has only very light traffic, and it’s beautifully scenic. I did my 20-minute jogging warmup and then started up my heart-rate monitor […]
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Cheep, cheep, cheep, cheep
Our new batch of Ameracauna chicks arrived via the post office this morning. While we had had success breeding our own stock in the past, we lost all our chickens when we left the homestead undefended by both human and dog while Sophie’s appendix was bursting on our non-vacation last year. So we’re starting from […]
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Wolf
Only in a small town can a guy roll in on Monday, visit with a few friends, offer to do a talk on wolves and a visit with his own “pet” wolf, and get a full fifth of the community’s residents out to the event a mere two days later. Standing room only. Fiona took […]
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Limpet’s update
It’s true I had a rocky first week. Had to go see the vet again, was admitted to hospital and watched overnight. Finally felt like eating again after 5 days, but that kibble I used to eat? Not what an injured dog deserves. So I held out and eventually my people acquiesced and gave me […]
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Sad yet miraculous story
Limpet, our dog, has a “thing” about the van. She gets very excited when we leave and loves chasing us. She doesn’t do this with other vehicles, not even Chuck’s truck, but she knows the kids and I are normally in the van, and she gets very excited. Normally she barks a bit and races […]
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The neighbour lambs
Our neighbours have a tiny homestead which comprises a huge veggie garden, dairy cattle, rabbits, turkeys, chickens (meat birds and layers), goats and sheep. The goats and cow have birthed already and we’re into a (late) lambing season now. Sometimes we get a phone call when an animal is birthing. Sometimes we just happen by. […]
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Predatory near-tragedy
The seven hatched chicks, now heading into adolescence and standing 8 to 10 inches tall, were moved out to the chicken coop a week or so ago. They hunkered inside the henhouse at first, intimidated by the older generation. Overall things were going well. The big chickens were scarfing the little ones’ higher-nutrient food, but […]
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Girl and dog
We had sunshine a few times today. And snow up on the ridges. And rain here several times. And hail. At one well-timed moment, Fiona and the dog got out for a walk. Here they are heading up the driveway towards the highway. Limpet loves her walks and runs. Even if the pace is slow […]
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Pip’s midnight adventure
Last night I was putting Fiona to bed when she commented on the rhythmic shrill cheeping coming from the basement. At first she thought it was some sort of electronic alarm. “Oh, it’s just a chick,” she said, after listening again. I almost thought nothing of it. We can often hear the chicks from upstairs. […]