Father Hennepin State Park August 13, 2009

I spent August 3rd through the 8th with my parents and aunt Mary & uncle Dan. (& Craig for 2 days) We stayed at Father Hennepin State Park up in Isle, MN on Mile  Lacs Lake. Craig came home during the weekend while I was up at the cabin in Amery, WI and the day after I came home the two of us drove up to stay with the others in the campground. I think this was my first time camping that I really didn’t need any bug spray! The park has a really nice long & sandy beach, paved paths, and some hiking trails. The downsides were that it was crowded and the sites had no privacy and the park itself is kind of small. I think it would be the perfect park if the campsites had more privacy because that was a BIG downside. There were people walking through our site to theirs and while sitting around you almost had to look at your neighbors because they were so close with nothing seperating the sites.

Luke riding in Craig’s lap. Craig put on the brakes and poor Luke’s head smacked into the horn on the wheel. It was pretty comical but also a good reason your dog shouldn’t ride on your lap.

Gracie in the back seat where she later threw up a clump of grass.

Craig & Luke on a dock on our first walk around the park. Notice how you can’t see the shoreline on the other side of the lake. Mile Lacs is huge!

Nice sandy beach.

Me.

Dan & Craig.

Duckies!

It seems like everyone has these recliner chairs now.

Playing some washer and box game. (Almost the same as but not as good as cornhole).

It took some time for Gracie to get used to being tied up because at home she’s always running free.

Sunset!

Dad & the puppies.

Some funky mushrooms.

More duckies! (I love ducks).

On another walk.

We played a very loooong game of Canasta followed by a couple games of Liverpool.

The only deer I see the whole time I’m there & it’s an albino one!

Darn Stupid Jerk Fox June 5, 2009

Ever since last year this fox thing is getting out of hand. I know we’ve always had foxes around here, ever since I was little and our first flock of chickens from that time was killed off. Then about ten years ago we started raising them again without much trouble. Yes, we alwayshad some go missing but not a very large number. Then last year we actually started seeing the fox hanging around and she even snatched a chicken a few feet away from where my dad and Eric were standing. Eric ended up chasing her and she dropped the killed chicken. That’s when we started locking up the chickens more often instead of having them free range every day. I remember one day last summer we had the chickens out and I was watching them through the back sliding glass door. I noticed the fox trying to be very sly and slinking towards the unsuspecting chickens so I flew through the door yelling and running after it. Now this year she’s out there all of the time and I’m starting to wonder if she even sleeps! Fox are nocturnal and I do see her during then but she’s also out there in the middle of the day. She never stops hunting. A few weeks ago she had her den right down the street but we think she moved it.

 Last night at 4am I was just about to crawl into bed when I heard a chicken scream then a guinea hen started screaming and I heard something smash into the pen. I thought “Oh no, she somehow got in and is going to kill them all!” I rushed to the back door and flipped on the lights but I didn’t hear anything more. If she had gotten in there the whole coop would be freaking out and you would hear it. So I just stood at the back door letting my eyes adjust and waited. Then I saw her. She was running back and forth in front of the pen, then back to the trees, then under the coop, around the pen, and she wasn’t leaving. I decided that I should go get Gracie who of course was sleeping and try to find a flashlight. I walked around the house for about five minutes looking and couldn’t find one. Gracie got bored and went back downstairs (I can’t believe that I could see the fox and my dog couldn’t) so I decided just to wait and see what the fox does. Then It looked like she was digging and then she just sat there looking into the pen. It reminded me of a cat just sitting there looking at a bird that it couldn’t get. I went downstairs to try and find a flashlight to go outside with and my dad woke up. I told him that the fox was trying to get into the coop so he came upstairs too and let the dogs out after it. Usually I just let out Gracie because she’ll chase it for a little bit and come right back. Luke on the other hand will be out there forever barking and running around. So I went outside to sans flashlight to try and see if the fox made any headway in digging under the fence and then I went inside the pen and tried to baracade the door to the coop with wood and brick just in case. It turns out that the little red rooster that always sleeps outside in the pen was just standing there in the middle looking like the attempted murder case he was. So that’s what the fox was just sitting there salivating over, that little rooster.

 

Now she was just back tonight. Luke came running upstairs sniffing at the air and acting weird and growling so of course I flipped the back light on a gain and waited for what I knew I’d see. Of course she was out there trying to get into the coop to murder my sweet little birds. Eric was still awake so I borrowed his flashlight and let Gracie out to chase the fox away momentarily while I did my little inspection on the coop and put the little red rooster inside and again baracaded the dooer with wood and brick. This time I decided to also put a bucket of grit in front of the door inside just in case and so I can sleep a little better tonight. I know she’s still out there tonight and will be all of the time as always. I’m just getting so sick of it! I always have to be worried about her killing the birds and even sometimes have bad dreams about it. Also I wish that we could let the chickens and guinea hens out during the day without knowing that doing so is the same as sending them to their death.

Oh go away fox, go away! Yes you are a very pretty animal and I bet your little kits are adorable, and I’m an animal lover and shouldn’t say this but….. I would feel much better if someone just “took care” of my little problem, meaning YOU! Yes, it would be nice to be able to just relocate your pretty little fox family but I don’t think that’s possible.

Name the Baby Pigeon April 2, 2009

So I have been more than bored with myself lately so I decided to start a little project for myself. It’s spring and we have a couple of pigeons hatching so I figured I would choose a chick, make a blog for it, and take a photo or two every day to document it’s growth & changes. I thought it would be fun to let everyone name him/her so if you have a good name let me know here:

 

babypigeon.tumblr.com

 

The mom & chick.

Gracie Loves Her Chew Sticks September 22, 2008

Once you give her one she won’t set it down. She carries it around in her mouth like a little cigar. She’s just being smart though because we have two other dogs (Luke & Hunter) that will take her stick once she sets it down. Just thought she was cute

 

Hunter loves baths (no, not really) September 4, 2008

Hunter really hates getting baths but we live out in the country so he gets into a lot of stinky stuff like dead animals, manure, and skunk. Yup, life is good out here.