Kasidi's puppies

Thursday 29th March

I am going to digress from the puppies today as I want to record the series of events that I am sure, in time, will make me smile, but not today.

It started with me trying to persuade my pot bellied pig Angela to move into the paddock as her rooting was making the garden even more untidy. She has hung out with chickens all winter and is free to go wherever she chooses, so It was always going to be a tall order. Behind the electric fence is around 10 acres of pasture with access to the barn and this is where my 3 cows and Wilbur a small black pig who we rescued last year live. Wilbur is a huge character who we love dearly and he and Angela tolerate each other pretty well when they are together. As I was tempting Angela thru the gate a UPS van came up the driveway which arracted the attention of the dogs so I left what I was doing to call the dogs. Then I heard the phone ring , so I answered that and then a couple of hours later as I am on the phone to my friend Linda, something in the corner of my eye forces me to turn round and I see Lela chasing my 3 cows around the house.They were literally doing a circuit going round and round and round tearing my bewildered garden up as they went. I immediately ran into the garage and put some corn into bucket and set about the job of trying to catch the cows. Well, they were having so much fun It was obvious the corn was not going to tempt them. They ran up the side of the field and disappeared into the woods and before I could blink they were back out again and sprinting back towards the chicken shed. To say they moved like grease lightening is an undersatement,boy could they move and Of course my fear was that they would eventually find their way to the road. They seemed to be relishing being free, enjoying noseying around the places they can only see from their pasture. One even popped her head into the mudroom .

I was eventually able to coax the black one (Josie) thru the gates and about 20 minutes later had the other 2 safely back in the paddock.

Meanwhile, Wilbur looks very busy behind my car which I had cleaned out a couple of hours earlier. I had lifted some sacks of dogfood out and left them by them car. He had managed to rip the bag open and was happily tucking into the contents which were, by now ,scattered all over the driveway. So I cleaned that up and then went into the house for a well desreved cup of tea.

I am also a falconer and in the new year I was lucky enough to receive a captured young Redtail who I called Syracuse. Just before the bad weather set in Syracuse, who was slow in his training to begin with was flying and hunting independantly. The recent bad weather had prevented me from going out with him. This week I have been in the progress of training him once more, reducing his weight and preparing him for free flight .

During training sessions I attach him to a line called a creance and as he was doing so well I was intending this session to be the last one on the line.

I was flying him from the fence when all of a sudden he decided to fly to the trees and that is when disaster struck. I had the line longer than It needed to be and he got caught in the trees , he then decided to fly higher up the tree and the line got even more tangled and I knew That I was going to have to climb the tree to release him, but this was easier said than done. My tree climbing days were Long gone and when I got halfway up to him on very thin branches I realised I was putting myself in real danger. I decided to go and fetch the ladders from the barn and a pair of scizzors from the house to cut the line, all the time worrying that I had put my bird in real peril. I tried the ladders but they only reached a third to where I needed to be. Meanwhile, Wilbur decided to investigate what was happeing and true to form he started to get frisky and started humping my leg. He was very persistant and I could not get him to clear off. He also started to writhe and rub his body against the ladders while I was going up them. Not very calming, I can assure you.


In desperation I ran to the house and rang my son Alex who was in town with his friends. Fortunately I was able to get hold of him and he arrived about 15 minutes later.

Syracuse was flapping his wings and getting even more distressed and I was just beside myself but I knew I had to stay calm. Alex climbed the tree much more ably than me and in time, was able to cut the line and secure him by his jesses.

I went up the ladder as far as It would let me go and managed to get Syracuse from Alex. He was stressed but quickly calmed down and in no time I had him sitting on the glove. . I think he realised the danger was over. They say Redtails are unforgiving and It is the falconer who will suffer by his own mistakes. I hope this not the case with Syracuse and me, but only time will tell. He will be released in the spring once the hunting season is over and I just hope he will overlook my mistake today as I am looking forward to working and hunting with him over the next month or so. He took his food readily from the glove and seemed content when I returned him to his weathering.

I eventually managed to get Wilbur behind the fence and will try with Angela again tomorrow.

A casualty of the cows getting out was one of my chickens, who I found dead in the grass.

Fortunately, the puppies were safely in the utility room and I think they slept thru the whole drama and a drama is what this afternoon was.