So, you see the old run down dog house? Our duck "Scruffy", (the female muscovy with the angel wing) has a nest inside and has been sitting on eggs.
Washing dishes yesterday I noticed Scruffy standing outside the doghouse looking in. She would stretch her neck, look inside, back away, then do it again. I said to Poppy, there is something going on with the duck. Either an egg has hatched and she is trying to coax a baby out, or there is something inside that she is afraid of.
Poppy picked up the gun and walked outside. It's a big snake, he said. He shot and killed the snake, which always makes me sad, but wait, here's the rest of the story...
While Poppy carried the snake away, which by the way, had five eggs inside his belly, I went to check on the little hen in the bantam's lot who was sitting on five eggs. There, I found her on the ground dead, smothered to death, and all five eggs gone. Obviously, the snake had made a stop there first. I was so looking forward to these eggs hatching because they were more bantam eggs from our neighbor Carla. Poor little hen.
Glad for the four warm sunny days we had last week because here we go into another week of rain. The weather forecast last night said a chance of rain for the next seven days.
on our walk, Poppy took this picture of a healthy poison ivy vine growing up the big cedar tree along the edge of the pond. Getting pretty desperate for something to post...poison ivy!!
Need to get busy. Got lots to do and little energy to do with. Darn it, I woke up yesterday with a sore throat and an awful cold. It has been years since I suffered with a cold!
Be back soon, hopefully. :) Love,
Henny
Oh that's so sad about the eggs and the little bantam. I love Muscovies, we get wild ones here.
ReplyDeleteI just hate snakes. I know some of them have an important job to do, killing other snakes, but I hate them all.
ReplyDeleteThat's just so sad, that poor sweet hen! Did the ducks eggs survive? Now I'm thinking I should have a gun around here, just in case...
ReplyDeleteHow sad, such a shame but that is what the circle of life is all about I suppose. The weather is not that good here either, a lot of cold wind. Hope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteI like to think of living in the country as living in paradise but it isn't. The food chain really plays havoc with paradise. The snake was just looking for food but look at all the heartache it caused. I want all creatures to live in harmony. It will never happen. Not even humans live in harmony.
ReplyDeleteIt is not nice but it is all part of life's rich tapestry. We do not have snakes to worry about, Adders tend to shy away from peopled areas. We do have a plethora of foxes which will kill every thing within sight, badgers which will ruin your well planted garden in a night and buzzards which will take anything smaller than a cocker spaniel. Eli looks as handsome as ever.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get over that nasty cold and sore throat quickly. It's never any fun to feel under the weather, so take care.
ReplyDeleteSo sad about the eggs and the Bantam. I know it's all part of the food chain, but still very sad. I hope your cold goes away quickly and you feel better.
ReplyDeleteOh poor you, Henny! Take care of that cold. I'm so sorry about the snake. I don't like snakes. Right now I have the shivers just thinking about that meanie.
ReplyDeleteAwe sorry to hear about the Hen and eggs. Hope the duck eggs survived. Hope you get to feeling better. I never get colds either. Maybe one every other year or so. Hope yours will be gone in a day or two. The weather doesnt help. Sunshine prayers headed your way.
ReplyDeleteLisa
Darn them snakes! Sure hope you feel better soon!!
ReplyDeleteDarn them snakes! Sure hope you feel better soon!!
ReplyDeleteSo sad to hear about the duck and hen and snake. Guess that's the way things go sometimes. Do you think all the rain you've had has something to do with this sudden snake activity that you have been experiencing?
ReplyDeleteI love the first pic of the rose bush with the birdbath in front. The birdbath set on top of the old stump and the little rabbit sitting in front makes a charming vignette. And the less than sunny lighting makes it even more interesting somehow.
Hope you cold goes away fast and you are back in the pink soon. That's such an old expression "in the pink"----how do you suppose it came to be.
I'm sad for the little hen. I would go crazy if I saw a snake attack something. Poor wee thing.
ReplyDeleteCan you not cut the eggs out and put them back under the duck? or put them in an incubator? That is so sad. I love you!
ReplyDeleteYou are a better woman that I Henny, I can't tolerate snakes period.
ReplyDeleteYes, I was wondering about the eggs, can they be saved ?
~Jo
In the case of this snake, it had to die. It would have kept coming back.
ReplyDeleteWe have poison ivy all over, too. Good to know where it is, if you can remember. Because in winter when you can't see those leaves, and start clearing brush, you'd better be careful because that is when I got my worst case of poison ivy, all over both arms. Dormant poison ivy is just as bad as the stuff you can see!
Hope you all have a blessed week!
Obviously the snakes are a big nuisance at your place. Too bad.
ReplyDeleteYes, can the eggs be saved? You have beautiful rose bush.
ReplyDeleteI saw snake twice this week, we don't have animals, so the snake is scary but good for my garden.
Aw too bad about the hen and her eggs.
ReplyDeleteHope you're feeling better soon and the sun comes out. : )
I hope your cold doesn't last long. It's hard to make yourself do things when you have absolutely no energy. I'm sorry about the snake, too. It's a good thing you noticed Scruffy when you did or the snake probably would have eaten all the duck eggs, too.
ReplyDeleteOh, dang, reading this I knew it was going to be a snake, and I so didn't want it to be. So sorry about the little hen and the eggs.
ReplyDeleteI had a couple of experiences with black snakes going after our baby chickens but I could never bring myself to kill them -- I put them in a pillow case and took them for a ride. Muscovy ducks: at one point we had 12 Muscovy hens and all of them sat on large clutches of eggs that hatched at about the same time. You do the math! Let me know how your appointment with the osteoporosis doctor goes. I am interested in the treatment they propose.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the eggs..those darn snakes are out and about here, too. That was my first thought when you told about the duck looking in. Get you some chewable vit c. I take a couple every day, but when I feel a scratch in my throat or my nose feels funny I take two more...it really does help stave off a cold.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Living in the south of England, UK, it is rare we see a snake here, only ones are adders and I've only ever seen one. How scary was that and the poor hen, so sorry for you. Glad you have a Poppy to sort it out x
ReplyDeleteOh that is sad, poor Scruffy and the hen, thank goodness you noticed or it could have been even sadder xx
ReplyDeleteSnakes have their place in nature but I hate it that this one ate your eggs and killed the little hen. Sorry about your cold, too. Maybe you will get some breaks of sunshine in the rainy days ahead. I hope so!
ReplyDeleteHi ~ Golly you have your share of snakes! What kind are they?
ReplyDeleteWhat will you do with the poison ivy?
My grandpa and I both were lucky, we both got into poison ivy and it did nothing to us. :-) Not so for my friend Sam.
Have a good week,
Carla
Oh that is gloomy and sad stuff. Poor little Bantam hen. I'm so glad Poppy shot that miserable snake. I don't care if it's all part of the food chain. He could eat frogs or such. I'm sorry too that you have caught a cold. Be real nice to yourself and pamper yourself while you feel under the weather.
ReplyDeleteI too spend a lot of time looking out of the kitchen window, and was always the one to notice an animal in distress (horses with colic, bloated sheep (rare occasions)) or sheep wanting to head back to the barn because labour was starting. Snakes are one thing we don't have to worry about though, and thank goodness for that, as they must be just about impossible to keep out unless an animal is fully caged. So sad about the hen. What kind of snakes are they?
ReplyDeleteSo many snakes. I would be afraid all the time. I just don't do snakes very well. Hope you get over your cold soon. It's always something isn't it?
ReplyDeletemy eli walked me around the beach we visited Tuesday, now it wil be 100 and 102 on this sat. and sunday, we are getting to a tiny cabin the kitteh cats in the feline only cabin and we are off to have a ball..Fish and crab and mussels and clams from the sea tiny clams, the razors one of my friends has a big frozen jar just for me to cook up! Wow whee, a bonfire at night, songs and good times, we cannot stand the humidity here and our home heats up like a fire engine even with 3 huge a/c units we were forced to get last year..I make sure the feral cat that shows up in our back yard has frozen water and food that he can get to and a box to keep out of the hotter than you know what sunshine, my neighbor who checks our home will make sure he is okay too, if I could catch him I would take him to the feline only clinic to be housed but I cannot get him to get into the carrier even though he scarfs down the food I leave out..I think this global warming is horrible we usually get 260 plus days of rain and inclement weather, the ground is covered in moss and greenery, no more..Hoping you feel so much better, a cough and cold is not the way to live at all!
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the eggs and the hen, you need a critter that sounds a snake alarm! Good for Poppy! :)
ReplyDelete