Windy Knoll Animal/Bird Stories 1995

It could have been a morning long ago – a clear morning following a rain, which  made conditions just right for weeding the flower beds and herb garden.

Up front let me say we have one very amorous female dog (Sadie), one adult male dog (Jake), who is just now being introduced to amorous females and one young male pup (Fuzzie).  Jake is the kingpin as the pecking order goes and he is most attentive to Sadie, while Fuzzie has great aspirations far beyond his means.  They’re driving me crazy!!  We are too old to put up with the likes of this !!  How did we get talked into taking a female dog to begin with?

First I put the toe pillow in place to protect my sore toes and then donned the most comfortable work shoes I have.  With wheelbarrow and gloves in place, I got started on a job that really needed to be done — trimming spent flower stalks, pulling Bermuda grass and other junk.

I stopped for a bit to go on bird patrol – or maybe it was cat patrol.  For several days the mockingbird has been diving at the cats and sometimes even John and me, which told us the young had hatched and were being protected.  We never knew just where the nest was, but assumed it was in the grapevine near the back porch.

As I was weeding around the old stump I heard the worst commotion and looked up see Midnight with a mouth full of baby birds.  Just like Boss Hog, I went in hot pursuit of a very evasive cat, as did all the dogs.  she got away from us all, except for the fussing parent birds and pup, who returned with one baby.  I was so upset.

Soon afterwards, the birds were really fussing and I pulled one unhappy cat off the white grapevine supports as she had started for another nest in the peach tree.  Not to be outdone, Midnight climbed the post and was going back to the first nest she had robbed at which time I knocked her out of there with the mop!!

Finally, I decided to leave all this to Mother Nature and returned to doing my own thing — maybe next time the birds won’t build right here near the cat hangout.

Little by little, I worked my way around to the herb garden where I enjoyed my chores – partly because of the nice fragrance offered by the plants.  The Southernwood was past due for being trimmed and with that accomplished, I weeded the rest of the garden.  I am really thankful for a good mulch here, which decreases my work substantially.  A glace at my watch reminded me that soon it would be lunchtime and that there was not much in the way of leftovers from which to draw.

Now my city cousins would have had to go to the grocery store; however, I did as a farm wife of years past might have done, I went by the potato rows and dug potatoes for our lunch. Then I cut a cabbage with which to make slaw and on my way to the house I pulled up a large onion.  This along with some leftovers made an adequate lunch.

Good eatin’ just goes hand in hand with country living.