prey

it's a new year, and it feels like summer. temps were in the low 80's for the past 2 weeks. seems like it's been warmer than usual everywhere. hopefully the heat won't last long enough for the dormant trees to begin blooming. the avocados already have early blossoms...

we've had 2 hawk attacks in the past month. it had been about 6 years since a hawk came down and killed one of our birds, so this latest spate of attacks is worrisome. there's a red tail nest in a very tall pine tree next door, so hawks have always been present but-until now-not a serious threat. their high-pitched call is distinctive and often enough of a warning to any potential prey. plus the crows have done a good job of keeping them in check, harassing them constantly.

last month, after i had finished cleaning the pens in the back yard, i strolled to the front with the dogs to find a hawk standing over a fresh kill in front of the coop. i probably would have heard something if i hadn't been using the tractor (thinking back, i remembered hearing a hawk earlier that morning). the hawk took off as soon as it saw me, leaving a gruesome scene. at first glance, i couldn't even tell which bird it was. it was only when i saw a bill on the ground that i realized it was one of the mallards. there were feathers everywhere, and she looked like she had been turned inside out. all of the other birds were watching silently from under the bushes, traumatized. the other female mallard started quacking loudly inside the coop, where she had probably run in fear for her life. the drake quacked back at her from under a bush, and she ran out to joined him in hiding.

the hawk had flow only a short distance, observing me from the top of a telephone pole across the street. i ran towards him, picking up a rock on my way out of the gate, intending to fling it at him mercilessly. just as i reached the street, a coyote came running full-tilt down the middle of it, closely followed by an suv that was honking its horn. it was surreal, like something from the twilight series, and for a moment i wondered if we were under attack by all natural predators. i tossed the rock as hard as i could, and the hawk flew about 50 feet down the street, resting on top of another pole. i knew he was waiting to finish his meal, but i had no intention of letting him come anywhere near the property. i cleaned up the duck's carcass, then parked myself in a chair near the rest of the chicks until the hawk realized it was a lost cause and flew away.

for the next 2 days, the chicks hid almost immediately after leaving the coop in the morning. i spotted a small hawk on the ground early the next day, and promptly launched a rock attack (missing, but scaring it away). it must have been one of last year's hatchlings as it was considerably smaller than the killer hawk. the following days passed peacefully with no hawk sightings...until last week.

alejandra called me at work on thursday to tell me that a leghorn hen was on the ground when she arrived, dead, surrounded by feathers. i knew it was a hawk attack, since they typically pluck the feathers of their prey before dining. that night, i cobbled together a scarecrow from old clothes, boxes, newpaper and an umbrella stand. tango barked at it for 20 minutes, then again every time he went outside for the next few days, so i hoped it would pass muster with the hawks. i dug out the gazing ball i had bought years ago and placed it near the coop. the war was on.

the next morning, the chicks avoided their usual hiding spot where thursday's attack had happened and stayed close to the house. they cautiously migrated under cars and trucks and made their way slowly to the other side of the house, where they were mostly sheltered by trees. though most people don't think chickens are particularly smart, they always surprise me. 4 days later, they are still spooked and immediately go into hiding at the slightest bird call. i've been moving the scarecrow to a new spot each day, and so far i've seen no sign of the red tails. tango has stopped barking at him, but i'm still alittle startled each time i catch sight of him out of the corner of my eye.

easy come, easy go.

it's nearly halloween, yet still indian summer. daytime temps are in the 80s and 90s, and barely dip below 60 at night. months have passed since i've blogged. last year's lambs are living in a new home, on a vineyard in sonoma. we have a new set of caretakers after michelle started a full-time day job. the summer flew by after james came home, and now he's off again, working on the east coast.

early september was cool enough to bring on rutting and mating in the flock, which still continues. the upside is that the rams are moving around more, slimming down a bit, and grazing again. on the downside, the boys have become a pack of snorting, girl-crazy lunatics who love to push and shove, and won't give a girl some space. levi and isaac have been shadowing poor maggie for the past 2 days. i arrived home to find isaac still by her side in the pen, panting like he'd just run a marathon. she was the first to come into heat last month, but apparently no one finished the job, so she's back in season. i guess we'll know if the other ewes are pregnant soon enough. if the expression on sarah's face means anything - a dietrich-like, squinty-eyed, i-want-to-be-alone look - she already has twins on the way.

the garden is overgrown, but still offering the occasional zucchini and pepper. next year, we'll move it to a sunnier spot, and hopefully plant raised beds in the front yard. the coral tree next to the current plot has grown so huge that the crops are in shade for much of the day. the saplings and herbs loved it, but corn, tomatoes and lettuce didn't do so well without full sun. after a late summer of non-stop figs, it's pomegranate season. there's also abundant green fruit on the oranges and tangerines, and avocados are nearly big enough to pluck. soon, the trees will lose their leaves, i'll be fertilizing with compost, and tucking in for the winter.

we had a major tree-trimming event this year - an all-day affair when 20-odd olive trees are pruned, leaving behind a huge mountain of mulch. an oak tree in front of the house was pruned last month, after its branches touched the roof and dropped a couple of tiles. oaks need to be thinned during summer, which we (unfortunately) discovered is also prime time for the birth of baby squirrels. after an hour of vigorous limb-cutting, the trimmers managed to down a squirrel's nest, and 2 little babies bounced onto the ground with it. james came into the house carrying what looked like a tiny little mouse, eyes still closed. he called leslie, a wildlife rehabilitator whose card was stuck on the fridge after multiple possum rescues. she told him to place them near the tree, as the mamas will often come to claim their fallen babes and carry them to a new nest. alas, at the end of the day, mama had not returned, so we began feeding the babes with kmr (a kitten formula) via syringe. they're now nearly 9 weeks old and healthy, after nurturing by a village of people - james, me, the caretakers, the dog walker and leslie herself (who babysat them for a week when i had to leave the country for work). thankfully, they're now eating on their own, after weeks of hand feeding. they're living in a fabulous little cage next to a window in the brown room, and are partial to pears and walnuts. i'm hoping to move them outside in the coming month, and release them over the course of the winter. they'll need shelter and food available until they learn how to build a nest and fend for themselves, which they would normally learn from mama. unfortunately, my tree-climbing skills are limited.

david, the bee man, made a return appearance this evening to remove a paper wasp nest in the bantam pen. he donned his bee suit just after dusk, accompanied by his young son, and deftly removed the small comb with a towel, placing it into a vented cardboard box. as he climbed out of his suit, we reminisced about his last visit 5 or so years ago to remove a hive in the wall of the barn. apparently my hair was brown then, and we had mentioned the possibility of selling our property to a developer. there aren't many big plots like yours around anymore, he said, then asked if he could pick some pomegranates to take home (he spied the trees on his way in, despite the waning light). i brought out a paper bag, and his son and i picked fruit in the dark as david finished packing his truck. he told me that tomorrow the wasps would be released, and would soon be buzzing around the hills in malibu. easy come, easy go.

little sprouts

the weekend was hot - in the upper 80's. the ewes and lambs were lazy, relaxing in the shade of fig trees for a good part of the day. it was too hot to graze until later in the afternoon. the rams continue to loiter near their shed, even when we tried moving their alfalfa breakfast to the front of the yard. i'm not really sure why they're not compelled to graze. for the first time in awhile the grass in the front is growing long and might require (gasp) a mowing. as soon as the lambs are weaned, we'll cut down on the alfalfa rations. hopefully that will motivate them to move around.

at 9 weeks, i've broken the ice with ben. he's finally brave enough to approach and let me scratch his head. it's amazing that skittle always has the friendliest lambs, year after year (i guess it shouldn't be a surprise, since she is the friendliest ewe). the other lambs watch and come near, but won't let me touch them for any extended period. abby seems the most curious, and has gone as far as approaching to sniff my foot, so hopefully she will get more gregarious with time.

i finally started some seeds. planted last year's tomato seeds - along with some zucchini, cukes and eggplant - in some old nursery packs, using our compost. then, placed the packs on a cookie sheet and set them in front of the french doors in the brown room. they're growing well - already an inch or two high, and hopefully ready to plant in a couple of weeks when i have the garden ready for action. hoeing, weeding and dumping compost were too much for me to attempt this weekend!

neighbor jim came by with debbie and their 2 grandkids to see the lambs. it was good to see them, and always fun to have kids around. we drank lemonade, bribed the sheep to come closer with some 4-way, and let the kids collect eggs from the nests. jim had called us the day before, when his neighbor (a somewhat disreputable real estate agent who reminds me of the guy in the enzyte commercials) was having a yard sale where he was offloading some "historical" objects bought from the previous owners of our property at a yard sale. mr. enzyte was selling "pieces of sylmar history" - an old dolly and an olive crate - for fifty dollars, and suggested that jim could sell them to us for double the price (though i'm sure mr. e bought them for five bucks, tops). despite being "disgusted" (jim's word - a good one), he bought them for us, so now they're coming home.

a couple from temecula stopped by to look at the sheep on sunday. they own a vineyard, and had heard about babydolls for weed control, so were looking into buying a pair. i tried to discourage them from buying a single sheep when they proposed it, as sheep don't do well solo. they didn't seem sure about what they wanted, and said they'd get back to me this week with a decision. i'm sure it's daunting to think about owning livestock when you already have a vineyard to tend.

it was perfect bbq weather, and quyen invited me over for a burger on sunday afternoon, and i arrived with 3 cartons of fresh eggs - including an 18-pack of bantam eggs for her son to dye for easter. quyen's almost 4 months pregnant, and hoping to avoid another tragedy by not working for the duration of her pregnancy. she did, however, offer to come by with her tool box to help me fix a worn-out pipe near the main hose bib. i tried to tighten it on saturday night, only to have it blow off and explode in a gusher of water. since that connection feeds the hoses that provide water for all of the animals, i'm reluctant to attempt a fix myself. i'm not a mechanical person (massive understatement!), so i don't trust myself with repairs that involve water, gas or electricity.

spring ahead

this morning before work, i gave a lamb a bath in the laundry room sink. michelle carried her from the shed to the house and we scrubbed her backside in soapy water. she didn't seem to mind it much, though she did run (bleating the whole way) back to her mom afterwards. spring is here, the weather's been warmer and the flies are out, so we have to pay more attention to flystrike. we usually spray the sheep down in the morning and evening with a citronella-laced pyrethrin-based solution. pyrenthrin's an insecticide derived from daisies and chrysanthemums, and is awesome against flies while being animal-friendly. time to install some of those nasty fly traps around the pens, too - those dreaded baggies that you fill with water. they smell awful, but they do work well.

james left town a couple of weeks ago, and we managed to shear the rams the weekend before he went. i had our blades sharpened in advance at east valley feed, and ordered another shearing comb, along with some replacement parts for the shearing head. rather than putting the sheep on a stacion as we've done in past years, james wanted to shear them on the ground. i have newfound respect for professional shearers, who sit the sheep on their rears and shear while holding them vertical - in under two minutes. i was just holding them up, and it felt like the weight of the world was on my thighs. i'll admit that i fell down more than once. guess i need to do some squats and lunges before next spring, as my muscles were sore for a week afterwards. fortunately, it was cool and cloudy, so we finished all four in one day (not as easily done in the heat). mostly finished, i should say - as levi got a lion cut because he wouldn't stand still. i'll shear the ewes once their lambs are weaned, in may or june. they're usually easier to manage. usually. hopefully. good times await!

vaccinations are done for the year. the lambs had their last shots, and the rams had their boosters (hallelujah, no more vet bills every two weeks!). everyone seems healthy, though the rams seem lazier than usual. i'm chalking it up to the rain, wind and cooler weather that was with us for awhile. as i was getting ready to leave for the office, scooter and the rest of the rams ventured to the front of the property for a rare appearance. they've been loitering near the shed all day, every day, munching on alfalfa and bermuda grass, trying to out-nudge each other (and probably playing cards and smoking when i'm not watching). they can't be bothered to graze. by contrast, the ewes are out of the shed like a shot in the mornings, sprinting to the front of the property for fallen oranges and grapefruits, or a treat of scratch grains. sometimes they stand next to the chicken coop and yell loudly for awhile, thinking it'll get them a handful of scratch. usually, it does. when it doesn't, they roam away to graze for the rest of the day.

the compost bins are filling up. if the weather's nice on sunday, i'll dump some of the ripe stuff in the garden. i really need to start some seedlings. the fig trees already have decent-sized fruit on them and the pomegranates are covered with small red buds. looking forward to some consistently warm weather so i can start cleaning up and getting ready for summer.

the flipside

yesterday, we paid a visit to sharon palmer's farm in santa paula. they had an open house, and guests were welcomed with lemonade and fresh oranges in an old barn that had an awesome kitchen (once used as a dairy). her animals - pigs, goats, sheep, cattle, chickens, ducks, turkeys and rabbits - are pasture-fed on 65 acres. any supplemental feed is non-gmo and soy-free. she tries to run a sustainable operation, and now has a fodder system so she can grow her own sprouted grains. she has 1000 chickens in various stages of development on any given day, and processes 250-300 birds a week for sale. her birds are free-range in the best sense - they have access to pasture, dirt for dust-bathing, and shade. many "free-range" birds at other facilities are actually kept indoors or on concrete, to minimize the risk of disease and help maintain cleanliness. yet another reason to support small, local farms where the animals can be raised as naturally as possible.

we visitors followed sharon around the property as she explained how the animals are raised. i was surprised by many of the questions that were asked. i figured that people who care enough to seek out free-range meat and poultry would know alittle about the food supply in general (which is apparently not the case). when sharon mentioned that the animals were fed oat hay as a supplement, i didn't necessarily expect everyone to know what it was. but when a man asked where oats came from, i couldn't stop myself from turning to him and blurting out "a plant". really? you don't know what an oat is? lord help us. it's astonishing how we've lost the connection with our food sources. if i was a zillionaire, i'd fund alice waters-style edible schoolyards in as many places as possible. most small kids probably know more about dinosaurs than they do about the animals and plants that they eat.

maggie and i had a breakthrough this week. maggie is the lamb of our skittish ewe, becky, and has avoided all human touch and contact since she was born last year. if i even extended my hand in her direction, she would bolt like a wild horse. in the past couple of months since we've separated ewes from rams at night, she's gotten used to seeing me in the shed every morning when i feed the new moms a bit of 4-way before they come out to graze. she's also watched me handle the new lambs and moms. on occasion, over the past month, she'd come closer to smell me, but still wouldn't let me touch her. i gradually started leaning my legs against her (typical sheep behavior-they love to lean!). when she didn't move away, i tried putting my hand under her chin. she was surpringly calm. yesterday, i knelt next to her, scratched her head and picked bits of straw off of her face. she stayed next to me for awhile, which was a first. since she seemed so receptive, i seized the opportunity to give her face a quick trim (she hasn't yet been sheared, so she was very wooly around the eyes). finally, i rested my head against hers and sat there with her for awhile. i think the ice has melted. this was exactly the way it was with jacob when he was about her age. he wanted nothing to do with us then, almost overnight, changed his mind. now he's the friendliest of the bunch.

rain, pain and the end of a hard week

i sat in rainy traffic for two hours on friday, slowly making my way north after a 4 hour agency meeting on the west side. i tried to lower my exasperation level by listening to cnn, but stories about union busting and libyan casualties didn't really help. as i crept slowly along, i thought about the little hen we had put down earlier in the day, and the chores awaiting me at home, despite the rain.

when i finally arrived, the pups were happy to see me. i changed into rain pants and a sweater, tied my hair back and slipped into a rain jacket and boots. i threw a few supplies into a plastic bag and trudged out into the storm. by the look of the standing water in the back, we'd received 2-3 inches of rain in a short period. i folded back the tarp across the front of the shed, went in and turned on a lantern. the ewes were resting, with ben nestled against his mom, the twins snuggled together, and the youngest lamb, abby, fast asleep next to the feeder. temperatures were due to drop through the night, so i dressed the youngest lambs in little fleece jackets. the ewes inspected them closely, puzzled, but not too concerned. i woke little abby, squirted some betadine on her tail, then stretched a small green band over it with the elastrator (a small metal tool) and rolled the band off the metal tines about a third of the way up her tail. she didn't react at all, which was perfect. in a couple of weeks, her tail will be docked at the site of the band, which cuts off blood flow. by the time i'd finished, tango was waiting at the shed gate, followed by banjo. they rarely come out in the rain voluntarily, but tango's fascination with the lambs must have trumped his discomfort, and banjo clearly didn't want to be left behind. i let both of them into the shed to socialize for a bit, then we headed back towards the house.

i grabbed a spade from the barn, and walked to the back of the yard, looking for a suitable spot for a grave. there was a small patch of dirt next to the cactus garden, which i tested with the tip of the shovel in to see if it was soft enough. it was, so i began digging as the rain fell, until i had created a small hole about two feet deep. i walked back to one of the wheely pens in the front, where a rhode island red hen named leigh was waiting, wrapped in a towel. she was one of our oldest hens - 7 years - and a victim of an awful case of flystrike. i had seen this kind of thing once before, and knew she couldn't be saved. she was suffering, so i asked dr. martin to come out and put her down as quicky as possible that day. it's an odd thing to know with surety that an animal will die. the course of action becomes clear - there is no choice but to summon the strength to act in the animal's best interest. i had to leave before the vet was available, so our caretaker michelle came to the house. i said goodbye to leigh before i left, and she was there waiting for me when i returned, to finally put her to rest. i carried her gently to the grave, told her i loved her and placed her inside as the rain poured down.

all the stresses and strains of the week led me to reflect on the nature of humans and animals. a friend posted an article from peta, urging a boycott of wool related to the treatment of sheep with flystrike in australia. the more i learn about animals, the more i'm struck by the absurdity of the human tendency to presume control over all of nature. i see it in myself - a subconscious superiority that assumes animals don't know what's best for them, or should never suffer, or constantly need our intervention. it's our task as caretakers to provide food, shelter and a healthy environment, but we cannot control every aspect of an animals existence. allowing a creature to live an authentic life means that risk is part of the bargain, just as it is with humans. everyone who values free range eggs should understand that allowing a hen to range freely is not without risk. a range hen (or any range animal, for that matter) is vulnerable to hawks, predators, pests, diseases and parasites that exist in nature. at what point is risk misinterpreted as cruelty? at what point do we deny animals the chance to live an authentic life with our misguided attempts to prevent suffering? pain and suffering are as inevitable for animals as they are for humans, and without them, none of us are complete. this was clear to me as i watched becky give birth this week, head twisting and teeth gnashing as she rolled on the ground. for a moment, i wondered if she was in serious distress and thought about how i could get her to the hospital quickly if needed. two minutes later, her lamb was on the ground, breathing and squirming, and momma was quickly on her feet, cleaning her. humans are the only mammals who routinely require assistance to give birth. most animals do it on their own, and do it perfectly - with pain, and without our help.

the old and the new

the last part of 2010 flew by in a blur of traveling, bittersweet endings and the promise of new beginnings. i was fortunate to travel a bit - to nyc, and to south africa for work - a 30-hour trip to a place that seemed oddly familiar. the late-spring weather in cape town was nearly identical to mild, sunny, mid-autumn los angeles. the city reminded me a bit of rio de janiero, while the countryside was like a combo of mediterranean greece and central california. we were lucky to venture to the eastern cape, and to visit the agricultural areas outside of the cities. lots of grapevines and wheatfields, cattle and flocks of sheep, wildebeests and ostriches. and wild monkeys! i guess they're like bears to the locals - a nuisance, destructive while in search of food. for us, they were a thrill. imagine seeing a field full of wild baboons while driving along!

before i left town, dr. rousch came to neuter the twins, ezra and levi. we had a taker for 2 wethers - a women in moorpark who wanted to buy a couple of babydolls for her husband's birthday. the wethering went fine, with one exception - levi had an undescended testicle! it never occurred to me that this was a possibility (apparently it's very uncommon). poor levi technically remains a ram, though likely an unfertile one, unless we want to undertake a sterile surgery (which we don't, for his sake). so, ezra went alone to his new home, though he'll have mini horses and pygmy goats for company. his new owners seems very fastidious, so he'll have the best of care. they even sent me a photo montage of him in his new digs. hoping they'll want to take another wether this year, since we're sure to have some rams.

levi stayed with us, and is making his place among the older rams. maggie's with us, too. though we had a few inquiries for ewes, we decided to keep her. she's tiny like her mom, so it seemed smart to watch and see how she does during her first season. she definitely has her mom's temperament (skittish), as well as her fluffy fleece and cute face. abraham found a new home in sun valley, on a small property with other sheep and chickens. it was sad to see him go - he was my favorite lamb - but i'm happy that his new owner took him intact. he'll make a great sire.

today, dr. martin came to vaccinate all the ewes. all but maggie appear to be pregnant. she was born in mid-march, she was probably too young to breed last fall. they received lepto, chlostridia and tetanus boosters. we vaccinate about a month before lambing, so the ewes will pass immunity to their lambs. it's somewhat of a crapshoot to know when the first lamb will arrive, but i'm betting on superbowl sunday again. sarah is moving slower than usual, and seems more tentative than she has in past years. not sure if she's uncomfortable in her pregnancy, has a touch of arthritis, or if there's something else going on. we checked her out and everything seems normal. next week, we'll put a new gate on the lambing shed. hopefully it'll stay dry for awhile. we had large amounts of rain over the past couple of months, so we're due for some clear weather.