life of a rooster

little zack passed last night.

when i arrived home from work, he was sitting calmly in the den. i nestled him in a towel and sat with him next to the window. he looked up at the sky as dappled sunlight poured over him. his breath was labored and made a slight rattling sound. as tears rolled down my face, he looked at me with a confused expression and alittle bit of fear, i think. i told him not to be afraid and that he wasn't alone. he closed his eyes and lowered his head as i stroked his feathers. i thought that he might pass away right then while i was holding him. it was heartbreaking to see this beautiful, brave little bird reduced to skin and bones, struggling to breathe. i held him for awhile, then gently put the towel on a table next to the window so he could rest as the sun began to set. before i walked out the door, he stood up suddenly, then slowly sat down again.

five minutes later, when i came back to check on him, he was gone. he looked peaceful. james buried him under an olive tree, not far from his beloved hens.

what's one roosters life worth in the balance? many would say nothing, or not much. but my life is better for having known him. he showed courage and grace in the face of adversity. he reminded me that life is precious and each day should be embraced. he made me appreciate every creature still in my life.

work and play

we're having gorgeous weather, on the cool side for august. we were both working for the past couple of weekends, so it's been hectic. nothing quite like cleaning out the sheep shed and coops, and feeding all the animals at 6:30a before heading to location for a long day of filming. fortunately, we're both getting a break and looking forward to a leisurely weekend ahead.

james sheared skittle and isaac on monday with help from our neighbor, jim. glad to finally have that done, before it's too late for them to grown a winter coat. the ram lambs are challenging some of the adults now (levi actually pushed skittle onto her back with a head butt!), so it's time for wethering. i saw maggie nuzzling jacob this morning. love is in the air and, with the cool weather, mating season may arrive earlier than usual. time to call dr. rouche and his trusty emasculator!

i love when the long days allow me to spend some time in the garden after work. i picked the first ear of summer corn on tuesday evening, which was delicious. my favorite garden surprise is the lemon cucumber. it's an heirloom variety that's round like a lemon, looks alittle like a lemon when sliced, and tastes sweeter than most cucumbers. we're still harvesting zucchini galore (both green and yellow), and waiting patiently for the tomatoes (which are taking their sweet time). the figs are coming in, so everyone (dogs, sheep and chicks included) is enjoying the harvest. the pomegranates are heavy with green orbs, which should be red and ripe in another month.

dr. martin came out last saturday to look at bronte (a rhode island red hen) and zack (an old english-cross bantam rooster). after taking a culture and viewing it under a microscope, he determined that bronte has a bacterial infection in her throat. she's on an antibiotic and is slowly improving, though still alittle wheezy when stressed. she was thrilled to return to her red hen clique after being isolated for a week. poor zack has an impacted crop, which means his digestive system is clogged with food, grit and other debris. we've tried everything over the past week - filled his crop with water and tried to expel the material; put a plastic tube into his crop and tried to suction it; injected olive oil, vitamins, and baby bird formula - but we're not getting good results. dr. martin did not seem optimistic about treatment options (surgery is risky and often not effective), which was disappointing. after several attempts to empty his crop last night, we decided to let zack rest this morning. he seems weaker and his comb is darkening from lack of nutrition. i take him outside to lay in the sun for a bit when i'm home, and he relaxes in an open cage next to a window in the den during the rest of the day. it's very frustrating that we're unable to fix him, and to know that he will probably succumb to starvation in the coming days despite our best efforts. he's a beautiful, gentle bird, and it's sad to think about losing him.

james is home this week, and began demolishing a small add-on to the back of the barn. he was out with the tractor yesterday, dumping the debris into a 40-yard container. ace tree is coming today to give a quote for moving a quince tree that's growing too close to the barn. we've lost a couple of large olive limbs recently, so it will be time for a major pruning this winter. need to start saving up for that. nose back to the grindstone!