gary's space

Welllllll.. it seems like someone couldn’t do the dirty job at xmas..  sounds brilliant don’t it.. lets get a bird,, spend a few weeks fattening up the mallard drake.. then when the time came, its cute grin & boyish charm melted their hearts.. maybe it was rescued by the wife.. hidden away till it could be spirited off to safer pastures.. or the husband couldn’t face throttling a bird that had eaten out of his hands for the past few weeks..  all I know, is it came waddling over to us.. quacking forlornly.. realised we weren’t its normal pets.. then tried to get in our jeep..  not the actions of a wild bird.. it put up little of a struggle when my daughter tried to catch it, the clipped wings proved that it hadn’t flown in..  the large carp ponds in the gardens can be seen from the road.. it was pure luck the owners terrier was in kennels till they came back. It wouldn’t have survived an encounter with that tiny demon..  released into the safety of the enclosed paddock.. it followed the chooks through the pop-hole and has been there since..  and will probably be there till its feathers re grow..  the wife & daughter have adopted it..   I would have been more impressed if it left eggs in return for its keep.. but I suppose it adds a bit more interest..

I had to go shopping this morning, of course I went willingly, SHE never “REMEMBERS” to pick me up any cans when she goes solo… to make this soul destroying chore pass quicker, I thought I would try a bit of spying… it was that or trying to gouge my eyes out while eating glass..  I started off at the egg counter.. there was a good selection, loads of cheap eggs in plastic multipacks..  but also loads of free range, slightly more expensive eggs..  I don’t remember there being as large a choice when we last bought eggs.. not long after Mr. Hugh fernly-whittingstalls chicken run thingy. Stage two was peaking into every trolley we passed..  SHE was getting decidedly twitchy by then.. don’t know why she was getting so waspish.. its not like I was accosting people and ASKING if I could check their shopping…  it was just a subtle sideways glance .. mostly.. occasionally I had to block someone so I could see under the larger items. cos they pile those trollys high.  BUT.. it was free range egg city.. I was amazed..  I never spotted ONE  std cheapo pack..  every single pack I spotted was a green free ranger.. the only time we bought a free range was the period between watching  HFW program.. and building my coop..   a quiet revolution has passed un-noticed..  makes me feel quiet proud to be human.. no BIG fanfare..  just peoples attitude changing & wanting a poor creatures life to improve a bit.   it nearlly got me in the mood for christmas..   nearly.

gary

Our little bird we rescued from a gypsy fair started to go down a few days ago,  seems cos she was the "underdog" she was staying on the floor.. and when the others roosted above her, she was getting plastered.. she cleaned her self off each morning.. but the mess under her feathers was coating her skin.. we only found out when she allowed us to pick her up..  the stench was awful.  Soooo..  my granddaughters baby bath was commandeered, its ok.. its an unused spare one.. then  a half hours diligent needing and scraping got her clean.. and a couple of hours, under an infra red lamp has her dry  ( I didn’t realize how hot the lamp could get till I noticed steam or smoke coming off her)..  she is resting in a comfy nest of shredded paper in front of a radiator at the moment.. she is even pecking at food..  we have chucked some chopped garlic that we get for the horses in with it.. our hens love the stuff..  just hope it wont overdose on the stuff..  its supposed to have anti septic properties.. this is the second time she has been on the edge … you have to admire her survival spirit.. she is such a timid creature, it would be a shame to lose her..  and tomorrow we have 8 bluebells joining the group.. but hopefully the new, much bigger quarters we have built, will allow her and the others more room & hidey holes to tuck away in at night..

The Geek Fund..