The stray gray...

We went for a walk this afternoon with Savannah... and on the way back to the house I saw that gray/white cat out in our pasture by the pond. The cat was sitting in the sunlight and looked quite comfy way out there. Didn't even move when he saw us, and my guess is that he was staying put because he saw Savannah.

I have not fed that stray cat at all. When he comes into the yard or near the porch, I take up the bowl of cat food that's out there for Gatsby and into the house it goes. After my experience with that orange stray cat, I don't want to be taking responsibility for any other strays that happen to be out there. As the neighbors said--- if you don't feed a stray, it will go away. Well, this gray cat went as far away as our pond, which is a good deal away from the porch, and I'm hoping that he's hanging around on one of the other properties when he's hungry.

We've seen a lot of deer around lately... four or five of them at a time, sometimes right on the road near our barn. When they see us, they easily jump over the fence around our pasture by the barn and off they run towards the woods. I'm surprised that Savannah hasn't barked at them when she sees them out there, but she seems content to just watch them quietly.

We found out from one of the neighbors that the peacock (Mr Carson) is now history. A coyote or a fox got him, and all that was left was a pile of feathers. He was such a beautiful bird, poor thing. The same people who owned Carson also had about 35 chickens, all of which are gone now also. Coyotes and raccoons and heaven only knows what else got to those chickens one by one until there were none.

The new neighbor across the road has gotten herself some chickens and guinea hens. We can hear the guinea hens during the day... they make such odd and insistent sounds whenever they see animals or people near their coop. D was so excited to get her chickens and guinea hens, and as far as I know, she hasn't "lost" one yet. When that starts happening, she will no doubt question her reasoning for getting chickens in the first place. I suggested to D that she not name the chickens.... naming them always makes it harder when they're killed in the coop or taken away.  Above all, one shouldn't name chickens after family members. I had the hardest time explaining to my 103-yr-old Aunt Dolly that the chicken carrying her name was taken away by a hawk and never seen again.