SEP’ 20

5

We've had a rather exciting week.

A bear broke into our chicken coop on Sunday and Wednesday. It made for two rather sleepless nights. The night of the first attack, I awoke around midnight to the muffled sound of squawking, then silence. I heard our next-door neighbor whisper-shouting at something in a hushed tone. Then, Davis' phone started glowing. I knew something was up. I woke Davis up. We grabbed head lamps and weeding tools for self-defense purposes before heading out to scare off the bear but not before it had killed one of our hens. While Davis ferried the remaining girls into the garage, I stood guard with a flashlight and weeder pointy-end facing out. The bear kept trying to climb back into the yard to finish it's chicken dinner. It had also managed to flip over the temporary coop that housed our pullets but, thankfully, it remained intact. We didn't have room for everyone in the garage so we made a judgement call- Davis reinforced the hinges of the temporary coop with wire and hoped that it would be enough. An hour and a half later, we were back in bed, listening for the bear. He did come back and he attempted to breach the temporary coop but was discouraged by our neighbor who went back out and threw rocks at it until it left. 

We rallied the next day- Davis' dad came down to help reinforce the doors and the windows of the main coop. We had a spit of rain that kept the bear at bay for one night but, sure enough, it came back. Monday’s bear-proofing efforts were quite effective so the bear found another way in- he climbed up on the laying box, pushed the air vent in, and got enough purchase to literally rip out enough wall to nab our girls. Thank heavens again for our neighbor- twice he helped us defend the coop. We lost 3 more girls- all pullets. It's hard to blame the bear- it was just hungry. But the attacks have left us exhausted and nervous. The remainder of our flock has been evacuated to another neighbors' coop for now. 

Yesterday morning, we culled our older girls and they're in our freezer now. We need some time to figure out whether or not we can keep the girls safe- if we can still keep chickens. Davis seems to be relishing the challenge and he is sketching away in his design book. Keeping a flock isn't exactly glamorous but it has become part of our way of life. Now that they’re gone...it feels strange. I have to unlearn my habit of saving kitchen scraps for them. Willa doesn't get to go out in the morning with the bucket of scraps and feed it to the girls while Davis puts out the feeder and fills up their waterer. We don't hear them throughout the day or see them peering at us through the fence, hoping for a handful of treats. There are no eggs to collect. I have to buy eggs from the store. I am, surprisingly, left bereft by all of this. 

In other better news, I have three fantastic reads at the moment. I don't usually like to have this many books going at once but they all arrived at the same time from the library holds program. The first is, The Hidden History of Burma: Race, Capitalism, and the Crisis of Democracy in the 21st Century. Thus far, it has given me some insight into the world that my parents grew up in. The history that shaped them into the people that they are today. And, it promises to do more. The second is, Bruno Bettelheim and Karen Zelan's On Learning to Read: The Child's Fascination with Meaning. Loving every word. Feeling so confirmed in some of the choices that we've made with regard to Willa's education. Our children- they're amazing. They want to get out there and do things. And, if we can get a bit out of their way and support them, they will. Third book, Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close. I haven't cracked this one open yet but I am itching to. It feels SO good to have this much reading to do. A bit of my old self, the academic in me, peaking out.

And, in stellar news, Willa had her first pony lesson this week! Davis did all the work to make this happen for her. He reached out to a colleague at work who owns a horse farm to see if he could point him in the right direction. Turns out, the Director of Operations at the horse farm had been working on developing what I would call a Suzuki Method-style horsemanship program for young kids and their parents. It's on Tuesday mornings and Davis rejiggered his work day so that he can take Willa. I was super jealous to be left out of it but, it’a worth it to see how the experience has bonded them. From what I could piece together between the two of them...Willa was assigned to a pony named"Baby Girl." Each child and parent was accompanied by a trainer. They were taught how to brush and pet the ponies. Pick out their hooves. And, they were allowed to interact with the ponies but no riding. Willa mostly enjoyed figuring out how to lead "Baby Girl" around in the paddock. Davis said it was super fascinating to interact with the ponies and observe how sensitive they are to every human gesture and emotion. I saw one picture. Just too darn cute. What I love most about this program is that it is designed to encourage the children to develop a relationship with the animals. To see them holistically, with respect and appreciation beyond our human desires. Authentic horse(wo)manship. 

This is the first activity that Willa has chosen for herself. I am so stoked. It could have been anything and I would have been stoked for her. She has also developed a fascination with unicorns. Then, it occured to me that I could be doing more to support her in her interest. So I went online and requested every book on unicorns that I could from our public library. And, I found a few stories in French too. Can't wait to read them with her.