Late night date

Our little Joesph-Diego

Last night Nathan and I were startled awake by the sound of chickens squawking frantically. We have been losing several chickens to predators in the last few weeks. Now we were evidently going to catch our predator in action. Nathan ran outside with Bella to investigate the scene.


Inside the chicken coop there was a large wild cat enjoying a meal of fresh chicken. He dashed away at the sight of Nathan and was chased across the pasture by an enthusiastic Bella. He disappeared into the darkness. By moonlight Nathan and I fortified our chicken coop defenses with boards, wire and fencing.

The severe drought in our area has made the wild life desperate. Animals every where look thin and starved. I can't blame the cat for eating our chickens. We know it has kittens to feed. We've seen the kittens in the  forested areas bordering our property. We do like having the wild cats on our property because they eat the field mice and rats.

I haven't seen a rodent in several weeks. They are all gone, leaving no food source for the cats. I didn't want to throw the chicken carcasses in our garbage and waste the precious food source when our local ecosystem is failing. I threw the carcasses out into the pasture where the cats could find it. I think I need to start putting out cat food for them until rodents return. Perhaps that will happen when the rain returns.

It was after midnight by the time we returned inside and washed up. I giggled and mentioned that this was the first time we'd had an evening alone in several months. Strangely, I felt like we had been on a date night, albeit an adventurous one. We decided to end our date with desserts, so we enjoyed ice cream sundaes with home made hot fudge.

Did I mention that the stars are breathtaking out here?