Monday, August 8, 2022

I Hope This Doesn't End Up With Someone Needing Rabies Shots


When it was my birthday a few weeks ago and the kids asked what I wanted to do for it, I suggested that after the Weatherfords got back perhaps we could all go out to lunch and today was the day we did that although Hank could not join us because he had to work. Same with Michael. 

We met at our old stand-by, El Patron, and ate outside. It was hot, but not unbearable. Every now a little breeze would blow through and we'd all nod our heads and smile and say, "That's so nice." May had brought fans for Maggie, August, and Levon from the Dollar Store (not to be confused with the Dollar General) and they helped. 
Lily didn't get off work until one so I picked up the OMG's from Jason He lives with his mother in a neighborhood right on my way to town but it has been years since I was there. It's a nice neighborhood and there are cul-de-sacs off of the streets and I went to the house that I thought was Other Grandma's but no, it turned out it was not. I was on the Long Knife cul-de-sac, not the Maize cul-de-sac and, well, no wonder they didn't open the door to me. I was informed over the intercom that I had the wrong house and I said, "Oh! I am so sorry! Please forgive me!" and went down another street and there it was, a very different looking house but houses for me are much like cars and faces- if there is not something very distinctive about them, I don't really recall their details. I felt like an idiot but not really. 
The kids tumbled out of the house and got in my car and away we drove to the restaurant. I asked them about their new classes and teachers and they all seem quite pleased with who they'd gotten and met at last Friday's school orientations. 

Mr. Moon met us for lunch too, and Vergil came as well so it was quite a crowd. Rachel was able to join us on her lunch hour but ended up having to take her food with her as things were a bit slow. It was so good to see everyone. The kids were good and patient although Maggie got her feelings hurt and then her head, too, when she raised it up under the table and she spent some time sitting separately, collecting herself. She is so much like her mother was. But as you can see in the picture, by the end of the meal she was happy again. 

I took the two large bags of clothes I'd culled with me, and May collected them to go through them. I hope she wants some of the things because some of them are really nice. After she goes through them, she is going to pass them on to Jessie. As we stood in the parking lot, giving our kisses and hugs good-bye, thunder and lightening began to crack in a serious way and we all scuttled off. 

I had thought to go to Publix but nothing on my list was of dire importance so I just stopped at the pharmacy where I needed to pick up a prescription and then dropped off library books and came home. 

When Mr. Moon got home, a truck followed him into the driveway and it ended up being an old friend who had been in the Tractor Supply place at the same time as he was and offered to bring the very large trap that he bought home for him because Mr. Moon was in a car, not the truck. 
The trap is for the fox. But big enough for a coyote because we have those too. 
This sounds like a dangerous proposition to me and I can only imagine all of the animals we are likely to trap before either a fox or a coyote fall for the bait. On the trail cam we were seeing the fox, possums, raccoons, and stray cats. But something has to be done. We are losing chickens at a frightening rate and I am even considering just giving up the whole chicken business although I would hate to do that. 

Ooh boy. Life is never boring here in Lloyd. 

I am going to cook some grouper tonight along with some okra and tomatoes. The okra is from our garden. One by one, I have picked enough pods for supper and I will cook them with love, the tomatoes, and some onions. 

And that's the news today. 

Love...Ms. Moon



33 comments:

  1. Pretty sure that your bag of clothes will be so much fun to go through, like a dress up box! Sorry Maggie bonked her pretty head, she will likely remember that more than the event!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She may. Poor baby. Life is not always easy for the Fabulous Magnolia June.

      Delete
  2. I hope you catch whoever is decimating your chooks.
    I googled Lloyd and it came up with a tiny place near Tallahassee pop. 187. Is that where you live? I'm not a stalker - just like seeing where people come from!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! That is absolutely where I live. I think our population may be a bit larger now though.

      Delete
  3. Sounds like an enjoyable day and evening.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I wish someone were handing clothes down to me. Another good family gathering. Actually, like every one, the best.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We do enjoy each other's company. And cast-offs.

      Delete
  5. I agree with you on the likelihood of catching all sorts of other animals before the wary fox falls for the trap. Usually babies without enough sense to realize it's a traaaaaaap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, it's a totally harm-free trap so if we do get something that's not a chicken predator, it will only have been a traumatic to whatever we catch.

      Delete
  6. You got to celebrate your birthday a couple of times and that's nice! Here's to a happy, healthy year filled with lots of love and fun adventures for you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. It’s serious times if you’re thinking of giving up your chickens, I can’t imagine your queendom without them. I hope you can secure them against more heartrending loss. The kids all seem wonderful together. That would be my birthday wish too, to gather with the family, nothing better. —37paddington (Rosemarie)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Every time I've blown out a birthday cake candle in the last many, many years my wish has always been, "More of this."

      Delete
  8. I honestly can't imagine this blog without chickens (although I'm sure you'd make something else as interesting as you've made chickens!), and I do hope that Mr. Moon can figure it all out. I'm glad you've had more birthday celebrations -- I love the picture of the grandbabies -- it's hard to believe they have grown so much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! What would I talk about without my chickens? I'll have to start growing weed or something.
      I can't believe how fast my grands are growing. It's like watching your babies. Girl, we've known each other a long time. ❤️

      Delete
  9. It's lovely when the heat is broken up by an occasional breeze. I hope you manage to catch the fox before he catches more chickens. Is Violet sitting on the new eggs?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have to get that fox taken care of. That's all there is to it. And no, Violet's not sitting on eggs. She spends most of her days now right near Liberace. She is smart.

      Delete
  10. I hate the idea of that trap too - just the thought of any animal getting caught in it, although I see why you would need it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a completely non-harm trap. A trap and release thing. So no animals will be killed in its use.

      Delete
  11. I don't like to have to Trap any Creature, but sometimes it's necessary for safety reasons. It was all I could do to kill a couple Mice that had gotten in, displaced from the Subdivision Hell they're building in what used to be Agricultural Commercial Farmland next to our Mini Farms. I do Hope that you don't have to give up your Beloved Chickens, and that some manage to survive before you are able to figure out how to protect them from predatory animals invading their Space.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope so too, dear Bohemian! And as I said in the comment above, this trap does not harm or kill. It just traps. Now- will a fox fall for the bait? We shall see.
      And we've had mice and had to deal with them which breaks my heart but when we got rats, I was ruthless.

      Delete
  12. I caught a skunk the last time I set my havahart. My sister was much impressed with my skunk release abilities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I, too, am impressed! That's one animal we haven't seen on the trail cam although I know they do live here.

      Delete
  13. Nothing sadder-looking than the face of a possum trapped in a Hav-A-Hart.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Trapping one or any of your marauders will be challenging, no doubt. And then.....safely releasing? (if that is the plan)....or NOT, which is also a plan....... we've trapped many skunks over the years, only because they took up residence under our house. Thankfully I only had one *breech* of security when I had hens (a coyote) but you have lost several birds and this is not good. Not clear whether your marauders are getting IN to your coop?
    Susan M

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. Releasing is the plan. When I was a child in Roseland we had skunks abounding but no one seemed to worry about them too much. Kids and dogs were regularly sprayed which was awful but it was sort of just an accepted part of life.
      I do not think the marauders are getting into the coop.

      Delete
  15. I hope you catch the culprit. My neighbor live traps the squirrels in his yard because they eat the bird seed. He spray paints their tails white and takes them miles away and releases them. Never has seen one with a white tail make it back but he does seem to have an endless supply of squirrels in his yard.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Okay. That is one of the weirdest things I've ever heard.

      Delete
  16. Good luck with your trap. Years ago when I was still a schoolgirl we lived a few years in a southern state in a semi-rural area near a lake. We raised chickens, sold eggs, cleaned and dressed chickens we sold, also. Our chickens were in a coup, roosted up off the floor, also had nests in there where they laid their eggs. One night a weasel went in and we found chicken bodies all over the floor the next morning. What a sickening feeling. After that we closed them in at night, then let them out during the day. Don't think the weasel was ever caught but we managed to keep it out. We had to watch out for opossums and other creatures from the woods, fields behind our house, too.

    ReplyDelete
  17. OK, I'm catching up here, and didn't realize you'd lost more chickens. Clearly I need to keep reading. I hope the trap works for the intended creature and not some innocent bystander! (I think skunk numbers are declining so we definitely want to protect those.) Sorry about the chickens.

    ReplyDelete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.