My Tribe of Feathers and Fur

Life Out Here (as Tractor Supply coins it) is amazing, quiet, fluid, challenging, joyous, surprising and peaceful. The days are rarely the same. Our Tribe of 6 sheep, 4 goats, 2 donkeys, 15 chickens, 4 guard dogs, 8 barn cats (give/take depending on whose "shown up" randomly) and 2 little foo-foo house dogs keeps life interesting. Population = 41. We are growing, and at times, shrinking. Mostly growing. Our new addition of 4 little goats (Nona, Twizzler, Chia and Georgia) has been a wealth of fun, learning - and new noises. Their little baaaa's are sweet and soft. They are actually quieter than the sheep. Granted, they are small goats, and will likely remain small, due to their breed. Although Nona gets a little bigger by the day, as she's growing out on both sides, like little basketballs attached to her sides. I can't wait to find out how many baby kid goats she'll have. Just one is fine.

The grass and forbs are starting to grow, and the donkeys, sheep and goats are eating more in the pasture, and relying less on us to feed them. This makes for a peacefully quiet pasture, as when they are hungry, they say so. Loudly. We are beginning to notice we buy less coastal and alfalfa hay, as well as notice the noise level has decreased at feeding times. As they are all feeding themselves. Wow, that feels good! Spring is bringing us many blessings. The weather is another treat for us all. I can now gather the heated water buckets, and store them away for next winter. The pond is overflowing, with fresh water due to all the rain. The ground is starting to dry, and the green is showing up in full color. I can leave the barn open, and the barn windows are making their way open once again. The winds have calmed, and this is the sweet spot for us all. The chickens are laying more eggs, due to more sunlight, and the sunrise/sunsets are God's gift to us every day.

This is the calm after the storm. Because a particular (high winds) storm hit last week, that shook us all. We knew it was coming, we had been warned. 50 mph winds were predicted, along with thunder, lightening and rain. We had buttoned down everything that evening. The barn was completely shut, the cars in the garage (except one), the chairs on the patio/decks were placed in the garage. The pasture allows whatever wind travels to pick up speed even more so, than it already travels. So, we know what to do. But we could not have prepared for what was to come. Not completely.
I remember laying my head down that evening, on the pillow, hearing the wind, knowing the storm was coming. We've buckled and buttoned things down, and now I wait. I fall asleep, listening to the wind howl all night, with a storm that I couldn't see, but only hear.

Wind vs Shelter (in Front Pasture): Turns out the 50-60 mph wind won. Not even 45 days earlier had we had a shed/shelter built for the guard pups in the front pasture, that literally blew away in the storm. Leaving for work the next morning after the storm, it was still dark. So we could not realize what was to present itself to us, when daylight came. The electricity was off, and it was too dark to see all the damage. No lights, only sheer darkness. With flashlights, David and I tried to assess the damage, but flashlights only tell a portion of the story. The Sun would tell the rest.

Turns out, the wind picked up the shed in the front pasture (up by the pond), and upon hitting the ground, broke apart and begin blowing a hundreds-of-pound shed-pieces all up the pasture, even parts of it reaching the house. A portion that blew up that far, hit the one car (left out from the garage). It looked like a trail of shed. But it didn't actually start there. It started at the street, first with blowing the mailbox off its ledge. Then blew a Purple Martin birdhouse down, breaking the pole in half. That's when the wind headed to the shed, and took it away from the dogs, and away it went. Luckily, the dogs are okay! Along the journey of the shed-pieces moving, tumbling and flying, it took down the fence we had just placed (about a month ago) to divide the front pasture in half. Another fence in the back pasture blew down, bending pieces of metal none of us could ever bend. That wind was no joke. It was serious, and came to take down whatever it could, that was in its path. One of the most interesting things it also blew down, was an electrical pole that runs along our fence line. Hence, no electricity. The very tall and heavy pole came crashing down with it's transformer still attached, wires/lines and all. Straight into our pasture about 40 ft from the barn. Not on the barn, thank goodness. God spared us that, and we are most grateful. But now, there's an electrical pole lying in the rain-drenched grass. The animals need to be moved, so not to possibly hurt any of them, with the lines/wires that might still be live.

David was able to spend a little time before he left for work that fateful morning, shifting animals and settling things that needed settling. Then we would both come home to find it all still the same. The debris spread out over the property, the electrical pole still in the pasture, lying on the ground, and fences in disarray. We were deflated, as all the work we spent fixing and reshaping the areas on the property, were now in disrepair. This is how it feels. To work hard at making things like you'd like, then losing it to Mother Nature. You see it on TV and in the News, and now I got to feel those feelings. It was nothing like what other people have been through - not at all. But simply a taste of it.

Oncor (electric company) did come later that same evening with 8 trucks and all kinds of heavy equipment to secure poles, put in new lines, and dig - to place a new pole where the one had completely fallen. The ground in the pasture was so wet, that their heavy equipment sunk in the ground. Once again, the damage continued, but repair and electricity was the reward. With it came deep pathways where heavy vehicles had to go - into the pasture, and up and down our gravel road to get to it. It was be quite the mess once they left. First, one of the vehicles got stuck in the pasture, then another. Wheels spinning, as they frantically tried to break loose, but only digging a hole with their tires that would not allow them out. A second vehicle did the same, and then a third was brought in to try and pull those two gigantic repair trucks out. It was a train of electrical trucks, attached by heavy cords, with the first, trying to pull the other two out - all tied together. It was madness. I could hear the circus music playing in my head. That part of the pasture is tore up good, but I'm happy to say that they were able to get the vehicles unstuck - and out of the pasture. Good news? Our electricity was restored, as I imagine others electricity was too, once that pole(s), lines, new transformer were set, placed and repaired. That's going to be a bumpy ride on the mower, going over that area, when it comes time to mow there. It's no longer smooth out there.

I remember David and I just standing there after the repairmen (and their trucks) left at dusk, not believing what we had just witnessed. We were safe, the animals were safe, and those things we lost in the storm could be replaced or repaired. It's going to take time to make this all better. But time is what we do have.

We go in the house, and the lights are shining bright. We are so happy. It could have all been so much worse. It was a very full day, that day after the storm hit in the night. The darkness hid it all, but the day ended up bringing us the realization that it's all just things. Material things that we can fix. I know I slept well that next night. It was quiet once again, and I thought about all those Oncor repairmen out late, fixing poles and lines for people like us. Working overtime, away from their families, and fixing things for others.

It's been almost a week now since that unusual wind/rain storm. We've been working on cleaning it all up, as well as provide the guard pups in the front pasture with a new shelter. One that's lower to the ground, even heavier, and hopefully, there to stay. The calm has shown itself again, all the animals are enjoying this fabulous weather, and we move forward. Our Tribe of feathers and fur aren't able to tell us their story. They trust in us, and live their life with us as their Shepherd and Caregivers, allowing us the privilege to do so. We try to make it not just good - but great. That's what I would want, if I were a sheep. Or goat. Or donkey.

Spring is showing itself.......Welcome!

Cyndi