U is for... UGH!!!

Poo...

So, with animals as the topic for my A to Z, there is one part of animals that is less that wonderful. Yeah...

Poo.  Some you can (hopefully) have take care of it in one spot, like a cat.  Getting it out, not so great, but most of the time the landmines are in the stink box, not hither and yon.

Our dog, well... He's not doing so great, since he's getting old, but we trained him where he needs to go.  He tries. I will give him that.

Then the llamas.  They, like cats, like to go in one particular area, which makes clean up a bit easier...

Lastly, chickens.

Chickens, while they are productive animals, useful for both egg, and meat, even feathers, if you like fly fishing... They can't, as far as I can tell, be trained to poo anywhere.  Or, more accurately, they poo EVERYWHERE!

So, if you visit my house, don't wear good shoes.

I try to keep the place clean, but you have been warned...

U is for...

Unusual.

I was driving home Wednesday, and a bird went in front of the truck.  Expected it to take off, and fly.

Nope, it kept running.  I slowed, waiting for it to fly.  When I came close enough, I realized it was a baby duck (at least I thought so).  The road is a highway, and lots of log trucks go by...  I didn't want to see the little thing squashed.  I took off after it, and picked it up, after a bit of a chase.  Took it home, and Husband and I tried to find out what it was.  We put it in the smallest cat carrier we have, and it looked like a ducky palace.

And then we figured out it was a goose, not a duck. I also wondered if it was a pet or something of one of our neighbors.  I looked up the little guy on the Fish and Game website, and received a nasty shock.  If it was wild, it was illegal to keep it.  We tried to find a Mama bird, other chicks, a nest... (Husband did this, much much thanks to him, especially checking with neighbors).  No one claimed it.  So, I called Fish and Game.

And was made to feel like some sort of semi-evil person because I had picked up the goose.  Didn't I know that it would not be accepted by its Mom, it would be a bad thing, yada yada yada.

Okay, I feel like crap, I can't keep it, NOW WHAT?  She transfers me to another one, that more or less says a similar thing, and then tells me that I need to contact a local Wildlife Sanctuary.

So, with no great expectation of anything but yet another tongue lashing, I called.

The gal could not have been nicer.  I told her what had happened, and first thing she asked, did you look for the Mom?  Yep, and I called F&G, and relayed what they'd said.

The gal snorted, and said, no, if it is the baby's mother, it will take them back, scent or no, it's the presence of someone that bothers them.  So, can you bring the bird in?

After filling a hot water bottle to keep the baby warm on the trip, Husband and I went to the Refuge.  The gal came out, and told us, yes, it was definitely a goose.  And probably a just hatched, or very recently hatched one.

So, we were then told, yes, it was illegal to keep the bird, but we could hold on to it for a few hours if we were looking for the Mom.  I said, well, we'd been trying, but couldn't find her.  We live in an area with lots of water sources, and she could have been anywhere.  The gal sighed, and said, yes, that happens...  And then little goose went into the Refuge.

I was told that I could call and find out how it was doing in the future.  And could we let them know if we found the Mom?

So, we left, a little happier that the bird would be okay.  But I still don't know exactly what I would do if a little honker buzzed by my truck again...

Oh, and of course, I had to take a picture...

U is for Unknown...

I don't know if this qualifies as "retro" like some of the other topics, but I kept trying to think of a word for U.  Other than unicycle, this one kept cropping up.

Unknown... When I was a little kid, I was sure I would be a telephone operator, or repair person, or a teacher.  Now, I am a volunteer at the Sheriff's Office (and possibly something more later, hope hope hope...) But when I was younger, that wasn't even on the radar.  Unknown.

I had always been healthy, never had a broken bone, then I had someone hit me in a truck doing 88.  More recently, the universe delighted in irony, having me break a bone while exercising.  I never knew what it took, until I had to learn to recover, to walk, and finally get more or less back into my country living again.  Unknown.

Learning how to find places I don't know, and haven't been to.  Learning skills that I am unfamiliar with, (shearing llamas was NOT a shining moment, boys and girls, but I tried), and just trying things that might not be in the dead center of my comfort zone.  Unknown.

Somehow, these things have all changed me, sometimes for better, for some, the jury is still out.
But still, I am glad for the occasional unknown... (However, could we pass on more broken bones?  PLEASE??!?!?)


And okay, I just have to add this because I mentioned unicycle... Not related to anything, I just thought it was fun.

www.cyclelicio.us

*****

Went to one of our local farmer's markets today.  It is the weekend of Arbor Day, and there were trees all over.  I knew there was a tree giveaway.  I figured, oh, had arrived late, and didn't figure I would get a tree.  

Well, I talked to someone, and they pointed at one of the stalls, and said, oh, well, you sign there, and you can have a tree.  Have?  Wha...  Oh,man, coolwantwantwant!

Now, we aren't talking twigs here, these babies are about 8 footers.  So I hot-footed it to the stall, and signed, as did Mom, and now there is an Elm, and a Maple in my yard, (Mom gave me hers).  Now I just have to get a spot to plant them, (along with several of my OTHER trees I have babied through this last season).  Poor Husband, he had to help me get these monsters out of the back of my truck.  I still wonder what it looked like for folks around my truck, I had all this shrubbery sticking out the back, with a tie-dye red spotted hankie tied on to a random branch, as the trees were sticking well over three feet past my truck bed!  

Went to the market for some cheese I like... Came home with cheese, two 8-10 foot trees, several herb plants, as well as some Kale plants, and carrot cake for my husband.  And saw several of my friends who were taking advantage of free trees and good stuff.

A morning well spent! 

Unusually short post.

Six words...

Went to town. Returned tired. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.