A Promised Story About the Nutria....
I am pretty sure in a past post I said I would tell my Nutria story. Here is one of them. I think they are pretty darn cute! At our last house the back yard backed up to a city stream channel. And in the banks of that stream channel lived a few Nutria families. I had Craig cut a small hole in the fence (he is the most patient and accomodating man) which allowed them to come into our backyard almost undetected and eat. They needed to stay undetected because most of the people in the area wanted them gone.
I am sure you are wondering what their favorite food was....bananas! My mom said that was probably because in their natural habitat they hang from banana trees by their tails eating them. Funny funny. I also fed them apples, lettuces, corn tortillas, day old bread and they devoured the rhubarb leaves after I harvested. One summer I sat out in my usual spot cutting up their food surrounded by 23 babies from two litters not far apart in age...talk about the funniest antics! So humorous to watch. Craig again accomodated me and built a little lean to type thing so they could come in and eat out of the rain. I really catered to my Nutria! One year a female showed up who had been badly hurt. One eye was just a ball of puss. It was horrible! She was also skin and bone. And that happened to be the year that we got an unexpected 11 inches of snow on top of about two inches of ice. Quite a cold miserable winter for a critter down on her luck. So I did what any self respecting lover of all nature would do....I made her special food that was warmed. She got to where I could come within a foot of her and put down her pie plate of warmed up potatoes, veggies, beans etc. Nutria are vegetarian so no meat. I fed her off to the side and kept the others away while she ate. Slowly she improved, gained weight and the eye area healed.
The next summer she thanked me by bringing up a precious litter of babies for me to feed. Then biting the back of my calf when I got to close down near their burrows. Because Nutria carry no known diseases the bite was not a problem.
One day I found a dead Nutria. It had been shot. I am not ashamed to say that I cried. And Craig consoled me. God gave me such a soft heart for all His creation. It isn't always a good thing living in a world where people can be so cruel. And right now the Kermit Gosnell abortion/murder trial and all the charges that are being dropped is driving me to think about drinking!
I had a peanut feeder out on the tree in the front yard of this same house and along with the squirrels I fed a flock of crows. A noisy bossy bunch by hey...a crows got to eat! And at this same house we went through a period where a large numer of European rats moved in and cohabittated with the Nutria. No I didn't feed them. The Nutria cleaned up their food while I watched them and left nothing. These other tenants just happened to show up. Well...one made his way into our garage. The first inclinging I had that we had a border was when his tail disappeared behind a wall cabinet right in front of me as I got the food box ready to take out to the Nutria. At first it startled me and I thought it was a snake...but I never heard of a snake climbing a wall! Then I realized I had been noticing food getting eaten. And then one day I saw him. They are sure an ugly creature...God did not bless them with much in the way of looksl and their fur is not smooth and sleek. How do I know this? Because over the course of months 'Harry" quit running away when I came into the garage. He would sit in that box and let me work around him. And yes...I did feed him as well. Craig is a saint! One day Harry was not out there...then the next, then the next...after a couple weeks or so of not seeing him we began to smell a really bad smell in the kitchen. The cabinet area where Harry was living was on the wall that the kitchen shared. At first we couldn't figure it out...but then it became clear. Harry had gone on to rat heaven. That was also the time we were rushing around to get the house on the market. Two days before the first showing the smell went away!
So I now have laid the groundwork and set the stage for the next story.
I am sure you are wondering what their favorite food was....bananas! My mom said that was probably because in their natural habitat they hang from banana trees by their tails eating them. Funny funny. I also fed them apples, lettuces, corn tortillas, day old bread and they devoured the rhubarb leaves after I harvested. One summer I sat out in my usual spot cutting up their food surrounded by 23 babies from two litters not far apart in age...talk about the funniest antics! So humorous to watch. Craig again accomodated me and built a little lean to type thing so they could come in and eat out of the rain. I really catered to my Nutria! One year a female showed up who had been badly hurt. One eye was just a ball of puss. It was horrible! She was also skin and bone. And that happened to be the year that we got an unexpected 11 inches of snow on top of about two inches of ice. Quite a cold miserable winter for a critter down on her luck. So I did what any self respecting lover of all nature would do....I made her special food that was warmed. She got to where I could come within a foot of her and put down her pie plate of warmed up potatoes, veggies, beans etc. Nutria are vegetarian so no meat. I fed her off to the side and kept the others away while she ate. Slowly she improved, gained weight and the eye area healed.
The next summer she thanked me by bringing up a precious litter of babies for me to feed. Then biting the back of my calf when I got to close down near their burrows. Because Nutria carry no known diseases the bite was not a problem.
One day I found a dead Nutria. It had been shot. I am not ashamed to say that I cried. And Craig consoled me. God gave me such a soft heart for all His creation. It isn't always a good thing living in a world where people can be so cruel. And right now the Kermit Gosnell abortion/murder trial and all the charges that are being dropped is driving me to think about drinking!
I had a peanut feeder out on the tree in the front yard of this same house and along with the squirrels I fed a flock of crows. A noisy bossy bunch by hey...a crows got to eat! And at this same house we went through a period where a large numer of European rats moved in and cohabittated with the Nutria. No I didn't feed them. The Nutria cleaned up their food while I watched them and left nothing. These other tenants just happened to show up. Well...one made his way into our garage. The first inclinging I had that we had a border was when his tail disappeared behind a wall cabinet right in front of me as I got the food box ready to take out to the Nutria. At first it startled me and I thought it was a snake...but I never heard of a snake climbing a wall! Then I realized I had been noticing food getting eaten. And then one day I saw him. They are sure an ugly creature...God did not bless them with much in the way of looksl and their fur is not smooth and sleek. How do I know this? Because over the course of months 'Harry" quit running away when I came into the garage. He would sit in that box and let me work around him. And yes...I did feed him as well. Craig is a saint! One day Harry was not out there...then the next, then the next...after a couple weeks or so of not seeing him we began to smell a really bad smell in the kitchen. The cabinet area where Harry was living was on the wall that the kitchen shared. At first we couldn't figure it out...but then it became clear. Harry had gone on to rat heaven. That was also the time we were rushing around to get the house on the market. Two days before the first showing the smell went away!
So I now have laid the groundwork and set the stage for the next story.
Meet baby girl possum 1. Baby girl possum 2 looks about the same. The Sunday before last, a friends husband had gone out to the feed bin and discovered a very aggressive possum in it. He shot it. Then discovered that she was a mommy and her pouch had 10 babies in it! He was riddled with guilt and has taken it upon himself to nurse every one of them until they can be released. I have had a life long dream. To either have a pet possum, de-scented skunk or Nutria. Because there were so many and because my heart just loves these little things I volunteered to take two of them. Craig should be given sainthood! This one is adjusting much better than her sister. She will drink the kitten formula on her own and you can hold her like this and she is very curious of you and what is going on around her. The other one eats with a syringe and is very timid and never relaxed while being held. They are about the size of an adult pet rat. My plan is not to keep them but to release them when the others are being released. The friends husband says that they got a lot of land and that is where he plans on releasing them. You can bet that a possum will never be shot on that acerage again! Of coure....if one or both turns out to be pet material I will have to rethink this plan.
Bocky is still doing well. I am sure I mentioned that we borrowed a hen from my sister to keep him company. Well..the other day we came downstairs to a huge fight between them. I picked her up and she fought against me to get back to him. I picked him up and he laid in my arms with his eyes closed and peeped. I promised him I would not tell the other roosters! So she went into the chicken yard while I got ready to take her back to my sister. They continued to fight through the fence and somehow she managed to pull of what was left of Bocky's tail! So now, poor fellow, he once again has a wound that needs to heal and only one remaining feather left! Unless a miracle happens he will be one sorry looking rooster! But he is such a likable guy. He and Liam take turns following eachother around. Liam will dig in a spot and Bocky comes along to help him. Bocky digs in a spot and Liam shows up to offer a hand. Bocky is thrilled when we are in the backyard with him. And he sticks close. God sure blessed us when hHe created all these funny creatures to share our world with! Oh, and Bocky now goes into his coop at night...no more pacing back and forth at the sliding glass door trying to get in...and no more knocking on the cat door. Yes...he would knock on the cat door...and once he did come in through it!
Did I mention that I bought some raw goat milk last week? I am sure I did...and that Liam threw up the two times I offered it two him when he was a baby and then again when he was about a year old. Well...at around 4:15 this afternoon I had a tall cold glass of it and he wanted to try it. I put some in a glass for him and he asked for more so all told he probably had about 4 ounces. Tonight at 9:30ish he threw up. He had complained a couple times during the previous hour of his tummy hurting. The other two times he threw up within 30 minutes of drinking it. But that is the only explanation. Liam just doesn't tolerate goat milk. I suppose that is okay...it really is quite expensive. So I won't bother buying it again.
Today got to 87!!! Yikes!!! The last three springs we have been so cool and wet...I have already half emptied all of my rain barrels and we are only just getting into the season! I have had to break out the hoses and water! Tomorrow is supposed to be a tiny bit cooler...so we are going to get out and till and work at getting the raised beds ready for the plants. At least until the sun gets too hot. So, I will now head for bed to get rested up for a busy day!
Bocky is still doing well. I am sure I mentioned that we borrowed a hen from my sister to keep him company. Well..the other day we came downstairs to a huge fight between them. I picked her up and she fought against me to get back to him. I picked him up and he laid in my arms with his eyes closed and peeped. I promised him I would not tell the other roosters! So she went into the chicken yard while I got ready to take her back to my sister. They continued to fight through the fence and somehow she managed to pull of what was left of Bocky's tail! So now, poor fellow, he once again has a wound that needs to heal and only one remaining feather left! Unless a miracle happens he will be one sorry looking rooster! But he is such a likable guy. He and Liam take turns following eachother around. Liam will dig in a spot and Bocky comes along to help him. Bocky digs in a spot and Liam shows up to offer a hand. Bocky is thrilled when we are in the backyard with him. And he sticks close. God sure blessed us when hHe created all these funny creatures to share our world with! Oh, and Bocky now goes into his coop at night...no more pacing back and forth at the sliding glass door trying to get in...and no more knocking on the cat door. Yes...he would knock on the cat door...and once he did come in through it!
Did I mention that I bought some raw goat milk last week? I am sure I did...and that Liam threw up the two times I offered it two him when he was a baby and then again when he was about a year old. Well...at around 4:15 this afternoon I had a tall cold glass of it and he wanted to try it. I put some in a glass for him and he asked for more so all told he probably had about 4 ounces. Tonight at 9:30ish he threw up. He had complained a couple times during the previous hour of his tummy hurting. The other two times he threw up within 30 minutes of drinking it. But that is the only explanation. Liam just doesn't tolerate goat milk. I suppose that is okay...it really is quite expensive. So I won't bother buying it again.
Today got to 87!!! Yikes!!! The last three springs we have been so cool and wet...I have already half emptied all of my rain barrels and we are only just getting into the season! I have had to break out the hoses and water! Tomorrow is supposed to be a tiny bit cooler...so we are going to get out and till and work at getting the raised beds ready for the plants. At least until the sun gets too hot. So, I will now head for bed to get rested up for a busy day!