Caring for Animals

Position: RAKING MUCK

Getting away from it all is what vacationers have sought for years. No matter how long or how short the holiday, the desire to drop everything and lounge on a beach is as old as Florida. Getting the news on vacation 40 years ago meant thumbing through a copy of the International Herald Tribune. These days the onslaught of digital information that flows through our phones far exceeds our abilities to process it. Without something meaningful to focus on, the constant feed of news and social media keeps us wound up – wherever we are.

Given the anaerobic atmosphere surrounding this week’s political machinations, we are grateful to have a menagerie to look after. Our host calls it her ‘crew’. Caring for the crew is almost like a vacation, only more satisfying. Our day begins early. Well, early for us. The alarm goes off at 07:00. Pulling on our blue jeans and t-shirts, we head first for the kitchen. As the kettle boils, we prep our first coffee of the morning. AeroPress for me, French press for her. With a little warmth in us, one of us will head across the courtyard to feed Fresco. The chill of the clear -7C (20F) air strikes your lungs as you step outside. The paddock is hard and slick in the places where frost has gathered.

Flakes

Fresco whinnies impatiently. He gets a little hangry if you’re late for his 07:30 feeding. Keeping warm burns a lot of calories and he’s a big fella. Once you’ve tossed him a couple of flakes* of low-sugar hay, he settles into breakfast. Later, he will show gratitude with a nuzzle or a nose kiss. But that’s later. The chickens live next door to Fresco. Hearing you walk out starts them clucking. They want out of the coop, but that will have to wait until after breakfast, when Tula is on watch.

On the other side of the barn, the llamas wait patiently. They understand the hierarchy, although ranking below the chickens in importance needles them a bit. Because Miss Piggy would eat everything given the opportunity, we make three piles of hay – one for each of them. After a couple of weeks, the llamas are more relaxed around us. Having done our best not to look at them directly, they have not spit at us and appreciate we bring them food twice a day.

Mid-morning the chickens fly their coop. We check it thoroughly for eggs and toss some kernels of corn around for snacking. Next, Fresco gets muzzled and let out into the bigger fields. The muzzle keeps him from eating sweeter grass which, if he eats too much of it, gives him painful laminitis. The muzzle works, but only as long as he doesn’t pull it off. Which he tries to do by snagging it on anything he can. An additional length of paracord helps keep it secure.

Walks

Tula chases phantom coyotes for a bit while waiting for her walk. Sometimes she gets a local walk on a quiet country road. A road she knows well and is thoroughly bored with. Bundling her in the car and heading down to the Columbia River is much more satisfying. She is naturally sociable and enjoys romping with other dogs on the sandbar that stretches halfway into the river. While she’s away, we make sure the radio is turned up to ward off varmints. NPR apparently offends illiberal scavengers, and they keep away.

Around 15:00 we bring Fresco in from the field for his second feeding. The llamas get a treat of oats and grains in addition to hay in the afternoon. That excites the chickens since a bit of the grain invariably gets thrown in their direction. Mama cat will come out of the barn for some attention. A couple of strokes gets her purring loudly. Dogs, cats, chickens and llamas are all happy to hang out while we head in for a cup of tea. The chickens make their own way into the coop once evening falls. Armed with a flashlight, one of us will go and turn on the heat lamps, count to 10, then secure their gate.

Green Acres – Here We Come

The animals need enough attention that we don’t think about the outside world much. Small though our contribution to their welfare is, they make us feel needed and appreciated for the attention we give them. Caring for others is good for you. As they say, when you give to others, you get much more in return. And unconditional doggy/horsey/llama-y/chickeny love is priceless. It really feels like we’ve gotten away from it all.

*This month I learned that baled hay comes apart in regular sections, flakes. The more you know…

---

---

 

---