Our four-month-old Golden Retriever pup has a bee sting on
his eyelid. For an animal that yelps every time he is accidentally nudged, he
is enduring this latest assault without comment. We were on the way to the vet
anyway, to get a shot. Seems he will have to be on Benadryl for a day or two
until the swelling goes down.
I didn’t see the bee or wasp that stung Fergus, but I’m sure
he deserved it. He just can’t leave them alone. He follows them, stamps on them
and then tries to eat them. He has also been seen flying through the air in
attempt to catch one in his mouth. He has been warned.
I’m happy to see the honey bees back on the farm. For a few
years all we saw were yellow jackets. We still have those, but they aren’t as
plentiful as they used to be. The bumblebees hover over the flowers surrounding
the pool, and have no interest in provoking man or beast – unless provoked.
I wish the same could be said for the mosquitoes. I know I
said I wasn’t going to complain about anything this year, because look where
complaining about last year’s drought got us. Flood. Torrential downpour.
Ninety days of rain. And a great season for breeding mosquitoes.
We often say we don’t need to go away to vacation because
everything we need is right here. A great view of the sunset, a pool to cool
off in, comfy chairs on the porch. But it seems I am going to have to invest in
some sort of mosquito deterrent if we are going to enjoy our outdoor
surroundings after sundown. I heard something on the radio about creating a
mosquito-free zone around your house. I’m going to look into it before our annual
farm party in August. We want our guests to enjoy themselves outside on the
dance floor under the stars, beside the campfire. If this mosquito situation
continues all our guests will be in the house. And what is the point of a farm
party if you are inside? That’s just a house party. We can have one of those in
the winter.
While I’m researching how to get rid of mosquitoes, the
Farmer says he also needs to find a way to scare off a family of snakes. They
have nested beneath his new log cabin and they are his least favourite thing
ever. I told him I’m pretty sure if he makes a lot of noise the snake will go
away. I’m not sure, actually. Our neighbour has a snake living under her porch
that actually emerges to greet people coming to the front door. And the snake
appearance at the cabin happened while the radio was playing, full blast. So it
obviously isn’t put off by music. In fact it seems to like classic rock.
Knock on wood, we seem to have effectively dealt with the
skunks and raccoons this year. I am giving Fergus some credit for their
absence. Normally we lose some of our chickens to the marauding pests. This
year I think Fergus has properly marked his territory and they don’t want to
run into him. Ten points for the pup.
On the subject of chickens, we will have several dozen to
sell come the end of the month. You know where to find me if you want to
reserve some birds. I will be happy to see them go; they are the biggest pests
of all when you are trying to fill their feeders. They don’t even wait until you
have successfully figured out how to get the 40lb feed bag open before they
start pecking your ankles. I check on them once in a while but to be honest I
haven’t gone in there to feed them in over a month. The Farmer can have that
job. He has tougher ankles.
I’m really surprised we haven’t seen any poison parsnip on
our property. Maybe the cattle have eaten it, or maybe it hasn’t found the
right conditions to thrive here as it does just about everywhere else. It’s a
good thing, too, because you can be sure if we had some of the toxic week,
Fergus would find it and get himself into trouble.
For now he only has to worry about insects and the
occasional misplaced piece of lawn furniture or farm equipment. He hates when
they aren’t in the same place they were the day before, and spends a few
minutes barking out a warning. Fergus the Farm Guardian is on the job. Bees,
bugs and buckets beware.
-30-
email: dianafisher 1@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment