Turf Wars

So many of my posts share a common theme...

how well our farm animals get along between species.

That's not saying that the farm is without conflict.

No, there's at least one war daily.

The funny thing is...

the fighting is always limited to two particular species.

For example, right now there is a turf war amongst the roosters.

The henhouse close to our barn has been the scene of a hostile takeover.

Rod Stewart has kicked Henri and Rooster Number 5 and 6 out of the house.

Rod has become one big bad rooster.

It's funny, because prior to this he was always the wimpy Pee Wee Herman type.

I guess since he is the eldest rooster, he has decided to claim 

the henhouse and all of the hens as his own.

The unlucky ousted roos are stuck sleeping in the maple tree outside the henhouse.

When winter and snows come, I will have to open the upstairs of the barn for these

fellows to get out of the elements.

The second group of animals in fighting mode is the cats.

Ever since Sophia moved into the barn there is at least one cat fight daily....

usually over food...

resulting in Sophia retreating to the rafters.

From this safe vantage point, she hisses demeaning slander to whomever has 

infringed upon her space.

So, you see, although life on the farm is somewhat idyllic,

it is not without a little conflict.

Given a little time, though, these little spats usually work out just fine.

You might remember how we were plagued by a black bear this past Spring.

The destruction of our bird feeders and a few visits to our decks and garage

by this rather large fellow prompted us to call the Game Commission

for the placement of a trapping device with the hopes that our pesky

interloper could be relocated.

No such luck.

We succeeded in catching a raccoon and an opossum, but no bear.

In fact we were under the impression that the bear had moved on,

since we had no further visits after the trap arrived.

That is until this week.

(Picture courtesy of bear-tracker.com)

Our neighbor spotted 3 bears coming out of the woods next to our house this week.

Needless to say, the bird feeders are down.

The garage is closed.

And we are being quite cautious.

By the end of the month, these bears should be in hibernation for the rest of the winter.

I just wonder what Spring will be like when they wake up hungry!