Yesterday I saw a turkey buzzard, a solitary bird floating in the sky, a sure sign its spring even though its cold and we have been having flurries all day today.  I hope it knows spring is coming because I am having difficulties seeing it.  But yesterday when it was a bit warmer I also heard red winged blackbirds singing another good sign.  But when the frogs sing- then I’ll know for sure.

I am getting estimates on having the huge spruce by our barn taken down.  I sure hate to do it but the tree is now dead two thirds of the way up.   I decided to take it down and put my new vegetable beds in that spot.  The estimates include chipping the branches and leaving me the wood chips, which will mean I won’t have to buy wood chips and that kind of offsets the cost of taking the tree down.   We were going to put new veggie beds in the old horse pasture but this spot is closer to the house and water.

I went out to the barn yesterday morning and Brandy, the Jack Russell left in the barn was barking.  I opened the door to the kennel area and stepped into the small room.  Brandy kept barking at something behind me so I turned to look and saw a possum trying to hide behind the chair in there.   I opened Brandies kennel door and let her at it.  She chased it into Sarah’s old kennel which was open and nailed it, shook it until it went limp, then she went back to her kennel to eat her breakfast.  I noticed the possum was still breathing but I wasn’t sure it was playing possum or just dying. 

I went to feed the chickens and in a moment I heard Brandy barking again.  The possum had revived and was behind the doghouse in Sarah’s kennel.  I moved the doghouse and Brandy ran in and grabbed the possum again.  This time she shook it for several minutes, biting it in several places.  It went limp and she once more abandoned it.  I returned to chicken feeding but when I went back to check the possum was once more hiding behind the doghouse.  I got a rabbit carrier and managed to chase it into the carrier with a stick.  It was growling and snapping pretty good.  I couldn’t see but one puncture wound on it from all that dog mauling.

It looked at me and its coat was so pretty, a soft gray, nice from eating all my eggs and cat food.   I started having second thoughts about killing it, maybe dragging the cage out to the woods and releasing it.  But I knew I couldn’t drag it far and that it would just come back.  I really do hate killing things but I have had possums in the barn before who just ate cat food and chicken feed and left my eggs alone.  I left them alone too. These last possums are very greedy buggers; they are eating our table eggs as well as killing potential baby turkeys and ducks.  I am worried that if I buy chicks, they might eat those too.   So I went inside and informed Steve and he loaded the gun and dispatched it after breakfast.  I do hope it’s the last one.  That makes three.  Just stay away possums, so I don’t have to kill you.

I have opened the back barn door and gave the turkeys and ducks the option of going outside, but there is still snow and ice behind the barn and they haven’t been outside much.  Both Bourbon Red turkey hens are sitting, although I know the one only has 4 eggs, courtesy of the possums, and I think they are duck eggs.  I can’t see what the other hen has as she sits very tight when I’m around and is way back in a corner behind, not in a nest box.   

Look at the size of this egg we managed to keep from the possums.

One of the ducks is also sitting on a huge pile of eggs, some of which are chicken eggs.  She was very clever in that she squeezed behind a net pen divider that was leaning against the wall to make a nest and is well protected from possums and such- hopefully.  Since she just started sitting she won't hatch until mid April- which should be nicer weather. My canary should be hatching eggs if she is going to-I’ll give her another day or two. 

Still no kittens or signs that any of the cats are pg and that’s a bit unusual. Usually by March kittens are being born.  Maybe I’ll get lucky and they are all infertile.  I can’t afford to spay them.  My experience with barn cats is that as soon as you spay or neuter one it disappears or dies.  I am going to have the youngest dog we have, Tina, spayed soon though, when she is out of heat, because she is a monster when she is in heat.  All the dogs have been in heat and it’s been hell.   Some of them are quite old, Sadie is 15, you would think they would go through menopause or something.