Monday, January 24, 2011

Coyote Hunting

This past year we have had a terrible coyote problem.  They killed all of our chickens and one of our pigs.  We had no idea what to do about them until someone at church told us about the hobby of a mutual friend.  Who knew that people were actual coyote hunters?  I asked the mutual friend about his hobby, and he got very excited to have a new place to hunt.  On Friday, he and his brother, an aspiring hunter, came to the farm.  Despite the 10 degree weather, they came with their gear and set up in our back field.  They had told me not to worry about tying up the dogs, so I didn't.  I decided that was a mistake when I saw the dogs go flying past the front window.  Apparantly, they are also drawn by the horrible sound of a screeching, injured animal call that coyote hunters use this time of year.  (Different seasons have different calls.  In the winter, coyotes are hungry.)  Fortunately, the dogs have finally learned to listen and came to a halt when I whistled. 
Unfortunately, the coyotes weren't falling for that trick that day.  There were lots of tracks in the snow, which had only fallen two days prior, so my hunter friends will be out to try again another day. 
Oh, and in case you're wondering what they do with the dead coyotes, I asked.  He keeps the pelts in his garage, and is threating his wife with the idea of making them into a quilt.  Next time I see his wife, I'll suggest a nice warm coyote coat to wear while he hunts!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Good days

Despite the rain, the little ones and I are having a lovely morning.  First, they slept in until 8:00, which allowed me to get the big kids off to school, take a shower, eat breakfast, watch a bit of news, and get some laundry started.  My fibromyalgia seems to be taking a day off, as I haven't felt much pain or soreness in all of my trips up and down the steps this morning.  After the boys woke and had breakfast, we were looking out the window to find the dogs when I was thrilled to see robins all over the yard.  That is one of my favorite sights in the world, as it means these freezing cold, snowy days will come to an end in the not too distant future.  I figure, if it's nice enough for the birds, it's nice enough for us.  We got our boots on, grabbed the umbrellas, and went to stomp in puddles and slush and whatever else we could find.  It was glorious to be outside again.  Once we got back in, the boys happily played by themselves while I finished the last 20 pages of my book.  And to top it off, the two year old has done a great job telling me when he has to go to the bathroom.  They are now napping/resting peacefully in their beds, preparing for the onslaught of activity once we have to go get the big kids.
Count all of your little blessings, and you can't help but be joyful.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Odd injuries

I do believe every family has one.  That one person who is always the one to get hurt.  You may call him a klutz, accident-prone, or clumsy.  We just look at ours and say, "Huh?"  He has been like this for his entire life.  Sitting at dinner, he will simply disappear, having fallen from his chair for no reason.  He has three scars across his forhead from odd mishaps, including one monster scar from the 16 stitches he received after falling off of a swing and landing on the one rock in proximity.  We thought we were immune to it, but this week he managed t osurprise us again.  He was simply walking up the steps to go to his room.  Granted, they are a peril to anyone coming down them in socks.  He was going up.  He tripped, and was crying rather hard.  Husband checks on him, sits him on the couch and declares that he will be fine.  Thirty seconds later, my dear boy comes in with blood all over his hands and simply states, "I'm bleeding."  He was not fine.  He managed to cut open the inside upper fold of  his ear.  He had a gash that almost went through his ear.  Blood was everywhere, and it took forever to stop.  It would have been big enough for stitches, if you could actually stitch in such a place.  I applied some liquid Band-Aid, gave him some ice, and cuddled for a bit.  It already started to bruise.  The next morning, there was dried blood all through the fold of his ear.  I had to clean it all out, which made him holler, the poor guy.  It is bruised and swollen and terribly scabbed.  When he got home from school, I asked if anyone noticed it.  He said three kids did, and only one was totally grossed out.  He's hoping it gets better before gym day.  Him and me both.