On the Banks of Nettle Creek: Never A Dull Moment Farm...?

Late this morning I was out in the yard picking up sticks that had come down in the recent winds when I saw two big white dogs go running across the creek bridge into the field. Drop twigs, run yelling for the dogs to come back and for Pete to come help me. Pete never heard me but did see one of the escapees and came running. I managed to grab one and coax/drag him back to the pasture. It is not easy to drag 100 pounds of pure resistance. Fortunately when one was back in the other one came willingly. Then the hunt was on to find their escape route. Today they had dug a huge hole under a gate (last week they had partly unhinged the gate and used it like a flap to get out). I wish I could have seen them squeezing through that hole! So...after plugging the hole, our plans for the day were all scrapped and we spent the next three hours putting up electric fencing around the pasture. It's tough love for the dogs - they will jolt their noses once on the hot wire and forever be afraid of it but apparently it is the only thing that will keep them in the pasture. They've escaped four times in recent weeks, each escape route a new and creative one. We've never had Pyrs this committed to escaping.

Their other crime was that they had "loved a chicken to death" this morning. Apparently one of the hens had wandered into their pen and become a plaything. This is the kind of thing that used to make me crazy trying to figure out how to deal with them. We've already put extra fencing around so the hens can't get in the pasture. I've now gotten to the point where I file this under Things I Can't Control and move on. There is NO reason on God's green earth for the hens to go in the pasture - food, water, dust baths are all outside the pasture. If they WILL go in, I can't do a thing about it.

Later this afternoon we went to church to set up for a special Christmas activity tomorrow. While there I received a call from the sheriff's office. Our house alarm had gone off and they were wondering if we were home or if they should send squad cars. Pete raced home (squad cars were on the way). A neighbor said that a white truck had been parked in our east driveway for a while but there was no sign of forced entry. Very suspicious but we're puzzled as to why the motion sensor in the living room should go off...?

At any rate we had three crises today with a hen getting IN the pasture, the dogs getting OUT of the pasture and someone apparently trying to get IN our house. The good news is that it was 50 degrees here today and sunny. It would have been much less pleasant to put up electric fence posts in sub zero weather and frozen ground. We're thankful that each time the dogs have gotten out someone was here to see them and get them back before they took off for parts unknown. They've got a good life in that pasture but apparently they have wanderlust. I wish we could let them roam but we can't. Pyrs need fences.