August is upon us! Where did the summer go? I felt like I was dodging rain, or staying out of the heat, all through the month of July.
My garden is basically a waste, or maybe a work in progress (very slow progress) for a fall garden. My Limelight hydrangeas however, are having their best year yet! They are absolutely gorgeous. My lavender is not enjoying the rain at all. On the other hand, the wild things, or weeds (AKA – things you don’t want in the garden) are growing faster than I can keep up with them!
The horses spend a lot of time standing under the box fans in their stalls. When it rains, they go out and graze, enjoying the cooling bath the downpour gives them. The donkey, Yoshi, abhors getting wet – even hates seeing the hose for fear of getting splashed, so spends most of the rainy days in the stall. There is an occasional quick run between pelting raindrops, to get to the round bale, which is under cover.
The guardian dog, getting on in years, prefers the cool of an air- conditioned house, as do I. He will venture out with me during feeding times, but the heat and humidity get to him pretty quickly.
I can’t recall this much rain in past Julys, they have been real toad stranglers this month! I am considering changing the property name to Mountain Marshland. The amount of water accumulating makes wellies the shoe of choice every day. I am hoping August is not quite as hot, with way less rain – wishful thinking!
One thing the rain has done, is drive the remaining rats out of their flooded tunnels under the barn. We have never had a rat problem until the last few years. And, boy, what a population explosion! I tried every online hack in the books to eradicate them, with little success. Between the dog, traps, a certain brand of rat pellets, and shooting them, the numbers have dwindled to a very few. Animal lover that I am (my kids had pet rats, mice, and hamsters, growing up), I draw the line. These are not pet rats, smart though they are, they cannot be here.
A recent evening downpour encouraged a couple of remaining rats to move their babies from tunnels under the dirt by the barn, to higher ground. In one case, higher ground was on top of a chicken run door! When I opened the door, baby rats (pinkies) came cascading down! A few choice words colored the air, but now these were chicken snacks.
Next morning, same mama rat decided that the same door was still a good idea, I found 4 babies had fallen on the ground during the night, and there were 2 more atop the door. Again, chicken snacks!
In the other coop, a mama rat decided to deposit her slightly older brood in a dry nest box. Yup, you guessed it- more chicken snacks. I guess rain has its benefits, in drawing them out.
Surprisingly, not all of my hens are fans of live food. Who knows what kind of protein they find while scratching around. The ones who are excited about live food, are pretty hysterical, running with their prize, dangling from their mouth, with their sister hens in hot pursuit! I did apologize to the baby rats for their fate. I have hardened myself to this part of the life cycle. Rats can live elsewhere, but NOT here! Total babies found, as of this writing, over 2 days in 3 litters- 28 or 30. Multiply that by their future potential reproduction numbers….whew.
Country life has more benefits than I can count! Vermin are not one of them! The rain is wonderful, and needed, in moderation – although lately it has turned creeks into muddy, roiling rivers, pushing downed branches and debris around. We have water that flows from the paddock, across the hay field, under the driveway, down to the pond, through the overflow and down to the river. Admittedly, we are fortunate. Things could be way worse.
As August begins, and school starting looms way too soon ahead of us, enjoy the last month of summer- put fairs, lawn parties, and beach trips on your calendar. Hope for a tad bit less rain!
All is well here at Mountain Marshland, er, Mountain Meadows, this fine hot day…..
