Holy Moley!

So Spring has sprung here in the American South and with it all kinds of wildlife! My outside cats are taking it upon themselves to thin the numbers. Thus far, they have eliminated two squirrels (sigh), lots of mice (not so sad), and a handful of lizards (most of whom I have saved). The neighbor dog (who I will write about later) seems to have a major rodent fetish and I am no longer surprised when she comes round with small critters hanging out of her mouth. Even though they have expired, it seems to be great fun for her to throw them in the air and catch them again. And when she is done, she rolls in them. Gross.

I make it my personal mission to try to free whatever critter the great hunters have caught and it is not uncommon to see me charging through the yard yelling like a deranged nut. They usually drop whatever they have and move away. They know the routine. This is our game.

So yesterday, I saw my older cat strutting through the yard with a small rodent in her fanged grasp. And as usual, I said in my oh so sweet voice, "Here kitty, kitty...." (she falls for it every time) and when I grabbed her, she dropped it.

Baby mole about the size we found.
(Photo source unknown)

It was a baby mole. It was still alive. But probably not for long. It had puncture wounds. So I did what I always do- take the critter and put in a safe place until it... well, you know. Expires.

I had a small plastic bowl handy, so I put him there high on a cool dark shelf in our outbuilding so the cats would not get at him again. I intended to go back and remove the body later. And I went on with my business.

About 2 hours later, I went out and to my surprise, the little guy was still alive! He had bled quite a bit but was not in shock and was moving around a little. So, I put some dried leaves and other soft material in the bowl and covered him with a light cloth until I could release him later that evening when my yard patrol was not so "intense."

And of course, my four year old was helping me with all of this. I explained to her how we could not touch the baby mole because he was a wild animal. She was concerned about his wounds, so we went in the house, got a Q-tip and some Triple Antibiotic ointment and slathered him up a bit. Poor mole.

In the meantime, we came in the house and did a little mole research. We learned where they live, what they eat, and how they survive in the wild. We decided baby mole was about 2 months old (by his size)- so old enough to make it on his own.

Then we went on a scavenger hunt to try and find the mole's hole. We found it quickly! It was under a rock and when I lifted it, we saw his burrow. We decided to put the baby mole back in his hole right away. So I lifted the rock again and we slid the mole out of the bowl into the hole and I gently placed the rock back over the burrow.

But the mole didn't stay in the hole! No sooner than I replaced the rock, he reappeared out of the hole! So, we used a stick and gently directed him back into his hole. And,  a few seconds later, he reappeared out of the hole again! Darn mole!

MOLE HOLES!

So maybe this was NOT his hole. Indeed, as we looked around the yard, there must have been a dozen or so mole holes built around our large oak tree. Great! There's no telling which hole that darn mole came out of.

So back in the bowl the mole went and there he stayed until evening. At dusk, we made a little burrow in the old mulch hay under our fig bush and finally set him free. We haven't checked on him this morning but my four year old made up a song for him and tells everyone the story about how we took care of a baby mole for a day.

We'll have to buy this children's book.

Happy Spring!

Hello all and Happy Spring!
The world is green again and the air is getting warmer! Despite my last post, we really did have a pleasant winter here. Actually, it wasn't much of a winter at all. It was unseasonably warm and Spring came very early! In mid February we had snow and by the end of the month it was in the low 70's! It has been warm ever since!

This year is going to be a big year! In February, I worked on a huge commission for an upcoming network television series. I can't release too many details until the pilot airs. But it was my biggest commission to date. (As many of you know, I create historic costumes for the film, television, and museum industries.) More on that later!

In addition, we are in serious get ready to move mode. This is something we have been thinking about for a few years and as "just the two of us" has now become "three of us", we are finding the need for a little more room.

Right now the housing market is a buyer's dream but a seller's nightmare. Houses are priced 30-50% below their 2008 values. Definitely a great time to buy! Not a great a time to sell. However, when a house like this one comes on the market at a price we can afford, one gets a little more incentive to start packing those dishes!

This c1900 house (fully remodeled in 1988) is located in a small historic community outside of our current city of residence. It is just 5 miles from my husband's place of employment (whereas he is now commuting over 35 miles one way.) It is on a corner lot and has just enough side yard for our little one to play and the dogs to stretch their legs. But it would be city living as there are residences all around it.

It is by no means Eutopiaville, but the streets are quite and the crime rate relatively low. In our current city, there is a growing gang problem that is reeking havoc on our revitalized downtown residential districts.

This house is within walking distance to both the children's park and the local elementary school. (And, the schools in this community DO NOT have school resource officers! Can you remember a time when there was no need for police presence in our schools?) In addition, I could walk to the post office and ride my bike to the grocery!

However, it is city living. Our dreams have always been to build a house on our rural 30 acre farm (just 5 miles from this house.) But unlike the depressed housing market, the building market is still very high. Sky rocketing gas prices are driving up materials prices and right now it would cost twice the price to build a house on our property.

Lots to think about, pray about, and just plain wait and see about. But, I know in the end it will all work out the way it is meant to be :-) It always does!

Springtime in the South

Spring is here in Southeastern Tennessee and the signs are everywhere. We have had a substantial amount of rainfall this spring. Coupled with days consistently in the 70s, everything is blooming early this year.

Over the weekend we put in our summer garden. We usually wait until May, but with the weather being pretty consistent, we went ahead and planted our raised beds.

Last fall we brought home some baby chicks from the local feed store. Fall is not the optimum time for baby chicks as they are extremely delicate and do not handle the cold very well. But, we wanted backyard chickens and we succumbed to the lack of delayed gratification.

Thinking we might loose one or two, we brought home 4 baby chicks. They lived in our bathroom in an old rabbit cage under a heat lamp for most of the winter. When they got big enough, and I got tired of smelling them.... we moved them outside into our rabbit hutch. We set up the heat lamp and filled their house with pine chips. (You cannot use cedar chips with birds because it causes respiratory issues). And they flourished! They are nearly 7 months old now and will start laying at 9-12 months. These are laying hens, NOT meat hens.

During the day, the girls go out to a reinforced dog kennel but at night they still sleep in the rabbit house. I do not feel confident leaving them out, so each night, we go up to the pen, gather up the girls, and carry them back to their house. They have come to expect it now.

Here are some photos of the girls free ranging and enjoying what spring has to offer.

Free ranging in the backyard!

Nellie

Donna and Rheba

The girls- Rheba, Rhoda, Donna, and Nellie