Story Time with Sarah: A Bobcat in the Woods

The day we got our chickens was kind of a hectic day. We were trying to get all our ducks in a row (or chickens) and we needed to make a trip to the shop to pick up a few things. Luke's family owns some acreage near where we live and on this land there is a shop filled with tools, materials, parts, etc. There are also trails, hunting blinds, creeks and plenty of places to get turned around or sprain an ankle!

After we picked up the chickens we headed directly to the shop to get the heat lamp and some grit from the creek on the land. Trying to be as efficient as possible with cold baby chicks in the car, we split up. I went to get the heat lamp since I knew where it was and didn't know where to get the grit, and he went to get the grit. I retrieved the lamp pretty quickly and took it to the car. I started looking around each side of the shop looking for Luke so I could join him. I thought to myself "there's gravel all around the shop, he's probably scooping up some grit from there"

"Luke?" I called but didn't hear anything. Hmm, he must be around back. "Luke?" He wasn't answering so I figured he walked away to get the grit, or was checking out a possible dead animal we saw when driving in.

I stood at the car and waited. Just listening to the chicks chirp and messing around on my phone. After a good few minutes he still was not back and I wasn't hearing any motion in the nearby woods. So I decided I would call a little louder to at least locate him. "Luke!..." Nothing "LUKE!" again, nothing. I was actually starting to get a little concerned. Where could he have gone that he couldn't hear me yelling for him? I'm quite the loud mouth.

So now I'm thinking, I'll go look for him, he must just be in the woods. What if there's an animal out there that got him? Uhoh. Maybe I better take a weapon. Can I shoot anything? No. Are there any bows? No. There's a baseball bat. I'll grab that, I know how to swing those. What if... no, no it's silly, calm down Sarah.... but what if... there's a bobcat? They just found a bobcat near the highway just a few exits down about a month ago... 

"LUKE!!" silence. My imagination was not helping me keep calm. It had been *way* too much time. Right? I pick up my baseball bat and start trekking up the hill into the woods. Trying to be as silent as possible so I can hear any movement. "LUKE!!" Now I am literally screaming at the top of my lungs, and that is loud! But I hear nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'm started to get a game plan in my head. Okay, if he's hurt I'm going to call 911 and run back to the shop for... what? I don't know, alcohol or hydrogen peroxide and... bandages? And if I can't find him, then what? I'll call my brother-in-law. He knows his way around here better than I do.

My adrenaline is pumping and I'm fighting back tears. "LUKE?!" I think to myself, I'm going to call him one more time. And if he doesn't answer, I'm calling Sean. I took a deep breath 1..2...3... "LUKE!!!!!!!!!!!" Then I wait for an answer....

"WHAT?!" What? What does he mean WHAT? Has he not heard my screaming at the top of my lungs this whole time?

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" I scream even louder

"I'm down here, what do you want?"

I was so frustrated. How could he not have heard me, as loud as I was screaming? I'm pretty sure everyone within a few mile radius could've heard me! Assured that he was safe and just deaf, and without answering back to him, I walked back to the shop with baseball bat still in hand. I had so much adrenaline, I knew I had to get it out somehow or I would be a basket case. I walked all the way down the hill and into the shop fighting back the lump in my throat. As soon as I got in the shop I saw a large plastic trashcan and decided to have a go with the bat to release some energy. After a few swings I started to swing a little harder. THWAP! THWAP! It felt good to get some frustration out instead of crying. 

Then, after 6 or so swings, out of the blue I hear rapid, heavy footsteps. Sprinting, running right into the shop. I know those boots. Luke bursts through the door, panting.

"WHAT IS GOING ON??" I just stared at him with huge eyes "WHY are you hitting the trashcan with the baseball bat? I thought someone was beating you up! Why were you screaming for me?? Why didn't you answer me when I asked what you needed??"

"ME? Where have YOU been? Do you know how long I was calling for you?? I was screaming at the top of my lungs. How did you not hear me??" We both just looked at each other (Obviously both confused)

"All I know" Luke said "is I hear your voice screaming my name, then I hear nothing, then I head violent noises that sounds like you're being killed and I come down here and you're... beating up a trashcan. I was down in the creek in that ravine."

No wonder he couldn't hear me, he was too far and too deep down next to the creek to hear anything.

I explained the whole story to him, how I had been calling his name for a long time and he has been gone for at least 10-15 minutes. He did not seem amused. 

I started to laugh. It was kind of comical and I was on the brink of losing my mind. He just looked at me, he didn't think it was funny... yet. In hindsight our communication was poor. And I should've answered his last question to me. Those chickens had better appreciate all we went through just to get the some grit that they wouldn't really use for a little while. Maybe next time we split up we should communicate better? But then we wouldn't have these crazy stories to tell!

Oh... and there was no bobcat.

I'm... a Mommy?

The Hubs has been fantasizing for quite some time about an addition to our family. Talk about research, reading blogs, and non-stop chatter about finally settling down and.... getting chickens?

I grew up in the city, I'm not afraid to say I did not want chickens. However, after about a year and a half of Luke watching vlogs, reading articles and even volunteering on a chicken farm to get the idea of how things should work, one Saturday I was not prepared when he said "I'm going to get chicks. You wanna come with me?" 

You know how sometimes you hear someone say something that you think it just has to be a joke? This was not a joke. He was actually serious and later we found ourselves at the store picking up 6 chickens, bedding, feed, etc. 

I started thinking, hey, this isn't so bad! Look at how cute they are! All you have to do is give them some water and make sure they don't peck each other to death, right?

So we get these cute little fluff balls home and we set them up in their new home... My mother-in-law's garage. I don't know why she agreed to let us do this in-justice to her garage. (it will probably forever smell like chicken droppings)

For the first week it was kind of fun. Go out to the garage, see if any of them will let you pet them, watch them wobble around and see how many feathers they're getting. But then they started getting bigger, and the started to actually get wings. After a few more weeks, the cuteness has fizzled and they start to look like big, creepy hens who look at you with one eye and wonder where they could hurt you the most with their beaks. And did I mention they poop on everything?

It was a struggle to keep them contained in the garage. Once they got their wings they tried very hard to fly the coop, and we had to constantly keep in mind that if the garage door was open they could very well escape and get eaten by the neighbors dog.

But somehow I've managed to get a little attached to them. I don't want them on my lap or anything, but there is one, who we've name "Rotisserie" (Ro for short) who is lighter than the others and likes to be pet. 

Since they've gotten so big we've taken them to their very own chicken coop- OUTSIDE! And good news, we still have 6 left! :)