Chicken love, muskrat love, squirrel love

In the light of all the sad stories these days, I'd like to write about something different.

Hubby keeps whispering about chickens, I'm not sure Oliver would tolerate them.

Haven't seen muskrats on our property here, but I have a few photos of them. I took a walk about and spotted some fisher tracks in the remaining snow. They are distinct with their 5 toes.

The critters are on the move.


Oliver managed to climb on top of the shed yesterday.
He is a character. This is where the bird feed is stored, and the mice quite like it.

He brought home red squirrel #4 this morning. I managed to squirrel away the body before he began to eat it. The deer were quite keen, standing 6' away from him as he stalked two red squirrels who were doing the muskrat love dance. Round and round the trees.

The deer followed Oliver to the house, as he ran in with his prey. It's quite a drama out there.

muskrat in bog

This story is rather interesting. The author of the article [not the true research study; Cambridge University neurobiologist. Dr. Jennifer Morton was involved in research into the debilitating neurodegenerative disorder Huntington’s disease when she rescued seven Welsh Mountain ewes from the abattoir] wrote about integrating a new chicken into the brood. A delicate process as any with animals will attest.

Chickens are capable of empathy - not to mention jealousy, selfishness, love and lust

A study has found that chickens are capable of empathy. What about their other emotions, asks Carla Carlisle.

My friend, Nancy Tapley, at Bondi Village Resort, is the chicken whisperer!