I am SO sorry about Spot! \u00a0He really is a good dog who takes his job of protecting me and the farm very seriously. \u00a0Well, maybe a little too seriously. \u00a0But how was I supposed to know that when he dove into the bush this morning, he was going to come up with a baby rabbit? \u00a0It was early, I was under-caffeinated, and it took me a split second too long to realize what was going on. \u00a0It was over quickly with nary a sound from the bunny.<\/p>\n
Two days ago, it was a mole. \u00a0Really. \u00a0Those little denizens of the deep that most dogs find infuriating as they dig up the tunnels. \u00a0Not Spot. \u00a0He sat for a moment, cocked his head at the ground, dug–once, twice–and there was a big fat mole with it little light brown paws rolling out onto the ground. \u00a0I was more aware that time and able to pull him off before he did any damage. \u00a0And, of course, he has a track record. \u00a0Even before we adopted him, when he was just the new dog next door, he killed my pretty little Silver Spangled Hamburg when she dared to venture over the fence. \u00a0And his first night at the farm, despite being tied, he was close enough to grab Dotty, our silver Wyandotte, but all he got was a mouth full of feathers before Bob wrestled him to the ground.<\/p>\n
Right now, he is tied out front watching the corn field across the drive way as it is full of furry creatures. \u00a0And I’m remembering reading Gary Paulsen’s Woodsong<\/em> when I taught middle school. \u00a0It is book full of the sudden, brutal violence of nature. \u00a0Not my usual book–I haven’t ever made it through Old Yeller <\/em>or The Red Pony<\/em>–but the kids liked Paulsen and I was determined to try. Paulsen talks about how we are raised on a somewhat sanitized view of nature, that of Marlin Perkins’ Wild Kingdom<\/em>, one of my favorite shows as a kid. \u00a0The lions stalk the gazelle, we see them running and then we see the lions eating something that might have been a gazelle. The actual death took place off camera so we didn’t have to watch the struggles, see the blood, experience the violence. \u00a0Spot killing a bunny was certainly not that graphic but it was brutal and unexpected and a reminder that, for all his domesticated qualities, he harbors the soul of a hunter and killer and no amount of human intervention will ever train that out of him.<\/p>\n And then he is also a big baby who is afraid of thunder storms. \u00a0The wind is kicking up, and he has retired to the front porch to be near me. \u00a0I don’t think this storm will hit us but there are some cells out to the west. \u00a0At least the breeze has brought some relief to the humid day we had. \u00a0I am planning to head upstairs to do some organizing now that we’ve got some more furniture in place.<\/p>\n And, Mother Nature, I promise I will be more vigilant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am SO sorry about Spot! \u00a0He really is a good dog who takes his job of protecting me and the farm very seriously. \u00a0Well, maybe a little too seriously. \u00a0But how was I supposed to know that when he dove into the bush this morning, he was going to \u2026 Continue reading