Home Invasion

I didn't even know we'd had a break-in until I walked out in the morning and saw the gate to the feed barn torn off the hinges and laying on the ground.  I guess the temptation was too great and the opportunity was right there.  There has been a full moon, so the danged deer didn't even need a flashlight.  I doubt they would have read the "No Admittance" sign anyhow.

A bit later, I gasped as I looked up while milking Sheila.  One of the girls was walking along the driveway on the outside of the fence!  How could she possibly have gotten out?  Then I realized it was a totally brown animal and the only all-brown goat I have is Sheila and she was right next to me.  It wasn't a goat at all; it was a deer right out there in the open in full daylight!  Was it one of the nighttime intruders, come back for seconds?  This doe went almost nose to nose with Tessie through the fence and then nonchalantly moseyed down the drive, nibbling at tidbits all the while.

As if that weren't enough, later in the day I glanced out onto the deck and saw some critter creepy-creeping along behind the pots.  It was a brazen ground squirrel that had come all the way around, checking the progress on the cherry tomato plants I'd planted in the strawberry pot.  I've only gotten two or three tomatoes myself; now I know why.

It is also the time of year for the annual invasion of tiny black ants in the kitchen.  They seem to appear when it is hot and dry and I think they come in looking for water.  As long as they're in, they might have a snack from the cats' dish, but rarely do they go anywhere else but the sink.  They come in the dark and in the morning I rinse them down the drain.  This only lasts a week or so, and there weren't any out there today.

It evidently isn't enough that I feed nearly every darned creature that walks or flies in the area, now they're going for self-serve.  The thought that I'm in charge is an illusion.