It might have been thought a flight of fancy when I said Carlsbad Cavern was created by ground squirrels. This is proof of fact. These are the entrances to the Farview Farm Caves in the girls' smaller sleeping room, and a portrait of the engineer. He is surveying the damage done to the tunnels to the left where the ground gave way under the girls.
The horizontal boards on all walls of the barn are to keep the girls from pushing through. Goats are notorious for this, and will walk along at a tilt, rubbing on the walls.
This is a tunnel entrance into the milking room, just behind the stand. One of the diaper wipe "blankets" is drying before being taken underground by the mouse on the left.
One of the furry pancakes hanging out in the big sleeping room, waiting for me to finish milking. (That's my foot sticking up off the milking stand.) The patches of light on the ground to the right are from the openings the squirrels have made under the walls of the barn for easier access.
This was not taken with a telephoto lens. When I said I have mice...I have MICE! It's a good thing I'm not afraid of them, because they sure aren't afraid of me.
I am in the entrance to the smaller sleeping room, bucket and rake in hand, finishing up the last of the barn chores, but moving too slow for these impatient ones. There are three in the bowl and one standing guard...not against me, obviously, but more approaching squirrels. Not only have they dug under the wall here, they've taken out boards! I guess it's easier than going underground.
The girls have their artistic side, and the salt block is a work in progress. I did not notice Ruthie approaching as I tried to find an angle that would show all the nooks and crannies of the block. That's her shadow on the right. I should have known that anything out of the ordinary would arouse the girls' curiosity, and just as I took the photo, I was ringed by goats wanting to know what I was doing back in the pen (I'd already taken the milk buckets out). Nineteen thought he'd like to try photography and nearly got the camera out of my hand.
3 comments:
All I can say is PRICELESS pictures and descriptions...they DO all make themselves at home, don't they? Good thing you love God's creatures, and that you have a generous spirit - a true win-win (except for your property damage...but I'm sure the little guys don't see it that way, it is infrastructure building for them and you provide the property and the rewards!) OK, so you've got "the girls," "the little girls," "the mafia boys," and "the night thing,"...so maybe your squirrel and mice family should be "the little guys?"
I apologize for the haphazard presentation of this entry. It didn't look like this when I wrote it, nor on the preview. After trying three times to rectify the gaps and skips, like most of life...it is what it is.
Hey, we are DAMN lucky that you are willing to share your life with us...for FREE! And, as we all know, cyberspace has gremlins in it, so 'taint YOUR fault! And, it's only because you TREATED us to photos today that there are gaps anyway!
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