Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

Yeppers!! Check out his eyebrows

They are quite something!

 

[micstrachan]

Perhaps you could try sprinkling the tiny corpse with meal worms as a condiment?

Oh, frick, that’s funny!!!

 

[micstrachan]

Oh, I know he has decided I am good food bringer, the one who scritches the chin and ears, and am not exactly “herd” but as close to it as a two leg can get... I am actually afraid that the in-laws might get hostile to me in front of him, as animals are far better readers of body language than humans...

Like I said before, I need to learn about your family situation. They might actually get hostile with you? And DH tolerates this?

 

[micstrachan]

Mine were funny yesterday. It was real windy here as well. When I went to release them they were all in the coop. Not the complex but the coop itself. I opened the door for free range time they all came running out and went and hung out in the corner of the yard by the fence under the apple trees and barely moved all day. But they were out.

Awww... mine have done that, too. Today I was at the house mid-day briefly because I had to take my daughter to the dentist (wisdom teeth issues). The ENTIRE flock was out of sight. I think all 13 were inside the coop (building). Something must have scared them. I need game cams! Anyway, when I ventured into the run, they all filed out to greet me, stretch their wings, scratch and eat. And THAT’s one reason I wish I could work from home at least once in awhile.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Some people I know of just wont go out at all and haven't been out for months.
I don't want to make light of the virus; it's a very unpleasant bug.
I don't want to be indentified with the nutters and conspiracy theorist either.
Somewhere there is a middle rational path.

I agree with you. But erring on the side of caution rather than a middle path IMHO. Part of the risk calculation we make here is that lots about this situation is new ground, and new things are figured out as it's gone along. Scientists made their best guesses early on and kept investigating, and know lots more now than before, and we'd rather be safe than sorry. Schools are safer than previously thought. But other indoor situations are worse than thought. Social distancing indoors is for the birds (no insults intended!). Some nerds just released a study showing how social distancing indoors, unless you're wearing a great mask, is useless and pretty dangerous. The example was to think about how you can tell when someone is wearing perfume in about a minute in a room, even when they are ten feet away. Open air is best. Small enclosed spaces are worse than large ones.

In the U.S., one thing we've learned is that Americans are idiots to a great extent. The situation as we see it is that one must assume it is everywhere, because thanks to a lot of ignorance, denial, and willful bad behavior, now it actually is everywhere, and it's worse than in the Spring. There's going to be a lot more death here, I'm afraid, and lots more disability in those who survive, due to the aftereffects. Lots more. It is painful to see this happening especially when other countries have done so much better with it.

For me and my partner, caution is the better move and phone calls and Zoom are the order of the day for socialization. My uncle was killed by it in May - he got it in the Assisted Living place he was in. Our friend in the Adirondacks had it early on, in March (he did pretty well but said, "It's no joke"). My drummer's sister has it now very badly. On oxygen with double pneumonia. Her husband, who normally works from home, decided to fly somewhere recently on a business trip, came back & felt bad and didn't think it was anything until he got much worse days later. She's not on a ventilator yet thank God.

The lasting damage is real for many people who have recovered. Some don't seem to recover for months.

So we feel we can keep doing this, though it's hard. We are lucky in that we can afford to. We doubt we'll be playing gigs next summer at all. Some people we know on my hill say, when they're going to a party or an event with unknown numbers of other people, "Well, but you gotta live your life!" To which my DH said, "Yeah, but 'live' is the operative word there."

Sorry / not sorry for the rant.

 

[micstrachan]

What is the cat/cucumber trick? I love the name! I have a cat, and sometimes a cucumber...let's roll!
Yup the crows here sometimes take care of the mouse remains. They used to be here on the regular but not so much lately. They do nest here though.

Oh gosh, have you not seen videos of this? I laugh so hard I almost pee my pants! Place a cucumber behind an unsuspecting, resting kitty and watch the reaction when s/he spots it. They sometimes jump so high they flip like Phyllis shaking off after a dust bath!

 

[micstrachan]

Ask and ye shall receive!!!! @ChicoryBlue

Oh, you linked one! Thank you!!!

 

[micstrachan]

I have to say, Doug is not a very mysterious name at all. No marketing potential there at all.

Right???

 

[micstrachan]

I'm not having any of this Bob. You are either having a bad day or the Covid fear is taking hold. The former will pass but the latter you must guard against.
A few people I know were feeling the same dread of the coming winter probably accompanied by more stringent confinement conditions, especially some of the people I know in the UK.
There is a partial solution Bob and that is to break the rules.
A hypothetical situation.
I can be fairly certain that some of my friends are less likely to catch Covid than others as can most people if they put some thought in to it.
Every time I go shopping for example my chances of contract the virus are relatively high; even with the precautions like a proper mask, hand cleansers and doing my best to keep away from other shoppers. In the small local shops, the risk is low, but in the supermarkets and moving through people in towns and travelling on any form of public transport, the risk is a lot higher.
We (people) make risk assessments all our lives. If one takes reasonable precautions, the risk of catching Covid is lower than the risk of haviing a vehicle accident relative to risk exposure. Things like this have been forgotton in the hysteria.
The next important point is not everyone who catches Covid dies. In fact, it seems from research that a high proportion of people do not even know they are carrying the virus.
I could go on but you are quite capable of working out your own risk assessment with the knowledge you have.
Some people I know are having a social life but it happens at their homes. They and a very small group of friends have arranged between thenselves a night a week when they meet and have supper, or something.
I would quite happily sit down for dinner with my eldest daughter and her husband because I know the degree of caution they have. I would not sit down to dinner with the people in the main house here because they are completely irresponsible.
For people who find the lack of human contact a burdon my view is it is better to take a calculated risk and stay sane and reasonably happy with something to look forward to, than to take isolation for fear of a probably small chance of becoming seriouusly ill with Covid to an extreme.

I like this post. Good point, Shad.

 

[BY Bob]

When they take my blood, I show them exactly which arm, and which vein (I have to, mine are hard to locate)

Smart man.