ok, we need votes to decide the winner for the mother's day story contest!!!!!!

[java girl 2]

we need you to decide the story winner for the contest I did !!!!

 

[java girl 2]

# 1 is by karimw.

Kestrel’s Birth​

The night was dark and silent except for the steady trill of peeper frogs singing love songs in the pond near by. Soft light from the moon showed a cat silhouetted in the doorway from my vantage point in the alleyway. I sat wrapped in layers of sleeping bag and blankets listening to the sound of peaceful chewing and soft snorts and sighs as the horses in the stalls surrounding me dozed or munched hay left over from supper. My mind wandered lazily as I watched the mare in the stall before me, still except for the occasional swish of her tail. A resting point then, as just a few minutes ago she was circling restlessly, snatching an occasional bit of hay as she passed it.

The warm red light in the corner washed her in a rosy glow and I could not help thinking how very beautiful she was, a true golden palomino, her white mane kept long. At 21 years old this would be her last baby; a last ditch effort to replace her 10 year old daughter we had lost the Christmas before last.

The barn itself seemed to hold it’s breath as the mare’s ears flew back and she resumed her circling. A ridge appeared along her belly and I shared a look with my mother sitting in her lawn chair nearby. It was close, we knew. A tricky one, this girl, I had missed her before but this was the third night we had kept vigil. Surely she couldn’t hold it much longer!

With a splash her water broke and she promptly lay down on the deep straw. Tension burned through us as we resisted the urge to leap up, but it wasn’t yet time to get involved. She rose again and resumed circling, the sweat on her neck and flanks blooming dark against her golden hide. I could see at last the tiny feet showing under her tail. When she lay down again I slipped in to make sure all was as it should be. I felt the baby’s slippery nose through the protective membrane resting on its outstretched legs and whispered affirmative to my own anxious mother. I stood back as she began to strain in earnest and we all tensed until at last the shoulders cleared the barrier and I knelt to clear the membrane from the baby’s lolling head.

With a groan the mare expelled the hips and the baby spilled into my lap, the membrane pulling away to reveal a lovely golden foal struggling with its first breath of cool midnight air. I gazed with wonder at this miracle dream come true and locked eyes with my mother as she stroked the sweaty neck of the gasping mare. I’ll never forget the joy we shared, my mother and I, in helping to bring this new filly into the world and we watched with tears of unbearable
happiness as the mare rose unsteadily to her feet and began nickering softly to her daughter, welcoming her to the world.

 

[java girl 2]

# 2 is by what did I do. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I can’t believe it we got skunked once again. This time it was bad you could actually see where the skunk sprayed. The cats and dog seem to be ok so that’s good. Diane, 5 at the time, went out side first thing in the morning with her blankets and promptly sat down in the skunk spray. And now, I just can’t seem to get it through her head that she should stay off the porch and out of the skunk spray. I treated the spots with all the baking soda and peroxide first thing this morning – I think it’s kind of ruined my day.

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Well over the last 2 days we’ve been on a skunk hunt and skunk cleaning. It’s hard to believe how much work one little skunk can cause!

After my last post the kids destroyed the room their toys are in then Judy broke eggs on the carpet while I took a shower.

MIL came over walking through the white stuff I put on the skunk spray then commented, “I don’t smell anything” while she was walking through the egg on the floor. I didn’t say anything to her.

I quick loaded up the kids and took them to their Dad, 60 miles away, then went to town to get more supplies and an Ace bandage for my foot that I seem to be turning often.

After I got home, I continued to clean. Then Dad came home after leaving the kids with MIL while we hunted skunk. We tried to flush a skunk out of the culvert with water while I stood with a gun, a 33 (it turned out the gun didn’t have any bullets in it). Nothing came out so we checked other culverts and holes and found nothing. We came back for a quick bite for dinner then more cleaning. As Dad was taking out the garbage, he noticed the tail of a skunk. He quickly went and got the gophanator (anhydrous sp?) while I stood guard with the gun (the one that didn’t have any shells in it). He turned on the gas and we waited to see if the skunk would show himself. Nothing happened but I did get a whiff of the gophanator gas and had to make a quick run for clean air. After a few minutes, Dad gave the skunk a big shot of the gas. We then went looking to see if we could find more skunks or holes. The skunk sprayed while it was dieing and the smell of the gas along with skunk does a little more than stink, I’ll just say it was a very bad smell!!!!!! The wind was blowing the smell right past our front door and into the house and into our cars!!!! Dad hulled the skunk away with a tractor only to have the tractor quit after he buried the skunk (the skunk did make it out of the hole but didn’t get very far before he died).
It’s hard to believe the skunk was living only a few feet from us all summer and we didn’t even know about it. Just think the kids were playing close to him most days!! We figure the reason we could never find the skunk was because he was so close and could escape so easy. What a life for a skunk food everyday fresh water – must have been an easy life for him. I think one reason her sprayed is because there wasn’t any food out for him that night and he was mad about it.

I spent the whole day cleaning the front deck. I think the skunk sprayed 3 or more times just on the deck, then once off the deck, once on the pickup and once on the trailer. I noticed Lady got sprayed too, the first time she has been skunk sprayed (and only time), when the kids brought her into the house because of some heavy clouds.

I’ve seen all the cats except the shop cat that was here the night all this happened. I wonder if he was sprayed too.