Great horned owl targets dog

I received a call from a gal named Peggy and she had a very interesting story to share with all of you. She has a great horned owl living in a tree near her house. One morning the owl swooped down and picked up her baby named Spinner (funny name for a dog). Spinner is a Maltese-toy poodle mix who weighs only 9 pounds. She watched in horror as her "baby," who is 9 years old, was being carried away. Suddenly the owl dropped the dog from about roof height. She rushed him in to the veterinarian, who said Spinner had only suffered minor injuries, but would need to be put on an IV for the day to rehydrate him. Not a year later, Spinner fell prey to another great horned owl (or maybe the same one feeling bad he had to drop him last time). This time he again lost his grip on Spinner, but Spinner didn't fair as well. This time he ended up partially paralyzed. Watch your small pets carefully during morning and evening hours, that's when the predators are out looking for food.

Springtime in the hen house

I have two male ducks in my hen house with the nine hens. One is a blue Swedish and the other a mallard. Now that spring is here and the temperatures say it's true, my male ducks are craving a female. Since we don't have a female duck, nor do we plan on getting one, my two males ducks have been seeking the attention of my buff Orpington hen. I'm not sure that is the right way to describe their feelings, but they are in the mood for love. Only this one poor hen is being picked on and I mean to the point that she has no feathers on her backside.

My 7-year-old daughter asked what kind of babies they would make and asked if they'd be called a "ducken."

I asked, "Well, what do you think they would look like?"

"Well, they would be brown with black with white with blue and green. They would have a duck bill, duck feet, but a chicken body," she said.

So I asked what color the eggs would be, and she answered, "All kinds of colors like the Araucuana, but large like a duck egg."

Out of the mouths of babes.

-- Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.