Bo Peep and a weirdly, randomly meme

Bo gets a visitor - no, this isn't a member of her family

Apologies for a being a tad absent at the moment, but life’s been a bit silly and the next stage of editing is beginning, which means I’m off with my head in a story. Meanwhile Operation Bo continues and when we last saw the family, they were down to two chicks – meaning another had disappeared overnight. We think the majority of the chicks were taken by the howling storm that hit the south western Cape on Tuesday night and lasted for two days. It was the worst storm in 30 years, had wind speeds that went right off the graph, and caused massive flooding and destruction. While the storm raged, Bo, much to her indignation, was kept indoors and today was the first day we moved the guinea pig pen, now the guinea fowl pen, outdoors and onto the grass. Although it didn’t stop her from trying to escape, she’s a much happier little bird for being outside. Meanwhile the old dog traveling cage, big enough to house a large Golden Retriever, has been pressed into service as the inside guinea house. It’s high enough to give her space to fly a bit and we’re trying to encourage her to use her wings. As an aside and working on a hunch, I’ve also discovered she’s particularly partial to freshly squished snail…and made a right piggy of herself guzzling it down. The plan is to release her as soon as she has her wings (the sparrowhawk’s forays into the garden notwithstanding) at a time when her family is here. By comparison to the two remaining chicks, Bo remains very small, but she is growing. D reminded me of a bulldog pup his mum bred some years ago – a runt, so tiny as to be pathetic, yet after a year he grew into the biggest bulldog they’d ever seen. I’m hoping Bo will make it to Guinea Queen!

Bo munches on a snail

Guineas aside, the lovely Val over at Monkeys on the Roof (do go and read her blog, it’s wonderful) has tagged me for the Seven Weird or Random Things About Me meme. I’ve been tagged for this once before and that chicken was “good enough” to do said meme. I guess this time I’m just going to have to answer it myself.

The idea is to reveal seven random and or weird things about myself. Hmm, I hope you’re up for this…

The rules are:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself - some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

So here goes nothin’…

1. I have met and embraced death and look forward to going home.

2. At the tender age of 47 I’m pleased to say I can still do the splits and can still get my forehead on the ground while sitting with my legs stretched out to the sides.

3. I’ve had two close encounters with leopards in the wild.

4. I’ve eaten a wide variety of weird and wonderful things from elephant to giraffe, mopani worms to snails, frogs’ legs to snake, crocodile to shark.

5. I weigh the same now as I did at 23 years ago – which I figure isn’t too bad.

6. I wrote my first play when I was eight and charged the neighbourhood kids 5 cents to watch it. It was set on rollerskates, thus predating Starlight Express by several years. Performed on our back porch, it ran for precisely one day.

7. I have travelled most of the world, though strangely have never been to the USA.


Now, to tagging… I tag:

Gaye
Lori Ann
Miladysa
Janey
Lane
Ello
Megan

Oh go on, ya know you wanna… :-)

The Guinea Fowl Chronicles - Lil' Bo Peep SOS

Little Bo Peep

I was planning on showing you flying lessons pics today, but flying appears to have come to no good. What I mean is that on Monday there were 13 or 14 guinea fowl chicks. Now there are three. I cannot for the life of me believe that the adult flock has managed to lose literally all their chicks overnight. I’m hoping that perhaps the flock have split up but I’m thinking that might be a frail sort of hope.

On Tuesday there were about seven chicks. On Tuesday night only Bo and her sibling Mo’ (as in Mo’ Peep ie More Peep) were in the garden. A hellish and very unseasonable storm was brewing. The temperatures had plummeted and the wind was howling. We wondered if we should try and catch Bo and Mo’ but decided nature should be left to take its course… The rest of the guineas had leapt the wall by then and these two were left all alone to find a place to sleep on the ground. By Wednesday morning I heard Mo’ in the driveway, but when I tried to find him, he ducked away, never to be seen again. Meanwhile, another chick fluttered out of the trees from seemingly nowhere and joined little Bo. It was pissing with rain, freezing cold and the garden was sodden – and not an adult guinea was anywhere to be seen. Two adult stragglers who appeared in the garden were totally soaked and miserable and I didn’t think there was much hope of Bo or the other chick surviving without adult attention – or human intervention. See, here’s the thing about Lil’ Bo, she just isn’t very big. The other chicks from the same hatch are two to three times her size, and although she is strong in spirit, size-wise, she’s just not making it.

I decided, having splashed around the garden for a couple of hours, that it was time to get involved. Left on her own, unable to fly, she would just not survive. I called D at work and asked him to come home and help with Operation Bo.

We eventually cornered her behind some planters and put her and Gilbert in a box. Literally five minutes later, the adult flock appeared with the princely number of two chicks - two, out of the original fourteen that had been around on Monday. They managed to round up the third chick, who, by force of necessity had learnt its wings but who was cold and shivering and who kept trying to huddle under an adult for warmth, only to have the adults walk away.

When D came home from work he was carrying a large guinea pig pen. Guinea pigs, guinea fowls… It’s about a meter square and 47 cms high. We laid down paper, warmed up Gilbert, put in a small towel, food, water and a few logs and popped Bo into her new abode and covered the pen with towels and left her to it.

The guinea pig pen, Bo's temporary sheltered accommodation, which now fills up most of the sunroom...

Introducing Gilbert

The idea is that as soon as the weather improves and Bo has found her wings, we’ll let her go. The poor mite is not very happy being caged and I don’t blame her but until she can fly off with the adults and roost in trees she stands little hope of survival. Of course, this assumes the adults will come back for her – they may, they may not. They were here this morning, with three chicks. They ate, huddled, scratched in the ground a bit and then left. I’m hoping that if they return regularly, I can eventually let her out when they’re here. They seem to “know” she’s here, they can hear her plaintive peeping and she obviously knows there’s a whole world out there.

Lil' Bo Peep Leap...

I hate having intervened, I’d prefer for nature to take its course but this little bird is quite unique. Aside from being so tiny, she is very feisty and yet stoic. She’s a free soul and has a strong spirit. She’s often scuttled around the garden alone, unconcerned when the rest of her flock have mooched on to another corner. I don’t know if we’ve done the right thing, I don’t know how long my head will survive the plaintive peeping and the sight of this small creature so desperate for her freedom, no matter the cost. I’m hoping that long term interests will win out ultimately over short term concerns and that Bo will have her freedom and reach adulthood. One can but try, I guess.

Lemme out!

There has to be a way to freedom

Guinea fowl in guinea pig pen...

Bo Leap...