A Normal Day

by

#12 Chase animals

This summer my parents spent a month in the village with Rachel and me. One day, in the middle of lunch, my dad and I had to go rescue a goat who was caught by his horns in the fence. He didn’t appreciate it very much. Not my dad–the goat. Although we were trying to help, he was sure we were intent on strangling him. That day my dad told me that I should write about how I spend my time out here, including dealing with farm animals.

Chasing a pig who took Rachel’s woven bag and escaped with it

While this isn’t a major time commitment or anything, it is a snippet of life on a “ranch,” as the people here would say. We have to sometimes leave our desk, or our company, or our project, to chase animals away, assisted by our enthusiastic dog, barking her head off.

Our dog isn’t always this chill. Sometimes she’s provoked to anger by visiting farm animals.

We work on our fence, so that our chickens can’t get out, but then have to chase them back in when they manage to fly over. Chasing chickens was never on my life’s goals list and time and experience has not made me an expert.

A neighbor helped us mow our grass by tying his horse inside our fence.

We deal with goats’ lack of spatial awareness, and donkeys eating our laundry off the fence, and other peoples’ dogs in our trash pit, and horses trying to reach the plants over the fence, and cows wandering by (another thing which our pup doesn’t take quietly). We sometimes even get to do a little veterinary first aid for the community. When the plane is scheduled to arrive, we have to arrive early and chase animals away from the area.

We don’t always just “chase” animals away. Sometimes we end their visit completely, like we did for this rattler.

We live in a farming community, so all of this is inevitable. We have also learned the cultural acceptability of dealing with other people’s livestock. Like, for example, if your dog attacks a neighbor’s pig on the road the pig should have been smart enough to get out of the way sooner. Too bad for him and for his owner. But if a friend’s chicken squeezes into your fence, then it’s up to you to pay for that chicken once it is dangling from your dog’s mouth. Who knew?

Oh well, at least it keeps life interesting.

Sometimes the animals lend us a hand, like this donkey who took our luggage up the steep path to the airstrip.
At work in our chicken area. These guys are free-range and organic, FYI.

Comments

  1. As I have been reading your ‘normal day ‘ blogs I was thinking atsome point you could write an interesting book on missionary life. In your spare time of course!