Full of Surprises

This is Audrey. Well … this is MY back and Audrey’s head … in the bathroom sink. Audrey has been sitting on a dozen+ eggs for three weeks. Two days ago was her 21st day – and time to start listening for peeping new chicks. I noticed one yesterday – and could hear another today. So I left her to her new duties until later this afternoon.

When I went in later to have a peek I noticed one terrifically BAD smell coming from her nesting box. I discovered her middle name should perhaps be ‘Latrine’! After pulling out three big scoops of foul smelling diarrhea from under her butt I realized this was going to require a more serious clean up. So into the house we went – nesting box and all. Audrey was visibly relieved to find herself in a warm bath. (Me … not so much …!) While I tended to Audrey, Edie checked out the nest. This is not a pretty picture – but it was taken after much mess had been cleared out. There were two healthy chicks – one poor thing that didn’t make it – and one egg that was clearly being chipped away at by another. We had to clean it off some. It was clearly caught in the ‘line of fire’.

When I got Audrey resettled in her brooding pen I headed for the Goat Cafe. I’m going to need to give it a good clear out again soon. As I came in the door …

… something about the water bucket caught my eye.

That toad was looking like she’d already taken on too much water. How the heck did it end up there?

I fished her out and set her down to dry. The goats didn’t seem to notice she had been floating in their water. I closed the door to let her find her way to where ever her normal haunt is.

Half an hour later she was still making up her mind. She’s quite beautiful, isn’t she? I took her out to the hillside and sat her in a good sandy spot. I think I will see if she is still hanging around tomorrow. I read about how to make a ‘toad house’ this evening using a clay pot laid on its side in good sandy soil. I might set one up in our front garden. That would be a safe place for her. And apparently they do a great job of eating lots of insects. I wonder if I’ll be able to find her …

If tomorrow is anything like today … there will be a number of surprises in the offing. 😉