Wild-Goose Chase

     This week has been a little more adventuresome, including a "Wiley Coyote chase," so I found it difficult to be concise.  I couldn't just "cut to the chase" like I said I would try to do.

     First a little history about the saying "wild-goose chase." 
Phrase Finder said-

"Our current use of the phrase alludes to an undertaking which will probably prove to be fruitless - and it's hard to imagine anything more doomed to failure than an attempt to catch a wild goose by chasing after it.  This phrase is old and appears to be one of the many phrases introduced to the language by Shakespeare. The first recorded citation is from Romeo and Juliet in 1592.   It's meaning was related not to hunting but to horse racing.  A 'wild goose chase' was a chase in which everyone on horseback tried to follow the erratic course of the lead horse at a set distance, mimicking wild geese flying in formation.  (Sounds fun to me.)  The equine connection was referred to in another early citation, just ten years after Shakespeare -
Nicholas Breton's The Mother's

Blessing, 1602:  "Esteem a horse, according to his pace, But loose no wagers on a wild goose chase."

    
     This photo by Lynne Gerard, shows a Sorraia Mustang stallion that likes to chase birds... such as seagulls, turkey, and geese.  Here he is on a wild goose chase.  I had to throw it in because it ties horses and geese together. :-)
                                                           Saturday morning Joe moved hay
from the loft down to the lower barn and corn crib and he removed four of the straw bales from under the kitchen window.  The Day Lilies that grow there are going to need room to sprout.  A nest of Tiny's eggs was discovered in the front end bucket of the tractor.  I put a regular egg with her six to give you a size comparison.  Looking for her eggs is always a wild-goose chase.

     A little before noon, I went out to help Joe with stalls.  I did the light, weight-bearing work of striping the stalls of their wet shavings.  As Joe dumped my full wheel barrow loads, he also wheeled in new saw dust, coming in from the south side.  The north doors were frozen shut, so we couldn't unload the good shavings through them as usual.  We had to really work to get the tractor, that was pulling the trailer with clean shavings, out of the paddock because it kept getting stuck in the mud.  We both worked up a sweat. Once we finished, I removed my hat and gloves and sat on the back barn steps in the sun with the cats.
                                                      Zorro was quick to come investigate,
with the hopes (a worthless hunt) of a possible hand-out.  Amiga and Roni followed suit.  It was wonderful soaking up the sun while resting and enjoying my animal friends.  We watched two snow-mobiles zoom by along the tracks, and I thought "they better hurry" because the snow was literally melting before my eyes.

     Looking down through the hole in the top of Abbey's tent, looks like an animal in its den hibernating.  She's no dummy.

     Coming home from the Replex late in the afternoon, I noticed the horses on the east side of the water way and recalled the adventure  (problem) we experienced the first winter we had Amiga and Zorro when they got stranded on the wrong side of the ice.  I wondered if I was going to have another "wild-goose chase" (a futile pursuit) trying to get them back across.  Going out at my usual 8pm time (to bring the horses into the barn), only Roni was there waiting.  He was number one into the barn for probably a first time ever.  I got him situated and then walked out through the back pasture to see what the predicament was.  My concerns were realized, Zorro and Amiga were trapped on the other side of the waterway.  It wasn't frozen, so I thought I could just drive them across the water with my voice and arms.  With my first couple steps into the water, I realized their hesitation.  My foot started sinking, and sinking, into the gooey mud under about six inches of water.  And I wasn't sure I would be able to get it out with the boot still on my foot.  Once freed from the mud, I returned to the barn and grabbed 1/3 bail (all I am allowed to carry) of stemy alfalfa hay and walked back out to the horses.  I scattered the hay
                                                      in a two foot strip at the narrowest
section of the water way (about 8 feet across).  It was very dark so I kind of had to feel my way with my boots.  Once to the other side I coaxed Zorro to follow me back across.  After he made it, he trotted back to the barn.  Amiga was still too frightened to give it a try.  So I returned to the barn, put Zorro in his stall, grabbed a halter and lead rope and another 1/3 bale of hay.  I was hoping Amiga might make it across by herself while I was back at the barn, since she was all alone out there. I returned to Amiga and spread the next big chunk of hay over the thin and low spots or where I was still sinking into mud.  She decided to eat the floating "bridge" I had made for her, so I had to force her to get moving across it.  Once she was committed though, she was quick to wade across.  I think she was back to the barn before I made my way back across the grass ford.  I took the above photo Sunday afternoon.

     At 1:30am, Saturday night, I went on a wild-goose chase, hunting for coyote.  (Photo and sound clip from Google)  A bunch of yelping, barking and howling woke me up, and I thought "dang that's close."  I listened for a bit, worried one of my barn cats might be the source of celebration.  I came down stairs and stepped out on the deck as the ruckus continued.  It sounded like they were in the front pasture just north of the house.  It quieted down but then sounded like just one canine in distress and I thought maybe it was caught in the front pasture, unable to get back through the electric fence.  So I got on my cold-weather gear, grabbed a flashlight and my faithful dog.  I unhooked the electric fence and then headed through the gate into the front pasture.  Once Kaysha and I were a third of the way towards Route 150, the yelping stopped.  I continued, making a complete sweep of the fence line.  With the light of a 1/2 moon and my flashlight I was still unable to see any animal or tracks, and I heard no more noise.  Obviously I was not actually trying to catch a coyote, just scare them off.  It occurred to me that maybe one had been hit by a car.  Returning to the house, I hooked the fence back up and proceeded to walk the outside parameter.  I still did not discover any signs of coyotes.

     I took another look for coyote evidence, with the light of day, after Church Sunday.  There were two sets of tracks on the north side of 150, across form our pasture, in the cornfield and ditch.  I could see tracks coming from Brian's and Baker's (The neighbors across from Becks)  One set of tracks actually led up to the highway in the direction of our front pasture, but "disappeared" at the road's edge.  The coyote must have gone along the road where there was no snow.  There were several different trails coming and going across Becks field at different intervals along 150.  I picked up a bag of trash while walking along the ditch so this wild-goose chase was not a complete waste of time.  And I felt like I had a better idea of where the coyotes had been... not near as close as I originally thought.

     Our Growth Group went to Conklin's Barn Dinner Theater for Sunday afternoon brunch and a play.  We enjoyed a huge meal and had a lot of laughs watching "Unnecessary Farce" which was a wild-goose chase with cops and villains. This photo kind of shows the seating and the roof of the cool historic barn. 


     We got home late in the afternoon.


     The barn kitties were sitting on top of the black air-conditioner cover, warming as they caught the remainder of the day's sun rays.


     It was so nice to have sunny skies for a change, but during the evening sunset, the clouds started rolling in.


     Monday morning only had partial cloud coverage, so I was also able to see a beautiful sunrise. 

















     Roni enjoyed his morning hay as usual.  I have moved the flakes to areas on the concrete slab south of the log shed so the horses don't have to stand in mud while they eat, keeps the hay cleaner too.









     I was allowed to go to Water Lilies but only stayed in the water 40 minutes so as not to "soak" the healing tissue of my wrist too long.  It was great to see everyone.  I walked the indoor track, all the while watching it spit snow outside the windows.

      The wind had shifted out of the east and picked up.  The horses were resting on the west side of the log shed with their backs (butts) to the wind.  Because I had heard coyote during the night again, and Brother was no-where to be seen at breakfast time, I decided to take another look, this time out by the railroad tracks.

      During the night, the calling and barking had sounded like it came from along the abandoned tracks towards Becks.  I scooped dog doo first, taking it with me when I went out, southwest from our property.  I discovered all sorts of foot prints and trails in the snow along the railroad tracks.  Some were old and numerous enough to make a path. in photo ->  Others I thought were quite fresh (or recent).  I placed my "no hunting signs" for the coyotes to "read"  by depositing dog poo in various places to mark our territory.  "Posted Keep Out!" 

     Growth Group was cancelled, so we had Dan and Valencia for dinner.  They were headed to the Chicago area after dinner, to take Vale home, so brought Charlie with them.  Um... Charlie is actually his nick name.  His real name is Wheeler because he was found in
                                                     the wheel well of Dan's housemate's. 
jeep.  Dan has corrected me several times, so I will try to comply.... like I have tried to shorten my Blog posts.  Ha ha ha.  Wheeler helped me load the dishwasher before I went out to the barn.  Brother was out there, all playful and friendly, following me as I did my nightly feeding chores.  I was so thankful he was home, especially before the snowstorm was to hit.

     The forecasted snow did not start overnight as predicted.  The birds must have sensed it coming though, because they were up at the crack of dawn, feeding, so the cats were early morning bird watching.

  

     The two felines continue to work out their differences.

 

     Once I made myself cozy at my desk after morning chores, Abbey and Wheeler joined me to bird watch.

     Mid morning Tuesday it started sleeting.  I called for the horses at 11:30 to bring them into the barn so their feet would be dry for the farrier at 1:00.  No wild-goose chase to get them in.  They gladly came to get in out of the sleet.  Roni led the way, but then waited for the other two, because he is always last in the barn.

     By the time Loren left, the wind and snow had really picked up.  I had put the horses back out, but decided it was time to round up the chickens.  They were all in the barn not wanting to go to the coop.  It wasn't quite a wild-goose chase catching them, because I was (eventually) successful. 


     I had put the horses out after their hoof trim, but they looked so miserable, I let them back into the barn an hour later.  We drove the Expedition to the Replex and then later Joe took it to class.  It does a great job in the snow, which was really coming down and blowing.  I went out to the barn right before bed to give the horses each a flake of hay since they had been in for so long. 
                                                          Wednesday morning, I could see
that there had been quite a bit of drifting.  The horses and cows were all reluctant to come out of their respective shelters, but they always go to where I put the morning hay. 

     By 8:30, I had the Expedition in four-wheel drive and had made it out our lane and was headed to Marj's.  

     Marj joined me at the Replex for walking, talking and a little weight lifting.  It resulted in a fun, productive way to catch up with each other. 

     Notice this drift is almost up to the top of the two foot high fence along the front of the garden.

     I walked around after lunch, scouting for cool looking snow drifts and fresh coyote tracks.  Either the coyotes were not crazy enough to be out in the storm, or their tracks were covered by blowing snow, because I saw nothing.

     To the right, you can see that the snow drifted well over the first rope of the electric fence.





     This drift around the west grain bin left a clear walking path for the cows.

     I don't know where Stew kept his head over night, but he didn't have it very well tucked out of the storm. 

      Only a few chickens ever left the coop all day, and they were all back in it by the time I was closing up for the evening, making that job easy.
                                                           Abbey likes to sit on a stool while
I work in the kitchen.  She wasn't so sure about Wheeler doing likewise.  I made a big pot of vegetable, beef, and barley soup; perfect for a winter evening supper.  Dan dropped in after work and took Wheeler (and some leftover soup) back home with him.    

     I did the whole one-hour class of Water Lilies Thursday because it appears to me that my incision is completely healed.  I still need to keep diligent about massaging the scar tissue bumps and doing the stretching and flexing exercises. 

     I took a walk once finished with afternoon chores, and saw the horses on the east side of the back pasture.  So I went to investigate the waterway.  The hay ford I had made was buried in snow but it is the exact spot the horses had found their way across.  I was sinking into mud and water when  I chose the same route, and wondered if it was going to be an issue for them to get back across by evening.












     I checked on the willow tree and it was still standing tall.  Then I had to give each of the horses a hug.  Roni wasn't so sure what I was doing with the camera in my out-stretched hand.

     Turned towards home, you can see that the waterway is full of snow while other areas are bare.  The day's high of 36 made for a good start in melting this latest snowfall.  The paddock is once again a muddy mess.  When I went out at 8pm to put the horses in the barn, I was delighted all three were waiting there in the mud, anxious to come in.

     Today was even warmer with more snow melting.  After Water Lilies and walking, my day was not very productive.  Maybe it's just part of being a Friday... but it shouldn't matter now that I am retired.  I did get in six days of walking this week, going 16 miles, 2 of which were the four different times I was out in the snow looking for coyote tracks.

     I thought the barn kitties looked like book ends in this photo.  Now that the sun is out and the snow is melting, they have been coming out of the barn, snooping around, hunting for whatever they can sink their claws and teeth into.  And I imagine, unlike a wild-goose chase, they are having some success.

      I did mess with Roni (seen here) and Amiga for awhile.  I brushed them both, neither of which were that dirty but both are losing lots of winter hair.






     I walked Roni down the drive and then up Beck's lane.  I let him graze out by the tracks at Becks.  I did spot one single set of coyote tracks.     


     It is cool to watch a horse graze as it works around the grass with its lips and bites off the choice pieces.  Their muzzles are so soft and fuzzy too.










     I only walked as far as the end of the drive with Amiga, but let her graze there until the wind made me too cold.  Both horses did a great job being led around.


      By the time I got Amiga back to the paddock, look to the right photo of what Roni had done to himself.  Trying to keep a horse clean and dry this time of year is a wild-goose chase.

 

     The chickens, and turkey, enjoyed the sun and grass as the snow continued melting away.  We still can't get the north barn doors open because they are still frozen shut.  Joe and I are planning a quiet even at home with popcorn and TV tonight.

     A few times this week I was reminded by others that we are each uniquely made by God.  When walking with Marj and one of the Water Lilies who had taken her a bunch of food for the guys building fence, I commented that I don't take food because cooking isn't my thing, but that I have helped with fencing and stalls.  And she said; "See, God makes us different so we can help in different ways."  Then today, walking with a different Water Lily, I asked her how she kept track of her laps.  She showed me a finger system for counting to 15.  She also told me of someone else's method of carrying 15 pennies and moving one to the opposite pocket each lap.  Then I told her about my water bottle method.  And she said, "Isn't that neat how God has wired us each so differently."   

     Our pursuit of God does not need to be a wild-goose chase.  We should take time to read His word and open our heart to His spirit.  The first photo of this blog post and this last excerpted are from Mark Batterson's book "Wild Goose Chase".

     The Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit that has always intrigued me. They called Him An Geadh-Glas, or “the Wild Goose.” I love the imagery and implications. The name hints at the mysterious nature of the Holy Spirit. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger and an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious at first earshot, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to pursue the Spirit’s leading through life than Wild Goose chase. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something that institutionalized Christianity has missed out on. And I wonder if we have clipped the wings of the Wild Goose and settle for something less—much less—than what God originally intended for us.
     I understand that “wild-goose

chase” typically refers to a purposeless endeavor without a defined destination. But chasing the Wild Goose is different. The promptings of the Holy Spirit can sometimes seem pretty pointless, but rest assured, God is working His plan. And if you chase the Wild Goose, He will take you places you never could have imagined going by paths you never knew existed.
     I don’t know a single Christ follower who hasn’t gotten stressed out over trying to figure out the will of God. We want to solve the mystery of the will of God the way we solve a Sudoku or crossword puzzle. But in my experience, intellectual analysis usually results in spiritual paralysis.
     We try to make God fit within the confines of our cerebral cortex. We try to reduce the will of God to the logical limits of our left brain. But the will of God is neither logical nor linear. It is downright confusing and complicated.
                                                         A part of us feels as if something is spiritually wrong with us when we experience circumstantial uncertainty. But that is precisely what Jesus promised us when we are born of the Spirit and start following Him. Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: adventure.