A Scream at Midnight

         I've heard several times from some of the old timers that a bobcat screams at midnight. I know that we have bobcats in our woods. Last year Tim had one come by his tree stand while he was hunting. But I'd never heard one scream at midnight until last night. Well, it was actually 11:54 But close enough. I was in a sound sleep and it woke me up like a shot. You know that feeling when your heart is pounding in your ears and the goosebumps are standing up on your arms? Yeah, that was me last night. In the fall of the year, I don't close the barn up tight at night because I want my animals to grow good, thick coats. I want them to feel that chill and do what nature tells them to do.  The windows are open and the top of the Dutch door is open. I never worry about anything getting in there because I have Kaloyan, our Karakachan, in with all of the animals. Within a split second of the scream, I could hear Kaloyan barking like a madman. The coyotes have been really close lately, so he has been a little on edge anyway. I grabbed a flashlight and went out to the barn. Everyone had that sleepy look about them and you could tell they were wondering what I was doing there that time of night. I took a quick head count and calmed Kaloyan down, telling him what a good job he was doing and headed back to bed. I will be trying my hand at trapping this year and a bobcat is certainly on my list.
         In other news, we have a new face in the crowd. Tim has a new colt. Drifter moved in a few days ago. Luke is thrilled to have a buddy. So far, Drifter has been kept in the barn until he forgets about his mama, so he and Luke have been getting aquainted through the windows.  In a few days we'll be able to turn him out in the pasture. We also have a baby llama coming at the end of next month. We are excited to get her here and start working with her. I'm also looking forward to spinning her fiber. I've heard such wonderful things about it. We have twenty new chicks growing in the brooder, getting ready to replace our old girls. The does are all bred back for January freshening. The garden is winding down. I'm canning potatoes this week and still a few hot and sweet peppers. We need to dig some horseradish before the ground freezes.  We also need to cut more firewood. And so on and so on....it never ends around here. I feel like we never get caught up. I guess that's life on a farm. Happy Fall wherever you are!!