~~~ The Lone Ranger ~~~

I let the guineas out into the fenced area yesterday to peck around for a little while. Shadow had followed me , as he does each day , I turned the guineas out and went to the field to play with Shadow.

I was throwing a stick for Shadow to fetch , when 3 of the guineas decided to fly out. Shadow got excited and chased them. 1 guinea ran and flew over some steel my Dh has stacked up , it burrowed under some ivy and honey suckle vines and leaves , I could only see a few tail feathers. I got to Shadow , before he got the guinea and took him to the basement.

I went back to round everyone up , the burrowed guinea was gone , I thought , I figured he had returned to the coop. But when I returned to the coop , (The Lone Ranger) was pacing around the fence , trying to get back in. The third guinea had flown back into the pen , but one was still missing. I got the guineas back in the coop and went to look for the missing guinea. I couldn't find it , I knew it wouldn't stray very far from the others , so I waited hoping it would come out. The Lone Ranger guinea kept flying up onto the coop and sit there clucking and raising a ruckus , boy they are noisy when scared. After awhile I decided I would go back to the house and check on them later , maybe it would come out of hiding. As I headed back to the house , I checked the spot he was burrowed in earlier , after closer inspection , I saw it. The guinea was completely burrowed down under the leaves and vines , so I went to the house and waited for it to come out.

I did a few chores and went back out to check on them. I was going to catch it and put it back in the coop , it was still in the same spot but was about to come out , I could see its head peeping out. As I approached the guinea , it took off running out to the field were my Dh has 2 old trucks sitting , it was gone again and I couldn't find it. The Lone Ranger , whom I suspect might be the alpha male in the flock , kept flying up onto the fencing and coop , but he wouldn't fly down into the fenced area.

So I went back to the house after awhile , I kept an eye out from the back porch , waiting for the second one to come out of hiding. I went out around 2:30 and saw a hawk flying near the coop , I think he had spotted The Lone Ranger , so I needed to get him back in the coop. Dh said I should leave the gate open , maybe he would go back in that way , can't believe I didn't think of that. I opened the gate and walked around the fence , hoping he would go into the open gate , it worked like a charm. I shooed him a little and he went into the coop , the Lone Ranger was safe at last.

There was still no sight of the other fleeing guinea , so we went back to the house. I thought it would probably come out around dusk , so about 5:00 I went back out and sure enough it was pacing around the fenced area , but when it saw me approaching , it took off running again , but it didn't hide this time. I left the gate open , but it didn't work for this guinea. I finally opened the coop and the other guineas came out , the other guinea walked right in , to the flock. I shooed them back into the coop and locked them up for the night. Everyone was safe , I was happy.

I need to break Shadow from chasing them , I've got a training job ahead of me , but I'm hopeful I can break him from chasing them. I really wasn't expecting them to fly out , will be better prepared the next time.

I did this little folk art painting this weekend , it is my favorite photo of Shadow , from 2008 . He was playing with Curious J's tire swing , pulling the rope and swinging it. I'm going to frame it and hang it in the Grands room. I haven't painted a picture in a long time , it was relaxing and felt good to create some art.

Well , I haven't had much to say in the last week , but now I've wrote a book (LOL). I've got alot to do today , so I need to get off the computer. Hope your weekend was wonderful , full of adventure or simple Happiness.

~ Many Blessings ~

JoyceAnn