War on Squirrels

War

Off rid journey takes a turn.
Roads have narrow parts. Vehicles coming down hill
backs up to allow the struggling a way.
Start with pastoral ideas of turning weed acres into garden.
In plans I drew the compost and hugelkultur beds on the lower acre,
a bit removed from the main house.

After a month of machete, then dig and
pull the heat of summer takes most of the invasive, alien and
not native weeds to dust. They will, like Schwarzenegger
in the Terminator,"be back..." in the spring.

I have two chicken coops. One I remade it into Fort Knox.
I also prepared a "play yard." for the baby chicks. The play pen is an
old dog run with four foot high chain link. This I fortified with chicken
wire and galvanized one inch wire mesh from sides and top. I was thinking
that the only daytime predators were hawks, owls and perhaps the eight
Great Pyrenees who guard the ranch below (they enjoy a wander romp,
coming to my house for treats and to chew up hoses. Don't get me wrong,
Great Pyrenees are bred as guardians but these pups might step on the
pullets.
After nursing babies in warming lights and washing bottoms. I'm mother hen.
I hadn't planned on grey squirrels. I trapped mice and rats but squirrels were not
in the plans. Bunnies- yes - but not squirrels, until yesterday.
Ground squirrels (grey ones)  kill chickens for territory or sport.
This I read after the murder of three month old chicks.
Murderous rodents.

War on squirrels begins.
Sound the fireworks. Load my 22, and the sling shot.
No pass on this road up.
For those who want to comment.
Don't say you feed squirrels peanuts.
Posted below images of other projects
to distract you from furry tails.
succulent coffee table below
and using old copper sheeting as
succulent planters.
The copper will turn verdigris soon.
In discussion with my sister Nori yesterday I
spoke about my home made craft projects.
I'm always making things to give away as presents
Last Christmas maybe you received a herb candle in
a wine bottle or a herb wreath? Pretty things take
twenty some hours to make. Perhaps this year it
will be sunflower seed wreaths or sun dried tomatoes?
See how sweet my tone turned I didn't say a
fur trimmed sweater.

Caroline Gerardo Copyright July 10, 2016 story poetry images are not released 

for any use

ECO TERRORIST

Rand Green saw his farm go dry. His ancestors survived five generations of hardship, but nothing like the Great Drought. First, there was water rationing. Only those who maintain their rights to underground wells, lakes or river runoff could produce food or keep livestock. Collecting rainwater was outlawed.

By 2022, McNally’s MME Corporation successfully purchased most of the riparian rights in the American West. MME systematically re-routed all the river water with their new dam. Other dams stopped generating hydroelectric power because of the water shortages. The New Macon Dam owned by MME remains operational.

If Rand doesn’t stop McNally, the President of MME, he believes there will be famine and wildfires that release enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Rand packs tools, rations, automatic weapons and his family into the Bobcat, leaving behind the red baby swing on the clothesline.

“We will avenge the displaced.”                                                                  

Rand is raises his lean arm to brush the dust out of his eldest son’s hair.

“Listen children,” Rand reads from Isaiah 24:4 - 6

“The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
    The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
    Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.”

Excerpt from novel in progress ECO TERRORIST

copyright © Caroline Gerardo 2013