Quote for the Day 6/26/2009
Hiromi (referring to the guineas we were watching eat grain from below the bird feeders) : I think they're vegetarians.
Both before and after that, they had displayed a disturbing unawareness of all the baby grasshoppers leaping out of their way as they walked carefully around the yard.
Then I remembered my mother describing to me how the one guinea they still had when we moved here had accompanied her one day to the flower garden during one of her daily walks through the garden. Mom spied a very large grasshopper on a stem, and hoped the guinea would find it.
The guinea happened by the same spot, and stood and stared for a minute at the grasshopper on the stalk, then pecked swiftly at it and devoured it. I'm thinking maybe guineas are better at seeing insects when they are holding still than when they are on the move. If so, I hope they figure out really quickly how grasshoppers look when they're holding still.
The guineas seem quite tame, and, so far, they and the dog seem to be coexisting peaceably. Well, sort of. We spied Max in mid-chase the other evening, and rushed out to scold him. That is, Hiromi rushed out. I opened the kitchen window and yelled at Max. Hiromi tied him to give the guineas some peace and give Max an opportunity to ponder his sins. Since then we've seen them together with Max making no move to chase them.
On the evening we let the guineas out for the first time, we had decided to do so when we could be there to watch. In my mind, part of the plan was to be very purposeful about directing them toward the veggie garden where many grasshoppers awaited. After doing some work in the house, I went to join Hiromi in the garden, expecting to be on hand to help when the guineas were let out. To my surprise, the guineas were free when I arrived, and Hiromi was watching them alright. That's all he was doing. They crossed in a leisurely fashion from one side of the garden to the other, went through the fence, and meandered toward the hog barn. Then they started circling back toward the garden, but the dog, who was tied at the time, chose that moment to whine and protest loudly, so the guineas stopped abruptly and headed toward the nether regions of the farmstead. We didn't see them again for two days. When they reappeared, one was missing. We've seen only two together since then. But they're keeping close to the yard and gardens most of the time.
I've heard guinea tales about Myron and Ilene's experience since we've had our guineas. Ilene used to love her guineas, but not of late. They had somehow become very destructive in the garden, and she decided she had to get rid of the guineas if she was to have any garden at all. They tried in vain to catch them. So she finally sicced her young sons on them with their guns. But when she saw the guineas dead, she couldn't stand the waste, and quickly gathered them and dressed them. After all, meat is expensive, and with many mouths to feed, she couldn't afford to miss the opportunity for free meat. Then she tried to cook the meat till it was soft. That didn't go so well. All in all, she considers the guinea chapter of their lives history.
I take it that guineas have not read all the literature that says they are insect eaters--not plant eaters. At the very least, I plan to follow Janette Ferguson's advice (author of Gardening with Guineas) who says that if you don't want them to eat things from your garden, never give them scraps from the garden to eat. They'll soon figure out how to bypass the middleman and harvest their own garden goodies.
I think all pets and farm animals live in something of a no-man's-land between wildness and domestication, a reminder that we have only limited ability to alter to our liking that which God has created and declared good. By turns, we observe and intervene, and, either way, life is more interesting because man and plants are not alone on the earth. I'm glad to share this space with animals--except for grasshoppers and tomato worms in the garden, and snakes in the basement, and mosquitoes everywhere . . . . At least I like the idea of having animals around me. And when they're a pain, then I'm glad for the wisdom God gives to know how to deal with them--or how to let one animal deal with another, as is hopefully the case with guineas and grasshoppers.
Both before and after that, they had displayed a disturbing unawareness of all the baby grasshoppers leaping out of their way as they walked carefully around the yard.
Then I remembered my mother describing to me how the one guinea they still had when we moved here had accompanied her one day to the flower garden during one of her daily walks through the garden. Mom spied a very large grasshopper on a stem, and hoped the guinea would find it.
The guinea happened by the same spot, and stood and stared for a minute at the grasshopper on the stalk, then pecked swiftly at it and devoured it. I'm thinking maybe guineas are better at seeing insects when they are holding still than when they are on the move. If so, I hope they figure out really quickly how grasshoppers look when they're holding still.
The guineas seem quite tame, and, so far, they and the dog seem to be coexisting peaceably. Well, sort of. We spied Max in mid-chase the other evening, and rushed out to scold him. That is, Hiromi rushed out. I opened the kitchen window and yelled at Max. Hiromi tied him to give the guineas some peace and give Max an opportunity to ponder his sins. Since then we've seen them together with Max making no move to chase them.
On the evening we let the guineas out for the first time, we had decided to do so when we could be there to watch. In my mind, part of the plan was to be very purposeful about directing them toward the veggie garden where many grasshoppers awaited. After doing some work in the house, I went to join Hiromi in the garden, expecting to be on hand to help when the guineas were let out. To my surprise, the guineas were free when I arrived, and Hiromi was watching them alright. That's all he was doing. They crossed in a leisurely fashion from one side of the garden to the other, went through the fence, and meandered toward the hog barn. Then they started circling back toward the garden, but the dog, who was tied at the time, chose that moment to whine and protest loudly, so the guineas stopped abruptly and headed toward the nether regions of the farmstead. We didn't see them again for two days. When they reappeared, one was missing. We've seen only two together since then. But they're keeping close to the yard and gardens most of the time.
I've heard guinea tales about Myron and Ilene's experience since we've had our guineas. Ilene used to love her guineas, but not of late. They had somehow become very destructive in the garden, and she decided she had to get rid of the guineas if she was to have any garden at all. They tried in vain to catch them. So she finally sicced her young sons on them with their guns. But when she saw the guineas dead, she couldn't stand the waste, and quickly gathered them and dressed them. After all, meat is expensive, and with many mouths to feed, she couldn't afford to miss the opportunity for free meat. Then she tried to cook the meat till it was soft. That didn't go so well. All in all, she considers the guinea chapter of their lives history.
I take it that guineas have not read all the literature that says they are insect eaters--not plant eaters. At the very least, I plan to follow Janette Ferguson's advice (author of Gardening with Guineas) who says that if you don't want them to eat things from your garden, never give them scraps from the garden to eat. They'll soon figure out how to bypass the middleman and harvest their own garden goodies.
I think all pets and farm animals live in something of a no-man's-land between wildness and domestication, a reminder that we have only limited ability to alter to our liking that which God has created and declared good. By turns, we observe and intervene, and, either way, life is more interesting because man and plants are not alone on the earth. I'm glad to share this space with animals--except for grasshoppers and tomato worms in the garden, and snakes in the basement, and mosquitoes everywhere . . . . At least I like the idea of having animals around me. And when they're a pain, then I'm glad for the wisdom God gives to know how to deal with them--or how to let one animal deal with another, as is hopefully the case with guineas and grasshoppers.
posted by Mrs. I at
3:23 PM
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