Leisha I. like to stay extremely grounded, practical and logical. But every so often, life out here throws something at you, and you just stop and think: What on earth is going on? Homesteading has its share of stories. Sometimes you just cannot make these things up.
If you’ve been following along, you’ll remember the dead cow, the vultures and the dogs. (I’ll link that whole saga at the end.) That one taught me something I already suspected: Nature is always in control, and she will have her way. Sometimes we are called to participate, and sometimes we are stretched to the limits of angst and frustration. But you have to go with the flow.
Did you know that dogs are one of the biggest causes of community and neighborhood issues? Not just here, but all over the world. It’s a proven fact. And anyone who has dogs will know this: one dog is a companion, two dogs can be trouble, and three dogs is a pack, a completely different entity.
Back to “everything comes in threes”… Nanny, my nanny, always said “things come in threes”. She is right!
One: the bull
Today a cow came running down the road. Actually, a bull. For about ten minutes, three Ecuadorian men had been out on the road, cackling and making funny noises. They were chasing the bull, yelling and screaming, and the bull was not happy about it.
Apparently he decided that being chased by three grown men was quite enough. He was angry, and an angry bull is not good. So he literally jumped my fence and landed right inside my property.
I’ve dealt with cows before and know how to corral them. I saw the bull running down my driveway, darting back and forth and snorting. So I grabbed my broom, because usually you can wave it around, make some noise, rah-rah, yaha, and they’ll move along. Cows are generally pretty peaceful creatures.
This one was not feeling peaceful at all. The Ecuadorian men were screaming at me, “Danger, danger!” So I grabbed my dogs and held them tight, knowing this was not a pleasant situation and the bull was very angry.
Now picture it. I’ve got Rambo and Clara with me, and I’m hanging onto both dogs because they are very interested in this situation. I know perfectly well that if I let go, all hell breaks loose. Meanwhile, three men I’ve never met are running around my yard shouting “danger,” and they themselves seem scared. This is a wild bull, and he is furious.
But the bull wasn’t my biggest worry. My biggest worry was this: how did a bull get into my property? Because if a bull can get in, can my dogs get out? Remember the pack. Mine need to stay contained, because a pack of dogs can be troublesome too.
So there I sat, holding my excited dogs and watching three men try to lasso an angry bull in my yard. And honestly, I felt a little sorry for him, the bull. I have no idea what his story is. I just know he had three men chasing him, and he wanted nothing to do with any of them.
They finally got him out, and I realized there was no hole in my fence. The crafty bull had jumped my gate in his angst. We were all safe, for the moment.
Okay. Fine. Bull gone. Crisis over. Whew! Breathe!
Two: the duck
With that over with, I set out to do the evening chores and feed the chickens. Pink, the female duck, always follows me (flies, actually) to get her evening meal. She normally roosts on the chicken house roof, waiting for me to throw the feed.
She has recently learned to fly quite well, to avoid Floyd, the randy, bravo male who is relentless. Tonight she swooped in but missed the roof and landed on top of the chicken gate instead. So there I was, trying to open the gate with Pink hissing at me.
The first thing I always do is put my kitchen compost and daily weeds into the chicken area so the chickens are distracted. But with Pink on top of the gate, it was hard to throw the compost. As I opened the gate, Floyd, overly excited to see Pink, decided this was the perfect moment to waddle into the coop. At the very same moment, one of the chickens decided it was the perfect moment to walk out.
So now I had a chicken out and a duck in. About 25 chickens suddenly agreed that Floyd must die. And my dogs wanted to help and were getting excited.
They went absolutely crazy, the chickens and the dogs. The chickens surrounded Floyd in a frenzy of attack and were trying to beat the living daylights out of this poor duck. The dogs were excited about the chicken on the outside, and I didn’t know where to be. I was screaming at chickens and dogs alike.
Fortunately, Floyd seems to have a bigger brain than several of the chickens combined. He actually knew where the gate was. With a fair amount of shouting, waving and coaxing, I got him moving toward the exit.
Floyd got out and is safe. Great. Okay.
Three: the chicken
I still had a chicken on the loose, and I had two dogs beside me who were now extremely excited by the evening’s entertainment. Rambo thinks he’s a pit bull, but he’s actually a complete scaredy-cat. He was raised by Clara, the pit bull.
And Clara genuinely wants to help me, but she is often a hindrance and sometimes even dangerous. In her enthusiasm to “help,” she can hurt something without meaning to, and she has done it before. So I was frantic.
So picture me going round and round the chicken coop in the dark. I’m trying to steer this escaped hen toward the door, staying on the opposite side so she moves the right way. I’m trying to open the door at exactly the right moment. I’m keeping Clara behind me. And I’m watching Rambo, in case tonight is the night he discovers his inner wolf.
Eventually, everybody ended up where they belonged. Bull out. Duck out. Chicken in. Dogs still with me. Holy Galomy, what a night!
Nanny was right
Standing there in the dark, catching my breath, I suddenly remembered my Irish grandmother. All through my childhood my Mom would tell me “Nanny always said everything comes in threes.” Truth be told, I feel like I’ve been getting my threes almost every day this past week.
But somehow, in the middle of bulls jumping fences, ducks invading chicken coops, chickens making a break for it, dogs losing their minds, and me running around in the dark waving my arms at various animals, I still feel very blessed.
Well, Nanny, you were right. I got my three today.
Missed the dead cow, the vultures and the dogs? Read that story here https://www.livinground.org/2026/10/07/the-cleanup-crew-arrives/.
