A tough month

October has been a tough month at Prairie House. We had a net gain of 1 duck. Molly Mallard stayed, but all the drakes flew away-apparently to the neighbor's pond. We lost King Kong Kat to the highway. We lost 3 chickens-1 for an unknown reason, Tealy due to old age, and Frizzle to a bad dog. No, we didn't get a dog to replace Belle. Visitors brought dogs with them and one decided Frizzle would make a nice snack. She didn't survive the attack. Rascal is failing fast. She is 19 3/4 years old and had a tough start to life. Her mother didn't have any nutrients in her milk, and two of her litter mates died before we realized what the problem was. Rascal and Scruffy were hand fed as a result. Scruffy died on the highway after 15 years of a spoiled life. I was hoping Rascal would make it to 20 years, but it looks doubtful at this time. That is harder to accept than any of the other October departures.