The Accidental Farmer is going on hiatus for an indefinite amount of time - probably until spring. Predators have pretty much decimated the flock (newest suspect: coyotes - yes, there are coyotes in Northeast Ohio), and while my impulse right now is to get out of the chicken hobby, by spring I may decide I need to send off for some chicks from McMurray's and start rebuilding. The break will also give me the chance to figure out if I want to keep the chooks in the barn, or build a dedicated coop.

There's some other things afoot as well: a dog may be in our future - and even though he's neutered, the fact that we've got one around heisting his leg on upright structures, it may be enough to keep the coyotes at bay. And be a threat to annoying things like possums, raccoons, and rats.

One more story before I go dark for a while. My daughter is looking to breed her goats once more so the kids are the right age for show when the fair rolls around at the end of next summer. Early this week, one of her does came into heat, so we took it to the owner of the buck that did the honors last time.

The doe didn't want to go, didn't want to go in the holding pen, but we got her in. The buck, which was separated from the doe by a wall, was thrilled to see her. He stood up on a wall and stuck his head out of a small gap between the wall and ceiling, staring at her and bleating and sticking his tongue out to taste the air (uh... right).

The next day we got a call. The deed was done. Thinking wow, that was fast, my daughter and I went to pick up Ebbie the doe.

And Ebbie didn't want to leave. When we got there, she was standing on her hind legs, stretching her neck up at the buck's peeking head, wagging her tail furiously.

That must have been some, uh, skilled buck.

So by spring I'll know if I'm up for round two of chickens. At this point I'm thinking not.

But boy, do I ever miss those fresh eggs...