Boo! A ghostly white dog glowing in the beam of a flashlight seems an appropriate image for a post made on Halloween, doesn't it? Especially since a Windigo is an angry spirit creature summoned by cannibalism. Yikes. I can't think about spooky things before I venture out into the dark to check on all my creatures though. We don't have electricity in the coops and animal barn, so Wendi and I roam the dark by headlamp making sure everyone is comfortable before we go to bed.
I like to glance behind me at the comforting glow of the windows in the house, but I'm also aware of how alone our little house looks in the dark on nights with no moon. There are no neighbors porch lights or street lamps to help me keep my baring, and rarely does a car pass down the road with a streak of light. There are thousands of twinkling stars in the big sky.
We make our way to the mobile chicken coop that's parked in the garden, first. The coop has reflectors along the bottom which gleam in the beam from my headlamp.
Wendigo usually sniffs along the perimeter while I go through the garden fence to check on the flock and close their door. I'm used to seeing her giant white body show up in my peripheral vision now, but she can still give me start when she pops out from behind a dark obstruction. She's whiter than any other object on the farm and her eyes glow green in a flashlight beam until she looks away and then there's a flash of red in her eyes. Spooky!
The chickens and guineas are all tucked away for the night, and I do a quick head count by color to make sure everyone one is accounted for. I've noticed that the mamma chicken and the mamma guinea sleep side by side with their chicks against their bodies. Goodnight chickens.
All of the animals stare at me from their beds with blank expressions at night. I talk to them sometimes so they know it's me, but I can tell that they can't see my face. At least they know that the night creature with glowing head that stops by each night isn't a threat, and they don't bother getting up.
Rufus lays in his stall with his backside near the goats and his face looking out toward the open pasture. The goats snuggle in their hay against the gate by the donkey and under their lean-to shelter. Goodnight Rufus. Goodnight Goats.
This rooster casts a cool shadow. I can make cool shadows too!
Look out chickens, it's a giant lama rabbit trying to pinch your heads! Aah!... Chickens have no sense of humor after dark.
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