Remember the scary sound the giant made in the story,
Jack and the Beanstalk? Well, there are no giants around the old barn, but I had a Fee! Fi! Fo! Fum! moment yesterday when I stepped into it yesterday.
Sultanna, the lowest member in the herd pecking order, was the only horse outside when I drove down the lane leading to the old barn. Abby was inside with the others, and so I pulled aside the heavy wooden door and entered.
Fee! Fi! Fo! Fum!! The horses and I were not the only ones in the barn! There were two large, freshly dug holes in the dirt of the barn aisle.
I stopped right in my tracks. I did NOT want an encounter with a panicked wild animal in the closed confines of the barn.
Who made the holes? Raccoons? I did not think so. They can be found in barns, but they don't dig holes - they live in the hay or make dens tucked into things that are stored in the barn.
Possums? They don't dig holes, either, although they, too, can be found in barns. (Or in my garage. That was a surprise early one morning!)
I settled on the idea that we had foxes in the barn - we had had a pair last year that lived close by and had a litter of kits, and they do dig holes. Perhaps they had decided to move into the barn this year?
Meanwhile, Abby was nickering at me, anxious to see what I had brought for her to munch. I did not want to step over those holes to get to her, so I went outside and whistled for her to come. Always eager for a visit and her treats (although not necessarily in that order) she came outside and ambled over to say hello.
After I got into my car, I sent Tim the photos, although I was pretty sure he already knew about the holes. He did, and had another guess, one that I had not considered. He thinks we have skunks! Yikes!
If Tim is correct, then I am doubly glad that I did not hang out in the old barn any longer than I did!
