Living in the middle of nature is just great. It's like feeling connected to the environment, to be one with nature, feeling whole. It's an experience I've been searching for for all of my life and I could recommend it to anyone. Life just takes a different pace, a much slower one. And I daresay a more satisfying one. Sometimes I reproach some of the mountain folk around here that they're not grasping this at all. When they see a tree, they think about "stove". When they see a deer, they think about "shooting it". It's so terribly wrong. They should appreciate a bit more how fortunate they are that they can live here instead of nagging all the time about their petty little problems.
But sometimes, nature can be cruel as well. Two days ago, late afternoon, we lost our cockerel, two of our three hens and one of our little chicks to a fox. It all happened in a flash. Normally when they're in some sort of distress our hens shout very loudly and in a way that leaves no reason for doubt that they're in trouble. Not this time. They're capable of flying onto our roof, 6m high. But again, not this time. All that was left was a bunch of feathers and the corpse of one of our hens which the fox hadn't been able to take with it in time. Christine and I were devastated. We already lost all of the hens Christine had driven from Belgium to a fox in September, after they'd been here for only six days. This time we thought we'd do better and we always kept our hens under strict surveillance. But even that was not enough. The only thing we can still try is building a strong fence and keep the hens within the enclosure. It's something we were reluctant to do because our hens were so happy because they could walk about as they pleased. Perhaps we were too naive about this and it was only a matter of time before we had to pay the price for it.
Anyway, that's that. We're not angry at the fox at all. It's got cubs to feed too and it's a very useful animal, no matter what some stupid people may say. Our attitude towards them hasn't changed a bit. It was our own fault. Later in the evening, the devious fox even walked straight past the big window of our living room and even looked inside. It's got such a cute muzzle and friendly eyes that one may wonder how such an animal can be this cruel. Then again, the same can be said about our cats as well when they return home with a mouse, lizzard, bird or even rabbit. Sometimes even still alive, just to have something to play with. It's just the way nature is. We humans should be a bit more humble and finally admit that we can't change it, and the times we did try always ended in disaster. We should rather become a part of it again. But try to explain that to most part of the world...
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