How to have the life scared out of you....

At this very moment, 4:01 Am I am still furious at the evil person who came onto our ranch yesterday while I was in school.....It all started at a little after 5 AM when John called and we spoke of the day ahead. He informed me that "you should not go to school as you are too ill" I said I had to go as it was a big info day and that the whole reason for this course was for this day alone...Everything else would be bonus info....My sisters son was sick ( the sis from Spain ) and my mom and I both ended up with the worst bug either one of us have had in a long time.. My mom looked so bad when I delivered some kitty meds that I thought she should be in hospital...

Well I did my morning chores and feed the babies. I have a habit of looping the extra chains through the by-pass gates when we leave for anytime what so ever... Anyway all is well for security purposes and I get ready and leave dragging my sorry ill body off to school....I arrive after what seemed a very long drive (12 miles) and barely stay awake with wet cold compress on my neck.. Well info is great thank God there was printed materials as I took few notes. All I can think of is to get home, feed and go to bed...

I get to the two way stop that is on our corner and do a head count, like I do each time I go away or come back... I think that I must be really too sick and should not driving as I do not see anything it the pasture that is usually full of spring loaded young jumping Alpacas, a lone sheep and two pygmy goats chasing one another around from dawn to dusk....I am STOPPED AND THERE IS AN EMPTY PASTURE!!!!! What in the hell is going on? I look for hubbies rig thinking he may have come home to take care of the babies while I stayed in bed..NOPE!!!My next fear and thought is someone has taken them... I park outside the main gate, still seeing none of them, the horses are in the paddocks, chickens, check, cats, check. I walk in a sick daze trying to figure out how they got out and where they are.... The man gate that we have is wide open, hotwire is across and hooked but the GATE IS WIDE OPEN!!! I find the loose herd on the opposite side of our property by the fence where the four cows live...Across the creek...I know after the last two attemps to rodeo these guys up is not a job that one can do alone...And I am ill with temp of 102 degrees....I call Liz, not home then Sara nope...I call Kira and she is driving just a mile away heading to go feed her horse...In a few minutes she is in front of me and I am grateful for her young smiling face....I retrieve a bucket full of the beloved grain and try to entice them to follow me while she is in the rear herding them towards the still opened gate that they should be behind.. I am praying to God that this will not take hours and that I will be in bed as soon as this chaos is over and done with...Well to my relief we have them in and safe in a matter of TEN MINUTES!!!! Kira is now my HERO and I have but to feed each mouth and slip into bed right after I speak to hubby about how this all happened..

I wonder over to the boys building a house that is backing our property and question them as to how long the Alpacas had been out and if they had seen anyone...The one guy informs me of a visitor,a male who knocked on the door and was there for sometime...I thank them and get the rig in the driveway ( it is still outside the gate) and open the door grab phone and lay down while I fad fast into sleep... I awake to the phone ringing...I give John the 411 on the chaos and that I will be visiting hardware store as soon as possible to get FOUR LOCKS!!!!After my description it hits him whom it might have been...I inform my hubby that he will have to make the call as my mouth has no control over my fury at this moment. It is ugly and I am in no condition to speak to anyone other than him and Liz ( my animal buddy)

As of this moment I have added a piece of hotwire to the gate and a ground wire to the other end!!! Yes folks the whole damn gate is one large electrified warning sign not to even try... I have a small plastic milk crate that I can stand on and open it without knocking myself with 7000 joles!!! I will keep this up until we have a lock ...In the mean time the danger sign on the gate should be warning enough.... It is not my intention to hurt anyone, but lets face it the priority on our ranch is first and foremost the welfare of our ANIMALS!! PERIOD!!! There is not exception to this...My husband has made it clear from day one that if the animals are not able to be provided for (very well) and have a safe place for them to live then we will not have them. We have both worked very hard to make a secure place for each and everyone...We will spend our money and time on them before ourselves....So when yesterday happened we made yet another choice to take the security one step further. Which we had hoped we would not have to do...Nothing could have prepared me for the sight of an empty pasture.. I am happy to do the steps that (to me) seem extreme but clearly necessary at this point.