Let’s get something straight right out the outset: this post is about an adventure but I do not like adventures. One thing I don’t like about them is that they always start with me having to wear my harnesses and my leash. Is a torture session an adventure? Not unless you are really warped. So the title of this post is Melly’s idea. I would have titled it, “Poor capybara tormented by owner,” or something like that.
Okay, let me set another thing straight: this adventure really took place in one of the back pastures and not in the backyard at all, but, as I said above, Melly made up the title to this post. You can see in the photo above that this is not my safe backyard with my pool and my chickens. This is outside the gate and beyond the fence, where anything can happen and I have to wear my stupid leash. It’s pretty wild out there, you never know what you might find. I always hope to find another capybara but I haven’t found any yet.
There is another fence behind the fence to my yard and behind that fence is yet another fence. Melly says that the other side of that fence is still our property but she has never taken me out there. Sometimes in the early, early morning before dawn I hear coyotes howling. I think they are back there. Even though they only howl when it’s dark, I’m pretty sure they can still get you in the daylight.
The coyotes don’t kill Buzz because he is way bigger than them. It almost makes me feel safe to be near him except I think he might step on me. Accidentally or on purpose, I don’t know and I don’t want to find out.
This is why Melly brought me out here, to see this grass. You’ll recall that in my Mud Therapy post I said that the ground in the back pasture was barren. Well, Melly has actually been watering it instead of relying on the non-existent rain and some grass has come up. She grew that grass for me so I feel kind-of special. She doesn’t let the horses in there at all. It looks like a reasonable amount of grass for a capybara but about five minutes worth for a horse.
The first thing I did was try to roll in the mud but, even though there is a hose right there and hoses are the fountainhead of all mud, there really wasn’t any mud to roll in. Melly said that if she let me roll out here when it was muddy that it would kill the grass. That grass has to be babied because there’s not much of it and it is just baby grass.
I guess the least I could do was taste that grass since Melly went to all that trouble. I walked over to where Rick was, which is probably the safest place in that wilderness, and took a nibble. Not bad. Actually, pretty tasty.
Melly says that eating grass is good for my teeth, that it could keep my teeth from getting sharp points that need to be filed off. I think I might be able to add grass as a part of my regular menu. The flavor kind of grows on you.
After about five minutes, it was time to go.
In the photo above you can see what the pasture looks like outside of where Melly waters it. There’s nothing growing there that I can eat. The horses can’t even eat that stuff. Melly and I heard on the news yesterday that this year is the first time in more than 100 years that Austin (and probably Buda) hasn’t gotten any rain in the whole month of November.
Afterward I went swimming in my pool. I am sure glad humans know how to store up water in swimming pools because if I had to rely on the rain I would be a very, very unhappy capy.
Oh, and good news on the health front! The dentist looked at my xrays and said he doesn’t think they’ll have to pull any of my teeth! I need to stay on the antibiotics for awhile and hopefully I can wait until Dr. Hoppes gets back before my next trimming…but that is all it will be, a trimming! I am so happy I could almost let Melly hug me!