One Stolen Car & A Vigilante Rooster
Stolen car in pond, rooster refuses to apologize…details at 11. I can see the headline now.
I Hope No One Went In
Our farm is in a lovely quiet area in Chatham County. We don't get much excitement, usually. Last November, we noticed our farm mailbox was missing and had been replaced with some serious skid marks toward, but not into, our roadside pond. We shrugged and replaced the mailbox joking "I hope no one went in!" Paul filed a report and that was it. Until last week.
Taco Time
Paul received a call from a sheriff's deputy that they had a tip about a stolen car - in our pond. The deputy had already come out unannounced to investigate when we weren't there. But Taco was. The deputy was curiously poking around the house, looking in windows for signs of life when he rounded the corner and found himself toe to toe with our rooster, Taco. Being a wise country deputy, the officer assessed the situation and high tailed it back to his car - with Taco in hot pursuit. Good Taco. I mean, it could have been a robber! Taco's a chicken; he doesn't know law enforcement. Heck, around the farm, he IS law enforcement.
The deputy called to inform us both of the illegal parking job in the pond and his encounter with Mr. Cock- a-doodle-not-on-my-watch. We apologized profusely for Taco's lack of hospitality. But the deputy was quite good natured about the whole thing. (Although I think Taco may now have a file somewhere in Chatham County.)
A Sinking Feeling
Based on an anonymous tip, the sheriff's department believed a stolen car was hidden in our pond. The deputy notified us that he was bringing a crew and going fishing. They sent an emergency response team first to scan the pond for credible evidence. They initially used sonar from a boat and were able to confirm the vehicle's submerged location. Our neighbors had to be loving this activity surrounding the new folks in town.
Fast forward to Monday when the weather was warm enough to send divers out to begin recovery. The amazing teams from NC Highway Patrol and the Chatham County Emergency Response, brought out 2 inflatable boats, 2 divers, a wrecker, and a 4th of July worth of flashing lights to shut down the road. Hello neighbors.
Running on Empty
It took about 30 minutes for the wrecker to slowly haul the prize from the pond depths. We, of course, had the whole family on hand for the event. As the car surfaced, we couldn't believe our eyes. We had no idea the pond was deep enough to hide a car, let alone swallow it completely. Despite my high hopes, there was no cartoon moment of the door opening to a wave of fish and pond water spilling out. But there was good news - the car was empty, meaning unoccupied. One deputy carefully examined all the seats and even the trunk before giving me a smile and thumbs up. Whew! (The kids were there.)
Apparently the unskilled driver failed to obey the stop sign across the street and had a little too much inertia to make the sudden lefthand turn. The unexpected water landing did some serious damage to the front hood but must have left the drive intact. Fortunately she (as we would later learn) had time to wade or swim to safety before gravity claimed the car entirely.
Rooster Tales
With an air of optimism, 14 year-old Spaghetti announced that the car didn't look totaled. Really? There's no amount of Febreeze getting out 4 months worth of stink from pond water marinade. Yuck.
In the end, the sheriff's department hauled off the vehicle for evidence - we assume - certainly not for repair. The officers and emergency personnel were extremely professional and courteous to us and our property (despite the inauspicious welcome). But much to our disappointment they couldn't divulge much of the investigation details. To this day, we don't really know what happened - although maybe Taco does. He's bound to know a host of tales we don't.
Just Follow the Signs
A vocal passerby yelled, "Hey, put a barrier in front of that pond!" Let's just slow down and obey the big red stop sign across the road. Because in Chatham County if the sheriff doesn't catch you speeders, a pond, or vigilante rooster just might.
Update 2018
UPDATE 2018: Taco served our farm well for several years, terrorizing the unsuspecting and innocent shins of farmers everywhere. He was a nuisance to those cleaning the chicken coop (namely me) but held a place of respect on our farm. He was a tough old guy with a serious look in his eyes.
He developed a foot infection which I faithfully treated by soaking twice daily. Taco and I developed a truce as he seemed to understand that I was trying to help. And I learned that he seemed to enjoy Tetris and the occasional popsicle video as I passed the foot-soaking time on my phone.
Sadly, we lost Taco to a predator who he clearly fought to the death successfully protecting his flock. Such is life on the farm - a series of endings and new beginnings. After displaying such valiance for his flock, we buried Taco (with full honors) below a prominent, stately oak overlooking the farm where he will continue to keep watch. I will miss him (but my shins feel a bit differently).