Do You Hear What I Hear?

Yesterday morning I awoke to a strange, new sound.

At first I wondered if one of the kids had a new toy.

Then I wondered if my neighbor had bought outdoor speakers and was broadcasting rooster calls (this thought only crossed my mind because he had teased about doing just that).

When I realized George was already up, I thought perhaps he was out in the back, calling to the chickens.

Of course all of this wondering and thinking was pure denial. I knew exactly what I had heard the moment I heard it. I just didn't want it to be what I knew it was.



Pat. Sweet, dear Pat. We had our suspicions about you (hence the name Pat). Your comb developed so much earlier than the rest of the flock. You weren't quite as plump in the rear. You were starting to strut ever so slightly. Then Sunday morning, at 7 AM, Mother Nature revealed the truth. I was spying on you from the corner of the house. You stretched your neck out and said,

Ar-er-rooo.
Ar-er-rooo.

The hens ran back into the hen house upon hearing your very first declarations of male dominance. Oh what power you possess over those females, not to mention the power you have to wake up the neighborhood.

So you had to go, back to the feed store from whence you came. Lucky you, though, someone wanted a rooster, and within ten minutes you were headed to a new home. Going to live on a farm. Living my dream, simply because you said "ar-er-roooo".

I'm beginning to believe that chicken farmers are bound to collect just as many chicken stories as eggs.

Are you up for another one?

When the chickens were about a month old, I had a dream that one of our chickens was swinging on the kid's swing set. Back and forth, back and forth, holding onto the chain with it's little chicken wings. I told the kids about my dream, and then of course they started putting chickens on the swing set to make my dream come true.

One afternoon I was explaining all of this to my neighbor, Marjorie, when she saw the kids trying to push a poor little chick on the swing. I told her that I wished I could draw a picture of my dream. It was just so cute. She said, "You should tell Stefani - maybe she'll draw a picture for you."

So I told Miss Blue Yonder about my dream. And that sweetheart from Texas made my dream come true.



Those are some happy chickens. You're the best Stefani!