5.11.2009

Do You Hear What I Hear?

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

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!

35 comments:

  1. Oh, that Stephani. That picture warmed me right down to my cockle-doodle-doos.

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  2. Oh Pat!! Have a great farm life, buddy.

    And that Stef? She's the best.

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  3. Poor Pat. I suspect we might have a male infiltrate in our midst here. And of course it's my fave...
    Jeff built me a pull up bar for Mother's Day and I said "wouldn't it be awesome if all the chickens roosted on it?". But if they can get up their, they can get in the garden.
    Happy belated momma day to you. You do know, of course, you are one of my favorite mamas...

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  4. What a wonderful story! I got a new cell phone this week and guess what ring tone I uploaded...
    Ar-er-rooo
    Ar-er-roooo
    Now I'll think of Pat every time my phone rings!!

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  5. Oh, I love that, "Pat"! The stories are priceless, indeed.

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  6. Oh, I feel for you! I was out in the early morning hours last week cleaning up after some rascally raccoons when I heard what sounded like a dying chicken in our coop. Turns out we have a pubescent rooster in our flock as well... Unfortunately, his name is "Sunflower." Poor guy.

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  7. AnonymousMay 11, 2009

    oh my gosh, that is two funny chicken stories. I knew right away when you started the first story that Pat was going to be a rooster.

    if you are up for one more story... yesterday our dog was lying on the deck half asleep which at 15 years old she is almost always sleeping. Well, one of the chickens walked right over the top of her and while doing so pooped on our dog. The kids laughed so hard. Of course, this is all going on during our dinner.

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  8. Love the story. The pictures are perfect!

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  9. Tammie TMay 11, 2009

    Thank for the inspiration. I want chickens, though we live in a HOA. We are going to try them out. I love your stories . .. Thank you

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  10. Poor Pat! I'm still hoping my girls are girls (fingers crossed).

    I LOVE the swingin' chickens! That's awesome! Looks like you have the beginnings of a children's book.

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  11. That is too funny! Love Stefani's drawing of your dream. Awesome!

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  12. I noticed his little swagger when we were out there last time. Sneaky little guy.

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  13. Oh my... we ended up with TWO roosters mixed in with our baker's dozen of laying hens, and our story began one morning at 5:30 am...when our newborn was FINALLY asleep.

    Our roosters were named Stew and Fricassee that morning...

    (Okay, they're still alive, but I'm pretty sure our vegetarian neighbors are going to eat them soon ;-)

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  14. Did anyone else NOT see this coming????

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  15. Oh, so my children aren't the only ones who take their chickens for swing rides? Around here it's the bucket swing and the tire swing, and the hens really don't seem to appreciate it!

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  16. I love chicken stories. They are so funny! Sorry one of your girls was a boy instead. We've had quite the male scene here with 2 roosters. My older guy, Rodney, gets so upset when my new 5 month old rooster "gets with the program" with one of Rodney's girls. He chases him all over. The funniest part is my young rooster is now twice as big as little old Rodney but still runs from him. Dork...

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  17. Every time I read one of your chicken posts I get just a little less scared of chickens.

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  18. ain't nothing like a "teenage" rooster-learning to crow...so funny. We have a chick that we have re-named "stew" we don't want any roosters :o- Oh how wrong I want to be about that one :o)

    ~simply~

    love the swinging chickens...sounds like a kids book title to me? hammmmm

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  19. That is just way too cute to handle. And this, coming from someone who is scared witless of chickens.

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  20. Oh, too funny!! & ah, those chicken /rooster stories! Have you ever read Leslie Silko's 'Delicacy & Strength of Lace'? Such a good book, a correspondence with another poet that 'took off' after the sharing of a rooster story!!

    I've tagged you (over at Vestella's Vale)

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  21. Ahh, I am relieved to know that I am not alone in my chicken dreams!

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  22. Pat! Can I just say how much I love that you named that creature Pat?
    And Stef is the best! Love that drawing.

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  23. Oh, yay! I was looking forward to seeing Stefani's drawings of your swinging chickens. So cute!!

    I wish you would have kept Pat around for a bit longer - I wanted to hear him ;) But I'm glad he found a new home.

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  24. I was just telling someone yesterday that you had questioned Pat. Except I couldn't remember her/his name. Pat. That's right. Too funny. I had to go get Chris and have him read this post. I'm still laughing.

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  25. AnonymousMay 13, 2009

    Oh, Pat. Dear Pat. I was running the other day past a house that I never knew had chickens, or perhaps didn't have chickens until this year. and at that very moment, I heard that sound too. I'm guessing they took him back too, because I haven't heard it since.

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  26. Our little chick we hatched is called Marble... hoping against all hope that it was a hen, cos we only had 2 hens and Cedric our cockeral, but alas Marble is also a cockeral... but we just cant bring ourselves to get rid of him....after all, he was our first hatched :).... so now we have 2 hens Janet and Mabel and 2 cockerals Cedric and Marble... they seem fine with life though in my little back garden..

    What a great drawing..

    x

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  27. ps..... my message alert on my mobile phone is a crowing cockeral... its funny to see peoples faces when it goes off whilst in a shop lol.... I just look around inociently lol...

    x

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  28. I love that picture of Stephani's! How wonderful to have friend draw your dreams! Our version of Pat was Spot. We knew he was different from the start, but somehow I never suspected just how different. That first squawky crow is so memorable! I love you chicken tales!

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  29. LOL. That is so funny Molly! And yes you will certainly gather many chicken stories as time passes. I have almost as many photos of my chickens as I do my kids! Well...almost, but you get my picture.

    Love the illustration too!

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  30. Hey!!! Speaking of Chickens... I totally found Farr's the other day. Now I will never forget where it is located! Time to schedule another trip out and I promise promise promise that we will go to Farr's!!!!! (Nothing to do with chickens, but anyway)

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  31. Those pictures are wonderful!
    I'm fighting city hall to allow chickens in my city...wish they'd hurry up and vote yes already!

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  32. Hooray for chicken stories and chicken dreams and sweet little chicken drawings!!

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  33. AnonymousMay 16, 2009

    i'm sure if they could, they would. wind ruffling their pretty feathers.

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  34. Hi,

    I've just stumbled upon your blog and your chicken stories. We have hens, and I am familiar with that rooster suspicion! Very lucky to have found him a home. Lucky, happy Pat.

    I too have chicken dreams...they are almost always about having hoards of chickens. The last one was that strange chickens were sneaking into our coop and laying extra eggs. When I looked for the culprits, I found kittens.

    Jenny

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  35. Aww, lucky Pat going to live on a farm...
    Aren't their first crows funny, coming out halfway before they can fully let it all out!
    The drawing is so excellent!

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