It was rare that i got a day off when something didn’t need to be built, fixed, or chopped down, but they did happen on occasion. On one such day i spent time with the land that i had come to love so deeply. I realized that the chickens had grown drastically since the last time i stopped to take stock of them.
Ira was looking more and more like a grown rooster. He was starting to sprout long floppy tail feathers. Still no spurs, thank goodness, because he was turning out to be mean and unpredictable and i certainly had to keep an eye on him and have a weapon ready when cleaning the coop, for he would wait until my back was turned and then run up and launch his attack. I wasn’t sure if he was a coward or just smart but he would run underneath the nesting boxes and to the back of the pen before i could launch my counter attack. He was a turd. I was keeping him around for the protection of the hens with the hope that he would mellow with age. Occasionally Ira got the notion that i must die and then i had to fight him off with the chicken coop door as he tried his best to draw blood wherever he could reach. I could not wait until the hens joined this sexually frustrated rooster in puberty. I mean, my God, how i fought the urge to call my coworker down the road and ask her if she wanted a rooster dinner. That sweet little chick i saved was gone and an angsty homicidal teenager stood where he had been.
The hens were huge! I couldn’t believe they weren’t even full grown!
I spent some time in the kitchen cooking some of the produce fedex had delivered.
Finally, i spent some time spying on my dogs; Sili and Cashew. They spent most of their time outdoors lying in the grass, sunbathing and resting their heads on each other. When an animal or a car would come into view they would rise from the grass and give chase; sounding the alarm. Then they would saunter back to their spot and curl up together once more. I loved that they had that relationship, that they had each other and were so bonded. I often got caught up in the stresses of running things and couldn’t bring myself to shower them with the affection i knew i held for them in my heart.