Skip to main content

our new alarm clock

Last week I woke up around 5:30am to a chicken making strange noises not far from our bedroom window. I said something to Bobby about it, and he replied, "No, that's a goose." So I'm trying to distinguish exactly what I'm hearing when Freckles races down the ramp, barking full force. Then we distinctly hear the cry of a chicken. So I get up, head to the bathroom window as quickly as I can, and see a fox standing on TOP of the privacy fence, over the chicken pen. I went outside in my pajamas and the fox went off the other side of the fence. I quickly let the one hen in the pen out, and started looking for the second one. I couldn't find her. And then I saw the feathers...two huge piles all around the little hen house. I felt sick, but there was nothing I could do. So about an hour later, I heard the cries of a chicken, and run back outside thinking we're losing our last hen. Instead, the rooster is trying to mate a nearly bald hen. She was alive!!! Evidently Freckles interrupted the fox's attack. So since that night, both hens have been roosting in the garage (we have an open garage), refusing to go into the hen house, and the last few nights the rooster has joined them there. And when he crows in the morning, it reverberates.  Last night, something made him crow not long after they made their perch. I went outside to see what was going on, and the dumb thing was responding to its own echo. (Ever since they cleared the woods for the elementary school, there's been a very distinct echo on our curve of the road.) We do have some friends who will be helping us make a roof for the pen before we gut the house and rebuild. I will be glad when that day gets here!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

things we do for love

Saturday we had a baby shower for Bobby's niece. As I was making the mints, Bobby asked what else was on the menu. After I recited off the litany of items, he responded with "No peanut butter?! This shower is for Hannah! What's she going to eat?" (Hannah has had stomach problems over the years and has been unable to tolerate many foods, but peanut butter has been her staple.) Despite my assurances that she would enjoy the foods we were having, he was adamant that I needed to make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the shower. Even though I protested that NOBODY took that to a shower, he persisted, and informed me I could make them dainty with my little cutter. And so I did. To my surprise all but 3 were eaten. Who'd a thunk it?

perspectives

A few years ago after a Bible study a lot of the group continued to sit and talk and simply relax. One of the ladies felt like she was being mistreated by her boss. She was always given extra tasks or asked to assume responsibilities that no one else was asked to do. She felt it was unfair. As she was listing off some of the extras (she worked in a cafe for a plant), I was in flashback mode. My last year of college I was a shift manager at a fast food place. One of my many duties was to ensure that certain cleaning jobs (extra duties) was assigned and done properly. We were inspected by company headquarters once a quarter, and 3 of their 4 visits was ALWAYS a surprise visit. When I handed out those extra assignments, I had three things in mind: Who will do this job without making a bigger mess? Who can quickly do this job so we don't impede serving customers? Who will do this without the most drama? In essence, I wanted the best person for the job. Use the teenager who griped and c...

fun...funny houses

 We saw the above house in Pittsboro while on our way to the mountains. It was the strangest house I've ever seen. Evidently this isn't a modification, for Bobby remembers thinking it funny as a child. Evidently a governor lived here at one point. I think the sign said it's now a Masonic lodge. And if seeing one funny house wasn't enough, the latest issue of This Old House had a link to their website that had several galleries of funny (or strange houses). Here's my favorites from their collection:   Szymbark , Poland  This just makes me laugh, and I would love to visit this house in person. Created by a designer who wanted to demonstrate "wrong-doings against humanity".  Visitors have stood in line for as long as 6 hours to tour the house, and many come out feeling "sea-sick".     Kalambaka, Greece... This 1,000 foot cliff drop has housed monastaries since the 11th century. Six of them are open to the public, " assuming, of course, th...