[this took place yesterday - 1-16-2013]
So, is it the first day of my weekend. Being a Zookeeper means that sometimes I have a schedule where I work on the weekends and get weekdays off. I don't mind. Seeing a movie on a Wednesday morning pretty much guarantees my pick of seats in the theater and less of a chance of youngun's in there with me.
But I digress, it is my Saturday and I'm lazing in bed. The sun has just come up. I have a window open and the fresh, cooler morning air is drifting in. A cat sits on the windowsill watching the world. My dogs are snuggled against me, a comforting warmth. A chicken clucks outside...
Wait a minute... a chicken? I roll up onto an eblow to look out and don't see it. Maybe I just imagined chicken sounds as I was lazing in and out of sleep. I'd had a pretty cool dream about Nathan Fillion as Castle and we'd exchanged some very friendly glances (quiver ladies) so I was eager to try and get back to that, but then I heard it again, closer this time, along with rustling leaves. I look again and sure enough...there's a chicken in my front yard.
So, is it the first day of my weekend. Being a Zookeeper means that sometimes I have a schedule where I work on the weekends and get weekdays off. I don't mind. Seeing a movie on a Wednesday morning pretty much guarantees my pick of seats in the theater and less of a chance of youngun's in there with me.
But I digress, it is my Saturday and I'm lazing in bed. The sun has just come up. I have a window open and the fresh, cooler morning air is drifting in. A cat sits on the windowsill watching the world. My dogs are snuggled against me, a comforting warmth. A chicken clucks outside...
Wait a minute... a chicken? I roll up onto an eblow to look out and don't see it. Maybe I just imagined chicken sounds as I was lazing in and out of sleep. I'd had a pretty cool dream about Nathan Fillion as Castle and we'd exchanged some very friendly glances (quiver ladies) so I was eager to try and get back to that, but then I heard it again, closer this time, along with rustling leaves. I look again and sure enough...there's a chicken in my front yard.
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My pets were of course interested and wondering what this thing was wandering through the yard and making a sound none of them may have hear before. Well Duncan and my cats were interested. My chihuahua didn't care.
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Then I see one of the neighborhood cats slinking over. It's trying to be stealthy, but after watching a few moments I get the feeling that this cat is still reliant on the neighbor across the street to feed it. (It ain't catching much of its own food.) By this time I am engrossed in the drama that is about to unfold and get out my phone to video it.
"That chicken is gonna kick your ass." It didn't really do any harm to the cat, but it also didn't get caught. I watch for a few more minutes as the chicken mills around in my yard, for some unknown reason - I don't have a particularly special yard, I don't think, except maybe it is un-mowed, so maybe there are juicier bugs in it. Finally I lay back down, decide I'm awake and get up for the day.
A little later I hear rustling in the front yard again. The cat has tried once again to catch the chicken, and failed, and now it is in my tree.
A little later I hear rustling in the front yard again. The cat has tried once again to catch the chicken, and failed, and now it is in my tree.
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It let me get fairly close, but I let it be. Chicken gotta do, what a chicken gotta do. By this time I have posted a picture of the chicken to Facebook and my unexpectedly bloody friends have clamored for me to catch it and eat it. Geez - here's hoping we don't get trapped together without food, I've a feeling cannibalism is totally on the menu for you guys. Anyway, I go back to my morning activities.
A little later, almost noon, I walk to the back door and let the dogs out into my fenced in yard, like normal. When suddenly, from behind the one big tree in my yard, races a frantic chicken with my 70lb Great Pyrenees-mix right behind it. Duncan almost catches the chicken, but I get his attention and like the awesome dog that he is, he comes to me instead of chasing it further. Daphne, my 7 lb chihuahua begins to approach the chicken and quickly decides this is not a fight she's going to win and comes back to me.
So, now I have the chicken in my fenced-in back yard. It obviously flew a little bit to get into the yard (I'm not sure how it would get in otherwise. I chihuahua-proofed it when I got Daphne, so there aren't any holes in the fenceline.) So it will probably be able to get out, but here it is, on my property, I wonder...did I just acquire a chicken?
A little later, almost noon, I walk to the back door and let the dogs out into my fenced in yard, like normal. When suddenly, from behind the one big tree in my yard, races a frantic chicken with my 70lb Great Pyrenees-mix right behind it. Duncan almost catches the chicken, but I get his attention and like the awesome dog that he is, he comes to me instead of chasing it further. Daphne, my 7 lb chihuahua begins to approach the chicken and quickly decides this is not a fight she's going to win and comes back to me.
So, now I have the chicken in my fenced-in back yard. It obviously flew a little bit to get into the yard (I'm not sure how it would get in otherwise. I chihuahua-proofed it when I got Daphne, so there aren't any holes in the fenceline.) So it will probably be able to get out, but here it is, on my property, I wonder...did I just acquire a chicken?
Then, about 30 minutes later, as I was thinking about the chicken I realized...There's a gate there! I opened it, shooed the chicken out and then closed the gate. Problem solved, my backyard was now 100% chicken-free.
A few hours later I heard a commotion and saw the chicken out front again, it was still just picking through my front yard. The neighborhood cat was laying on the other side of the street, apparently having given up its futile hunt. I watched the chicken for a few more minutes, went inside and didn't see it again the rest of the day.
I had thought the saga over but there was one last coda to this tale. Later in the afternoon, I had a knock at the door. A family was walking the neighborhood and they asked if I had seen three chickens. When I informed them that I had only seen one, they seemed distraught and left my house to continue looking for their lost chickens.
In my mind I thought...there were 3?! Were they on a grand adventure? How did the others get separated? Would they find each other again? Would this have a happy ending! And...I just don't know. It's been a day and I haven't seen or heard them.
They mystery remains in the case of the visiting chicken.
A few hours later I heard a commotion and saw the chicken out front again, it was still just picking through my front yard. The neighborhood cat was laying on the other side of the street, apparently having given up its futile hunt. I watched the chicken for a few more minutes, went inside and didn't see it again the rest of the day.
I had thought the saga over but there was one last coda to this tale. Later in the afternoon, I had a knock at the door. A family was walking the neighborhood and they asked if I had seen three chickens. When I informed them that I had only seen one, they seemed distraught and left my house to continue looking for their lost chickens.
In my mind I thought...there were 3?! Were they on a grand adventure? How did the others get separated? Would they find each other again? Would this have a happy ending! And...I just don't know. It's been a day and I haven't seen or heard them.
They mystery remains in the case of the visiting chicken.
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