Roll Call

Today's the day.  Yup.  All the girls have checked in.  Now I'm thinking back to very early winter when none of the girls was laying.  I remember taking in the first one, and then learning how to count all the way to two.  Surely, keeping track of the hens laying records as they were first figuring it all out would make a terrific two-year-old's project:  if you can hold up two fingers, you've got the egg counting thing covered.

Katie, Lena, Nina, Latifah and Nora laying it on the line

But now, now, it takes me both hands, full to overflowing on some days, to bring in their gifts as one of the Things I get to do today.   




"Katie Perry Chicken, thank you, dear. Such a rich shade of tan."

"Miss Nina Simone Chicken, got your work done early today as usual, I see.  Thanks so much.

"Nora Jones Hen, I do say, such a big handsome egg you lay, lovely, just lovely."

"And Queen Latifah Chicken, what do we have here in the nest? Thank you for remembering where to put it this time."

"And my darling, shy, Lena Horne Hen, such a delicate, warm egg you just laid. Thank you, sweet shy one."

Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little

"Cheep, cheep, cheep. Talk a lot, pick-a-little more."  Someone's been eaves dropping in my hen yard.  It's not be a very harmonious song.

Golden Gwyneth

The girls, all six of them, seem to be adjusting (sometime looks like a front-load wash machine)  to the new configuration.  Pecking order is not a figure of speech when it comes to chickens.  Gwyneth, singing constantly with a mezzo Southern br-ah-ah-ah-ah-ck, br-ah-ah-ah-ah-ck, gets to peck everybody (but seldom does).  She is the very benevolent ruler of the cluck-clucks--a true golden girl.

Sweet Katy

Katy (a new hen to the flock) gets an occasional "that's not your place" reminder from Gwyneth.  Her high little f-e-e-e-e-e-p, f-e-e-p, f-e-e-e-p accompanies her intense scratching and foraging.  She pecks Nora when necessary but is usually too busy with her work to be bothered.

Noisy Nora

Nora (also new in the hen pen) seems to want to peck everyone and is frustrated by being third in the  order.  She doubles her efforts, spending a good amount of energy chasing the teenage hens away from food and around the yard.  Just getting her own spot on the roost at night brings forth a full-volume classical cackle usually reserved for the laying of a magnificent egg.

Sly Nina

Husky-voiced Nina is clever and sly, knowing just the right curtsy to slip in with the big girls for treats and how to bow out quickly before being reminded of her lower place.  But she never pecks and is quick enough to avoid the same from others.

Lena and Latifah

Latifah and Lena have spent most of this last week just trying to avoid trouble (Nora).  It's made them so edgy that neither has much to say or sing about.  They even started scrapping with each other. "Pick-a-little, talk-a-little.  CHEEP!"





"Calm the cluck-clucks" is reaching a crescendo on Things I get to do today.  So with my own version of chicken whispering, Nora is quieted, Lena is settled, Katy is calmed.  The roost is cleaned of hostility. Only a gentle br-ah-ah-ck and an echoing f-e-e-e-p lulls them at dusk.  Good night, Ladies.