Chickens

This might sound hopelessly backwoods to those of you from hip and/or cool places like California. But, chickens are entertaining. Maybe not Batman Begins entertaining. But certainly more fun than a long list of other flicks I have paid money for, e.g. Pirates of the Caribbean II. To illustrate, I threw a banana peel in the yard. Three chickens and two dogs ran to the peel and halted in a circle around the peel staring each other down over the coveted peel. Most gave in and wandered off, leaving a Rhode Island Red hen and a Terrier mutt to duel. The hen darted forward suddenly, grabbing at the peel to run off with it. She didn't get a good hold, so had to abandon her prize in order to avoid the jaws of death/Murphy. So Murphy scooped up the peel, tasted it, dropped it, and wandered off. The remaining dog and three chickens then took turns inspecting the peel before it was forgotten by all. Okay, maybe you had to be there. But just imagine throwing a prized toy to a group of mute five year olds and you have some vague notion of what it looks like when you throw a fat juicy beetle to a group of chickens.

Chickens aren't just funny, of course. They are useful. My chickens, for example, are guard chickens. They keep my home safe from invading hordes of bugs. They even killed a snake once. It was a harmless garden snake, but I took it as a demonstration of competence for the task assigned. Like a security guard demonstrating he can shoot at a moving target. Hens also lay eggs. I know there are white, egg-shaped products sold cheaply at many stores. But it just isn't the same. Specifically, those egg-shapped products have yellow yolks. When did we all get the idea that yolks are yellow? Real yolks are a lovely orange color. They have lots of fat and flavor. And they come from my entertaining guard hens.