Greetings from a Chicken

Here is a funny story...although not nearly as funny to tell as it was to experience:
On any typical day after arriving home from work I am greeted by our two silly mut dogs! They stand stretching upwards toward the top of the gate, tongues wagging in an attempt to be the first to say "HELLO" to me!
They knock each other down and out of the way, this always makes walking up those first three steps toward the door enjoyable. You know you will always be loved if you have a dog! Even if the rest of the world should yearn to hate you~your dog will inevitably be there to give you a kiss and say I love you!
So yesterday I pull in the driveway and exit my car as usual making my way toward the side toward, the steps, and the dogs gate. I don't see the usual hopping and laughing that usually greets me which I thought odd, as I draw closer I can hear a cluck and bawk bawk. I head up the steps and over to the gate to see what's going on and who is standing there waiting for me ...Salt of course!
She is clucking along coming closer to the gate to get my attention~clearly she was hoping and praying i would have a small morsel to offer her. I was sad that I didn't have a chicken snack in my purse (but honestly how could i ever have guessed?). I said hello and entered into the house....and there I was greeted by my three sillly puppies!
Ah, its good to be home!

The Funniest Chickens You Ever Did Meet

So I may have mentioned at some point in this blog that chickens have far more personality then I think I would have ever guessed. They are actually quite humorous and can get as excited as a dog when they see you coming.
<--This happens to be Salt, she is the one year old Plymouth Rock Hen who is settling in so well here at Farm Webster you would think we hatched her ourselves. (we didn't!)
Salt is particularly excitable when she sees any of us coming near
in fact it makes cooping her up at night difficult.
We wait for the chickens to head for their run at night before shutting the door...but what is happening is they hear our feet steps coming and they come running back out! I am trying to offer them as much freedom as possible so, when I go out to coop them I will retreat back to the house and wait for them to head back in. At this point I often send one of the kids because my patient is fleeting the older I get.
So recently the chickens have taken to coming on the deck,
more often when we are present. They come up, cluck around and
then usually fly back off. Initially I was shooshing them back off as there are a couple pots of veggies growing and I was fearful the chickens would make a quick snack of them.
After a few days of this game I decide to let them be, they didn't seem all that interested in the veggies anyway (odd considering they have all but destroyed everything below the deck).
What is interesting...I believe they are there to visit, not eat. As we sit around the table on the deck the chickens move in close and lay down. Usually Salt leads the pack and Pepper and Little Red

are quick to follow. Laying out their wings and closing their eyes. They are completely comfortable with us, with the dogs, and the cats! It's a site I could not have imagined in a thousand years!
I told John "i think we have the strangest chickens in the world" to which he refuted "how many chickens do you know?". He's right, I don't know alot of chickens....but I know us. I know we have a tendency toward the strange and unusual in our house and I find
it incredibly entertaining to know that our chickens would rather

spend their free time sitting with us at the table then eating bugs in the yard. To the left you can see the dogs and chickens enjoying a snack of stale potato chips together. Everyone gets along well. Even Milly our "goat chasing dog" has no interest in catching a chicken and maneuvers around the chickens without so much as a blink of the eye in their direction.
Yesterday I noted Remi playing with Bella, jumping off the deck and realizing mid-air that he was about 2 seconds from landing on one of the chickens. How he managed to spring his body forward and miss landing on them I will never know...but I could tell by his movement that he was looking out for his chicken friends. He seems to love them as much as he loves Stanley his cat. He is careful to not step on them, he watches them in the yard and when they get away from each other he rounds them back up.
I often sit on the deck and watch everyone "grazing" in the yard together...wishing....if only everything in life was this simple!

Meeting Milly...Part 1: The Wait

So on July 11, 2009 we thought we would kill some time by standing in line in North Haven for a whopping TWO AND A HALF HOURS for a chance to see the more than 400 cats, kittens, dogs and puppies who traveled from the kill shelters of the deep south to Connecticut in hopes of finding a new forever home! It was John's big idea to attend the event, even though I was sure the two dogs we currently owned were more than plenty.
After dusting off "Linda" and heading down the highway of life on our latest adventure we arrive in North Haven rather quickly. We find a parking spot in a flash and not far from where we spotted "the tent". The tent which housed all the animals that brought us here. After exiting the vehicle we realize that we are looking at the end of a line. Quickly we realize the end of that line is where we need to be. ARE YOU F'ing KIDDING ME?
Normally I wouldn't wait in a line this long for anything....not even for food if i hadn't eat in days! It was hot out, but honestly the breeze made it comfortable so the need to complain was quickly erased and I knew John wanted to be here so I bit my tongue about my anxiety and the need to run from this ridiculous line.
It was that kind of line where everyone is in a hurry to get to their destination now so they feel the need to stand REALLY close to the person in front of them, hoping this will teleport them to the front of the line...WHICH AS WE ALL KNOW IS NOT THE CASE!
After the first hour I was still holding my composure, yet talked very little for fear of accidentally engaging any nearby people into unnecessary conversation. Knowing it was going to be a long wait seems to prompt some people to get comfy with their neighbors quickly and they feel that insatiable need to make conversation...why are you here? how old are your kids, where are you from? how long have you been waiting?! or worse than questions...they want to tell you about themselves...and quite honestly, I don't really care to hear it (please excuse my candor but I was hear to look at dogs, not hear your life story and how many, what breed, and etc dogs you have owned)~
Anyway, my husband is a much nicer candidate for small talk than I am so I let him handle the dirty work as I stare endlessly at my feet, picking at the kids, quietly shooshing them to prevent any onlookers from judging their behavior and my ability to
do my job as a mom...because at the end of the day, that's really what its about. Isn't it?
By the end of the second hour and a bottle of water later I was growing VERY tired of being in that line, looking ahead I could tell there was approximately 40 to 50 people in front of us (most of which were families and would go into the tent toghether). I approximated our wait time at no more than 40 minutes...it was at this point..however I grew more anxious than I had been over 2 hours ago! I wanted to do an about-face and get the hell out of there. Our line neighbors were closer than ever and at this point his wife and granddaughter have joined him making my current conditions more uncomfortable. The more they inched up my back the more I felt the need to inch up on the couple in front of me~ even though i knew this would only cause the ass behind us to inch in closer causing me to be boxed in more than ever... PLEASE HELP ME I COULD SCREAM RIGHT NOW!!
I'm not claustrophobic but I do have a certain criteria for my personal space, and basically if you are not my husband, a good friend or family, or one of my children
you need to be a good foot from my body! I continue to stare at my feet and (more often) ahead in line just hoping to make it through this with every bit of my sanity intact.
AT LAST! We make it to the table...the table where you hand in your application, the table where the lady lets you by, the table of joy...our destination awaits... almost. We can glimpse some kittens just beyond the table inside the tent and we marvel at their cuteness, acting as if we have never before seen a kitten.
At this point in my story, if your just wishing I would GET TO THE POINT...then I have done my job in making you feel exactly how excrutiatingly impatient I was by the time we finally reached THE TABLE...

Me Me Meeeeeeeeee

borrowed from samantha

1. I’ve come to realize that my chest-size. . . is irrelevant to anything life has to offer
2. I’ve come to realize that my job. . . means I have to find something decent to wear
3. I’ve come to realize that when I’m driving. . . that I will swear ALOT.
4. I’ve come to realize that I need. . .my family probably more than my family needs me.
5. I’ve come that realize that I have lost. . .a little bit of myself along the way
6. I’ve come to realize that I hate it when. . .people close their minds (and dont reduce, reuse, or recycle)
7. I’ve come to realize that if I’m drunk. . .i remember who i was and grab some water!
8. I’ve come to realize that money. . . cannot buy happiness, but being able to pay the bills certainly helps with stress levels.
9. I’ve come to realize that certain people. . .will never change and realize how narrow and shallow minded they really are
10. I’ve come to realize that I’ll always. . . get by

11. I’ve come to realize that my sibling(s). . .is my best friend and probably knows more about me than anyone else in the world

12. I’ve come to realize that my mom. . . .will always be there for me no matter what.

13. I’ve come to realize that my cell phone. . .is a piece of junk but still works so i think it will do just fine.
14. I’ve come to realize that when I woke up this morning. . .i hit the snooze button then got out of bed anyway...why waste time sleeping
15. I’ve come to realize that last night before I went to sleep. . . I was satisfied with life
16. I’ve come to realize that right now I am thinking. . .the crotch of my pants is too short and I'm going to be irritated by it all day long.
17. I’ve come to realize that my dad. . .should swallow his pride and realize that his house is too big for him and my mom
18. I’ve come to realize that when I get on Facebook. . . its usually to look at pictures or send a message
19. I’ve come to realize that today. . . . is Monday and not my most favorite day of the week

20. I’ve come to realize that tonight. . .I will probably complain because the house is a mess, but then do nothing to fix it.

21. I’ve come to realize that tomorrow. . . is Tuesday and there is nothing great about Tuesday
22. I’ve come to realize that I really want to. . .stop thinking about death so much, its beginning to consume me and I am starting to wonder if there is something wrong with me
23. I’ve come to realize that the person mostly likely to repost this is. . . no one, sam already did it
24. I’ve come to realize that life. . . . is fleeting and I always feel like I'm waiting for someone to die~I can't stand it

25. I’ve come to realize that this weekend. . .was beautiful, the weather was great, i got to be with my family and my dogs and I really couldn't ask for more
26. I’ve realized the best music to listen to when I am upset. . .usually enhances my mood, but that's why I listen to it. then I get out of my funk faster
27. I’ve come to realize that my friends. . .are always going to be secondary to my family and it makes me feel bad that I'm not a better friend
28. I’ve come to realize that this year. . .That my kids are getting older and its ok for me to get back to who I was and let loose more and enjoy my husband more.

29. I’ve come to realize that my exes. . . . Idk, i dont think about them

30. I’ve come to realize that maybe I should. . . . probably go to morning meeting right now, but this is more fun

31. I’ve come to realize that I love. . . my family a ridiculous amount
32. I’ve come to realize that I don’t understand. . .alot of things
33. I’ve come to realize my past. . . .is my past and I dont really talk about it that much

34. I’ve come to realize that parties. . . .can be fun even when i'm not falling down drunk and stupid

35. I’ve come to realize that I’m totally terrified. . . my kids will die and i will not ok with that at all.

36. I’ve come to realize that my life. . .is not something I own or control..each day is a gift.