The Usual Suspects

With my son out of town on a hunting trip the duty of caring for the chickens falls to yours truly.  I suppose I should get our local meteorologist's cell number because I can usually predict the weather with ease...you see...every single time I have to spend some time in the chicken coop the weather is extremely wet or extremly freezing.  Yesterday morning it was in the 20s!  So, before I so much as poured the first cup of coffee of the day, I am outside with my pajama pants tucked into my rubber boots feeding the masses.  Imagine my surprise when I opened the lid of the toolbox we use to house all of the feed and discovered my long lost mixing bowl, kitchen knife, and dishwashing gloves...the ones with the leopard design on them (obviously one must look fashionable when scraping the floor of the coop).  Such is the life of a mother of a son.  But, he is not the only borrower  in the house.  In my daughter's room one can find items such as: tweezers, hairspray, fingernail clippers, eyeshadows and fingernail polish....all of the things that at one time originated in my bathroom.  Apparently what is mine is theirs...or rather the chickens in my son's case.  I have deduced that since girls generally don't hang out in the barn with power tools they tend to seek out beauty tools instead.  And when they find them they like to keep them within close proximity in the event that an emergency should arise...such as a stray eyebrow hair or a chipped nail.  I have also deduced that since boys are not huge fans of cleanliness but instead prefer to eat, their favorite place to pilfer is naturally the kitchen.  So, in the end, I have concluded that the crimes were committed in both the bathroom and the kitchen...by Colonel Mustard and Miss Scarlet, a.k.a. my son and my daughter.

The Chicks Dig Justin Bieber

Baby Baby Baby...Ohhh! Bieber fever has reached our coop!  It seems that at least one of our chickens has adopted Justin's famous do.  This rooster can be seen flipping his head up and over to the side in an effort to get his hair...er...comb out of his eyes all day long.  I've even been able to sneak up on him from the right side without him even knowing I'm there.  So far I've only heard him crowing a "normal" crow...but if and when he starts to belt out a tune you can bet I'll bet the first to post it on You Tube! 

Got Calcium?

Just the other day my son brought me a "shell-less" egg.  I had never ever seen anything like it before...I hadn't even heard of such a thing, and yet...there it was.  He told me that it was the third one he had collected over the course of a few weeks.  It turns out it is from some of our younger chickens who are laying for the first time.  I was too chicken to "crack" it open...so we just kept it in the fridge and gently poked it every now and then.  I couldn't help but to wonder "what if?"  What if he had not collected it...could a chick survive in there?  What exactly was in there?  It had the textue and consistency of a saline implant and yet whenever you left it alone it maintained its "egg" shape. 

This got me thinking about our own shells.  Those tough exteriors we hide behind.  When really we are just all mushy on the inside.  We still maintain who we are when no one is making jabs at us.  We are able to just "be."  But all too often we don't let others see that softer side of us.  So afraid of being labeled a "chicken" we allow our shells to get harder and harder...until one day...we crack.  And that's when it all comes out.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.  We literally drain ourselves of all that was meant to be.  So, instead of worrying about what others might think of us...our time would be better spent if we made sure our shells were a little more translucent and soft...enabling not only others to see through to us, but allowing us to see through to them.  Note:  I have a shell of my own and while I certainly don't want it to harden any more than necessary...I am going to be drinking a ton of milk just to be on the safe side!