They are everywhere. Well, they were everywhere--now they're in our freezer. Cornish Cross Broilers. We recently raised and butchered 150 of these massive white chickens. I'm not a real football person, but they remind me of the guys who run over everybody else--tackles, I think. When they're hungry (and they're always hungry), they appear as a white swirling sea. They are not terribly bright, and they're not terribly afraid of electric poultry netting, either. Imagine walking toward their pen, feed bucket in hand, and seeing this horde rushing toward you, their combined weight allowing them to merely walk over the electrified fence. A bit frightening... But, as I say, they are now appearing (one at a time) deliciously roasted on our dinner table. A happy ending.
On to smaller poultry--Here's a very cute photo (taken by our oldest daughter) of one of our youngest daughter's new bantam chicks (notice the baby peeking out from under the mom). They are exceedingly cute, being so tiny and so active. When they're not hiding out under Mom (aka Cinnamon), they're riding on her back or scratching in the grass.
There are many wonderful things about living on a farm--and more wonderful things, I think, about growing up on a farm. It's a delight to watch plants & animals grow, to learn where the expression "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched" really comes from, to know that, though the pig is for eating, we'll give him the best care/food we can while he's here, to realize that when Peter heard the cock crow, it was, indeed, VERY early in the morning. Life here is very real, very immediate and very full.
