A View of Our Farm
We are very blessed to live on a small farm that sits in the middle of a small Texas Town-many animals have been a part of our farm-goats, donkeys, one large White Turkey who acted like she could help my dear husband build anything he worked on! It was strange to watch as he would start a project and within minutes, our turkey "Henrietta" would show up, stand next to my husband as if to say "Well, I need a hammer too!" A day came and we noticed our Turkey was gone-probably grabbed by a stray dog during the night and we still miss that Silly Turkey to this day.
Chickens have proven to be the easiest guests here at our farm-they don't require much care, just enough feed and water- and the chance to get outside in the late afternoon so they can roam around our farm, scratching for bugs we can't see and as the night starts to arrive, they seem to know its time to go back into their Pen with no signal from us.
Yet I must admit, Chickens do have one bad Habit-it seems they take great delight in getting around flowers, shrubs-and can scratch a giant pile of mulch covering the plant, making a mess that feels like you have to start over and put the plant back together. We have added many new plants to our yard recently and to say its been a Struggle, well thats putting it lightly! Let's see, We buy Plants, Husband tries to dig in Dry Ground, Sound of Tractor starting up, sudden scream of Husband, letting me know "My Thumb is Broke, Get me to the Doctor, Fast!" End result being, one broken thumb-needing surgery , both of us having to sit and Watch as a group of men got all the plants in the ground and we saw our New Rock Cross come to life- all of it costing more money than we planned to spend!
My husband has been watching his Chickens each afternoon, making sure they do not come near the New Plants-and they must figure the Boss is fussing at them-so off they go, no problems, all plants still intact. That was until late today, when I looked outside to find the Criminal Chickens having a Scratch Party on our new Plants! It hit me that Dear Husband was at a meeting and the job of chasing them fell to me-now I was Raised on a Farm-so to chase chickens away-seemed easy-but these Chickens acted like I was "Silly Woman" and stood their ground, with me yelling "Get your feathery butts out of my Plants-now!"
Nothing happened-they didn't move an inch and I knew the Chase was On! I went after them, flopping my hands in the air, yelling, doing anything to get them moving. But I had forgotten one very important detail-
I can't Run-too many years of Pain had taken that away and the Chickens seemed to know it before I did! There was no chasing, no running, just me trying to Walk really fast and getting louder by the second as the Chickens decided to turn around and head for my plants! For a brief moment, I thought about our Neighbors watching me and the Chickens, and laughing at this sad image of Woman against Chickens!
I can't Run-too many years of Pain had taken that away and the Chickens seemed to know it before I did! There was no chasing, no running, just me trying to Walk really fast and getting louder by the second as the Chickens decided to turn around and head for my plants! For a brief moment, I thought about our Neighbors watching me and the Chickens, and laughing at this sad image of Woman against Chickens!
My body was screaming at me, letting me know it was time to give up on this Chase because if I moved another inch, my Husband might find me sitting on the ground in exhaustion, crying as I watched these Evil Chickens dancing all around me, tossing my lovely new Plants up in the Air-letting me know who was Boss on this Day! I made one feeble attempt to get them near their Pen and thought I was gaining on them-but No-they suddenly broke rank, running Six different directions and I knew the battle was lost!
I dragged my tired body to the house, sat down, grabbed a glass of cold water, and made a silent promise-
I dragged my tired body to the house, sat down, grabbed a glass of cold water, and made a silent promise-
"I might have been raised on a farm, but I will Never Chase any Chickens Again!" My husband arrived, and as he strolled through the door- realizing things are not as they should be and asks me
"So who let the Chickens out? Did they get into the New Plants?"
Six Dumb Chickens against one stubborn woman-well not a bad way to find a tiny bit of Joy today! Take my advice, never try to chase a Chicken............ Martha
oh, gosh...another Lucille Ball episode! I can just picture you - flailing arms and all - shouting in your Texan drawl...Oh, gosh...
ReplyDeleteYou shared your tiny bit of joy with us all today. Thank you! Love the aerial of the farm!
Diane-
DeleteThank you for the kind words-all I can say is my body paid a BIG price as a result of trying to chase those Chickens away! Once was all it took for me!
Matt is outside right now, spending time watching them and hopefully giving a Firm talk that might sound like "Heh, Girls & Guy-you really Goofed up yesterday! I mean it-that lady yelling at you, well that was Mrs. H! She can be nice but now, sorry to say, she doesn't like Any of You! So from now on-we are just going to stay AWAY from Mrs. H---everybody got that right?"
Silly me-as if Chickens could Hear him talking-and thinking they might be paying attention!!!!
Oh well, a day at the farm. Bless you for the sweet words about our Farm-we treasure it!
Hang in there-and if you see a chicken-RUN!!!
love, Martha
Wow, Martha.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the aerial. It gives me a concrete picture of your farm. IT looks so neat and well-tended. Do all those green hay in their early growth? And where is the "homestead" ha ha ha... the residential place, that one at the center?
We too had chickens when we were kids.... in our small home, just for the eggs and sometimes for soup. My grandpa used to raise them.
That was a fun story about Henrietta and the chickens. They do scratch away plants looking for food. I can just imagine them ruing the newly done garden.
Finding it a source of joy, instead of ire, is such a blessing for you Martha. And you are right.... never to chase after them again.
Lolita-
DeleteYou sound like a Girl from the Country-and I love hearing that you also grew up with these creatures around you! My Chasing Day turned my Pain level up High and I spent most of the night, doing the old familiar "Walking the Floor"-and found myself feeling down today as I continue to face the list of things that are no longer a part of me.
But--This afternoon, we sat on our porch and God gave me a loving reminder of All I do have right in front of me! This place has always been special to our town and everyone tells us their memory of being here as a child-helping bring in crops, attending a wedding and on. I knew-"Time for Martha to remind herself of God's Blessings!"
You guessed right, The place we Call Home is directly in the center of the photo. We also are blessed to have the Old Family home, built in 1917 and then updated in the 1940's. You can feel the Joy that surrounded this farm and the family who built the home, raised Seven Children here. A Blessing indeed.
As to the Hay crop-our Hay is called Coastal Hay and it does not grow tall, but instead is thick and with a few Blessed Rains from above, we are able to produce a very good crop of Hay.
Guess who was chasing the chickens this afternoon? Yes-Dear Husband found them inside our yard and all I can is-He too lost the race!!!
God bless you Lolita. Thank you for sharing about your Grandpa!
Martha