Poultry Congress
in the neighborhood
Three-County Fair
Kelly and I went to the Three-County Fair a couple of weeks ago. It’s a small fair, compared to the neighboring Big E, but it had all the delights, like fresh lemonade, homemade ice cream, and show animals. My favorites were the bantam chickens, who are just very tiny chickens. Some strange selective breeding decisions have led them to look exactly like chickens hit with a miniaturizing ray. They were, of course, the loudest in the barn.
We also toured the craft award winner showcase, featuring lovely quilts and photographs and 4-H display boards, and found this delightful award-winning bun. It was my favorite thing.
Known in the neighborhood
Kelly and I went on a walk with the dog this weekend, and we were all bored with our usual route, so we set off in another direction, up the hill to the lovely residential dead-end streets behind our house. A couple of blocks away, down a cul-de-sac, we heard a rooster crow. Lots of people around keep chickens, so it’s not that unusual, but this crow sounded too familiar. Kelly looked over to me – we were both thinking the same thing. We waited, and the crow sounded again. Loud and clear, this was our rooster.
If you think roosters only crow in the morning, then you’ve never been to my house. Dandy crows at four in the morning. He crows at four in the afternoon. Apparently, he crows loudly enough that he can be heard streets away. I can recognize our neighbor’s rooster, whose crow is fast and high. It hadn’t occurred to me that houses who I wouldn’t technically consider neighbors might have the same awareness of our buddy. I can only hope that the other farm animals on this side of town make enough regular racket that one rooster doesn’t stand out, except on a quiet moment on a quiet street on Sunday afternoon.
Farm Life Support 