The phone rang bright and early this morning.  Not my phone, but Mary’s phone.  I get up every morning at 5:30, so it wasn’t too early to call me.  But it might have been a bit crack-of-dawn-ish for anyone else.  It was just a bit after 6 a.m.

The United States Post Office on the line.  My chickens had flown in.

“What?  My chickens are here?  MY CHICKENS are HERE!”  By 6:30 a.m. I was at the Eaton Post Office banging on the door.  “Open up in there!  Ye has me chickens!”

Actually, the drive to the post office was quite nice.  There was a beautiful sun rising… and a mist swallowed up all the fields.  It sort of took my breathe away.   OR it could have been that I just slugged down a big gulp of hot coffee.  WAY TOO HOT coffee.

Anyway, back to the chicks. I picked them up, introduced myself, and we got in my car.  They are probably only a couple of days old.

You see… I wanted NOTHING to do with this farm animal adventure.  I would not have anything to do with the care of the chickens which we were getting a few weeks ago.  No way, no how.  But then I started getting the bug.  Mary took me to a chicken show… I got my American Poultry Association Membership… and it has been a slippery slope ever since.

From then on, I decided the breed for me was going to be New Hampshire Reds.  (Mary had Orpingtons on the way.)  So… as a late birthday present, she ordered me 4 New Hampshires… and today they came.

As we drove in front of the house,  with that beautiful sun making its way a little higher from the horizon….  a gentle young deer stood in a bed of purple wildflowers.  It was so incredibly picturesque.  AND then…. As if it couldn’t get any better, a little brown fuzzy bunny hopped along the road, near the deer.   (Oh my gosh!)  As I pulled into the driveway and started up the lane…. a Flicker flew past my car and into the field….  and yet another stunning chestnut-colored deer stood in the tall grass.

I slammed on my breaks.  “What is this…. Freakin’ Disney???  Is there a camera on me???  Is somebody filming this?  Besides our security cameras?  I mean.. I feel like I am on The Truman Show or something…”

And then I laughed out loud.  Some days feel like a bit like Disney.

You see… the truth of it is…… I love these little chickens.  They have changed me for the good, I think.  Their little fuzzy feathers… and tiny peeping peeps.

I will especially love them…. when they start laying eggs for me.  Then we really WILL be pals.