What I HATE!

Do you know what I hate???

Yeserday I was in the house and was wearing my good workout sneakers.  These are what I wear in the house, not out hiking, walking in the woods, or certainly not what I wear in the chicken pen.  I have walking boots for the woods, and nice rubber boots for the chicken pen.

And as I was in the house, in my good sneakers, considering doing an Insanity workout (that's another story, the Insanity workout), I heard the guineas screaming outside.

I waited a couple minutes.  The guineas always scream.

But after a few minutes they were still screaming, so I raced out the door, over the hill and down the far side, past the icehouse, following the guinea screams.  I thought maybe a fox was nearby.  The guineas usually stop screaming if it's nothing.  Maybe a fox was attacking them, maybe it was killing one of them right this very minute.  I have to save my birds!  I'll fight a fox off my birds with my bare hands if I have to! 

But once I made it to the guineas in the back field, they stopped screaming and all got long necks, looking at me like I was a crazy woman as I ran to their rescue.  And then they shut up and cooed happily as they made their way into the deeper woods, not a worry in their minds.  No fox, no nothing.  The guineas probably saw a leaf blow in the wind and started screaming over nothing.

Silly birds.

So I turned back and headed to the house. 

But wait, I should check on the guinea keets and chickens since I'm outside.  I haven't checked on them all day.

So I walk to the chicken pen, where all the chickens come running to greet me and get hugs.  I pick up Dotti, carry her in my arms as I look for the guinea keets.  The keets are all roosting in the tall bushes in the chicken pen. 

Lucy and Cinnamon run my my feet, trying to be the next bird to get picked up.  Chloe and Charlotte also fight for my attention.  I love these birds, and they love me.  Does everyone love their chickens as much as I do mine?  I hope so.  I guess I love all animals, not just chickens.  Who would have known that chickens have such personalities?  You don't know this until you've owned a chicken.  I think all animals, even deer and wild animals, have personalities, but humans don't know them. 

Dotti

Muffin the rooster stays close, crowing the entire time I'm out there, making sure I know he's the boss.  He's very territorial and doesn't like me cuddling with his hens.  I pick a few leaves out of a tree and toss them to the ground, making Muffin forget about being annoyed by my presence.  He quickly accepts my offering, clucks to the hens, and they all come running to munch down the leaves.  I put Dotti in the tree where she eats some leaves.

All is good in the chicken world, so I make my way towards the gate.  Lucy requests some time out in the yard to dig for bugs, I deny her request, I tell her I'll bring her a treat later and leave the chicken pen.  She clucks her disappointment.  Jade is clucking loudly in the coop, probably laying an egg.

Lucy

I go back in the house, go to the office, where I start to sort through papers, and ugh, what a horrible smell!  Oh no!

NOOOO!!!!

I check my feet. 

I still have on my good workout sneakers.

I WENT OUT IN THE CHICKEN COOP WITH MY GOOD SHOES ON!!!!  NO!

And on the bottom and sides of both of them is fresh chicken poop.

I hate that!!!!!