Chicken Rx

This morning, after dropping Max and Raphael off at Monday school, Sophia and I went out to the new house to visit the chickens. They live there, instead of here, for the same reasons we need a new house. There is simply. no. room. But Mom and Dad are already living out at the new house (albeit in a maze of boxes and construction - and their house is waaaaay further along than ours is. Deep breath.), and they are caring for the chickens for now.

I know, I know, people who adore their chickens are slightly odd. But y'all! They're so ADORABLE! And sort of dumb and lively and adorable a few more times. We just huddled around their box and exclaimed over them and laughed. It's miller moth season here in Colorado, which means that the air is thick with the rotten little buggers, fluttering dustily around, hell-bent on getting stuck in my hair (apparently my curls exude the gentle glow of a porch light). But since the chicks are in a box with a light bulb hanging over them, keeping them warm, they are also a great moth magnet. And when one flutters close enough, those sweet little puff balls turn into MOTH SEEKING WEAPONS OF DESTRUCTION. 

One of them would snatch a moth out of the air, then race around the box, with the moth flapping wildly on both sides of its beak. The other three would scramble after the victorious one, peeping in hot pursuit. Sometimes a tug of war would ensue, and one chick would run off, triumphant! with a wing in its beak. 

Once two chicks caught moths simultaneously, and the resulting excitement/confusion was almost too much for the other two, who raced back and forth, unable to decide who to chase. Sophia and I were in stitches.

Hmm. Do you think it's safe for such tiny chickens to be eating great big moths? Hang on, I have to google something...

Honestly, though, I don't know how I'd stop them. They're FIERCE. And the best part is the minute the moth was eaten, all of them would blink and look around like, uh...what? What was I doing just now? I...uh...peep.

Gifted is what they are. 

So anyway, yes I know it's a bit silly to be so chicken-smitten. But this is what passes for sanity in my life. In the last month, by contrast, Tre has a) gotten himself a girlfriend, who is a junior so he b) accompanied her to prom and then c) got himself a driver's license so today he could d) ask to borrow the car and drive to Target to buy himself a razor today so he could f) shave his actual face. 

No, none of that is bad, but lordy is it a lot to process. There are new details to figure out (say, does anyone have a used car they'd like to sell? We're in the market for something affordable, gas efficient, that doesn't go fast, ever, under any circumstances, with no back seat, and if it came with a trunk full of cash for paying insurance premiums, that would be GREAT. Tre would like something red, with a phenomenal sound system, but that's totally negotiable). I'm processing slow these days anyhow, and a few hours of chick versus moth is just what the weary mama ordered.

Comments

[Amy]

I was given my chickens by a friend, so I missed out on the baby stage. Next time I totally have to start with chicks. Yours are just too cute.

Also, my first car was a Ford Escort ZX2. I don't know if you could find a used one anywhere, but they really are great cars. Mine got good gas mileage. And the back seat was so small no one would want to be back there. Much less back there in a firm embrace. Ahem.