My partner decided to mow the yard today; he is Mr. Natural. He
had to start and stop several times due to the chickens. Inside, watching
the chickens run towards him, I was helpless with laughter. Chickens,
observed closely, are funny creatures with uniquely different personalities.
There is Blondie, who misses no detail and the first to lead the others
into trouble. Then there is Red. Red, is much larger, but she has got
to be the dumbest chicken ever. The others will be running after Mr.
Natural while Red is looking around and when she finally figures it out,
here she goes, half running and half flying as she tries to catch up.
I am glad I have had the opportunity to get "to know" natural chickens,
but I worry about them not adjusting to being in a henhouse. They are
accustomed to our voices, TV, music--they come up to the gate wanting
to come in for the night. And their time inside is coming to an end. Home
to them, is the guest bathroom. Just not right at all.
Mr. Natural is like that. He tried to teach Daisy Cat to hunt. But she would
space out and walk off from the intended prey. He got frustrated and gave
Daisy to me. She was made to be an indoor cat. The reason she was spacy
was epilepsy--just no seizures while a kitten, but no concentration either.
But she is incredibly smart and rule oriented. She has NEVER scratched
on any furniture. I have this "scratch mat" made from rope that I bought
at a flea market. When we moved in this house, I put it in the sunroom
and made a big production of scratching on it several times a day. Within
2 days, she was using that to keep her claws sharpened. And both of us
praised her. After the first scratch, she knew that was her spot to scratch.
I used to trim her claws; she wasn't fond of that. She started biting them
off when they got too long. I have never seen a cat do that. She is a great
cat--follows me to whatever room I'm in. I couldn't ask for a more loyal
cat.
All for tonight--
Kate
No comments:
Post a Comment