The Farm Report, Part 1

So I'm here in Tuscaloosa, taking care of lots of little tasks before I head to DC early next week. In the next couple of days, I'm going to go visit Scratch and Scout. But before I can report on how they're doing, I need to finally write the report of when I took them there. So here! At long last, the farm report, part one:

It was late June, near the end of summer school, right before our South Florida trip, when the sad day came. I made sure to spend lots of quality time with my chickens before taking them to the farm. We sat outside, they pecked in the yard, clucked and flapped around me, and enjoyed a last meal of pasta, italian sausage, and roasted peppers. It was good.

Eventually, time came to go, and I had the fun task of trying to catch them. In the house at night this was generally little trouble, but outside, during the day, they were not ready to be told to go anywhere other than wherever they wanted. And since I'd taken the little coop down, I didn't have my normal area in which to corner them and grab 'em. So I ran around, chasing chickens, who were making all kinds of noise. We all were. And finally, one and then the other, I was able to get them and put them in the house.

I had already loaded their stuff into the car, and in the house it was easy to pick them up and carry them out. At this point they were good, sweet chickens, happily being held. We took a few photos by the car, said hi to Alison and Amanda, law student neighbors, and got in the Explorer.

The ride was fun; at first they looked out the window like dogs do, but eventually Scratch settled down on the floor and Scout sat on my arm, cruising along. And they were good - no pooping in the car! It was fun having them in the car. Good photo below.

And then, alas, the ride was over, as we arrived at the farm.

At this point I will pause the story and post a few photos. Story to be resumed in a day or so.


Family photo.


Sad.


Corporate Mail.


Lookin' out the window!


Me & my boy, just cruisin' along.

Chickens in the News!

NYT: "Scratch a Suburb, Find a Chicken"

Also, this is my first post from my new Apple iBook! It finally arrived last Friday and I've been getting it, and myself, up to speed since then, in between fishing and working. Yes, had a good day in the gulf Saturday, hauling in some snapper, amberjack, king mackerel, and lots of grouper. Yum.

Work is fine. Last week some fellow clerks and Josh and I went to a Montgomery Biscuits game. They stomped on my hometown Mobile BayBears. The Biscuits' logo is great - a happy biscuit witth bug-eyes and a tongue of butter.

This computer is amazing. Everything works so well, looks so good. Making the switch has been a joy. I actually did more work today at work because I was so into using it. More on this later; for now, good riddance Dell and Windows!!!

Eventful Week

This week I have seen oral arguments before the Alabama Supreme Court once and been to prison twice. Prison! Yesterday I went to Staton Correctional Facility (medium security) with a lawyer (and Tulane buddy of Dan's) to talk to a client (a prison official, not an inmate). Today I went to Kilby Correctional Facility (maximum security) for the regular law clerk tour that every group of clerks gets. It was something. Imagine all that you've seen in prison movies plus overcrowding plus no AC plus summer in central Alabama. NB: try to avoid becoming a prisoner.

Here are pictures from the cellphone cam:


Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes arguing before the Court.


Matt Beam and I at Staton.


Inmates working near Kilby. Just out of view is the big guard with a shotgun.


The front gate at Kilby.

In other news, I finally scanned 90 or so last-couple-of-months photos tonight, mostly of Scratch and Scout. So those will be trickling onto the blog soon.

Laid Back

About a week ago, I was driving along in the Explorer and suddenly, the seat broke! Specifically, the latch-thingee down on the side which controls the angle of the back of the seat. It seems that the teeth on the thing have worn down, so the seat won't stay up; it just moves freely. For a few days it was leaning back, but not all the way down. I was able to drive around like a pimp. Then a few days ago I was showing someone the phenomenon when the thing went ahead and broke all the way. Now the seatback is flat, resting firmly on the backseat. So now I have to drive around hunched over the steering wheel, like a large, blond, male old lady. The fun part is at stoplights, where I can just completely lay back, and can just see over the dash enough to see the red lights. So I lay down, and to cars around me, there is no driver. Then the light goes green and I pop up and hit the gas! That's entertainment!

Today I finally got a pillow to provide a little support to my back, but it really doesn't do much. It really just makes it more comfortable to lay back. One result of all this is that I have learned that the broken lever is not called a "latch thingie" but a "recliner," and I should have a new one put in this week, after calling numerous junkyards and parts people in Montgomery and Mobile and locating the part. More news on this as it happens. In the meantime, enjoy these action shots:


Wanna go for a ride?


Who needs a seatback?!


Starting to lose it.


Oh, daddy.

Bolivian Wrasslin'

Doesn't this look fun?!



For more, see NYT: "In This Corner, in the Flouncy Skirt and Bowler Hat..."

I got a bitchin' new car battery today. Now the Explorer starts with a vengance.

Montgomery is Damn Hot! No coastal breeze = sweaty duress.

Man Dies After Sex with an Arabian Stallion!

Did you see this?!?! I missed it last week but thankfully Stephanie just told me about it so I was able to look it up. It seems that, until recently, out in Washington there was a popular livestock whorehouse.

MSNBC (from Reuters): "Seattle man dies after sex with horse"
KOMO TV (Seattle): "Man Dies in Bizarre Case of Beastiality"
News24 (Cape Town): "Man dies after sex with horse"

Did you notice the good news that it was FILMED?

I hope no chickens were harmed in these activities.

Discovery

I stumbled upon this today:

Have you ever hit the F11 key while in your browser?
Do it. See what happens.

Radical.

---------------------------------------------
Edit, 11:48pm:

I just realized, I think the phenomenon mentioned above is probably Windows only, 'cause I know F11 does different things on a Mac. I guess all I know for sure is that it works in Firefox and IE.

For those who are unable to enjoy the effect that I'm talking about, when you hit F11 it makes your browser fill up the whole screen. I don't mean just maximise it; it actually takes away the status bars, toolbars, everything. You're left with only the window of content (if you have multiple tabs open in Firefox you see those too).

Kinda neat!

John Roberts

So the nominee has been announced. As I'll be working for the Judiciary Committee in the fall, please promptly submit all questions you'd like asked of Judge Roberts.

International Recognition

My keen eye and skills with a camera and with chicken stewardship have earned me a warm mention on The Ferocious Reader, the blog of Anna-Lisa, our favorite Southern Californian-turned-Edinburgher. She happens to be a skilled wordsmith, and her dad is a hell of a dancer.

Drinking

As Scratch helps herself to a sip of my water, Scout looks a bit leery of the idea.


"Should I drink that?"
"What's wrong with you? Of course you should."


"Ah, what the hell."

Work and Chickens

Two days of work at the Attorney General's office, Civil Division, and it's been good so far. Nice lawyers, nice fellow clerks, interesting work (although sometimes it makes me a little sleepy). Yesterday, my first day, I walked in and had been there literally 5 minutes before I was off to court with a lawyer and two clerks to watch a hearing. Neat.

Yesterday morning I called Bob to ask how Scratch and Scout were doing. He said my babies were doing very well! They've been personable and chatty, and it seems that Scratch has made a little next in the nest-box in the corner! I can't wait to go back and see them.

More photos coming up.

Last Days

Well Dannis came and went, with a stiff breeze and lot of rain, but otherwise not much punch by the time he got up here. Mobile and Orange Beach were spared too. And tonight I head down to Montgomery to start work tomorrow.

So, after the Florida trip, final exams, and Dennis, I am finally able to resume the chronology of my life with chickens. Here are some excellent photos of the fun we had during the last few days before the trip back to the farm.



One afternoon Scout decided to give the dining room light a try...



...but it was steep and slippery, so that experiment didn't last long.

Dennis Lashes Key West

What are the chickens going to do?!?!

In other news, I finally finished by summer school exams today. Yes! Now, no law school until January!

I spoke to the AG's office yesterday; due to Hurricane Dennis, I won't be starting work down there until Tuesday at the earliest. Speaking of Dennis, hopefully he won't destroy our home or our condo, which only recently became fixed and reusable after Ivan's destruction last year.

Lastly, back to the topic of "stay tuned," today I picked up the photos from Scratch and Scout's return to the farm, as well as those from the Florida trip, so soon I will post stories and photos from said events. That is, if Dennis doesn't knock out my power.

Back in T-Town

I'm back in Tuscaloosa; my bag is not. Yes, more trouble with Delta. We got separated from our luggage both flying down last week and flying back last night. Delta sucks.

Other fun: Stephanie and I got to town today at 12:30, I was at school taking a final by 1:30, and now I have two more to finish by tomorrow afternoon. Then move to Montgomery. Fun weekend!

Stay tuned for report and photos from Scratch and Scout's return to the farm and from the trip.

Also, Congratulations to John and Molly Sanders on the arrival of Kate!

And condolences to my beloved London for the attacks on the Tube today.

Until next time, enjoy The Chicken Store.

Key West & Ft. Lauderdale

As some of you may know, there are LOTS of CHICKENS in Key West! It was great! And we went to The Chicken Store!

Not so many chickens in Fort Lauderdale, where I currently sit.

In depth report to follow.

Marathon

Reporting live from Marathon, FL.

Trip (Mom, Dad, me & Stephanie) has been a bit bumpy so far...luggage delayed, nearly had hotel reservations yanked out from under us, I've had to do schoolwork...but overall we're in South Florida so it's hard to complain. I'll take palm trees and blue water over pine trees and bland land anytime.

The only real problem: we don't have any chickens with us! Luckily, Key West has them running amok, so hopefully I'll get some good chicken time down there.

Hopefully Scratch and Scout are adjusting well to the farm. I'll have to call and check on them soon.

Hasta luego.

Home Alone

I'm back from the farm, sans chickens. I'll give more of a report later, but for now I'll mention that Scratch and Scout have a nice little setup in a horse stall, and LOTS of company of all types of creatures.

They were very well behaved in the car, and let me carry them around for awhile at the farm without ever getting restless. They're so good. It was sad to leave them, but by far the hardest part was coming home to an empty house. I opened the door and expected to hear clucking and crowing and say, "Hello! What are you doing?" and see my happy chickens. But instead, all I found was the sad silence of an empty home.

The Long Goodbye

We had a lovely last night, and a fun day outside today.

And now, here we go, off to the farm.

Not a trip I'm happy about taking.

But at least the farmer says he's got a nice little apartment set up for them, and that he told his son, "don't be surprised if they wind up in the basement." So I know they'll be well taken care of.

I'm just going to miss them, and I'm worried that they'll miss me; they're so used to sitting around with me.

But I want them to be happy. Hopefully they'll be excited to see other chickens and animals and just have a great time in the country.

Okay, off we go...

A Shocking Lack of Interest in Ribs

This is something I meant to mention last week.

I got a slab of ribs from Archibald's, polished most of them off, and gave the chickens a couple of bones to peck at. They took a sniff, and a peck, and shockingly, WALKED AWAY! What?! My chickens don't like RIBS?!?! I don't know what the problem is, but it's certainly strange. I wish I had time to teach them the ways of the rib.

But they do like raisins. In fact I'm giving them a raisin snack right at this moment. Wait a sec.... Scratch now has a fuzzy string stuck on her beak, from pecking the carpet, and she can't get it off. She's not happy about it. Hold on...

Come here, girl.

Okay...I got it off for her.

Speaking of eating, it's odd; whenever I'm feeding them snacks, Sratch is always the more voracious chicken. She takes the biggest bites, and goes for every one, whereas Scout is more hesitant, not as aggressive. You would think the boy be more voracious, but no...it's the pullet. Maybe she knows she'll be laying soon and is compelled to eat for two. Or three. Or several hundred over her lifetime.

One Last Night

So this is my last night with the chickens. Sad. They are currently helping me with my research project. Scratch is sitting on my left arm and I'm petting her. She's so soft.

The farmer called today after looking at this blog for the first time. He said that I should mention that in going to the farm for the summer, the chickens are going to learn how to be chickens (after living an apparently non-regular chicken life with me).

Barbershop

I just got my second haircut at the Northport Barber Shop. Topics of conversation included chickens, the Great Smoky Mountains, and the Richard Scrushy trial.

Memorable line: "Somebody said 'You can't outrun a bear.' I said, 'I don't gotta outrun a bear. I just gotta outrun somebody.'"

Summer Days

Warm summer afternoons bring happy chickens playing outside!


Keeping me company while I read about ribs.


Scratch looking pretty in the afternoon sun.


Who doesn't love a good dirt bath?

Menagerie

Had a good talk with the farmer last night, after he got home from being out dancing. Sounds like Scratch and Scout will be well looked after out there. He also told me that, in addition to the chickens, peacocks, goats, and dogs he had in March, he now has two buffalo! He said they're really sweet.

It's going to be sad to give up Scratch and Scout tomorrow, but I can't wait to see all these crazy animals.

The Coming Sadness

Only a few more days left of summer school, before I go on a little trip and then head to Montgomery for the second half of the summer. Which means...

Only a few days left with my chickens.

I'm getting sad just writing this.

Here's to making the best of the time. More fun blogging to come.

Joyriding

The chickens recently stole the Explorer and went out driving. I snapped these pictures when they got back.

One of the Great Mysteries

Whenever I'm away from the house and the chickens are inside, when I get home and get out of the car, I usually hear crowing right away. So the question is, is Scout just randomly, coincidentally crowing, or does he know it when I drive up and that's why he's crowing?

The Championships

I have to say, until today it has yet to feel like summer to me. I've been stuck here in depressing, landlocked Tuscaloosa, and haven't been home in almost 3 months, so I haven't enjoyed the things that traditionally define summer for me...being out on the wharf, the river, the beach; having dogs around; warm evening sunsets; etc. (even if just for a weekend - I know I don't live at home anymore).
In law school in Tuscaloosa, time stands still and every day is the same, and I haven't had the spirit or wherewithal to shake things up much. It's the classic school catch-22: I don't get enough work done becuase I get into a lethargic rut with little stimulation and motivation, but it's hard to take positive, energetic steps to get out of the rut and feel alive because I have too much work to do. So I get kind of stuck slowly spinning my wheels.
I guess I just have to try to chip away at it bit by bit...do work, then go running, do work, then go for a walk, do work, then have a nice dinner. Just fight this place every day. And at least I have the chickens to keep me smiling.

But I digress. The point of this post is that today, a big part of feeling like summer to me has arrived - Wimbledon! My whole life I've watched Wimbledon every summer, usually while near the water. In fact, 5 years ago today I was actually at Wimbledon, for Day 1 of the annual fortnight. Beautiful tennis on these lawns of south London is one of the hallmarks of summer.

So Wimbledon has begun and I'm excited. And summer school classes will end in 10 days and I'll be off for a week in South Florida. My first tropical trip in a long time; much needed. Of course, when I get back I have to cram final exams and moving to Montgomery into a long weekend (couldn't be helped; trip was planned before summer school was decided). But after that, I'll be happily free of school for 6 months. Sadly, though, not being here means not being with chickens.

Anyway, summer is finally appearing. Now I need a mojito.

Bath Buddies

This has been a regular sequence of events of late:

I get up in the morning, walk in to see the chickens, open the side door to let them outside, they trot out. Then I go get in the shower. There is a window in the shower facing outside. Within a couple of minutes, they realize I'm in there and fly up to the windowsill, where they peck around and watch me shower. I talk to them through the window; sometimes they talk back.

Fun for all!

Alabama goes to Le Bourget

Look who’s at the airshow!

NYT: "Think Locally, Flirt Globally"

"The whole idea is to build business relationships so that when a foreign company thinks of a project, they think of Alabama." Um-hmm.

btw... Can you believe Jeff Sessions has never been to Paris? I mean, knowing him, I guess I can. But really...a successful lawyer...senator...never been to Paris?!?

In other news, here is something scary:
NYT: "Congress Assaults the Courts, Again"

(This post was written slowly with one hand, as I currently have two chickens asleep on the other.)

I'm lost in the desert!...

...can I get a lift?


(October, 2002)

Recent Chicken Activity

Scout's album cover shot.


Scratch roosting on a book. Funny little chicken.


Josh and his brother Jacob experiencing the fan-chickens.


Scratch & Me.

Ouch

Now I'm getting pecked and bitten on the toes by the little rooster. A frequent pleasure.

Three Month Photo

Here's a photo taken June 5 of Scratch and Scout with the iPod shuffle. Below it, a look back at them with the shuffle on that first night. Look how much they've grown!






PS...as I write this Scratch and Scout are, as usual, sitting on me.

Just a Reminder...

Never EVER go to Cracker Barrel midday on a Sunday.

Fun Stuff

Hopefully you already know about the satellite photo function at maps.google.com, the best maps in the biz.

In my Advanced Legal Research class just now I learned of another good one: TerraServer!

All is good with the chickens. The usual joys - lots of crowing and pooping and following me around.

Sucks...No More Basketball

Well the Heat just lost, so as far as I'm concerned the NBA season is over. A Spurs-Pistons final is so boring. I hope the Spurs kill them. A sad, premature end to exciting basketball this year.

Correction - there is one last thing worth watching. As Charles says, "Ginobili!!!"

Ugh...they're showing Detroit getting the Eastern Conference trophy right now. This is disgusting. Shaq and D-Wade better get healthy and just DESTROY people next year.

In Class Report

I'm sitting here in my Remedies class. Thought I'd write some tidbits whilst note-taking.

- Unjust Enrichment is your friend.

- Nashville Memorial Day weekend highlights: Fall Creek Falls State Park; buying a new suit at Hecht's; the Flying Chicken Platter at Houston's; country ham at Loveless Cafe; hanging out with Stephanie.

- The nice UPS lady is impressed with the chickens.

- 2nd Nashville weekend highlights (this past wknd): going to the grand opening of the Apple Store at Green Hills Mall!; running in a nice city; going to Wal-Mart with Stephanie (always good fun); hamburger and wienerburger at Rotier's; going to Nashville's PrideFest and drinking Gay Fuel; coming home to the chickens!

- Replevin is a funny word.

- As you can see, I'm throwing in more links to try to get this page to rise on Google.

- Tonight, Game 7: Go Heat, baby!

Three Months!

Today marks three months since I got Scratch and Scout! It's been a wonderful time, all of us growing and learning together. In a little while I'm going to shoot a few photos of them with the iPod shuffle, for comparison with the photos with the shuffle on their first night, March 5. They will be posted in a few days.

In the meantime...we're going to party.

More Showing Off

I was away again this weekend, for two nights this time. Once again, Scratch and Scout were sequesterd in the spare room while I was gone. They seem to have handled it well, although Scout did seem a bit pissed at me when I got home late last night. He kept skidding up to my feet, bowed up, wings out, trying to peck me. There was also more messy poo than usual in the house when I got up today. Their bowels must have been as restless as they were. Happily, they are now outside frolicking in the sun and leaves.

Here are some photos I've been trying to post for a few days, but the photo-uploading program was not working. Is anyone else with a blog having trouble with Hello?


Anyway... more pictures of Scout showing us how cool he thinks he is:


Leaping from couch to John hand, with Scratch looking on.



Crowing on the fan.



But let's not forget this little round person!

Jim

Happy Birthday to One James Lakey.


Doin' it since 1976.


PS. Also Happy Birthday to Mom!

Standing Tall

Here are a couple of recent pictures of Scout trying to look cool.

Long Weekend

This past weekend the chickens set a new record time spent home alone. Three nights!

I was out of town for the weekend, and after thinking about taking them to the farm from whence they came, I decided I'd rather leave them at home. So I chicken-proofed the spare room, gave them food and water, closed the door, and left. I worried about them while I was gone, but when I got back Monday night, the first thing I did, before I even entered the house, was go look at them through the window. Sure enough, there they were, poo everywhere, looking back at me. So I went in and let them out, and boy were they glad to see daddy. They have since been following me around and clucking a lot, and don't seem a bit the worse for their long weekend in confinement.

These chickens are badass.

Friends

Here the chickens are horsing around with one of their most frequent visitors, Josh.

Workin' Hard

Here are Scratch and Scout helping me take care of some business.

Things the Chickens Like

Pepperoni
Hamburger
Bran flakes
Strawberry yogurt
Sausage biscuits
John fingers
Some leaves
Some cheese
Some bugs
BBQ sauce
Kazaam
Science

Other Beasts

Beware the Fatmouse.
But love the Tubcat.

Abusive Relationship

In addition to following me around and sitting on me a lot, Scout also has been doing a fair amount of pecking on me. He even bites every now and then, and it hurts!

He's a loving buddy, then he's a belligerent raptor. Why doth he scorn me so?


PS... For the last 3 nights in a row, the chickens have spent the night on the fan.

Have I mentioned that Scout has been following me around and getting on me constantly lately? Scratch has been sweet but not as all over me as he has.

Here we are just hanging out a couple of nights ago...



This has been happening every night lately.

You couldn't ask for better chickens.

BBQ

Like me, the chickens love barbecue sauce.

And we're excited, because...check it out...KC Masterpiece has its own restaurants!

In-n-Out Chicken

Scout is getting noisier and noisier. His crow is now two syllables and louder. I wish I could post a sound file here so you could hear. Maybe I'll try to figure out how to do that.

And while he does crow at random times throughout the day, he seems to do it particularly when he thinks I'm ignoring him and want attention. Many times, I've been near him and walked away, and he crows. I walk back to him and he runs over to my feet and pecks and clucks a little. I walk away again - crow.

He's a weird dude.

Scratch, meanwhile, has been pretty quiet lately. Maybe she's embarrased that her brother is being so obnoxious.

As for me, summer school has begun, and my house is slowly getting more and more stained with the blemishes of chicken housing. Even though I continually clean up after them, inevitably some stains are left in rugs and furniture. It's not a big deal though; most of my stuff here isn't too fancy.

The mess was particularly bad after a couple of one-night trips last week (New Orleans & Nashville). The chickens had the run of most of the house for over 30 hours at a time while I was gone, and it showed.

Fortunately, they are now big enough to stay outside all day with little supervision. I put them out in the morning, they live as yard chickens all day, and I bring them in at night to hang out with me. I do this because the risk of neighborhood predators is still there, and I haven't built them a little house to roost in at night. I would love to do so, but since I'm gonna have to take them back to the fam in about a month, it seems pointless to put a lot of time and effort into a chickenhouse that won't get much use.

Luckily they love being in at night just as much as they love being out all day. All I have to do is open the door, and they walk right in. After pecking around for awhile, they usually come to me to perch on an arm or a leg.

I need to eat now.

Portraits

Look at these beautiful chickens.
These shots were taken on May 5, our two-month anniversary.



Mr. Scout



Miss Scratch

Yeahhh...Here Comes the Rooster

Scout the Cockerel has begin making noise.

It started a couple of weeks ago, and it was infrequent. Now, I hear it more and more...a loud "SQUAWK!!!!"

No cock-a-doodle-doo yet, just the loud, shrill, one-syllable "SQUAWK!" Not so much at night, but in the morning, especially when he first hears me stirring...the squawking begins. It's not constant; just a few here and there. And he doesn't do it much when they're pecking around outside during the day.

But it's unmistakable...the boy has things to say.

More on this as it develops.

Wireless!

I now have wireless internet in my house! And out on the patio! It is a great day! Chickens are happy!

Two Down, One to Go

Well I made it through another year of law school. Finals ended last Friday, and I spent the weekend recuperating. I now have a little over a week off, which will be filled with catching up on other little tasks, a jaunt to New Orleans with Stephanie, and a couple of days in Mobile. Then, summer school!

What? Summer school? Well, my summer plans finally came into focus in the past week. The pursuit of a half-summer job in DC, while leading to a couple of offers, wound up leading to something better - a fall internship with the Senate Judiciary Committee! So in order have enough hours to graduate on time, I'll be doing summer school again. Then second half of summer at the attorney general's office in Montgomery, then fall in DC, then back here next spring for the final semester.

I guess this means that I'll have my beloved chickens for another month and a half or so, and then they'll probably have to go back to the farm since I'll be gone from Tuscaloosa for about 6 months. Not happy.

Again!

They're up there again, right now!

I was studying in the other room, heard a big noise, and went in there to see that Scratch had made it to the fan! I saw them try a couple of nights ago, in unison, and they didn't quite make it and fell to the floor. But just now she made it!

Scout, meanwhile, was standing on the back of the chair, gyrating up and down, wanting to get up there but apparently not confident that he could make it. He looked like he was also interested in jumping up to the little ledge over the doorway, a feat at which they both failed at recently because the ledge just isn't wide enough for a chicken to stand.

After watching him for a minute I decided to lend a hand. I put out my hand and he hopped aboard, and I lifted him up so he could step onto a fan blade.

As I write this, there they sit, Scout just chillin' and Scratch hopping from blade to blade.

Photos of Birds on High

Chickens on the fan!



Very comfortable chickens.



Lurking above.



Perch moving...starting to slide!...shit!!!

Amazing Flying Chickens

So last night I left home for awhile to work at school with Stephanie and get some food. As is the norm nowadays, I let Scratch and Scout hang out freely in the house; no more confining them to their box when indoors. I get home after being gone for several hours, and as usual when I get home, first thing I do is look around to see where they are. I hear chicken-talk, see some poo and feathers, but no chickens. Not on the chair, not in the box, not under the table...where are they?

And then I look up...

CHICKENS ARE ON THE CEILING FAN!!!

Way up on the fan!!!!

My god, what amazing chickens! How did they get there?!

They were just sitting there, on one of the blades, looking at me like it was no big deal...peeping away, perfectly content.

They are incredible. I can't imagine how even one of them got up there, much less both of them. The nearest piece of furniture they could have launched from is 5 feet down and to the side, plus the tops of the blades are slippery and probably dusty. And surely the fan would have turned a bit when one got up there, so one chicken had to fly all the way up there, get settled without slipping off or losing balance from the wobbling and rotation, and then hold on tight while the other chicken performed the same feat! Fascinating!

I wonder whose idea it was...how they came up with it. I wonder if it took them a few tries.

So after marveling at them, taking some photos, and talking to them for a little while, I decided to take them for a little spin. Not that I minded that they were there, but what would be more fun than turning on the fan?! I turned it on the low speed just for a few seconds, just enough to make them go round a few times. They were a little unnerved, tensing up cautiously, but unmoved.

Then, deciding that it was time for this fun to end because I had to study, I juiced the fan with a little more speed. I wouldn't have minded letting them stay up there and eventually come down on their own - that would have been neat too - but I was more interested in seeing how they handled being spun off the fan! A quick spin of the fan and it didn't take long...lots of flapping and chirping and....whoop!...they slid right off that blade and came flailing down, all feathers and legs, right to the couch!

After a few moments of anxiety, they quickly calmed down to their normal easygoing selves, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

And I guess, here in chickenland, it hadn't.