Chicken Quiet

Monday, June 27, 2005

This morning I was up early..not because I wanted to shoot pictures with the thunder heads as I didn’t know they were there really, but I knew I had to go. Nor was it because I’d slept poorly. I had less sleep than one gets in a Coach seat to Australia actually. Something made me very restless. I guess it was dreams of a washing machine...

Anyway, long story short, after I napped from 4 am when the thunderstorm hit to when my alarm went off, I got up and heard the "peeps". The peeps are the baby chickens in the yard this month. One hen must have 10 or so, I cannot count them they are so busy. Another hen has 5 adolescents..I can count them.

I was on the deck sipping my coffee wondering where the train was that hit me when the entire yard got still. Two roosters were on the wall and the peeps...all 15 or so of them and the hens stopped in their tracks. They didn’t move a muscle or say a peep, literally.

A grey heron was in the yard and he was not a regular, not invited and not wanted. Everyone stopped pecking for this bird trespasser. The roosters were waiting to pounce...which seems rather unselfish for a rooster actually.

I saw a Kestrel fly over the other morning and the hens circled the peep wagon like no one’s business and ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. I guess if you move around really quickly the Kestrel can’t get you as easily if you wait there to be taken. If only our human mothers could do the same with their teenagers...but I digress.

This morning though, everything stood stock still for minutes. I went in for my camera, but the animal kingdom did it’s job and the shoot was over when I got back.