Moving On

The Henriettas are achieving the goals I have set them, producing lovely eggs on a regular basis while keeping the yard free of bugs and debris.  Well, almost.  Every day I find myself grinning, even laughing out loud, at their performances.  They will be grazing away at the ground when suddenly one of them will do a graceful little hop in the air and catch something flying past her.  Or one will let out an amazing squawk that brings all the other girls streaming towards her in curiosity or anxiety, I never can tell which.

The stray cat Kitsy faithfully follows me to the hen house every morning on my numerous trips to feed, water and collect the eggs.  There are days when I think she believes herself to be a dog since she is unusually attentive to the chores, so unlike a cat.  If I ask her if she wants to walk with me she looks up at me just like old Bob and then paces after me as I take my morning stroll around the grounds.  At the end of the red paving stones she will look up at me again and then make a dash for the pergola to inspect under the table.  Once assured that it is mouse free she will watch me as I putter around the fish pond and wait until I move back towards the chicken coop.  She likes to keep her feet dry so she walks along the deck while I walk on the dewy grass which is very cat-like.  As I get to the steps she will jump up on one of the benches and wait expectantly for me to allow her to jump up on my shoulders so she can continue with me in comfort.  Then she jumps off onto the bench that is positioned nicely by the entrance to the coop and off she dashes for her first taste of the hens’ water.  I don’t know why it tastes better to her than the water in her own dish but she certainly does seem to prefer it.  Or perhaps she just likes to taunt the hens since they don’t go near the tub while she is there.

The hens are tolerant of the cats and will not run away when they come strolling into their yard but they run into the corners when they see or hear the dogs approach.  I suspect their noise frightens them more than their size but what do I know?  I just know that when they see me they optimistically run to me for the expected treat or at the very least the opening of the gate that will allow them to frolic and fresh green.

And I do not disappoint.