from the barnyard

So, the question for today is, how does one go about appreciating a chicken on Appreciate a Chicken Day? With finger lickin' good relish, or with "fly, be free!" abandon? Or, perhaps more accurately, waddle, be free. It could go either way, I'm thinking.

I happen to get the chance to appreciate chickens daily. More accurately, again, Guinea hens, who live next door and regularly come to visit. I enjoy their joyful cackling, as well as the fact that they eat bugs in my garden.

Our neighbors play host to said hens, other assorted fowl, horses, ponies, goats, rabbits, barn cats, peacocks, and several dogs. I think that's the extent of it. From time to time, they get other unusual creatures when animal control drops something off they can't keep themselves. Once it was turkeys that someone had let loose in the high school for a senior prank. When I tell people I live across from this, they think it would be annoying. They also wonder how this is possible, since we live in a large metropolitan area. But it is an oasis of small town feel here, which I pray does not change as pressure grows from outside (and in). I am decidedly not a metropolitan person at heart.

No,it is not annoying. Living on a train track for a year and a half--that was annoying! But here, the noises of a barnyard add to the peace of my life rather than detract from it. The hens in the garden, or the goats coming back from the fair, or, yes, even the peacocks firing off their Jurassic Park imitations keep me genial company and make me smile a bit as I type here, or work outside, or fret about any number of things.

I'll appreciate the chickens when I hear them today. That, and quite possibly, make my favorite pecan-crusted chicken breasts for dinner. Then, I'll have covered both bases. And no, I will get them from the store, not the backyard. Though I do recall my mother's childhood stories of cutting chickens' heads off and watching the bodies still run around, I do not wish to follow her footsteps in that particular.

What brings you peace, today? I'd love to hear.