July 2, 2007

   Annie and I found our missing Broody (sitting on eggs to hatch them) hen this morning.
She’s  hiding out in the silo garden, sitting on four or five eggs. Last  year, she hatched Henrietta,
who was run over by a car a few weeks ago. She’s quite grumpy and does not want to be
disturbed, but Annie gives her corn and water in there, and even Rose stays away. Like the sheep,
chickens are transformed when they are pregnant or become moms, becoming alert and
fiercely protective. I want to have one or two chicks, no more. The egg next to her was rotten and we removed it, after a brief and fierce battle. Eggs due to hatch in a couple of weeks and
Annie will lock mother and child up in the milkhouse for weeks for safe-keeping until I free them.
  We worry that she’s vulnerable to predators out there, but she’s pretty quiet and dug in. The cycle of life here never stops, things born, things hurt, things dying or dead. Stay tuned.