Our Animal Farm

John and I decided to have a day off from the endless gardening projects we’ve been stuck into on fine days. We had errands to run as per usual but this time we decided to treat ourselves again to a Chinese lunch at our favorite place in Christchurch. But I woke up later than usual and didn’t get ready to go early enough, so we were a bit later than we expected as we reached all of our destinations. On the way home at last after a brief market stop for a quick shopping trip since I didn’t need much, I still managed to take more time than I should have to buy what I absolutely needed. That happens to me a lot lately. I have the best intentions as I enter the store and start off at a fast clip. But within a few minutes I am dawdling around with the tomatoes that at the moment are very overpriced or looking for the Cos lettuce for my Caesar salads. So regrettably we weren’t even near our house until a couple of hours past the chicken’s normal late afternoon meal. But John noticed a spire of smoke on the darkening sky from 5 kilometers away from our cottage making the last few minutes of the drive quite suspenseful. As it turned out our neighbor had started a bonfire late in the day, since it was really getting cold again with the onset of yet another stormy few days. And as luck would have it our other neighbor was outside and we stopped for a supposedly quick chat with her, which took at least 10 minutes more. I had my watch on but hadn’t looked at it and we were in John’s snazzy GTI and that clock is behind the steering wheel, so I wasn’t aware that it was close to 6 o’ clock by the time we got to our driveway. Pulling in carefully alongside the lineup of the three Citroens all waiting at attention for the designated driver to choose one of them for our next outing, I noticed that the chickens were massing around the car, shrieking. It was hard to miss. It reminded me of what happens when you poke a stick onto a hive and lots of moving inhabitants come out in a frenzy. 

So there they ALL were, even the new babies frantically trying to keep up with the others. Obviously they were hungry…but more than that they were alarmed. Their usual schedule had been truly altered and so after they ate they didn’t adhere to their normal routine by sitting on the benches in the back and awaiting their bedtime rituals of walking single file in order of their positions in the hierarchy of the flock, to the awaiting pine trees where they sleep in the branches. Instead, they hovered around the front of the house after eating quickly behind the barn, and they were vociferous in their attempt to communicate with me. Eventually they seemed to calm down a little and they had a few minutes sitting in front like they do normally when we’re home during the day BEFORE the last meal of the day, which is an area that they desert after eating. 

So the moral of the story is that these guys and gals and little chicklets are very attached to us as we are to them and we let them down. Had the weather stayed sunny it wouldn’t have mattered so much but it was a miserable day to begin with, although warmer and by the time we got back there was an impending storm and the temperatures had dropped considerably along with the wind picking up. We have an obligation to them since they are under our care and although we’re usually quite reliable about keeping those feeding schedules consistent, we are human after all and trips to town take time away. 

The cats too were very needy. They’re used to being around to sit on. We’re the best furniture for them, especially as they get older. Their latest trick is to sleep all day on our bed after ensuring we get a cramped night’s sleep. That means that I wait until the bed has been vacated until I can make the bed. So if you want to know who rules this roost, just ask our animal owners. They’ll tell you in no uncertain terms. Cluck. Cluck. Meow.