In August one of our hens hatched out a single chick. That chick is nearly full-grown now. It's been fun watching the mama and chick pottering about the pasture. They are inseparable, and even though the baby is big now, if I peek into the coop at night I see that the hen has one wing spread protectively over her wee one.
The chick does something cute. At least once a day I look out and see her perched on Spirit's back.
I feed the birds here and it brings me a lot of pleasure to see an endless parade of chickadee's, nuthatches, cardinals, woodpeckers, jays, and more flitting about and feasting on nuts and seeds. I keep the birdseed in a galvanized bucket with a tight-fitting lid on the front deck. First thing every morning, before I am even wide awake, I go out to give the birds breakfast. Imagine my surprise one day last week when I opened that snug lid and was greeted by this:
They must have thought they had reached mouse heaven... until they realized they were stuck and there was no water to be found. I couldn't bring myself to smack their little heads in, so I let them go. I'm sure I'll live to regret it because they are probably dashing into the pantry to help themselves to Ritz crackers as we speak.
Small things, everywhere I look. Some are more delightful than others.
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