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When I opened the chicken house door to check on my little banty last Friday, she was off her nest. I immediately went back to look closer at the chicken yard I had zipped by in my rush to see my little banty first. A crowd of chickens flocked the yard. No little banty. I went back to the chicken house. I must have missed her. But, no, she wasn’t there. Back to the chicken yard. Back to the chicken house. Back and forth, disbelief and slow reality sinking in as I found the evidence.
She was just a chicken.
But she wasn’t just a chicken because I had made her real. Not just to me, but to you, too.
I used to watch Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. I adored him. He was so hokey and so sincere at the same time. Everyone was special in their own way. I think that extends to animals.
I tell their stories. I wanted the little banty’s story to end differently. And if I was Beatrix Potter, I could have made that happen. When I wrote romance novels, I could control the outcome. This blog is the storybook of a farm. It’s a “neverending story” set in a real world where life’s sometimes random harshness can wipe out a moment of innocent charm. It’s a world where you can love a chicken and care if it dies.
And I think there’s a little teeny bit of what makes life worth living in that. I feel a responsibility when I have made you invest real emotion in an animal by the stories I’ve told. I hope that the good moments will always outshine the bad. I hope that I can make it worth your while to take the risk that comes with caring.
I was amazed by the outpouring of real emotion in comments and emails about the little banty. Whatever animals qualify as “the least of God’s creatures” –the little banty would surely be in their company. She was small, even for a chicken. There are millions of little chickens all over the world just like her–and all of them special in their own way. I like to think she was representin’.
And our story goes on…..
Thank you for your support and just for being here.
Posted by Suzanne McMinn on July 22, 2009
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Living out in the country, the circle of life is so pronounced. When I lived in the city, I never even noticed the suble changes of the seasons. I see changes daily now, and also witness the circle of life daily it seems. I know racoons are just trying to survive, but…..
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Hugs From Paradise Pa.
Tracey
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http://www.whatupduck.com
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But, there is a silver lining. Those friendships, and the memories of our lost loves (yes, even pets and farm animals)are what defines our life, making us so much more than just being here, existing in the world.
Me, I’ll take the living, with all the hurt,and aggravation, that comes with caring. The valleys of sorrow can be very deep this way, but those peeks of joy that go with it are some days indescribably good.
Hang in there, friend. One day, but probably not this week, the sweet memories will replace the hurt completely. At the very least you now that you are not on this journey alone.
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Thanks for sharing the good times and the bad, for keeping it honest.This blog is a bright spot.
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There is so much I want to say, but I just can’t find the words.Your other readers are more eloquent than I in expressing the emotions we feel toward you and your animals.
When I was a child, I found a baby pigeon with a broken wing. I nursed him back to health and fed him bugs and worms.I loved him. He grew up to be a happy pet and his name was Tweety.When we went someplace in the car, he would ride on the hood until he felt he had to fly back home.He woke me up for school every morning by pecking at my toes.
We had to leave home and stay with relatives during a flood. When the water went down and we could return, I found my Tweety on my bed, dead.We had left a window open for him so he could come back in when the water receded, but he must have been looking for me to help him and he drowned.
I’m 63 years old and I’ve never gotten over it.
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What you’re doing is giving us the opportunity to share in that experience with you, by our choice. And we all know the potential pitfalls of risking our hearts in one way or another, whether it’s with a chicken or another person. But that is what makes it all worthwhile, and I guess if we never felt the pain, that just means we aren’t risking enough. Thanks for letting us share this interesting world with you. The good, the bad and sometimes, the sad. I will miss that little banty hen, too, but most of all, I’ll miss her spirit of never giving up. I think that’s why she touched us all.
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The little banty carved a spot in my heart as well, with her determined little spirit…may she rest in peace….
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I’ve been around livestock and pets all my life, and though I’m really down to earth about the reality of keeping livestock, I also enjoy the caring part of keeping animals. You bring all that to us your readers, and your humor leavens the tales, like the yeast in Grandmother’s Bread, keeping things in perspective for us all.
Thank you again!
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Having said all that mushy stuf, making them a real individual part of your family runs its risks, not just emotionally when something happens to them, but , like for example, the way my 1200 pound quarterhorse got stuck on my front porch last weekend after climbing the steps to knock on the door for more doughnuts. Oh yes, its true. I have a video and pics of the great horse rescue if anyone wants to see them. It was quite a debacle. I cannot tell you how embarrassed I was.
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Hugs
Kathleen H
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In cases of endangered animals it is more often attemped, but raccoons carry disease, destroy property and livestoc, and breed rapidly and easily, teaching their young the same habits that make them a liability. The ones who teach their young to avoid humans, live longer… ones like this one, not so much. Farm life is often harsh on several levels.
I’m speaking only for myself really, but even though I love wildlife AND my farm animals, and I have called the Division of Wildlife to handle some things, this would not ever be one of them.
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Whatever happened to the little kitten Fuzzball rescued from the car, by the way? One of my very favorite stories, the ending at least…and how is Fuzzball?
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