Cheetos & Chickens

I sit here at 2:00 in the morning munching on cheetos and listening to the chicks talk to each other. Everyone in the house is asleep, except for me and my little feathered friends, whose shadows from the brooding light are dancing on the wall and floor as they fight over an unlucky moth who somehow fluttered too close to their cage. Twice, in the last hour, I've added more food to their feed container, and each time I do, one or two of them pecks at my wedding ring... they must be attracted to the sparkle of the diamond. They also can't wait patiently for me to spoon their meal into the tray - they are pecking it off of the spoon in midair! It doesn't matter that they still have food in the tray... the NEW food coming in is always more exciting. I guess that's a lot like human nature, isn't it? It doesn't matter how many blessings or great things we have in our lives - we are always looking for something more exciting on the horizon. Totally random, I know.

One particular chick - a buff orpington - is different from the others, in that she is more interested in the giver of the food, than in the food itself. I think she and I will be great friends! She looks at me like she wants to know me. Strange sounding, I admit, but she is particularly studious. She is also very calm. While the other buff orpington and two leghorns are jumping around fighting and asserting themselves, she stands on the sideline simply taking it all in... watching that interesting creature with the silver can and the spoon dispense her food. If I were only reading this, and not observing her myself, I would wonder if she was ill - inactivity is a symptom of illness in animals. (I must have been ill all winter... lol) However, she is not ill... she's just very peaceful and SMART, obviously thinking outside the box, or rabbit cage, in this case. Most likely she's just too mature spiritually and intellectually to participate in substandard chicken activities. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to find a little DaVinci style feed sculpture in the tray in the morning... hmm... or perhaps an equally impressive feat - find her doing the "Hammer Time" dance to the amazement of her chicky friends... "dooo do do do... do do... do do... can't touch this!" It must be late. ;P