You’re Blocking My Light.

So Sunday morning I let the flock out as usual. Mostly, I left them to their own devices as herself and I puttered about with this or that. After a time I went out to check on them. These days I’ve been leaving them for longer stretches because they’ve been staying closer to the front porch and not wandering off, most notably, I try to keep them out from under the neighbors’ bush!

So, I step out and most of the flock is milling about in the yard nearby and even the young cockerels were staying out of trouble. I scattered some treats around, gave some to Lily out of hand, but I noticed that I was short a hen. Hermione was not about. No big deal, no one looked distressed, so she had to be around somewhere.

Back on the porch, I peered about at the underbrush. There she is! Having a nice, relaxing, dirt bath. Trouble is … she doing it in one of my wife’s smaller planting boxes! So I strode up to her to give her a piece of my mind!
 

“Um, *Excuse* me, what are you doing?”

“Do you mind sodding off? You’re standing in my light.” She replied with a tone of mixed boredom and annoyance.

“Hey! Don’t give me none of that lip … er … beak! Just what do you think you’re doing in that planter box?” I insisted.

“Well … I had THOUGHT it was obvious what I was doing, and you did make it clear that we’re not to be doing this under the neighbors’ bush … so … “

“So nothing! You get the heck out of that box and I do mean NOW!” I interrupted.

She closed her eyes slowly, let loose a heavy sigh of contempt and slowly … and by that I mean defiantly … lifted herself from her well dug in place of repose. Strode across the porch, and at last joined the rest of the flock.

But not before leaving a trail of dirt across the porch ... 

   

And finally shaking it all off leaving two perfectly clean chicken-foot prints.

 

My wife was thinking of digging up these bulbs for the winter … hopefully, Hermione served to help with the digging ...
 

Even though that was NOT her intent!