No feathers.
Nothing.
We've looked everywhere, she's nowhere to be found.
I've been very sad. I have imagined all the worst horrors that could be imagined. Deputy Dave said that she's Hawk-Poop by now. Probably so. Then, he sees me sad and changes his mind, surely she's around here somewhere. Where? We have no idea. Numerous searches have revealed nothing.
She was so small and delicate, a beautiful chicken in every sense of the word. If a chicken can be "social" and "delightful" then Miss Speckles gave full meaning to those words. I miss her.
I remember when she was the epitome of the Ugly Duckling story. She began as such gawky, scrawny looking thing, but she bloomed and transformed into this lovely fluffy bird with a dappling of speckles, which added to her beauty. She was sweet...my favorite out of the five chickens. But, she was also the smallest and most vulnerable.
Yes, I became attached to a chicken. I guess you could say that she had become my first REAL pet chicken. She almost made it one year at our house. I had intended for Miss Speckles to be moved to our acreage and be in Bug-Heaven. She was supposed to become a laying hen with a new Bantam rooster-mate so that we could continue to have more mini-Miss Speckles all over the place. Now, we'll not have a part of her with us any more because she disappeared.
We even searched the neighborhood for her. Keeping a sharp eye out for white feathers. Nothing could be found. Oh...She will be missed.
Have I experienced loss before you might wonder? Oh yes indeed, on massive levels, numerous times. But, this little chicken had clucked her way into my heart and I now have four remaining chickens, all Buff Orpingtons that are endearing, but Miss Speckles had been the unique one in the bunch.
All my regular readers know of the ups and downs we've had with Miss Speckles. Heck, I'd just rescued her from the jaws of a Australian Shepherd about three weeks ago.
I can tell you one thing, if one of the roaming cats trespassed into my backyard and consumed my bird, then I might feel as if I could go into Mafia-Mode and sic Howdy onto the cat without ground rules. But, Deputy Dave insists a cat attack would have been similar to a dog attack, with feathers left behind as evidence of the pounce and grab.
My sweetness is gone and my heart is sad, but I know that living a farm kind of life will bring more of such heartaches.
Strangely, I am comforted by a saying of Dr. Seuss, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
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Onto other things to catch up...this past Saturday, a blog buddy called Luckybunny at http://ourforesthaven.blogspot.com/ nominated me for The Versatile Blogger Award.
The rules for this award are: if you accept the award, acknowledge the blog site that nominated you for the award, then write a post listing seven things about yourself, and then pass the award along to fifteen other bloggers. So here we go....
1. I'd love to be a professional dog trainer, especially for farming/livestock training with Australian Shepherds. So far, we've got chickens down for my Aussie!
2. I'm determined to learn to make my own pasta!
Three-Cheese Ravioli is first on my pasta list!
Three-Cheese Ravioli is first on my pasta list!
3. My favorite color often changes from red to different shades of blue to whatever strikes my fancy for the moment. I can't stick with just one color long-term! My mind is a changing canvas of vibrant colors!
4. Being a "Mom" is the most rewarding title I will ever have attached to my life.
5. I am growing my hair longer, just for Deputy Dave; I'm trying to avoid scissors and my urge to do some home-chopping is still present! It's not easy but his smile is worth it.
6. One of my favorite food choices is to eat Avocado slices drizzled with a bit of olive oil, a dash of salt and a light sprinkling of Tony Chachere's seasoning from Louisiana. Delicious!
7. I will be learning to play the guitar throughout this year, and I'll probably post me and my family singing out-of-tune to a few songs that are attached to the "unique" poetry I write for my family. I'll probably start with the highly inappropriate composed song we'd sing on trips, "This is the Vulture Song."
Stay tuned.
*****
I'd love for every reader of my blog who wishes, to pick up this award and take it to their
blog so they can participate and pass it along further. I don't want to list blog sites individually
because they might have recently accepted this award and played along. However,
if you do accept it, please leave me a comment about it so I can be sure to
stop by your blog to read the seven items about yourself.
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Miss Speckles...We enjoyed spending a bit of this life together!
Thank you for bringing a lot of laughter and smiles to our faces.
11 comments:
Sorry to hear about Miss Speckles missing. I know I panicked when I thought Miss Priss was missing. We can't help but get close to them.
Lana I am sorry about your Miss Speckles. I know how much you care for her. Blessings!
Lara
Lana, so sorry to hear about your cute little hen. I had one hen a couple of years ago, and she too disappeared, but left feathers everywhere so we figured either a dog or coyote got her. She laid blue green eggs for us. It's hard not to get attached and you had yours alot longer than I did mine. You gave her a great life! I guess it's useless to tell you not to get attached....
NO! I, too, had gotten attached to Miss Speckles - in a virtual sort of way. Do chicken hawks really swoop down and grab themselves some lunch? If so, how do people keep free-range hens? And if that's what got her, will it come back for another one? Oh the perils of a chicken!
Sorry Lana. Yet, another farm life lesson slappin' ya upside the head. It's very unusual for a cat to attack a grown chicken and The Deputy's right. No feathers. I would think a Hawk would leave signs of snatching an adult bird, too. Did you check across the road? (sorry, I had to ask)
Charade. Yes. Free range is survival of the fittest or fastest. And, once they've found a meal, they'll return again and again.
If a cat got her, you'd know.
Many people become attached to their chickens. ♥
I hate to say it, but you'll have to be prepared to lose more on your property...
Have you noticed hawks or such flying around? It probably was a hawk. Or some large bird.
I like the Dr. Seuss saying. *Hugs*
Michelle - I do miss her. She's really gone. I can't stand not knowing what happened.
Lara - Thank you, she was an introduction for me into the world of chickens and she made it so wonderful. She brought me untold joy and a new way of thinking about chickens. She was different from the others, such a little cutie and very sweet-natured.
Vickie - I guess some of these creatures just make their way straight to our heart. Those green eggs were a hoot! At least I learned that I love to have little Bantams as laying hens. They are so cute. However, they do seem to be prone for attacks, I guess cause they are extremely visible with their bright coloring, they better catch the eye of predators...that and their small size. Seeing all those feathers laying out there is traumatic. Augh!
Charade - She was too adorable to not give our ohhhs and ahhhs over...such a sweetheart. I know you were giving me air-high-fives each time she made it through a tough time. I hope she's either gone and onto better things or not suffering. And those chicken hawks definitely swoop down and grab chickens. The problem is...we have these hawks on our acreage in great numbers. I told Deputy Dave that we'll probably lose chickens very quickly if they are allowed to free-range. I'm scared to find out! But, we will have to figure things out once we're living there.
I believe the hawk would have a much more difficult time trying to make off with one of my Buff Orpingtons, they are a good 7lbs each and fiesty. Miss Speckles was probably 2 lbs, if that, and she was so delicate. Big "Sigh."
Mike - these lessons will be slappin me upside the head quite a lot in the years to come. I guess it's all part of having more animals in our lives. And yes, we definitely checked across the road!! haha. Maybe she ran off and eloped with little Mr. Bantam rooster that we'd taken to a farm nearby. Nice thought.
Linda - I know, a cat would've made their attack clearly present. I know that we'll have a couple of farm cats, but I hope they stay away from our chickens. I've heard that farm cats learn to avoid the chickens, especially if a rooster is nearby. You are right about having to be prepared about more of this type of thing to happen while on our land. I mostly dread the livestock giving birth and all of the horror stories I hear about having to do emergency C-Sections on the animal yourself. I could definitely picture Deputy Dave doing all of that...he's strength and action under fire, haha, I guess that's why he was military and an officer. As for me, I'm strong...can take anything happening to myself, but if I see it happening to others, that's the problem for me. I also liked that Dr. Seuss saying, it sure came in handy that day of Miss Speckles missing.
Lana
So sorry, Lana. She was such a sweet pretty girl. :(
Sorry about Miss Speckles she is a beauty.
The Dr. Seuss saying is how we should all live life. Beth
Beth - You have been a long-time sweetheart yourself and very supportive. Thank you for always being so sweet. I do miss her every day, but at least I learned that I love the little Bantam chickens.
Lana
Rae --- I have to back up, my post didn't stick...thank you for the comment, she'll always have a special place in my heart as my first chicken-love! I sure hope to gear up for the rest of this farming stuff. I have been so excited though about your goose eggs!!!
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