Little Chicken

In the picture I am holding a chicken, one of the jailbreaks that happens whenever the little tractors are moved.  This one happens to be the last of the five that escaped from his little tractor - he is about five weeks old, and that makes his date with destiny a little more than three weeks off.  I asked David to snap a picture of me holding him, since he was the last one we'd gather that morning during the chicken chores.

I am smiling in the picture - and at first blush, that's more about the fact that I was enjoying the day so far (there'll be more on the topic tomorrow) than about the fact that I am holding this little cockerell.  It's hard to tell if I am looking at the camera, but while posing for this shot and the back up, most of the time I was not looking at the camera, but at the bird.

We'd gathered the other four escapees pretty quickly, because they didn't stray far from their brothers in the tractor.  They kept trying to get back in, despite the chicken wire that was keeping them out.  This little guy had caught sight of a cricket, though, and went off on his own in pursuit of the tasty little bug.

I interrupted that hunt by chasing him down.  So by the time I got back to the tractor and we set up the photo, I was holding a slightly winded little chicken, hot with the sun, heart pumping.  So while the smile on my face was because of a beautiful day, and because of the opportunity I am enjoying just now to explore something I've wanted to know more about, it's also about the fact that this live thing is in my hands, and I can feel the energy from it...and I can't keep from looking at the source of that energy.

I've thought about this a few times since the photo was taken last week.  I can still feel that exuberation.  I honestly have to say that I am looking forward to the next time I am running around in the field catching the jail breaks.