It’s so hot. It’s hot everywhere. Last night, I saw the Tweet going viral that shows a map of the global temperature now compared to global temperature in June of 1976 when, apparently, there was another global heatwave. Truly, there was no comparison. The current map looked how it feels–like the world is on fire. Of course, below the maps, I read the arguments for and against climate change. People were arguing whether or not it’s real. People were arguing whether or not humans have played a role in it. Some people were arguing with NASA.
I mean sure. NASA scientists were able to take a telescope on its last run and use the gravity of Jupiter to sling shot the telescope around to reach Pluto. But I am sure NASA scientists have no idea what they’re talking about. The guy on Twitter knows all though. Sigh.
It’s so hot that I worry about our chickens and ducks, especially the older folks. Today, I did a grocery store pick up and bought a bunch of watermelon. These watermelon were not cheap. In fact, I cannot believe how much watermelon cost now, and since it’s so darn hot here, I am going to make the case for a watermelon patch in the garden next year. We tried to grow a watermelon about five or six years ago, and it almost made it. Ron said it needed to be just a little bit hotter here. Well, it’s hotter here now, and watermelons are like $7 each. I bought six today. I watched the kind young man loading the watermelons. He asked me if I wanted them in the back of the car in any certain way, and I told him to just roll them in there. I told him they were for the chickens. He laughed. I don’t know if he thought I was lying or just truly a strange chicken lady. I think the latter.
I swear, it was worth it. Everybody around here loves watermelon, and everyone was so thankful for it. I thought I would just tell the story of today’s watermelon feast in pictures. I hope the sweet chickens getting some sweet and juicy relief from the heat makes you smile.
There is so much anticipation when I am cutting up the watermelon. Rooster (our rooster) starts calling everyone. Ron came over to see why Rooster was carrying on. “It’s the watermelon,” I said.
Here, the big group is enjoying the watermelon. In this picture, you can see Rooster and his lovely tail, Saint Saens, and that’s Bertha in the front. You can also see the back of Mary Jane.
This is Mary Jane in all of her glory. Notice how she has a piece of watermelon all to herself? This is because everybody knows Mary Jane is epic. She is a miracle of a chicken. She is a pardoned meat bird (a freedom ranger) who was pardoned the day Tom Petty died in 2017. That’s why she’s named Mary Jane. She is now over five years old (I expected she might live two or three years). She LOVES watermelon the most!
The babies get some watermelon too, only they’re not really babies anymore. These are two from Ruby’s crew. Aren’t they gorgeous? They look like little muppets to me. We finally have names for the four girls from Ruby’s clutch. We named them after girls in Beatles’ songs–Eleanor, Prudence, Lil, and Molly. Right now, I do not know these four well enough to tell them apart, but I can see one is always dissatisfied at everything. I think she’ll be Lil.
Here, you can see another of Ruby’s crew along with my babies. That’s Piatigorsky in the center (the sweetest chicken in the history of the world), Rostropovich on the right front, Hector is the black hen on the right, and the little rooster in the back is Dvorak. He’s still very sweet so far. I hope he stays so. As an aside, Rostropovich seems to have learned her lesson and no longer runs from me at night. However, when I squat down and hold out my hands for her, she still attacks my hands before she jumps in. I have no idea exactly what this is about, but it seems like she resents needing my help.
And this is Kate and her miracle baby! I have named her Beatrice, and she’s very sweet. Kate has also turned out to be a better mama than I thought she might be originally. She has settled down a lot and does a really good job. I’m proud of her, and I am so thankful that little miracle chick made it. She’s a bit small for her age but not much. She’s mostly caught up.
2 thoughts on “Everybody Loves Watermelon–A Photo Essay”
What a wonderful watermelon/chicken story!! I love the way you captioned the pics with names and a bit about their personalities.
It was nice to meet them….thank you! 💕
Oh, I love that you liked meeting them! One time my neighbor asked me why I named my chickens, and I replied, “For one thing, it makes it easier to tell stories about them.” But, also, for real, some of them know their names. Mary Jane definitely does!
Farmer-ish 
What a wonderful watermelon/chicken story!! I love the way you captioned the pics with names and a bit about their personalities.
It was nice to meet them….thank you! 💕
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Oh, I love that you liked meeting them! One time my neighbor asked me why I named my chickens, and I replied, “For one thing, it makes it easier to tell stories about them.” But, also, for real, some of them know their names. Mary Jane definitely does!
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