I just went to collect the eggs, and I can see that Lucy is very near the end. She is just a little over 9 years old and is the last remaining chicken of the original 17 Rhode Island Reds that made me a chicken mama. There is a part of me that wishes for her to pass sooner rather than later. She has looked like she is on borrowed time for a bit, but the biggest part of me is just so sad.
I am going to miss her terribly, though she has always been far less interested in me than some of my other chickens. She doesn’t like for me to pet her. I try to always respect their wishes about such things. Some let me pet them, and some do not. Mary Jane loves for me to pet and talk to her. She leans in and looks me in the eye. Just the other today, I was petting both Mary Jane and Lucy, as they hang out together a lot. The old girls tend to stick together as the bosses of this place. When I pet them both, I could see the difference so clearly in a chicken who likes human contact and a chicken who tolerates it because I am the bringer of many good treats.
Lucy was my first mama hen. She raised the first three Poe babies–all of whom turned out to be roosters. Lucy has been with me for nearly a decade! Yeah, I am going to miss this chicken.
It’s also been a bit of a tough time this summer because of the rain. It’s so surreal to me. Last year, in that drought, I prayed and prayed to the universe for rain. This year, it’s so rainy and gray that some of our garden just will not grow. I keep reading about some people’s garden rotting! So far, we haven’t had that happen, but it’s a bit of a worry.
This morning, Ron looked at the weather forecast and had several swear words to offer. I couldn’t believe it when he told me. How can there be another 10 days of this rain? We are at least supposed to get a little break tomorrow and the next day, I think. Hopefully, hopefully, our strawberries will ripen.
On the bright side, I was able to make rhubarb jelly today–and guess what! It’s pink! I’ll have to write about that tomorrow. I am going to go see Lucy one more time before bed. Tonight might be a my last night to say goodnight to her. I know we are close. She’s a determined girl, though. We’ll see.
