Rosie and Lucy :(

 I had my first week on my own this last week.  I thought I'd have plenty of time to myself to potter around and do stuff around the place but instead it's been a busy and even stressful time.

First - the good stuff that happened ...
1.  Starting a new diet (which I'm enjoying even though the food prep is killing me!)
2.  Figuring out how to use my mobile as a hot spot for my pad (I am a little slow on the uptake with technology so this was a real revelation for me).
3.  Figuring out the bus system in our area and getting a myki card (small things amuse).
4.  Eating the yummiest blueberry friand I've ever had in my life (not part of the diet but who cares).
5.  Walking ... Alot.
6.  Reading that Amy from My TTC Obstacle Course has had her baby girl! Yay!
7.  Having my wife back in my arms for a weekend and finally getting some sleep.

Now for the not-so-great stuff that happened ...
1.  The heat wave on Monday and coming home to small animals in distress.
2.  The clutch going in my car %$%*! (an expensive and unexpected drama which is sorted now but not without tears about how this will effect our ability to fund another IVF cycle ... Which I will get to next time I post).
And 3.  The sudden and traumatic loss of our two chooks Rosie and Lucy who were taken (murdered) by a fox Thursday night.

I am gutted by this last event and have shed quite a few tears about it lately.  I've often thought I should do a post about our animals but have never gotten around to doing it, so today I dedicate the remainder of this post to our two favourite chooks ...

Rosie and Lucy

Rosie and Lucy were two funny little Isa Brown chickens who were a very special part of our family.  I got their hutch as a birthday present from my beautiful wife in June 2010 and a day or two later we got Rosie and Lucy - hand picked by Charlie and Jazz.  Rosie was smart, confident and incredibly cheeky.  She was the first to figure out how to escape the chicken run, would often steal food whether it was meant for her or another animal and basically ruled the roost (for the most part).  At one stage when her and Lucy must have been having their differences she decided to move out of the coop and into the dogs kennel (much to Anikan's disgust).  She also managed to escape the yard completely one day and was brought back to us by a mechanic from the repair shop around the corner.  She was an adventurer and a thrill seeker and reflected much of the same characteristics as Charlie - the one who chose her.  Lucy, on the other hand, was a much quieter and alittle more clueless chicken than Rosie.  She would pretty much just follow Rosie's lead and do whatever she did without much thought.  She was much more easily frightened and although she would come to us, she would often freeze, tap her feet on the spot and crouch down trying to hide whenever we picked her up for a cuddle.  She never figured out how to fly the coop but did follow Rosie out through the vegie patch gates on a number of occassions.  She laid less and smaller eggs than Rosie but was far more trustworthy and sweet in nature.  And although she wasn't the sharpest chicken in the coop, to be fair I think that cluelessness is generally a chicken trait.  For example ... Neither of them ever got the concept of rain or how to get away from it.  It would be bucketing down and they would just run around like the sky was falling and not know what to do.  Scout actually had to save them a few times in the wet season when the lower part of their pen filled up with water and they failed to figure out they should get out of the water by walking up the ramp into their laying boxes!  Anyway ... as silly as they often were, they did bring us much love and amusement.  They would have lived inside with us in our house if we'd let them and I think that's where they really wanted to be because they couldn't get enough of us most of the time.  If I was gardening, they were there beside me pecking at any dirt I moved incase a worm or grub popped out.  If we mowed the grass they would run alongside lawn mower as it was moving ... sometimes a little too close!  They were always at the door or up on our deck (leaving their shit everywhere) and would come running up to see us if we called them or simply walked outside.  They loved the freedom of exploring our yard and the longer we had them, the more lax we became about keeping them in their pen as we wanted them to be able to free range.  We never had any issues with foxes and became complacent about locking them up at night.  In the morning they would always be at the back door waiting to be fed with everyone else, or they'd come running up as soon as they heard us come to the door.  They would always come to us on cue if we ever called "Chook, chook, chook!".  And only last week Scout was playing with them at the kitchen window, calling to them and then hiding out of sight and laughing at their little heads bobbing up and down and all around looking for her and wondering where her voice was coming from.  Anyway, on thursday morning I called, but this time they didn't come.  I thought it was odd but figured they must be laying or still waking up because I was up earlier than usual.  I made my way down to their pen with some veggie scraps and two fat juicy cobs of corn for them ... And that's when I saw the feathers everywhere and then Lucy's body with a hole in her chest and her head gone.  My heart sank and tears ran as the reality of what had happened sank in.  I looked everywhere for Rosie but she was nowhere to be found.  Part of me hoped she may have managed to escape, but the feathers on the fence and in the field next door suggested she was the one the fox chose to take back to her cubs.

I am shattered by the traumatic way they died and how frightened they must have been.  I am angry with myself for being so lazy about locking them up at night.  I feel bad we didn't take the responsibility of protecting them from foxes at night more seriously.  I miss them and their crazy antics. I miss them being at the back door.  I miss them coming when I call.  I miss their beautiful little souls and hope they are scratching around in some grassy field in the sky, enjoying the sun on their feathers and getting up to mischief together just like they would be if they were still with us.  I am so sorry I didn't take better care of you girls.  Thank you for all the love, laughter and eggs you brought into our home.  We loved having you while you were with us and we will miss you both very much ... xx

Rosie on the left and Lucy on the right

Their first egg

Charlie and Rosie on the swing together

Rosie being her usual self

This last picture reminds of the day I found the kids in their cubby house with their toy kitchen sink and cupboards etc full of dirt and straw and them trying to force Rosie and Lucy to nest in it.  They were certainly very patient chickens.