The Chickens

Our walks to the chicken pen down the street are becoming more and more frequent. I finally deciphered Isaiah's sign for 'chicken' which is different from the ASL one I had been teaching him. I still use the ASL sign but now understand what he is talking about when he makes a bouncing T with two hands.

"Isaiah. Do you want to go play (sign) or go visit the chickens (sign)?"

"Pay. Pay." he says while he signs for chicken.

I guess we go and play with the chickens.

The walk today was a tad chilly but no complaints from me considering it is third week into November. The robins have gathered in the trees on our route, eating berries and fattening up for their journey south. We stopped to watch them and listen to their gentle sweet chirps. Isaiah is quite pleased with himself that he is allowed to carry the bag of treats for our chicken friends. A downy woodpecker raps out a song, looking for grubs in a dead branch.

I love the chicken greeting we get as we round the corner of the barn. "Bwaaark Baaarrkk, Bwaarrrrk ark ark" and excitedly they rush the fence. We enter the pen with our bag of goodies while they dart in between and under my legs. Today I gave Isaiah some potato bread to hand off to the birds but he started eating it instead. Crouching down I feed happy chickens from my hand, cocked back so that they are only inches from Isaiah. He is quiet. Inside he might be squealing with delight or crying in terror but he says nothing. Even the rooster eats from my hand.

As we are leaving the chicken owners Peg and Philip show up with water and their own hearty supply of chicken dinner. We chat about what foods the chickens seem to like best and Peg invites us (actually she invited Isaiah but he was attached to me with the backpack) in to look for eggs. One hen is in the nesting boxes and plenty of eggs are laying around. I can tell already that Isaiah will be excitedly doing this task on his own when he is a little older. Peg gathers the eggs, offering Isaiah one to touch and hold. As we are getting ready to leave, the sitting hen shifts and reveals another egg. Isaiah's egg. Peg offers, and we accept, to take that special egg home for Isaiah to eat for dinner.

Isaiah and Art

Took Isaiah to Decordova one gorgeous afternoon. Thought I share some photos...

Sharks circling overhead. He was a little scared of this.

He loved the giant stone face...

two hearts

sniffing giant metal 'walnuts'?

Wow

What a crazy week at school. Superintendent gave her notice that she will be done June 30th of this year (her contract was up anyway and I'm quite sure the school committee was not interested in renewing it). And that was the good news for the week ...

Two kids in 8th grade were busted for smoking pot in the boys bathroom ... in the bathroom directly across the hall from the main office. Duh.

The next day another boy was sent home for writing threatening messages and leaving them in the boys bathroom. He too was caught.

And then today, someone calls in a bomb scare. WTH? Kids were corralled down in the playing fields while bomb sniffing dogs and police checked the school.

Hopefully this will end our week of bad luck and ill feelings.