There are things I like to do in the morning.
My preferred ways of starting the day.
A cup of coffee.
A shower and maybe a little yoga.
Some news. A little Facebook. Email. Getting my to-do list in order. Phone calls.
And many other things — depending on the day.
My normal breakfast is a glass of fresh juice and a couple of fresh eggs.
I give the pulp from the juice to my chickens (the little beings who provide the eggs).
But every once in awhile, I start the day by chasing, luring, and cornering chickens. Getting them back into the pen where they belong. Keeping them safe for the day.
That’s how this day started. This cold and rainy morning.
Most afternoons, I let the chickens free range for the last couple of hours of that day’s daylight. They go to bed when it gets dark, and I close the pen.
Last night, I forgot to close the door of the pen.
So this morning — in the cold rain — the chickens were out, pecking around in the yard.
Four of them were easy. I walked over to the pen and they came running — and I quickly nudged them inside and shut the door.
The other two were more difficult. They were in the neighbor’s yard, presumably eating bugs. Their feathers were soaked, but they were happy to stay there.
It took a couple of trips, a bowl of juice pulp, tapping on the bowl, waiting around — and a little entrapment.
It makes me appreciate those mornings in which everybody is dry and warm and inside.