I finish the family

I awoke to insanely loud and insistent peeping. As I tried to extricate myself from the complicated dream I was in, I couldn't help wondering how the chicks had managed to flee the barn and let themselves into my bedroom. Finally I shook off the last vestiges of sweet, sweet sleep, and discovered that Rick had flown the coop and left his alarm clock set for 7 a.m. bird noises.

He claims it was an "accident."

Although 7 a.m. is normally closer to my bedtime than my waking up time, it was a good thing that I was up and at 'em early today. I heard through the Country Jungle Drums that the north-end farm store was having trouble with the hatchery and may not get baby chicks this week, which caused me to call the south-end farm store to inquire about their chickenness, and what ho! the chicks had just arrived! That explained everything. Those chicks were calling me out of bed to come and rescue them.

The family is now complete, with the addition of four Barred Rocks and four Buff Orpingtons. The new babies are like little replicas of the first ones at the moment, only fuzzier and tinier. And louder. There is now a feeding frenzy going on that will probably not stop, ever. And poop. Lots and lots more poop. It's a pooperama.

It's a good thing that baby animals are so cute, because nobody would ever be foolish enough to do all the work required to take care of them otherwise. And by the time they start to mature, it's too late to give them back.

That's how teenagers happen.