Posts
The above photo is of my Daddy and my Aunt Dorothy, taken circa 1940. My aunt Dorothy just recently passed away, and this was one of her photos that my cousin shared with us. As I was looking at the photo, I wondered aloud about the object prominently displayed on my dad's vest- a watch maybe? Not a watch, shared my mom, but a medal. A medal that he won in a statewide poultry judging contest for Future Farmers of America when he was in high school. Poultry! A few minutes of rummaging later, my mom produced the medal above. See that rooster? I knew there had to be some reason lurking in my background for my affinity for those cackling creatures.
My fascination with chickens began many years ago. We kept chickens on our farm when I was growing up, but most of them were the kind you really didn't want to get attached to- the kind that would eventually wind up on the dinner table.
We had two bantam hens named Speckles and Desmond that were considered pets, and then there were the roosters Carrot Top and Rojo. I learned early that roosters don't just crow when the sun comes up. They've got to crow all day long just to make sure it stays there!
I now have my own motley crew of chicks and chickens and enjoy eating the eggs they produce and watching their antics. (Well, all of them except one rogue rooster who is no longer around to attack my grandson. But that's another story.) I can't help but wonder what my dad would think of my little flock. He was a champion poultry judge, you know!
