Chickens

Okay, so this doesn't really have anything to do with being a nanny, but if I wasn't nannying the girls, I never would have done what I did today, I'm sure.  Since I'm house-sitting for the family this weekend, I was being shown the "ropes" by the twins' older (7 yr old) sister, which included how to take care of the chickens.  So, two of them are not wanting to get off the nests, so they require a bit of nudging or being picked up and pulled out altogether, so they can have a few hours of running around in the yard.  Sweetie Pie was fine, a little push and she came out.  Sparkle, on the other hand, gave me a warning, threatening-sounding "baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak" as I reached for her.

Now, I've done a lot of "nature-y" things, like flipping over rocks to look for crabs, climbing around on the boulders at the beach, hiking steep woodsy trails, setting up camp, even backpacking in the Brooks Range in Alaska and having to wear a bug net over my face while trying to eat oatmeal for breakfast while there are mosquitoes getting stuck in it.  But I have NEVER reached for a chicken who is looking at me and saying "baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak" in a tone that makes me wonder if she will begin to pummel me with her hard, sharp beak.

Well, she made no move to injure me, so I rallied my courage and wrapped my hands around her, over her wings, surprised at how fluffy she was, and managed to pull her out off the nest.

Then "big sister" and I had a funny surprise - as soon as we started to walk away from the chicken coop, Sparkle ran willy-nilly across the yard with her wings sticking out precariously.  It was really funny!  She sort of waddle-ran at top speed across the grass, right past us and up onto the porch.  What a fun surprise, with me still feeling, I must admit, a tad proud of myself for the feat I'd just accomplished.
Thank you, Sparkle, for the show!  I'll be seeing you again soon.
So please don't hurt me.     : )