Counting crows!

For the record, I really love love love (no comma's inbetween) my chickens. They roam free - unless under threat from predators and birds of prey - have the run of the mill, to the extent that we sometimes pass each other and chat in the kitchen, when we're a bit late with their food - even though they've DEVOURED my gorgeous lettuces growing in the herb garden (sob)! They all have names and their own personalities and we co-exist happily here on the hill.

Also, for the record - I only EVER wake at 05h30am about 3 times a year, when I need to be in Durban early for business - as for the rest, 05h30 is still considered middle of the night for me, and at my age beauty sleep is no longer a luxury, but rather a necessity!!! But this morning, HOWEVER, since 04h00 (that's like so close to midnight it's RUDE) our Oliver (rooster) has been crowing every minute, at 30 second intervals! One would THINK that by now, he would be hoarse, parched, OR DEAD, BUT ALAS, the crowing continues! My DH assures me that this is a daily/nightly occurance - grrrrr.... clearly he's the light sleeper out of the two of us, but it would have helped had he told me this before I got too attached to kill him!!

Eventually, at 05h15 I get up....SEETHING....

Husband: what you doing????
Me: putting on my UGG boots.
Husband: where you going...??
Me: (calmly)...oh....um...to strangle the chicken...?
Husband: NOW????
Me: Well since we're on the topic - when do you suppose is the best time to kill a chicken???...I'm thinking dead of night WORKS FOR ME!!!????

Silence....OMG - FINALLY!!.... could it be that our 'all too polite' tennant living in our cottage has also lost it at last, and got there before me....YAY!!!..oops, I mean..oh shame....poor Ollie!...still silence.....snuggle up to husband.

COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!!!!!....HMPF!!!!!

Blogging at this time of the morning is NOT something I do every day, but HEY, it beats counting crows! Oliver, born and bred on our little homestead (his Zulu name 'Mandla' means survivor - not for long!!!) will from now on be sleeping with "the girls" (our laying hens), in the hopes that if they're anything like real women, he'll be "henpecked" to death in no time!!...LOL!