Chickens and Neighbors, Neighbors and Chickens

So sorry about all the chicken pictures but you people cannot even begin to understand my obsession with these birds. I don't know what's come over me....I have an aging horse who probably could use lots more attention, a dog that needs therapy, two cats who are quite demanding, and, oh yeah, four kids. But it's the chickens who interest me, the chickens I gaze longingly at through my camera lens, and the chickens who take up most of the hard drive space on my computer. I was busily snapping away, my favorite photography subjects pecking and scratching around in the yard, when some of the neighbor kids came over to play. They asked me what I was taking pictures of, and I said the chickens. The girls looked confused; didn't I take pictures of my kids, they wanted to know. No, I don't. I take pictures of chickens. Then the neighbor girls asked me to take their picture. I reluctantly dragged myself away from the chickens and took a few pics of them. And then I went right back to my poultry. I might need an intervention.

Introducing Calissa, quite possibly the cutest chick ever hatched. Seriously. Look at that dollop of adorableness. Don't you want to put her on a spoon and just eat her right up? Metaphorically speaking, of course. She's a silkie and they have black bones, black skin, and grey meat. Very unappetizing looking I imagine.

Calissa's mother, Princess Eugenia. Yes, I won on naming her. Princess Eugenia is an absolute gem of a chicken and if I could make her a tiny throne and a canopy bed be-draped with satin I would. But she would probably just poop all over it since she's a chicken and I would be sad. But Princess Eugenia is seven different kinds of awesomeness. 

Another angle so you might appreciate Princess Eugenia's beauty a bit more. Plus, she's our only laying hen so we have to keep her happy. So far she has laid a dozen eggs. A dozen! Of course, since she's a silkie they're teeny weeny eggs but they taste delicious anyway. You just gotta eat a bunch of 'em. 

I don't care if you're tired of chicken pics. There's a few more to get through. Here's Darth Vader, my other silkie. She's younger than Princess Eugenia but Darth Vader is also quite prosh and floofy. So snuggly, too, and if you rub her blue earlobes she'll go right to sleep. Adorable! 

Marigold was giving me the ol' side eye....she's kind of pecky. Back up a bit if she gets too close.

All right, enough chickens, let's move on to my GORGEOUS neighbor girls. I love these girls. Not only are they sweet and polite, but they enjoy playing the same kind of insane games that my kids like playing. You know, dragons and unicorns and flowers and fairies and magical butterfly princesses.... 

Again with the beauty! There must be something genetically awesome happening in their family because they all have great teeth, hair, skin, and attitudes. Even that princess in the middle who you know is quite a handful. 

Cute girls. It was hard to get them to be still...they were in the middle of a very important play that they dreamt up. It involved swords, a bedsheet, a tree, and a bucket. Not sure what the plot was but I'm sure it was riveting. 

The obligatory funny face shot. Good job, girls. I'll keep this picture forever and use it to bribe all of you when you're older. 

We love our neighbors. There are several more kids in their family, but they didn't want their picture taken that day. Too much competition with the chickens, I guess. 

And, lest we forget, MOS wanted a funny picture taken of him, too. He's wearing his superhero cape his sisters made him. It's a dishtowel that they decorated with superhero-ish items drawn with Sharpie markers the night before superhero day at school when Mommy realized he had completely outgrown his Spiderman costume and he didn't have anything else to wear. MOS loved his cape and has worn it every day, held on by a chip clip. Good times, people. Now if you'll excuse me, the light outside is just perfect for me to get a nice shot of the chickens.