Oh how farm life can slap you in the face when you try to sneak away. Waking up to the Mississippi River outside the Trempealeau Hotel window was lovely, the jacuzzi tub was grand, the dip in Lake Wazee was exactly what I needed, but we came home to tragedy. I walked to the garden to start the sprinkler and whipped my head around when I saw the chicken coop door was wide open. My heart dropped. I already knew what it meant. Most of the baby chickens were dead. I ran to the door. It was a horror show. I ran to get Rufus, yelling into the house, “You better come quick, the chicken coop door was open and most of the chickens are dead”. “WHAT!!!?” He jumped up and we scrambled to try to recover the baby chicks hiding in the tall weeds. Rufus got the wheelbarrow and started pitching dead bodies into it. He mercifully sent me back into the house. “I’ll take care of this, you can go in”. Mary had done the chicken chores and must not have made sure the door was latched. The dogs had a heyday. We have about 25 chickens left out of 100.

~Joy