Sleep

Sleep, I really need my sleep. Sleep is very important to me and lately I just can’t seem to get enough of it. So, it probably goes without saying that I do not like to be woken up. This presents a small problem since for obvious reasons I am woken up usually several times throughout the night. I have two smallish children who are transitioning into their own beds and bedroom. They have nightmares. They have to go to the bathroom. They are scared. I’m sure you know the list. My mother always assured me that when I had children I would become a morning person – not true. I manage to keep a fairly nice demeanor when my children are involved.

The problem however, is not my children. It’s the dog. You see I have discovered that there are rats in the vines against my back fence and I’m pretty sure a possum (since I found a small, teenage possum in my garage in early summer). Well, my toy poodle who frequently just looks like a rat herself, since I am terrible about grooming her, has decided that it is her responsibility to bark at the intruders – all night long.

I have tried letting her in the house, but since I sleep with the windows open, apparently she can still hear the intruders and continues to bark. If she were actually doing something, say killing them, I wouldn’t have a problem with the barking. And for some reason, I keep thinking that tonight, she won’t bark. I’ve gotten desperate and last night she got put in my closet. I got sleep, for a while.

You see I also have a chicken that is currently very mad at me. She disappeared 2 weeks ago. And since I have had other chicken fatalities (not with the current dog), I assumed the worst. However, there were no feathers, no parts, no evidence whatsoever to support my pessimism. She however was nowhere to be found. For 10 days! Then a few days ago she was on the patio eating out of the dog bowl. And promptly disappeared again. I have searched my yard from top to bottom, so have my kids, their friends, my boyfriend, his kids and their friends – repeatedly. We hadn’t found the chicken in almost 2 weeks. Walking around in frustration I noticed a low bush that had a branch dying, and there were no spider webs around that dying branch – I lifted it up and not only was the big black chicken under there she had 14 eggs she was sitting on.

Since the puppies are big enough now to think chasing chickens is fun, I have locked them up until the puppies are gone. So, Big Black Chicken had to be locked up too. I moved her eggs (we had a rooster until a few days ago) to the nest in the coop. She refused to sit on them, is completely ruffled and has also refused to lay any more eggs. Did I mention that she also chews me out when I approach the cage or it has gotten light and she’s not allowed out? Who knew chickens were so adamant about their rights?