The weather forecast for the next several days is cloudy but NO rain. We are giddy here. It’s blustery, chilly and windy, yet we’re all smiling and saying, “isn’t it lovely?”

I am hoping that the green tomatoes still clinging to the plants will ripen. To help them along, I decided to cut off all the excess foliage and clear away the rotting pieces. Let the sun in to dry out those plants! Most of my garden is done for the winter though, I’ve got a good patch of rutabagas and I’m slowly harvesting carrots – none of which will be harmed by chickens, so I invited the girls into the garden.

They’ve been eyeing this fenced off area and were eager to see what I’ve kept from them. They scratched. They explored. They tasted a bit of the remaining lettuce. Then they left me to my work. They fanned out over the yard, gleeful at being out and about. I’d let them out the other day, but their forays were cut short by a hawk that swooped low over the yard and around the big barn. I think it was looking for a bantam to pick up. Luckily, my husband saw it and chased it away and hustled the girls back into the safety of their yards.

In any event, today the chickens had a nice long outing. I was still working when they decided to go back to their coops. The hens that live in the big barn (Eleanor, Edwina, Maizie, Alma, Twinkydink and Blackie) all meandered back inside that building. The rest of the girls all found their way back to the smaller coop.

Isn’t it something how the hens, even with their freedom, stay in their own social groups and go each to their own homes for nap time? I’m anthropomorphizing, but, it sure is sweet.