Rosetta

Day 13: I grew up on a poultry farm, so while my friends reveled in the missions of Commander Tom and Dust Mop, I gathered eggs after school. We usually had 5000 New Hampshire Reds roaming freely in several large buildings. It was our job to check the nest boxes for eggs and put them into a large wire baskets. Without fail there would always be one or two broody chickens sitting on a horde of eggs. Broody chickens are other-wise sweet chickens, who are in very bad moods... VERY BAD moods, but I had a job to do. I usually decided to do the stare down method. In this method, you would stand squarely in front of the broody girl and look her in the eyes. Her eyes would narrow and her feathers rise in defiance. This was very much like an old fashioned gun fight. Slowly your hand would slide into your sleeve, but don’t lose eye contact... gather your courage, take a deep breath and... plunge you hand under the chicken, grasping the warm eggs and removing them before your adversary drew blood... your blood. Upon your success, do a little end zone dance and move on. Move on as the victor.

“Rosetta” watercolor 5”x3” (SOLD)

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