Sorry for the long absence but a ranch wife doesn’t do a lot of sitting around eating potato chips and watching Soap Operas.
I woke up this morning about 1:12 a.m. as I usually do, instead of laying in bed hoping for more sleep I thought I’d get up and share a story or two. I’m going to share some ranch critters with you and life events/thoughts. I hope you get a chuckle to two or maybe just maybe give you something to think about yourself. My first story is going to be about a rooster named “Bam Bam”.
Bam Bam the Rooster.
My daughter Amanda had never owned a chicken so off we went to Tractor Supply and bought not one but two Banty chicks both looked about the same, yellow and a few dark spots, tiny little buggers (so cute). We were hoping they were girls but fully aware we could end up with roosters. We took our little babies’ home and almost loved them to death. Amanda would cuddle hers to her chest where it would sleep happy as a little clam. Amanda fully convinced hers was a girl named her Ella after her great grandmother and I named my Bam just because it ran around carelessly getting into any and everything it could until it showed its true identity…that’s right, it’s a boy…hence Bam Bam. Much to my daughters’ surprise, hers turned out to be a boy as well so we changed Ella to Ewa. Ewa was a golden orange just stunning colors, Bam Bam glammed white pearl like feathers on his neck and wings with jet black feathers on his torso, he was handsome and let you know it by crowing at the top of his lungs and chasing the other lady chickens/hens around the yard. They were much too big for him to concour but that didn’t stop him, he let all the girls know he was the man in charge. Ewa was just happy being the most handsome rooster in the yard. One morning, I was heading to the barn to feed the critters and was stopped dead in my tracts at our back gate, here came Bam Bam running at me full charge as to say “STOP where you are”. I was a little amazed at his tenacity, cause he might have been a whole three pounds. To give him the respect he so justly demanded I stopped and listened to what he had to say. “This is my pasture and I’m not going to let you pass” he crowed. He dropped his wings to the ground and shuffled them back and forth at me. I called it chicken dancing, what he was doing was courting me. I laughed and delighted at his wonderful taste in women but confused at his advances. I hesitated but ignored his advances and went on about my business and fed the critters. When I went back in the house, I told my husband Dale that he’s going to have to work on his courting skills cause Bam Bam has decided that I’m his woman, cornered me this morning with a little dance and crow. All Dale had to say was, “Is that right”. You’d think that would be the end of it but No, every morning as I headed to the barn, Bam Bam would step in front of me wings to the ground and dance. Finally, I just reached down and scooped him up in my hands locking his little feet between my fingers, boy was he surprised. After a few minutes of trying to break free, he settled down and just rested in my hand. I tried to explain to him that although I appreciated his advances and his skills but I am a married woman and it just wouldn’t work between us. After some gentle conversation and petting his lovely feathers, I placed him back on the ground where I was sure he would pursue the other ladies much more suitable to he breed BUT NO, he followed me to the barn stepping in front of me dancing a crowing until once again I scooped him up and carried him to the barn. Placing him on the fence rails while I fed, he continued to crow over and over again. This continued every day, he finally decided to talk to Dale one morning and jumped on Dale’s shoulders and crowed at the top of his lungs. I’m sure the personal conversation between him and Dale was a little tense at first, but they came to an understanding, I’m not sure what that was but afterwards Bam Bam became everyone’s special little guy. He proudly perched himself on anyone that entered his domain and crowed to the top of his lungs. Everyone of the kids that came to the ranch was greeted with the same love hug. He became quite the little man at the ranch. Sadly, one day he ventured too far in the pasture and disappeared. We were not sure what happened to him, could have been a chicken hawk or a coyote or even a bobcat but he was gone. We grieved as did the kids for a while, but that little Bam Bam is not easily forgotten. Ewa disappeared as well one day, such is the life on the ranch, life and death are a delicate balance.
Little critters who made a special place in our heart are never really gone. I’m positive Bam will be waiting for me in heaven and will greet me with the same love and affection we had on the ranch. Some bonds can never be broken.
God Bless