Pamela

Pamela.  A Cute Chick.

Even as a week old chick, Pamela was distinctive.  Her dark coloring set her apart from her peers.  She was dark and she was small.  Her behavior set her apart as well.  From the time we could distinguish the hens from the roosters, Pamela hung around the roosters.  If the hens were pecking near the rhubarb and Dwight moved toward the compost, Pamela was there, right at his side.  If all the chickens were in a tight group, Pamela was closest to Dwight or closest to Angela (who later was named Angelo once we realized she was a he).   All the chickens could be busy scratching and pecking but if a rooster moved away from the group, Pamela was the always the first to notice and the first to follow.  This meant she got mounted more often than the other hens.  My early impression of her is that she was one of those sexist women.  Do you know what I mean?  I know several of these sexist women.  A sexist woman will seek unnecessary attention from men.  If a sexist woman had a screw loose (and they often do) and they see two people in front of them (one a woman holding a screwdriver and the other a man not holding a screwdriver), the sexist woman will ask the man for help.  OK, I will stop ranting about one of my pet peeves.  My point is that even though Pamela hung around the roosters, she was not a sexist chick.  Once the roosters were culled, Pamela hung around Meredith.  In a coop with no roosters, Meredith took over as the head honcho.  Meredith stayed the boss except for a couple days she spent recuperating after she was abducted by the gray fox.  This means Pamela was not sexist.  Pamela was a survivor.  Pamela had street smarts.  Well, no streets were involved.  Pamela had yard smarts.  She was watching out for her own safety.  If a hawk flew over the yard, who noticed and ran under the deck?  Pamela.  If I had sunflower seeds in my hand ready to lure the chickens back into the coop, Pamela noticed first.  Pamela paid more attention to her environment.  When the gray fox abducted Meredith, I wondered why it didn't try to get Pamela who was smaller instead.  I suspect Pamela saw (or smelled) the gray fox first and took steps to protect herself.  I am going to miss Pamela.  She was one of a kind.

Pamela is in the lower right corner of the photo, back to the camera, staying close to Meredith.