A Beautiful Saturday

I think my chickens had a good day today.  It's hard to tell. If I judge by how many eggs I collect they have not had a good day since December.  Slackers. On the other had they were outside waiting for me when I brought the fresh warm water at 7 a.m.  I don't want to read too much into it but they seemed excited when I came home at 3 p.m. and let them out of the coop.  Chickenson Caruso and Heckyl immediately flew the coop to take a dust bath while the others remained. I refilled their food  bowl and left the coop door open while I brought a fresh bucket of pine shavings to freshen up the chicken house. The rest of the flock left the coop to follow me as I went to refill the bird feeders.  Just as a joke I put a handful of sunflower seeds on the tip of my rubber boots. Speaking of weird sensations, put sunflower seeds on your boots and feel the pecks of chicken beaks against your toes.  I bend down to touch them. No, they don't like that.  The flock will eat the seeds off my boot but won't allow a gentle stroke down their back.  I kick snow at them.  They don't care.  I come back at dusk and they are all in the coop already hoping I will come and shut the door for them. While they are huddled together in the coop all of a sudden they don't mind a gentle stroke down the back.  Now it is fine for me to touch them in a gentle way.  Slackers!