I love all of God’s creatures and I spend a lot of time feeding the wild ones as well as the tame ones that reside on my little five acres.
Animals, however, take advantage of me; take for example the old tom cat that used to hang around my place. He wouldn’t let me get close to him even after more than a year of coaxing. He did, however, call me out to feed him every morning by coming up on the porch and meowing loudly. I was perfectly happy with that arrangement of feeding him and trying to get him to accept me as a friend, no matter how long it took. That however, was not good enough for Tom, he brought a pregnant female cat home with him one day, which seemed a little pushy of him, given our history together. The female, unlike the male, was lovable to a fault, and seemed to always be right under my feet. It made me wish she was more like the Tom sometimes.
To avoid a population explosion in cats I had her spayed, and after she weaned her litter of four, found the kittens a home. I then had only two cats to feed, one I couldn’t pet and one that wouldn’t leave me alone. I called the female my $127 cat because that’s what it cost to make her immune to the tom cat’s amorous overtures. I’m sure that further alienated him. Unlike the tom cat, Miss Kitty (A name my granddaughter Shelbi gave the female) loved being close to me and wouldn’t stay off my feet when I sat on the porch. As I said animals take advantage of me. Miss Kitty and Mr. Dillon, a name we eventually gave the tom, both disappeared something that happens to cats in the country. I have to admit I miss both of them. There are always cats around when you live in the country, however, and there are two that came uninvited to eat my cat food on the back porch as I write this. They are a don’t touch me male and a spayed female that won’t stay off my feet; go figure.
Squirrels take advantage of me, too. In spite of my best efforts they swing on my bird feeders like disobedient children until they are empty. The birds I dutifully refill the feeders for, on the other hand, decorate my car daily. A small family of deer that I provide cover for by not mowing the field where they stay, show their appreciation for my hospitality by visiting my garden in the middle of the night to nip off the tender stalks of corn, and other plants. I doubt that a man could build a fence tall enough to keep deer out.
I am planning to build a chicken house and pen before long, not just because I love chickens and fresh eggs, but also because I think of all God’s creatures the chicken is the least likely to take advantage of people. I like having them around because they are gentle, and ask for nothing but a little feed and water for which they give back eggs and sometimes much more. My mother-in-law was a woman who loved having chickens around and I remember hearing her say many times that she got a feeling of peace and contentment in a chicken pen she couldn’t get anywhere else. I agree with her. I have felt that way too, as I watched the chickens peck and scratch around me as I threw feed to them when I had them in the past. The main thing about chickens, however, is they are unassuming. A chicken does not require petting like a cat or dog, and they will even resist the effort. A chicken earns its keep by providing food in payment for its chicken feed, unlike cats or dogs that earns nothing and digs holes in the yard, usually where my wife has planted flowers. Don’t get me wrong I still love all of God’s creatures, but is it too much to ask in that they respect me in the morning?
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