It’s me and Spice today, with a light rain falling.
A papaya from way up high
Our kind neighbor said that since nobody can reach the high papayas anyway, I could pick any I managed to get. So I set a five-gallon bucket by the tall tree, climbed up, and knocked one down with a bug net. Not easy!
Taro wandered off like a lost child, so I had to go and collect him first. I kept the seeds to plant, and brought only the inside of the papaya — and the hens were eating it before I could even offer it. Then I took some to the little ones: to Bee, a food-lover who’s a bit on the weak side, to Kiwi, who can’t see at all, and to Pen-chan.
It had been about a year since they last had papaya, and some seemed to have forgotten what it was.
Dolly in the garden
While I was happily handing out papaya, Dolly got into the vegetable garden and ate all sorts of things. She ate the new tomato shoots, but I’ve replanted them and I think they’ll come back. And this cucumber has lost its leaves — it was a cucumber a minute ago, covered in buds! It’ll probably recover.
Dolly doesn’t look the least bit sorry, more like, “Why did you kick me out?” No means no! The garden is important! In the commotion I chased her out with papaya-covered hands, so now she’s a bit orange. Sorry, Dolly!
I feel a little bad, so I’m thinking of making a garden just for Dolly. And look — she’s already back over there, very pleased, as if to say, “There was good grass here all along!” You’re not allowed in there, Dolly.
Meet Iruka
Today’s chicken is Iruka, who is extremely grumpy right now (all the roosters crowed at once while I was introducing him). Iruka has a sister named Shachi (“orca”), who has little dabs of white around her face that make her look like an orca. So, for a matching set, this one became Iruka (“dolphin”).
Taro cornered him earlier, so his comb is a little injured and he’s in a daze. A rooster’s feathers stand up when he’s angry, and Iruka’s are standing straight up.
Iruka is actually the nephew of Pen-chan, the very first chicken I kept. His feathers are beautiful, with red and blue mixed together, a little like Heart, the leader of the little ones’ pen. But he’s still near the bottom of the pecking order, so he squabbles with the other low-ranking birds. Gorgeous, but a bit of a pushover.
Thank you for watching Chicken Paradise Hawaii! See you next time.