Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?



    When you live in the countryside, being neighborly sometimes means stepping out of your comfort zone. It means helping out in some unusual situations not found in, shall we say, a more urban environment. This calls for an open mind and a willingness to jump into some strange circumstances.

     One sunny afternoon, I drove around a corner to find a huge steer standing right in the middle of the road. Now, even though it was a country road, the speed limit was 45, and that happened to be a rather blind corner.  Naturally, I couldn’t just leave him there; a disaster waiting to happen. It didn’t matter that I had on my prettiest summer dress and heels on my way to a baby shower.    

   There was no one else around, and being a good, neighborly country gal, I jumped into action.  But once I stepped outside the relative safety of my little pick-up truck, I realized this might not end too well!  There was no time to be indecisive, that steer was headed right my way and blocking the road, so I bravely started walking up the only driveway in sight, with Mr. Steer hot on my high heels. He seemed to be a friendly sort of fellow, so I just kept up a steady pace, calling him to follow in what I hoped was my best steer wrangling voice, and nervously looking over my shoulder for signs of flared nostrils, lowered head and  ground pawing.  Once I climbed the little hill to the top of the driveway, I could see where he had slipped right out of the unlatched gate. I knocked on the door of the residence with no answer, so I just walked over to the gate with my newfound friend and he was only too happy to go back inside to be with his buddies. I did leave a note on the door to let the folks know they had an escapee in their midst.

   I’m not the only one who comes across a situation that needs a helping hand. Not too long ago, I was driving home along our narrow, winding mountain road and had to stop behind my neighbor’s vehicle while she rescued a runaway horse in the middle of the road. As I watched, her little daughter searched the trunk for something to tie around the horse’s neck while Mother held the halter-less horse by the mane. All the little girl could come up with was a jacket, but that was put to good use by tying the arms around the horse’s neck. There’s no lacking of ingenuity when it comes to being neighborly.  Off they went, little girl leading the stray along by the coat sleeve, Mother alongside, back to his home, and all was right with the world once more.

   That brings me to the most recent incident in a long line of roadside attractions. I was on my way to the grocery store and had just turned the corner onto the road towards town. I was so glad that I took that corner slow because just as I drove past the first house, a frantic hen ran right out in front of me, followed by a tiny, black and white, long-haired dog.

   My concern for what might happen if another car came along, forced me to stop. As I got out of my truck and thought of what I could do, a young Mother carrying a baby ran towards me. “Oh, please help me catch my chicken,” she pleaded. “I’ve been trying to catch it all morning!” So, like the good country neighbor I am, I went into chicken-catching mode and together we rounded up that wayward bird with the help of one tiny dog. By the time she scooped the poor thing up, it was out of breath and so was I. She offered to let me pet the chicken, asking, “Isn’t she so soft?” to which I agreed, and then she was off to the other side of the road, baby and chicken in hand.

   It was then that the question sprang to mind, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” And I knew the answer finally! “To get to the other side, of course!”  Wouldn’t you run across the road if you had a Llapso Apso chasing you? 


Today I am linking with:

Wednesday Wit and Wisdom



Won't you join the fun? 

27 comments:

  1. Such a fun post, a lovely read. You are definitely one of the earth's angels for helping out :)

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  2. Wonderful! I cannot imagine how brave you would have to be to steer a steer back home again especially while all dressed up for going out. Thankfully my most animally road moments have been waiting for flocks of sheep to cross and I could stay in the car! I am a wimp compared to brave you! xx

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  3. What a perfectly splendid post! Loved all the rescue stories -- they always make a person's heart feel full. And the poor chicken with the doggie after her. No wonder she was crossing the road.

    Thanks for the glimpse into rural life in your corner of the world.

    Wishing you a beautiful evening...
    Brenda

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  4. I so enjoyed listening to your adventures! God bless you for having such a sweet spirit to help with the stray animals! When I get my chickens, I know who to call when they get out! :-)

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  5. This is so cute and funny at the same time. How nice of you to take your life into your hands with that steer for your neighbors! Great post!

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  6. Karen, these are fun stories, and I read til the end because of your delightful writing. I just love to hear short stories about things that happen in one's life.

    Happy Easter to you, Karen.

    ~Sheri

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  7. Hi Karen, I thoroughly enjoyed your stories. It's true when you live outside of town, you never know what you're going to come across. It sounds like you definitely did some good deeds. Last year on my way to work, I came across 3 cows that had escaped and were in the middle of the road. I thought I could try to redirect them with my vehicle, it didn't work lol. There was a lady coming toward me waving her arms at them so I'm hoping she was the owner. I wanted to get out and help but I was going to be late for work if I did so I had to let that one go. But who knows what new adventure is just around the corner. I hope you have a wonderful Easter!

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  8. Hi Karen, I thoroughly enjoyed your stories. It's true when you live outside of town, you never know what you're going to come across. It sounds like you definitely did some good deeds. Last year on my way to work, I came across 3 cows that had escaped and were in the middle of the road. I thought I could try to redirect them with my vehicle, it didn't work lol. There was a lady coming toward me waving her arms at them so I'm hoping she was the owner. I wanted to get out and help but I was going to be late for work if I did so I had to let that one go. But who knows what new adventure is just around the corner. I hope you have a wonderful Easter!

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  9. Great stories! I love living in the country!

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  10. Hi Karen, such a cute story! I love knowing the answer to why the chicken crossed the road. Have a beautiful week. xo

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  11. I enjoy reading about your rescue adventure in the country. That is the beautiful thing living in the country, where neighbours look out for one another. I am glad all ends well.

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  12. Dearest Karen,
    Very sweet post indeed and yes, that's what one does in rural areas; without any hesitation!
    Most city dwellers might cringe at the thought but that's not our idea of life.
    Wishing you a Happy Easter with your loved ones and your critters.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  13. What a great story :) I just love living on the countryside...
    Best wishes for a HAPPY EASTER!
    Love from Titti

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  14. Hi Karen. What a lovely picture...you in your pretty dress trying to manhandle a steer. Such a different life to my little island. Have a happy Easter...chasing chickens. B xx

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  15. Ha Karen you win the good neighbour of the year award! I would love to have you in our neighbourhood, but it's not usually as exciting round here :)
    Have a lovely Easter and hopefully some of your eggs will be chocolate :)
    Wren x

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  16. Such a great post, brave neighbourly and funny all at the same time. Have a great Easter.

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  17. a fun post filled with wit and wisdom!!!! happy spring karen, have a wonderful weekend!!!

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  18. Hi dear Karen !! Una gran historia ..Espero que tenga un bendecido happy easter

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  19. Karen, loved this story of country life! I'm sure you'd be a wonderful neighbor to have, city or country. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  20. Oh this was so fun!! You really are a wonderful country neighbor!! Lol Hope those around you know how much they should appreciate you. ;) I don't know if I'd have had the guts to deal with steer.

    But the chicken story really "cracked me up" (bad pun intended). Haha!

    Blessings to you and your wonderful family for a holy and beautiful Easter weekend. xoxo

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  21. My sister just had a story of a cow in the road. She called the police and they didn't really believe her. When to officer came, it was night, and he didn't believe her either until he shined a light on it. Then randomly her daughter was telling the story to a friend and her friend said, That was your mom?! I heard it on police radio and they were making jokes about it all night.

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  22. During the years we lived in Wyoming the animals blocking the road weren't usually the sort that invited urging out of the way--a moose, a buffalo, elk or even a badger taking up the road and the most one could do was beep the horn--NOT leave the truck and get involved. Here in Kentucky in addition to the deer that often bound across the highway we do keep watch for chickens, dogs, cats, horses and even at night, possums and raccoons.
    I'm glad the steer you escorted to his pasture was a mild-mannered creature.

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  23. Oh Karen thank you for the laughs!! I am trying to imagine your 'best steer wrangling voice'!

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  24. I would have been scared of the steer! One time my husband and I were driving through a desert and we noticed a dog in the middle of nowhere laying at the side of the road. We stopped and he was alive but so dehydrated. So we shaded him and started giving him little bit of water at a time. Then my husband lifted him and placed him in the car. On a blanket I had spread out. The dog had a collar with a dog license but no name, address or phone. As he drove to a town about 20 miles away, I slowly allowed the dog to have more water and gave little bits of food (we had our dog with us so had dog food). We found a humane shelter in the town and they took the dog in. They had a vet check him out and he said the dog would be okay but would have died out there in the heat without water. We gave them our phone number and they were going to work to locate the owner through the dog license. They called us a few days later and told us the owners were so happy to find their fur baby and thankful we stopped. We were glad he was returned home.
    We have reunited fur babies with owners a few times, one who was pregnant!

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  25. Cute stories, we have a pair of dogs, not sure their breed but they are smaller that run around our neighborhood and try as we all might we can never get close enough to them to catch them to read their tags, so we still don't know who they belong to but they are always getting out and the run in front of cars and everything, I am always looking out for them and kids playing in the road.

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  26. Oh, such great stories! A dress and heels and a steer after you -- ack! Glad he was well behaved!

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  27. Being a country girl myself, I just loved these stories! The picture you have painted of you in high heels and pretty dress coaxing a steer down the road is priceless ;) We had our own share of animal experiences, usually involving the animals as well. Our horse was the one that bolted with the cart attached and raced down the road to our poor neighbour's farmyard! I too have gone up to people's homes knocking on the door to alert them to horses in the field of wheat etc. My kids always cringe when I do this stuff, but it has to be done. And that little girl with her coat wrapped around her horses' neck? So sweet.
    One day my sister and I were walking our horse up a steep and busy road with not much shoulder on the side. Suddenly a stallion broke right through a board fence out of his paddock beside the road and actually went after our poor mare!! You can imagine how my sister and I were filled with terror (and embarrassment) as all the cars on that busy road had to stop while our horse was attacked in the middle of the road. I ran back to the farm house and called for help. We were all so shaken up by the time we got home, but I'm sure everyone in their cars enjoyed the show.
    Wendy

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are important to me and are very much appreciated. xx Karen

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