Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken (Part VI)

If you missed them, please see:

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken 

(Part I)

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken
(Part II)
Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken
(Part III)

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken
(Part IV)

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken
(Part V)

It would be dark soon, and Lucille needed to find a safe place to sleep. Tonight would be even darker than the last with almost no moon to speak of.

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken
(Part VI)

Talk about a cliff hanger!! It has been almost exactly SIX MONTHS since we last saw poor Lucille trying to find her way back home after being carried off by a hungry hawk!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Wet and bedraggled, Lucille searched for a safe place to roost for the night. Much to her luck, she found a wild, evergreen magnolia tree. The big, green leaves would help to hide her from the wide array of hungry nocturnal hunters she knew were already starting to prowl for the evening.

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken (Part V)

If you missed them, please see:

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken 

(Part I)

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken
(Part II)
Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken
(Part III)

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken

(Part IV)
 

Coming out of the underbrush, Lucille almost fell right into a rushing mountain river. Lucille's heart sank.  

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken
(Part V)

The river was very wide and deep. The water churned white as it rushed over jagged rocks and multiple pieces of debris sped down the river as if they were racing each other to some unseen finish line. Lucille knew there would be no way she could safely cross... at least not here.

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken (Part IV)

If you missed them, please see:

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken 

(Part I)

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken
(Part II)
Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken
(Part III)

How would she get across this space without attracting the attention of another hungry raptor. What if there were dogs? Or coyotes? Or foxes? The mountains were filled with predators of every kind who would love a fresh chicken dinner!

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken (Part IV) 

 

Lucille gazed out over the pasture wondering how she could safely get to the other side. She knew that with her injuries she would not be able to outrun a predator, and that as a white chicken, she would be easily spotted out in the wide-open space.

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken (Part III)

If you missed them, please see:

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken 

(Part I)

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken
(Part II)

Given her temporary reprieve, Lucille allowed her eyes to close, and slipped into a fitful sleep.

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken 

(Part III)

As the first rays of sun peeked over the Virginia Blue Ridge mountains, Lucille began to stir. Only upon trying to move did she realize just how sore her little body was this morning. Her lungs ached when she drew her breath and she could feel each new scab that had developed  over every scrape, cut and wound as she had slept. 

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken (Part II)

If you missed it, please see:

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken 

(Part I) here!

 
Taking no time to register just how high she was in a very, very high tree, Lucille jumped...

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken 

(Part II)

Branches ripped at her feathers and face as she fell downward, through the tree. Lucile used her wings to help slow her decent, but it did not lessen the sting of the sharp, leafless branches as they slashed her face and pulled feathers from her sides. Finally, after what seemed like hours, her fall ended with a hard thump into the mud and roots at the base of the tree, knocking the air from Lucille's lungs.

Above the male hawk took flight again, swooping downwards on swift, silent wings to retrieve his escaped prey.

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken (Part I)

Note: While the Natural Chicken Keeping blog is touted as a down-to-earth, no-nonsense chicken keeping resource, there are times that a blogger simply must break away from the norm. Every now and then seemingly fantastical circumstances from real life set the imagination alight with possibility. The story of Lucille's disappearance and homecoming is just such a circumstance.

While we may never know the real story - whether it be mundane or possibly even more exciting that the imaginative blog version, what we do know is that one very normal, simple chicken had a very unusual and dangerous adventure... and survived.

Crossing the Road - The Adventure of Lucille the Chicken 

(Part I)

I would like to introduce you to a rather extraordinary chicken by the name of Lucille.

A Bit of an Update

Yes - it's been a while once again.

Winter has settled in and has made no indication it is willing to release its grip on the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains... yet. But the chickens and I hold out hope that spring will boot Old Man Winter out of the region very soon.

What a Great Gift for a Farmer!

This year we received a wonderful gift in the form of some outerwear from Duluth Trading Company.

To be frank, with our finances the way they are, we would never have gone out and purchased these items for ourselves. In fact I've been wearing the same old work coat for... NINE years, I think? It has seen better days, to say the least... especially in light of being worn all winter on a farm!