A peek at the evening routine on the farm . . .

For the past three days, while the family was out of town, it was our job to house-sit and take care of the animals at Simply Country Farm. I was in charge of the "inside" animals, i.e. KeeKee the cat who is supposed to be a barn cat but prefers to snooze inside the majority of the day—and Murray, the incredibly mellow yellow lab. Ken had the major part of the animal-caring job. His job was to feed Lacey,the horse— Joey, Covergirl, and Destiny, the three goats— 20 or so chickens (Buttercup, Itty-Bitty, and Goldie, to name a few)— and, of course, Elwood the rabbit. Everything went smoothly—except for a visit during the first night by a critter like maybe a skunk or a raccoon, making a meal out of about four to six eggs.

But on the last day of our time on the farm, Ken said to me "You gotta come up and see how funny these critters are, especially when it's time to put them to bed." So I did, and after watching the routine and enjoying a full day's worth of giggles, I thought I'd share the routine with you.

As soon as Lacey hears the back door of the house open, around 5 o'clock in the evening, she heads right over to her "empty" feed trough, patiently waiting for Ken to reach the gate. She wants nothing to do with patting, or "cooing" over her, she just wants to get down to business . . . and she knows that's what he's come to do — to supply her with her evening meal.

The chickens meet him at the gate and follow his every step
. . . no matter where that takes them.

Because they know that, eventually, it'll be their turn!

The goats don't get to come through the gate until it's their turn.

They wait patiently . . . uh, maybe more like impatiently . . .

Joey, at one point, stood on his hind legs to say to me with an attitude . . . something like— "Why does that big guy always get to eat first?"

Lacey is now content. It's hard to see in this picture, but all the chickens are in the barn watching to see which way Ken's going next . . . because they're hoping it's their turn for dinner. . . and they surely don't want to miss out.

They follow him clear into the corral (because Ken didn't want to tromp through some mud) and around to where the door to their chicken coop is (pointing finger). They could have saved a few steps but they love to play "Follow the Leader!"
But it's still not their turn yet and they follow Ken down to the gate once again.

It's finally the goats' turn to come in. It seems that Lacey does better tolerating the goats as long as the chickens are running around. Covergirl, Joey, and Destiny run really fast to their stall, staying as far away as possible from Lacey . . . they're a bit intimidated by the "Big Guy!"

Okay, Lacey's fed . . . Joey, Covergirl, and Destiny are fed . . .
FINALLY the chickens crowd through the chicken coop door . . . because they do eventually get their turn for dinner!

That's the evening routine at Simply Country Farm.

Life is good . . . especially sharing it with the critters!