Death 2, Life 3 The rest of the story

Kelly Clarke
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Michael and Zsa Zsa, RIP

Well, Sunday wasn't over after our sad experience with the hawk and our beautiful hen.  Jerry confessed that something (probably the same hawk) had also killed sweet Zsa Zsa, our sweetest and tamest hen, and said he hadn't wanted to tell me at the time. 

I think the hawk must have struck and wounded her and she sought refuge in the nesting box and died there.  We'll never know, though.  Not a speck of blood or any obvious wound.

However, we went home after getting everybody tucked inside the Chicken Hilton and Jerry made ready for his grand experiment: chocolate covered pecans.  He's talked about them for years, and we bought some on our recent trip to Fredericksburg and they disappeared suspiciously fast (not that I had anything to do with it). 

Jerry making chocolate covered pecans

Anyway, the afternoon was given over to cracking and shelling and melting and dipping.  In the midst of it all, the phone rang.  It was Anita.

“Well, guess what?” she said, “We have a little kitty.”

“One?” I replied.

Yes.  It turned out that Skitty Kitty (as I call her), whom I had divined  might be in the family way, had delivered herself of a baby at 1:00 AM that morning, under the bed of a brand new weekend resident assistant staying over at the Ranch for the first time by the name of Diana.

“I heard noises under the bed, and then I heard this tiny baby kitty sound, and looked under the bed and the mama kitty was cleaning it off and it was just crying and crying,” said Diana.


Skitty with her baby
Skitty appeared several months ago, emaciated and scared, and although we've all been feeding her, she was not allowed into a house because we don't have cats in the houses.  For months she wouldn't let anyone near her, and lived in the culverts of the Village.  She made the rounds of the houses at mealtimes and we all fed her.  I was amazed she'd eluded the coyotes for so long, but she was agile and wary, and those traits served her well.
When the temperature fell to the teens however, Anita asked if she could bring her inside and I said of course, if she'd go.  To leave her outside would be inhumane.  She's really bonded with the girls of Teresa House, so that was the logical house anyway.

Baby kitty seemed exceptionally large and vigorous to me.  I didn't try to pick him or her up.  I examined mama and felt two more in there, and sure enough last night they were born.  Natalie and Crystal are ecstatic.



Jerry's chocolate covered pecans



Back to the chocolate covered pecans.  They are delicious! 
But I had to tell Jerry the truth:  They look distressingly like large bugs. 
He huffed, but you can judge for yourself.
So at this point on Super Bowl Sunday the score stands at Death: 2   Life: 3.  Be not proud indeed!