Emmy Lou Votes!

I just got back from voting! It was fabulous to be a part of the process. I was not sure what all of the buttons on the screen said since I cannot read but I think I did pretty well for my first time. I was a little unsure of who the donkey and they elephant were but that's okay!

I got back and the other girls wanted to know all about it. What is like? Did they ask to see your summer feathers for identification? Did you have to give them an egg to buy the vote? Too many questions to answer them all in depth. My head was spinning from the excitement.

Eventually, Tanya Clucker got jealous of all the attention I was getting. Her little outburst came as no surprise to me; she is often the source of conflict in the coop. And once she saw my "I Voted" sticker, it was all over. There were feathers flying and chicks squawking and beaks pecking...it was an ugly scene. Once the feathers settled, Tanya was restrained by Wynonna and June Carter. She was attempting to rip her wings free of their grasp. Heaven knows what she could have done without their intervention. (She did rip a few feathers out while trying to steal my sticker.) We talked it out and she is okay with it now. I simply reminded her that next time she needs to plan ahead and register and arrange for a ride like I did!

I think our "Chicks For Obama" rally really helped get out the vote! All those minorities, like us, were there in force. I saw more hot roosters in that precinct than I have seen in the last five years! Whoa. If my mother could see me now!

Introduction to Womanhood, by Lorreta Lynn

It's been five days now since my first egg. While I was under the impression I was a brown egg kinda gal, I discovered, to my shock, that I actually lay blue-green eggs. Luckily, there are no pigs here for the time being so my eggs may have a chance. I am not sure how it all works, though. If I don't sit on my eggs will they not hatch? Do I just sit on them for long periods of time and then they will hatch? What exactly does a rooster do and why isn't there one here? My eggs have also been mysteriously disappearing. This whole egg business if very strange.

I also discovered that while I had been told I was a pure-bred Brahma, the rumor in the coop is that I am actually a mutt. I heard two of the other girls talking last night on the roosting pole. June Carter said I am possibly a Brahma-Araucana mix. Devastating. The transition from being a girl to becoming a woman was enough for one week and now, this! Will my dignity ever be restored after such a revelation? Will I soil the good name of Lorretta Lynn with this indignity?

In the meantime, I continue to stay focused. My goal is to be the number one layer in the coop and it's gonna be stiff competition this winter. I get up early every morning to work out. I do a few pull-ups on the roosting pole, anywhere between 200 and 300 sit-ups, a morning and afternoon jog around the run and I lift weights five days a week. They key to fitness is the rest and recovery period. On those days, I go for a long walk and stretch well. I also try to watch what I eat and I do yoga and pilates for my core strength and flexibility.

How Many Eggs Do They Need?

33 eggs so far. I have been cooped up now for almost two months. While the people let me out once in a while to forage for tasty snacks I still have to sleep in a confined space with five other smelly women who poop on the floor continuously. Loretta once made a break for it and was free for over a day. She magically appeared back in the yard. She was very frazzled and was missing quite a few of her feathers. She reported that it was hell being out on her own. Everyday I wake up, hoping today will be the day that I find freedom. The thought of endless supplies of worms and bugs. Having a man back in my life. Being free from the confinement and oppression of living in these conditions. Feeling the breeze in my feathers as I run with no fences in sight, no coop to remind me of my captivity.