I’m cheating. 

Yes, I regret to inform you that this is a stale letter. I wrote it on Friday so that I could enjoy the long weekend. 

But I did seal it in a Ziploc bag as soon as I wrote it, so it should still be good.

As I write, I’m sitting on the patio at my sweetie’s house. Our three not-so-little Bielefelder chicks are in a pen in the yard nearby, enjoying the sunshine, the grass, and the gnats. Watching these three is better than anything on TV or my phone.

One minute they’re doing chicken yoga, stretching wings and legs. The next two of them are lolling in the sunshine on the grass. A moment later, the third spots a bug and chases after it, trampling the other two under her feet as she goes. Then everyone is up and squawking at the other and running around. 

The chase is on!

Then it’s running around the pen with the bug in their beak until someone steals it, and then they run around with the bug in their beak until someone steals it, and then they…you get the idea. 

This goes on until, eventually, the other two get distracted by something else, at which point the lucky bird suddenly remembers the thing in her beak is edible!

It’s hilarious.

They never seem to outgrow this game, either. I watch our older girls do the same thing. You would think they would learn – if you find the bug and eat it right away, none of the other girls will try to take it from you. 

But no, we have to show off our prize, and suddenly these matron-like ladies with fluffy butts are tearing across the yard, stealing whatever tasty insect they found in the grass from one another.  

Almost.

There’s certainly the same amount of action. And it’s just as hard to follow who has the puck, er bug. But watching the girls, there are fewer missing teeth. Fewer beards too.  

For many of us, Memorial Day weekend is a chance to get all those outdoor chores done before we kick off summer. It’s a weekend for parades and services and remembering. It’s also the start of a summer of camping, cookouts, picnics, and vacations.

Whatever you do, I hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend. I’m off to put some mulch down on the garden paths. I plan on eating a lot of ice cream when I’m done.