We are still in Ojai. We decided to stay one more day and night and will be leaving tomorrow around noon. Today Beau Leigh and I had another round of encounters – one in the morning and the other at dusk. Both were definitely better than the previous days, but there was still a fair amount of me waving my arms and growling while he flew at me several times and I had to push him back. That action on Beau Leigh’s part, I have come to learn, is called “flogging.” Also, I had the added pleasure of having the hen who is second in command come over and start pecking my shoes. Granted, it was more inquisitive rather than aggressive pecking so I didn’t feel afraid. I just said, “Go on, Carol. Get moving.” She obliged without a backward glance.

I think if I had another few days, Beau Leigh and I would make our peace. He was much less aggressive even with the flogging and he backed down fairly quickly when I moved into my “Big Bird” routine. Also, after the second or third flogging, I finally just looked at him and said in a normal voice, “Oh, for God’s sake, Beau Leigh. Just cut it out.” He backed right away and started pecking with his back to me, an indicator (from my research) that he had backed down.

So, life on the farm has been full of fun. Especially, me pulling on long pants, closed-toed shoes, a long sleeve shirt, jacket and leather gloves when it’s 98 degrees.

The good news is that Mom (Liz) returned this evening with Ron and I am officially off chicken duty. Yahoo! I can’t say I will miss my daily encounters with an overly-protective rooster. I’ll be happy enough to just walk by and feed Beau Leigh and his harem some fresh chard.

But for now, I’m headed to bed. As usual, the crickets are chirping, the night is cool and the dogs and Ray are ready for me to turn in.

Talk tomorrow and sleep well.

Beau Leigh, Carol (2nd in command) and Tootles (I think)