CURBSIDE ETIQUETTE

Through the Eyes of a Delivery Goddess



Below you will find links to dates when new entries are added. The stories will not necessarily be in chronological order, but rather as I remember them. I am dating them so that you can skip to new ones you haven't read since the last time you visited, and so that you are more easily able to find something you found humorous to share with others.
Watch Dogs


Long before we had digital surveillance cameras and laser beam alarms that automatically called 911 for a break-in, we had Pitt Bulls and German Shepherds, Wroughtwilers or any other big dog with sharp teeth. Of course, the little guys can do some pretty hefty damage, too, but are easily kicked aside by people who obviously have no concern for human life and it's posessions; a valid assumption if someone is robbing you, right?

Farmers have kept a very good secret about their watch dogs. They've found that a foul breed is really the better watch dog, and generally, people do not know how to handle or bypass something like a goose, or swan, or rooster or occasional chicken. You can't throw it a steak or a Milkbone. And like large dogs, chasing them generally just provokes them more. I posted a story awhile back about a farm and their "watch goose" that scared away the first pizza delivery driver - feel free to refresh your memory: Guard Duty from Aug 1, 2008.

A few years ago, the daughter of the family that owns the junkyard bought a dozen baby chicks and raised them into adult hens and roosters. When she moved from her original rental home into her husband-to-be's home, she had to find homes for the remaining roosters and hens. As it is nature's way, some of the chickens disappeared, probably victims of hungry nocternal bullies. She found homes for all but two roosters, who came to live at the junkyard. They were mean. Well, actually ONE was mean. If Mean Rooster chased a person- Timid Rooster chased Mean Rooster. It's remotely comical. Nobody was safe, except the immediate family. Those of us who work here have all been punctured at least once. The rooster flies a few inches into the air, leans backward, pushing his chest and claws forward, and wraps his sparp claws around someone's leg, leaving a puncture wound or two. The fellow who does our general custodial and maintenance work at the junkyard, usually comes equipped with cookies, which seems to remove him from harm's way, until the days he comes unarmed. Then, he gets chased.

A few months ago, someone dropped off some hens. We were hoping that would entertain the roosters. There is still Mean Rooster and Timid Rooster. Mean Rooster still has days that he chases people. We've seen him, though, holding down one of the hens, or swinging one of them around in circles by the neck. I"m not sure that counts for entertainment, but at least only fifty percent of Mean Rooster's attention is now focused on humans. The first few days the hens were here, they were shy and strange, and steered clear of people. Now, they seem to be fitting right in. I think the picture says it all.