The Menagerie

(Don't worry, Josh and Heath-- there will be a post about the kiddie toothbrush.)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I live next to a farm. Sort of. The house actually belongs to a local vet. In his spare time (there's spare time with that job?), he raises cattle and a few other farm animals.

If you live near someone who takes care of larger animals, you know that life near these people and their pets is a little different than life with most suburban neighbors.

When I was in middle school, I used to wait on the front steps for the people who drove me to school to come pick me up. One morning, as I peeked out the window to make sure that my ride hadn't arrived early, I saw something odd in the middle of the cul-de-sac.

"Mom, there's a big bird out in the street."

"What kind of bird?"

"... I'm pretty sure it's a peacock."

And so it was. And a peahen,too, now that I think about it.

Mom sighed and shook her head. "I'll go call the Whitworths."

As we later found out, these peacocks (peafowl?) had escaped from their pens by jumping over a few fences (who knew that there was a fence-hopping variety of peacock?). Though it was the first time I had seen the birds, the birds escaping was apparently not an uncommon occurrance.

In fact, I saw the birds three more times that week. I think the doctor took a cue from this and put a roof over the birds' heads.

Or sold them or something. Either way, I haven't seen them strutting through the cul-de-sac lately.

In addition to the birds, Dr Whitworth also seems to have a fondness for handicapped animals. Most of these I can handle.

But the three-legged cat gives me the creeps. Maybe that comes from the issue I have with odd numbers.... Whatever, the cat freaks me out. And I think it knows it.

Why else would it make a habit of hanging around my car?

Unless it lost its leg in because of a car, and it's looking for revenge.

But I digress.

The most recent animal experience has been with a cow--some of the same cows that keep me awake at night when I'm at home (there's a bit of animosity; can you feel it?).

Anyway, my dad and I were going out to get dinner and, as we're driving along, we see a cow on the side of the road. As the cow pasture is by the road, cows near by isn't strange.

But the cow was chilling out in the grass across the street from the pasture.

We stopped the car.

The cow ate some grass.

My mom slept through an episode of Law & Order.

"So, should we do something?"

We went to the Whitworth House. No one was there.

The cow was still eating the grass on the other side of the fence (was it greener?) when we got back to the car; by now, the other cows had noticed that one of their own had left them. All of the cows were lined up next to the fence watching the one free cow. It looked like a bovine firing squad.

Don't worry, animal lovers, the cow made it safely back to the pasture, I've never run over the three-legged cat and the peafowl are (as far as I know) safe and sound in their peafowl homes.

But who's to say what new creature will be roaming my neighborhood tomorrow?