Awesomely Smart- a Father's Day Tale

I was seven, and the chickens were babies.

They lived in a home-made incubator, kept warm by light bulbs.

I lived with my parents & flock of siblings in our newly purchased home.  Lots of land, lots of barns.

My dad had ordered ‘em.  The chickens. He built their house inside the Red Barn.  He’s smart that way.

I can’t exactly remember how they arrived, but one day there they were- all fluffy yellow and sweet, and the incubator was the center of the universe for a little while.

“Go outside and get a few handfuls of grass,” Dad said, directing us out of the Red Barn and onto the lawn, “then bring them back here.”

It seemed like an odd request, but I didn’t give it much thought.  It was almost dark as we ran out into coolness of the dying day, playful as the lightning bugs that danced around us.  Grass in hand, we dashed back  in again.

“Throw the grass into the incubator.” Dad instructed.

We did.  To my surprise and delight I saw bugs skitter out of the grass, and observed as excited little chicks scrambled to capture them in their tiny beaks.

I was seven... and it was the coolest thing in the world that my Dad had known to orchestrate this little spellbinding spectacle- that he knew the grass would have hitchhikers.  He’s awesomely smart that way.
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