The Case of the Caged-Up Chick.

(Yes, I do like Perry Mason, why do you ask?)

Went out to close up the chickens, Rudee was acting up, so I didn't take him along. This turned out to be a good idea. Why? Well, he had to get Husband's attention.

I walked into the henhouse, and checked for the the last batch of eggs for the day. The door closed behind me. I didn't think anything of it, and threw a bit of scratch on the floor, then started to leave.

The door was locked. From the outside. Uh, oh. So, thinks I, well, I will just get out my knife, and lift the latch. Husband is a good carpenter. The door fits so well, a knife blade will not fit in the gap.

So, what do I have in the hen house, (hens are getting just a LITTLE edgy by this point...), that I can open the door with. Hmm. Broom, no, dustpan, no, bucket, no, eggs, of course not. Uh, oh!

So I try pushing on the door. Nope. Shaking the door. Nope. Wiggling the door. Nuh uh. Ok, now what? (Chickens are clucking, with a slight edge of panic...)

Well, Rudee was upset because I'd not taken him with me. And he barks if he can't get to me. He'd settled down, because he knew Husband was in the house. I needed to wind him up. So, I started calling for him. Husband is hard of hearing, Rudee is not. So, "Rudee! Get the squirrel! Come here! Good Dog! Get your toy!" And pretty much continued this for about 5 minutes until husband came out to shush Rudee. (Chickens at this point have gone into full scale screeching in time with my yelling, and are moving as far back from the doorway as possible.)

And that's when he realized he couldn't see me. He walked about halfway across the drive before he could see me, laughing my head off 'cuz I was stuck. He got to the door, and said, "I wish I had a camera."

I was glad he didn't.

He let me out, and we fixed the latch. This whole time I thought it was supposed to be loose. Not so, says Husband. So, I am once again free to roam, the chickens have (sort of) calmed down, and Rudee has become the honorary Lassie of our home.

Knew he was good for something.