Beech Tree News Network

I met Rodney and his three body guards, Ginger, Brock (middle name Lee), and Baby while I was on my paper route this week.  Rodney is a rooster, his three body guards are dogs.  They belong to the Shepherd family, who told me that Rodney was the last of his brood.  The others were systematically picked off by foxes, coyotes and other night prowlers.  Rodney, who seems a bit small for his age, stuck close to the dogs; once again proving brains often triumph over brawn.
I love roosters and I don’t know why, unless the fondness is connected to memories of the time I lived with my grandmother.  She raised chickens and sold eggs.  I don’t remember the chickens or roosters or eggs that were so much a part of my early childhood, but somehow, I came away with an affinity for all of them.
I’ve never been afraid of roosters, although I have been warned by their owners to watch out for their sharp spurs and bipolar personalities.  Roosters are notorious for chasing people.  They’re very territorial, and they’ll flog you at the drop of a hat.  I have a friend who owns a rooster that chases her visitors to and from their cars.  The rooster’s name is Buddy.
Garey and I had a rooster once.  He wasn’t really ours to begin with, he sort of adopted us.  Our neighbors at the time owned fighting roosters.  When they moved to a new location, some of the brood stayed behind.  This particular rooster—we later named him Rusty—wandered into our yard one morning and decided to stay.  At first, Rusty hung out at the barn, looking for insects to eat, but eventually, he started hanging around the back door in order to challenge the next unsuspecting person who stepped out onto the sidewalk.  I guess he was trying to keep his skills fresh in the event that he was put back into the arena.
Rusty never flogged me, but after he lit into Garey a couple of times, Garey started keeping a tobacco stick by the back door.  I stepped outside one day to find him carrying Rusty around, cooing to him and massaging his little head.  Seems Garey whacked him a bit harder than he had planned, which knocked Rusty unconscious (don’t tell PETA).  When Rusty came to, he flogged Garey again.  Luckily, Garey has quick reflexes, and Rusty got mostly flannel shirt.