Out with the Old; In With the New

I was assuming that at some point, I'd have to transition from writing and sharing pics about our babies, I mean chickens, and start in about the actual baby that we'll be having.  But I didn't think it would happen like this.  The last of our baby chicks that we raised from two days old passed this week.  I went out to feed them in the morning and she was already a goner.  Since Eddie was at work, I became the undertaker; I bravely put her in the trash.  Should I have buried her?  Probably, since the trash doesn't come for a week and the neighbors are probably wondering about the smell.  I'm not sure what happened to her and I certainly didn't investigate.  One of them has been sneezing this past week and maybe her little immune system was too weak to stave off her buddy's cold.  Or maybe I put too much de-worming solution in the water the other day and she couldn't handle it.  Maybe a varmit came in the night.  Only God knows.  So now we are down to six chickens.  And we are still getting just one egg every other day or so.  Lazy bums.  Mooches.  But still kinda cute and funny.  The "babies" have been an adventure and a welcome addition to our family for us this past year and I've grown from loving them too much in their infancy and throughout adolescence to having them more as entertainment, food, and a source of consistent responsibility (it's practice, right?) remembering to feed them every day and have babysitters when we go out of town.  We have loved you, Redbud. You will be missed.  RIP.