RIP Phyllis…you rocked.

So we lost Phyllis this weekend. You may have known her from her newspaper articles or news footage...she was my "show girl". Always ready for the paparazzi!

Phyllis in her younger days, before her waddles came in...

She was the last of my original gang of girls, a Polish hen. I always figured Phyllis would be the first to go. She just seemed daintier and gentler than the rest...she was fine hanging out by herself and I'd often find her puttering about by herself in a corner of the yard. She was quite the independent.

Phyllis was a good layer, usually an egg a day. Unless she was feeling broody, which she often would; meaning that she just wanted to sit on everyone elses eggs. She would get quite perterbed with me when I'd roust her out of the nest, or snatch all the eggs from underneather her.

She was practically blind due to the volume of "hair" that eventually hung down to cover her entire face. Not to mention, that big puff of white feathers on her head made her a pretty easy target. I always had this uneasy feeling that someday her lack of speed and that big white target might just be the end of her.

And that's exactly what happened this weekend. I had noticed that Cooper's hawk lingering across the street several days before. Not that hawks are an unusual sight when you live so close to a lake, but when you keep chickens, you keep one eye on the hawks. Sure enough, she didn't survive the attack. Poor, poor Phyllis.

It might seem silly to some to love your chickens. But I loved Phyllis and am so bummed she's gone. Yes, yes, they are livestock. But dang if she wasn't just the funniest character...Miss ya Phyl!