Having been a vegetarian for over 50 years, Thanksgiving hasn’t been at the top of my list of favorite holidays. I appreciate the Seed’s emphasis on gratitude, and that’s what I choose to associate the holiday with as we enter into the next few days. I think about the turkeys and practice being non-judgmental about them being eaten. It was hard not to think about them this week when our playground had a surprise visitor on Monday morning.
During morning recess, several children noticed a chicken running around in Gwen’s Castle. One of our Seed families lives just on the other side of the wall, so we assumed it was their hen. After making a call to report our visitor, we found out she was indeed theirs. A coyote had visited their yard the night before, and she, being a strong flyer, escaped safely to the Seed playground.
When her owner arrived, a small group of parents and staff surrounded the hen in hopes of catching her. After several failed attempts, she took flight across the playground with an entire audience of children and teachers cheering her on. What happened next was surprising. Somehow she misjudged her landing and ran into the shed wall. We walked over to find her, hoping she was okay. The hen’s owner quickly discovered her hiding near a pile of boards and scooped her up into his arms. I’m guessing she was still stunned by flying into the shed’s wall, as she was carried off without a squawk. I’m glad the hen was returned safely home, and grateful for such an eventful beginning to this week devoted to gratitude. May you all have a blessed holiday with family and friends.