Archive of Past News of the Farm:
Eulogy for Aunt Penny, February 2002-September 22, 2008 |
September 25, 2008
Eulogy for
Aunt Penny Barrrock
2002-2008
Aunt Penny, as she was known to the Friends of the Farm,
died peacefully, at the age of six and one-half years old,
1 PM, Monday, September 22, 2008, at her home, the Hen House
at Boggy Creek Farm, in Austin Texas. She is survived by her
subordinates, Tootie J. Tootums and Hoppy J.Tootums,
her nieces the twin Patty Wyandottes, and her servants
and companions, Carol Ann, Larry, Cousin Claire, Andrea, and
The Marias. She is predeceased by her mentor, Mrs. Elvira Bentley,
who passed away in 2004.
Aunt Penny was a singular hen -- the most remarkable hen
that Carol Ann has seen in a twenty-six year association with
chickens.
Aunt Penny spent the first two months of her chickhood
in a garage in a fancy neighborhood in Austin, but since she was
deemed "illegal," due to antiquated subdivision rules, her
servants brought her to the farm for adoption in March of 2002.
There she lived in a tacky cage on the back porch of the farm house,
and earned her keep by watching over the twin one-month old
hellions, the Patty Wyandottes. Once the three were transferred
to the Hen House, Aunt Penny quickly decided that she didn't like
chickens. She instead favored the company of the farmers.
At a young age, she and her mentor Mrs. Bentley (the golden
hen with the bent tail) went to work in the field each morning,
accompanying Carol Ann and the half-moon hoe to dig up worms.
Or at least that was her assessment of any project's objective.
Appetites sated, she and Mrs. Bentley would retire to the huge
fig tree at the farm stand and watch further action from the shade.
Anytime her servants walked by, Auntie would issue salutations, to
which they would respond appropriately.
Aunt Penny was quite vocal, possessing, as do all superior
chickens, over thirty vocalizations, many more than either dogs
or cats. She carried on long conversations with Carol Ann daily.
Hawks on high elicited a low-toned growl from her and a quick
dust-raising scurry to the cover of trees, leaving Carol Ann
to deal with any forthcoming atrocities. (She did not apologize,
even in her final days, for this desertion.)
When Mrs. Bentley went to her reward, a victim of worms,
Aunt Penny was elevated to the status of Head Hen. She was a wings-off
executive of the Hen House, preferring to be in it only at perch time
or for a spot of grain. She didn't like the competitiveness of the
other hens at "afternoon treat time" or any other mealtime, much
preferring to eat out. She enjoyed, for instance, lunching with the
Marias who sat in the arbor under the shade of the climbing Old Blush
rose. They were not competitive and indeed shared all kinds of
interesting tidbits with Auntie.
She was a real fan of the farmstand and her beloved Friends
of the Farm. They also seemed endeared of her and polite enough to
hand out special treats such as bits of croissants and crumbles of tofu.
Indeed, tofu was Auntie's favorite gourmet food. After a satisfying
snack, Auntie could be found resting underneath the market tables,
watching ankles pass by, or under the cashiers' tables. She just
enjoyed being with humans.
She was, in her later years, a frequent visitor inside the
farm house, occupying her own rocking chair (apparently willed to her
by Larry's grandmother) and scouting the floor for any edible morsels.
Even though she had to put up with rude comments from Larry, she
learned to ignore him, as she did all rooster types.
Regarding roosters, Auntie absolutely detested the two she
had known in the Hen House. Clumsy Buffy could be tolerated, but
Rusty Roo, she decided, was an avian member of the Taliban. He was
consistently mean and even brutal at times, since he considered
Auntie's activities outside of the Hen House the behavior of an
infidel. At times, Carol Ann would have to kick him off of Auntie
or stand between him and her until she could get up on the perch.
Auntie was not an infidel, just a career girl who found out at an
early age that she had no serious maternal instincts.
The hens, however, deferred to Auntie as the Head Hen. Her
side kick, the bespectacled Tootie J. Tootums, following Mrs. Bentley's
death, accompanied Auntie to work in the fields, and was known to be very
respectful when Carol Ann uncovered a cut worm -- she always allowed
Auntie first dibs. If it was a grub worm, however, Tootie and Carol
Ann both knew that Auntie detested them, shaking her head briskly and
negatively, so Carol Ann would toss them over to Tootie, who
swallowed them whole.
Aunt Penny laid many fine, large brown eggs, usually preferring
to lay them in special nests of her own choosing in the farm stand barn.
She loved to pose very still for the half hour or so necessary to lay
the egg, thus fooling folks into thinking she was a "stuffed hen."
She'd tilt her head and they'd exclaim, "Oh! it's a real chicken!"
Well, even though that was a tiny insult, as if she was one of those
hens, she still enjoyed their surprise. Often she would allow
children to watch her actually lay the egg. It was one of her gifts
to the community.
At her death, Aunt Penny was shrouded in her signature organic
cotton tshirt (featuring her comely figure) and entombed at the base of the
graveyard pecan tree. Her grave is adjacent to Mrs. Bentley's, around
the trunk from Tubby J.Tupelo's, and has a fine view of the farm house
and the fields of her dreams.
Visitation is every Wednesday and every Saturday, 9 to 1. In
lieu of flowers, donations may be made to her favorite charity, The
Green Corn Project (www.greencornproject.org) whose annual fundraiser
tasting party every year at the farm (this year Sunday, October 26th)
features leftovers saved for the hens.
Her untimely departure (thanks to worms, just like Mrs. Bentley)
at the still fertile middle age of six and a half years old, has left a
huge hole in the heart of the farm. She will be missed by many -- but
not by Rusty Roo.