When a man is lonely, all he needs is a chicken ...

It was close to midnight. I was trying to persuade Edward to sleep by telling him that all the birds (including the chickens) have been asleep since sunset. We walk outside to check that everything is quiet, and suddenly see a chicken walking under the street lights. Edward was eating an apple, and excitedly shared it with the chicken who had trouble falling asleep just like him.

Edward and the black and white hen

Edward: "When a man is lonely, all he needs is a chicken. Then he has a small friend." I pointed out that I was also there. So, he pragmatically agreed that he can cuddle with me, but not with the chicken, and concluded that I was needed as well. He then accepted to get in bed, and he was soon asleep.

The next morning he was passing by a sleepy-looking chicken and feelingly said "Frumoaso ... poate esti in ocluzie" ("Beautiful one, perhaps you are in a state of intestinal occlusion"). The statement is not so unreasonable as it might seem. If chickens are not treated for parasites regularly, the parasites block the intestinal tract and the animal dies. No chickens died in the two weeks we were there.

Edward really liked the black and white hen (pic above) because he thought she looked just like his father - I personally did not see the similarly, but I suppose it's a matter of imagination. I cannot imagine how either Andy or I would look as chickens, but Edward thinks he can. His favorite hen was Codchi. She was of a reddish color and had a really long claw nail. She had been rehabilitated in our garden after being sold out from an egg farm because she was no longer producing enough eggs. She was there in our February visit, but did not make it till May.

Codchi, Edward and David

In addition to chickens our next door neighbor also had two puppies. We borrowed one for a day, and the children named her Siri. We do have a dog there with a reddish looking fur. Edward thought him very fox-like. He referred to him as his "Barking, walking, personal flea bag" and to himself as the "Walking, talking flea bag". We did use some solution against the flee, but the dog has such a thick fur that I am not sure it accomplished much.

Piki and Kiki & the Romanian flag

We were in Romania in February and May. Each time we stayed two weeks. These are pictures from that period.

With the tortoises

Edward will be six in August. For his birthday he wants to get two chickens, two ducks,  two pigeons, and a goat. His dream is to train them so that  they can accompany him everywhere. He also wants two terrapins, but for that we would need a pond-like aquarium - not that any of the other animals would be easy to take care of. David was nine in February. He is more interested in drones and other forms of electronics.

We already have two small tortoises. The tortoises are named Kiki and Piki.