"BIG RED", THE ROOSTER - COCK OF THE WALK - EVEN GAVE ME A KICKING I WON'T SOON FORGET

          The rain is so heavy at the moment; it sounds like a jack-hammer on the metal roof above my head; but I'm not complaining - hell no - we need rain!  Due to our shallow well and with 4 guests arriving tomorrow; my brother Larry, his wife Lilia and daughter Deserai, including one of her friends for a couple of days, I'm hoping there will be plenty of water for showers and such.  The rain is very welcome, especially for the farmers since I noticed their plowed potatoe fields were dryer than a popcorn fart; dust blowing everywhere.  As I look out the upstairs studio window, I notice the forest is once again green; a growing canopy of young leaves; fiddle-heads, ripe for the picking; ready for canning or the dinner plate - yummy!
          It's been quite awhile since I wrote a blog because with the coming of spring; I've been up to the arm pits in yard work and building repairs; winter forever taking its toll.  I loads of work that needs doing, even inside work but because of  "Big Red", the Rhode Island rooster, I'm temporarily out of commission.  I can hardly believe that rascally rooster got the better of me.  Like David and Goliath, the wee rooster, well maybe not so small as roosters go, won a battle.  Perhaps if I'd pretended to be like David and used a stone and a sling-shot, instead of my foot to move him out of the way before I began carrying a load of lumber into the garage, the outcome would have been different.
          Big Red used to be second in command; "Blackie", the Australorp rooster, the toughest of the two, used to be the General in charge of the 100 hens.  That is, until I went into the chicken coop one morning and discovered Blackie was bleeding and all beat up trying to hide in a corner under the laying boxes.  Interestingly enough, although Blackie was the main leader, lover and protector of the flock, he never ever hurt Big Red, just kind of stuck out his chest and did a rooster dance.  I guess since Big Red had injured his leg and limped around for about a year, the display of Blackie's strength was enough to deter him from challenging his authority.  But like a lot of red heads, Big Red has always had a fiery temper; apparently he had attacked Sarah and Jessica on numerous occasions; always left me alone.  I always considered myself to be the biggest and strongest honcho rooster but I guess after Big Red licked Blackie; he decided to take me on too; didn't seem to matter that I was carrying 8 - 3"x8' boards at the time - nope - he stood his ground and when I attempted to push him aside with my left foot, he reared up like a stallion and struck out at me with his feet.  Now, a person would think he would have taken off when the side of my boot gave him a shove but no, he came at me again, only this time I flicked my foot a little harder and sent him on his way.  I felt a little pain in my foot but didn't give it any thought; I mean how much damage can a rooster do?
          After about an hour had gone by, I noticed instead of the wee bit of pain I felt when Big Red struck my foot; it began hurting quite a bit.  Realizing both our roosters have long spurs on the backs of their legs, I took off my cowboy boot and sock so I could have a look at my foot.  I was surprised to see a circular hole about the size of an 1/8th" wide screw in the top of my foot.  Since the black sock was wet, I assumed the wee wound had been bleeding.but still I wasn't too concerned; just headed into the house to clean the damage and put an antiseptic cream on it.  However, by the time another hour had passed, my foot was really hurting and within about 15 more minutes, I was unable to walk on it.  When Sarah and I took a look at the wound, we were both a little alarmed.  Although the injury seemed so minute, the redness that began traveling up past my ankle was starting to look more than a little scary.  After talking to a nurse on a hot-line, she informed me that I should immediately go to the hospital to have it looked at.
          The pain was extreme as Sarah drove the truck along the the curvy, hilly and bumpy road for over an hour to the hospital and by the time we arrived, she had to get a wheelchair to push me to Emergency.  By the time a doctor looked at the wound, my whole foot was red and just past my ankle, beginning to climb up my skinny, lily-white leg.  I was given a Tetanus shot, a pain-killer and an antibiotic pill to kill the infection, which was most likely blood-poisoning, although the doctor never really said.
          I'm on my third day, since Big Red put the spurs to me and punctured my leather cowboy boot and left foot; the redness halted but not all the swelling has gone yet.  I've done a wee bit of walking around, doing a few chores, but because it still hurts quite a bit and causes me to limp, I've pretty much decided to take another day off and put my feet up; especially my left foot.  The part I'm really resenting about Big Red is that I can't have a beer while I'm on meds.  Since Sarah has been worried about Big Red attacking someone, instead of me ringing his neck, she found a nice home for him - about 50 hens and no other rooster to contend with.  He's going to get his spurs clipped too.  We'll see how Blackie reacts then after he's once again the General and as long as he keeps his spurs to himself; I hope he enjoys a long and healthy life here on Golden Unicorn Farm - cheers, eh!