Let’s make that several hens.  I popped by my friend Dan’s house in Forest Hills this past weekend to photograph the chickens he is raising in his backyard, and see how his micro farm life was going.  The first time I met the ladies, they were huddled in their coop, waiting out the dark night. This time, as soon as they saw us enter the yard, they ran over, squawking and demanding to be petted like…well…pets.

Shall I introduce you to the ladies?

This is Ruby on the left- she’s in charge.  You can tell by her eyeballs.  No fear.

The golden girl is Sunny, the wild girl of the bunch.  A little ditzy, a little crazy, a little bit of a free spirit.  (Flighty.)

Farmer Dan couldn’t remember the names of these two ladies.  Bad Dan.  One of them was way squawkier than the other.

The twins – Kung and Pao.  Laugh.  Hard.  I know you want to.

I love how bold and graphic their feathers are.

One of these two took a shine to me during my visit.  Have I mentioned that I generally find birds really scary?  Beaks, claws, and those beady eyes.  Who can tell what they’re thinking??  Anyway, Kung/Pao bested me in multiple face offs.  I’m not embarrassed.  I mean, honestly, look at that claw!

You do NOT want that to touch you.  I’m now realizing I should have threatened him with a picture of this!

The sun was fading as I wrapped up my visit, so Dan politely asked the ladies if they were ready to go in for the night.  They were.

With Ruby leading the group, back they went into their coop to rest up for another busy day of pleasant chit chat and egg laying.

Check out those fluffy bums.

Dan divides up the eggs he collects to share with some of his friends, and was kind enough to send me off with four of my own Forest Hills raised eggs.  Egg-tastic.