One of the unexpected bennies I have received from keeping chickens is the way they keep the yard clear of certain other wild birds. Great-tailed grackles, in particular. Austin is over-run with grackles. I might have the only yard in the still booming Austin Metroplex which is free of grackles. The chickens actively work together to keep them out of the yard. Go ladies. I see grackles as punk gangs on wings. Having them gone makes my yard something of a sanctuary for less aggressive species of wild birds. Bird watching even a near-sighted crazy lady can enjoy without prosthetics like glasses or binoculars.

Another species the chickens seem to despise is blue jays. The fact that blue jays don't seem to form gangs makes me more tolerant, but there is no doubt in my casual observance that they are mean, aggressive birds. A pair of blue jays has been using discrete tactics to try to work their way past the chicken flock to the chicken feed generously sprinkled through our urban homestead. I am beginning to think of them as prospective tenants. I have dubbed them in honor of a pair of human Texas folk heroes, "Bonnie and Clyde." My husband's family is deeply rooted in the neighborhood where the real Bonnie and Clyde did their deeds. They tell a set of stories that still haven't showed up in the movies. Those family tales are, perhaps, my favorite body of in-law legends. How ironic is it to be calling Bonnie and Clyde, "In-law Legends?"

Just sharing. . .