The Exploits of “Hefer” the Cinnamon Queen.

I’m not often at a loss for words, I believe there are a number of fine folk out there that can attest to that simple statement. However, I must admit I’m just a smidge at a loss pertaining to an ol’ girl soon to be known to many as “Hefer.” Oh, it’s a fine story to be sure, and one with plenty of lessons hidden in the words. So, bear with me for a few moments, grab a cup of coffee, and let’s get to know this fine southern lady just a bit better.

A wonderful devoted lady by any standards most would say, a loving mother to many. No…really when I say many, I mean MANY, last brood was twelve and counting. WHAT?? Oh, yea…I forgot to mention, Hefer is a chicken, Of the “Cinnamon Queen” persuasion to be exact. A chicken yes, but a chicken with dreams, dreams like we all should have. Dreams of a far-off world most shall never see, dreams of far-flung adventures most will never have. But Hefer possessed something foreign to many of us, “fire in the belly ambition.”

Hefer was my daughter’s prize hen, she was, however, the most headstrong in the flock. Any crack, any crevice, any means of escape,(no matter how small) could not escape her sharp eye. Most of the flock are free-range birds, sitting Hens however are contained for obvious reasons. But no matter the measures, Hefer would always find her way free, after all, she had dreams. Remember?

Recently we had some of our customary Tn. mountain weather. You know, seventy-five one day, thirty and snowing the next. Trees were down, power was out, cable and interweb missing. Lord knows we gotta have interweb.

Once the roads were clear, out came the cable trucks, my daughter waited not so patiently for the cable guy. Until today.

Here he came, sloshin’ up the drive, little faces were pressed against the glass, giddy by his arrival. He stepped from the truck ready to work, flung open doors containing all the pieces-parts and bits and bobs needed to restore the all-mighty cable, (and interweb).

Busy with his repairs, he failed to notice the flock of free-range poultry who had mistaken the truck for a coop. Honest mistake to be sure. In their new coop, they found a multitude of brightly colored food, they scratched and pecked at the bits and bobs, thankful for the buffet laid before them. Until the cable guy noticed.

Arms waving wildly, screaming,(“git, git, shew, shew,) birds went a-flyin’ left and right. Confident the birds were gone he finished his work and off he went, sloshin’ down the drive.

Liddy (my daughter), went to the pens to feed the hens, BUT NO HEFER!

It seems Hefer had used the confusion to stow away in the bucket of the truck. A fact that went unnoticed until the repairman stopped at the town’s ballfield, at that point she exploded from the bucket, scaring the pants off the poor feller, then took off runnin’. There’s that, “fire in the belly” part.

Picture in your mind; a grown man chasin’ a chicken around a muddy ballfield in the middle of town. The sight caused a number of folks to pull to the shoulder to watch the entire spectacle from the comfort of their vehicles. This went on for God knows how long, until at long last she caught a break in the brush, escaping capture. Hefer was livin’ large, all the hope, dreams, and patience had paid off. She was now her own woman, (in a chicken sort of way).

Well…Liddy was understandably heart-sick. Her favorite hen was gone. I gotta throw in the “flown the coop” metaphor. She took to social media in a drastic attempt to locate the ol’girl. She was soon inundated with “smiley face” emojis and comments. Please, if anybody sees her let me know and so on.

Now you may think that was the end of the Hefer debacle, (but wait, there’s more). This is a small town in the mountains, we do things differently here. Perfect strangers began looking for Hefer, all with the same goal, getting the ol’ hen home.

And you know what? They found her. That’s right, friends that Liddy didn’t know she had, contacted her. Hefer was safe. Now you might think it’s just a chicken, but that chicken could teach us all a powerful lesson. Never give up on a dream, and never underestimate your friends. Yep…we’re a little different here, but that’s just how we do things. In closing, a shout out to the wonderful folks of Corrington Tn. and Thank You on behalf of “Hefer” the Cinnamon Queen.

As always: Thank You for spending a bit of your valuable time with The Tin Cup Clan. May God richly bless you. Remember to hit a few buttons at the bottom and share this story, and comments, we love the comments. Yep, That’s a picture of the REAL Hefer. The Tin Cup Clan