Lawn Surprises

Spring and summer means enjoying warmer weather, barbecues, soaking up the sun, and of course, lawn care.  Thank goodness for riding mowers!  Mowing the lawn is really a painless task.  In fact, it can be somewhat zen-like.  You sit comfortably on a cushioned seat, listen to your favorite music, design various patterns in the grass, and zone out.  Sometimes, you may be fortunate to find some treasures when mowing.  This could include forgotten toys, discarded items, and the occasional piece of trash.  However, at our house, you would find something even better:  a pet cemetery.  You betcha!  The first time I mowed at our house, I started in the front and then headed towards the back.  I rounded a group of shrubs and overgrown ferns only to spot several (7 to be exact) small white crosses.  I immediately thought they were relatives of the previous owner or left from Civil War times since our house is so old.  I dismounted the tractor, and on closer inspection, names such as "Sunshine," "Buddy," and "Bonny" could be seen mounted to the crosses.  Now, don't get me wrong.  There are people who would name their children these inventive, unique names but, I realized that these were markers for pets, not people.  At that point, I asked myself, which is creepier?  Immediately, scenes from Stephen King's "Pet Sematary" filtered through my mind.  To make matters worse, a small white fence encircled the area and there were fake, plastic flowers placed there to honor the critters who had passed.  Clearly, someone was very attached to their furry friends.  After deep contemplation, I thought that it really isn't too unusual for people to care deeply about their cats or dogs.  I actually warmed up to the idea, that is, until we mentioned our find to some people who know the history of our property.  "Sunshine," "Buddy," "Bonny," and the four others were all chickens.  Apparently, we have a poultry graveyard next to our house.  Something tells me that the folks over at Perdue would find that quite comical.  Every so often, late at night, we can hear the faint whispered sound of clucking floating on the breeze...