Musings on Gardens & Public Space

Past Blogs

May 10, 2026

A chicken and a cat walk into a park…

When I was in the park the other day, busy with the last of the spring planting, wandering back and forth from the garden to the car in search of a tool or seeds, I glanced behind me to discover a honey-colored chicken, three charcoal guinea hens, and a calico cat following me. Old McDonald came to mind.

But for the brief moment before the creatures came to their senses and scattered, I was unreasonably happy. I say ‘unreasonably’ because these days being any kind of happy seems like a betrayal to all who are suffering just now. Too, let’s face it, a grin at the wrong moment might make you vulnerable to suspicion regarding your politics.

I love human beings, but it was soothing to be alone in the company of animals and the expanding family of birds in the park. Kind of a Zen thing, I suppose. Just hanging out with the neighbors’ chickens, doing simple stuff. They did their thing. I did mine. We were, for a moment, content together. I try not to worry about them.

The park has been showing small signs of new life elsewhere this spring. An owl in the hollowed-out magnolia, a rabbit munching on the Hosta, and a multitude of songbirds. The freshness of it gives me hope in this brutal moment in history. Growing one thing attracts other life. Other life seeds the continuum of generations. Forget the bombs and cruelty, the annihilation of difference because it is inconvenient somehow. A friendly hen transplanting seeds with a melodious cluck and a mild-mannered calico cat could save the planet.