What's THAT noise?

'Slosh' goes the milk into the bucket.

'Ooof' goes the chore hand as she hefts 8 gallons of milk.

'Thunk' goes the door as it's opened.

'Brrr' goes the chore hand as she walks toward the barn through the chilly morning air.

'BAAAAAAAAA!' go the hungry hungry calves as they see their breakfast arriving.

'Vrrrrmmmmm' goes the skidsteer as another bale is unrolled for those hungry babies equally hungry mommas.

'Clank' go the headlocks as the cows reach for a tantalizing mouthful of hay.

'cluck buck buck' goes the lone barnyard hen as she scrabbles for a kernel or two of corn.

'peep' goes something nearby as the chore hand walks back for the remaining buckets of milk.

Wait....Peep? What goes PEEP in the middle of winter?

'Hon, come listen' says the chore hand.

'Where's a ladder' asks the farmer.

'What's making that noise' asks the chore hand.

'Two chicks. And there's 9 more eggs' says the farmer.

'Buck Buck Buck' says the now flustered momma hen as she shoos us away from her little family and nestles them back under her warm cozy feathers in her oh so cozy nest in a little hidden nook of the wall.

And so ends this morning's excitement at the barn.

(Whoever heard of a hen hatching chicks this time of year?)