Officially skinny, Close to pass

So I have been getting comments from different sources recently asking if I had lost weight, the most recent of them coming yesterday from a woman at the gym that I had not seen much of in a few months.  The answer I give out is yes, I have lost some weight, somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-9 lbs.  I actually saw a 7 as the second digit of my weight for the first time after my road bike ride on Friday.  I haven’t weighed in the 170’s in forever, the last time after the brutal colonoscopy “cleanse”.

For the better part of the last 5 years I recall mentioning I wished I weighed closer to 180lbs instead of 190lbs however it seems that a lot of the weight loss shows up first in my face, making people think there is something wrong with me. (maybe there is) As far as the reason for the loss I am sure it is multi-faceted.   The most obvious reason is Cindy was a good cook and made sure I had a steady caloric flow.  Some of the stresses I have been dealing with surely play a role as well and as I said, I have had a general desire to lose a few pounds as well.  My strength levels at the gym have stayed similar mostly to what they were at a heavier body weight so to me that is a win. However if I keep getting commentary asking if I am ok I’m not sure if I need to start pounding more twinkies or just deal with being seen as skinny.

So the news with Fiona has been going downhill.  Over the weekend I got her interested in eating with some melon and corn I bought at the grocery store but by the time I got home last night I could tell she was fading fast.  She didn’t even try to fight me when I tried to clean her rear end.  When I put her on the perch last night I placed her in the center section where there is lots of support.  When I went out there this morning I found her on the floor near the side of the perch.  Evidently she moved and then fell off.  To be quite honest part of me wished she broke her neck during the fall to end her misery.

She was really out of it at this point.  I gently carried her to the chicken run and let her sit there.  She did not move an inch and started tucking her head under her wing, a visual I know all too well.  I fully expect to come home after work to find that she has passed on.  It’s crazy to me how a week and a half ago she was still more or less normal and now she is a faint shadow of herself.

As I mentioned, of all of the chickens I have had, Fiona is one of the least friendly birds and I never really felt close to her.  However as she has fallen ill and I have tried to help her the feeling of closeness comes back as one living creature tries to help another.  When you raise an animal from birth basically (1 week old) through their death it is a very difficult thing, especially for someone like me.  I can only hope she passes peacefully.  That will just leave Kathy and me, ironic.