The Third Day of Christmas

Only two are visible in this two-dimensional photo of the three-dimensional bauble.  Three French Hens- all glamorous in black and white on their nests of golden straw. Obviously these are free-run chickens and all very content. When I was young and used to visit my grandparents on acreage out in Cloverdale, I loved to go and visit various livestock - but especially chickens and baby chicks. There was also something magical about "gathering eggs"- reaching under the fluffy bodies to find a egg in the straw. Chickens are quite social birds really so I'm sure the three French hens got along very well. I was reading that department stores are making a comeback but that they realize that some sort of "experience" needs to be provided to attract customers... not just merchandise. Too true - the pre-Christmas visit to downtown Vancouver used to be memory-making... looking in the beautifully decorated windows, having a ride on the little train through a winter wonderland and getting a candy cane at the end, then maybe eating lunch in the department store dining room...definitely not a cafeteria. Who knows? Maybe some of that will come back with the resurgence of department stores. We have enough "big boxes" with lots of things to buy but shopping is more of a chore then.