Farm Noises

One evening, a little before dark, I went outside onto the porch. It was springtime and I enjoyed watching the fireflies as they flew about and I wanted to see them as they began their nightly ritual. The peacefulness of living in the country provided a scene of serenity and quiet, which was seldom broken by the harshness of city living.

As dusk approached I heard a noise off in the distance but was unable to determine its source. I went back into the house for a few and when I returned I could still hear the sounds. SSSSSST, AWWWK…. SSSSSST, AWWWK. Now this went on for several minutes and as it got darker I began to see something flashing down by the hog pen.

SSSSSST, AWWWK…. SSSSSST, AWWWK.

I began to notice a distinct rhythm of the flashes and the SSSSSST, AWWWK. So I decided to investigate. I went down to the hog pen and as I got closer the flashes got brighter and the SSSSSST, AWWWK a little louder.

((I suppose that in today's world many of the events that I recall from my childhood would be frowned down on. I've never been politically correct nor have I worried about it. I'm thankful that there are those in this world who aren't on a soapbox preaching to the crowd about every little perceived problem. If you believe in political correctness and especially if you're a member of PETA, that's "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals" not "People who Eat Tasty Animals", than I recommend that you not read the remainder of this story.))

It was pretty dark as I approached the hog pen but I could begin to make out the outline of various objects. The flashes were becoming brighter which both hindered and aided my seeing. When I reached the hog pen I found the source of the Flash, SSSSSST, AWWWK.

If you've ever lived on a farm and raised hogs then you'll appreciate their ability to get out of any pen they're placed in. To combat this we not only had hog wire in place but dad had put up an electric fence (again another story) to reinforce the effort to keep them in. Normally this combination doesn't pose a real problem but on this night it did.

Flash, SSSSSST, AWWWK….

There was a space of perhaps six inches between the hog fence and the electric fence that was just enough space for one of our chickens to get itself trapped. This poor chicken was right in the middle. It couldn't get through the hog fence and each time it tried to back out… Flash, SSSSSST, AWWWK, that electric fence would bite and the chicken would surge forward into the hog fence.

SSSSSST, AWWWK…. SSSSSST, AWWWK…. SSSSSST, AWWWK…..

This had gone on for at least thirty minutes since I'd first heard the noise. I ran up to the house, turned off the electric fence, returned and rescued the chicken. The chicken was near exhaustion and there was a stench of burnt flesh along with a mark on the chickens backside as though it had been branded.

Country living isn't as fast paced as city living. I reckon that's why we can find humor in most any situation and this was no exception. The chicken survived but never again went near the hog fence. Now wasn't this more exciting than setting around watching the bug zapper?

Randall J. Beers

© September 29, 2000