Peckasso Goes Down Fighting

July 7, 2013
  Just got the word that my muse Peckasso was killed last night defending his two hens and baby chicks (he was a new proud father of three little baby chicklets). Tom Augherton's father heard a horrendous scream last night at 11:30 and went to the door to see a raccoon in a fight with a big rooster, right outside his door (which is about 50 yards from the coop). Sensing another predator, the raccoon broke off from Peckasso and made a run at the senior Augherton (he's 90), who went back inside and locked the door (he also had a cat in his arms). Realizing he was not going to have to compete for dinner, the raccoon went back on the hunt for Peckasso.

  Tom had built a strong fence around the coop but he left the egg laying door unlocked to the coop and the raccoon managed to open this door (still not an easy task for an animal) and got inside. Peckasso fought for his family and got the intruder outside where the running fight ended on the hillside that slopes up to our house.

  The baby chicks and hens are fine. This morning my rooster crowed all morning, expecting an answer from down the hill, but none came.

  As some of you may know, Peckasso was a frustrated watercolorist (that's how he got his name). He spent several weeks studying with me and I still maintain he could have made a good watercolorist but he seemed to want to peck at the brushes more than concentrate on his painting skills.

"Like all artists, Peckasso was frustrated and had a bad temperament when it came to the ladies, but we still liked him even though he attacked our entire family any time we tried to go near the coop."
—Tom Augherton