The Barnyard

We live in a typical midwestern suburban subdivision about 10 miles north of Akron, Ohio. One reason we picked this area was because it has a rural feel with a large park to the north of us and significant tracts of open land to the south and west of us.

Most of the houses were built by Ryan Homes in the early 1980s with typical suburban-size lots of about one-third acre. When we bought our home 28 years ago, there was a 100-plus acre farm across Stow Road that runs by our subdivision. There was a lot less traffic then and Pam and I enjoyed quiet summer evenings outside as a respite from our jobs in central Akron.

Then about 20 years ago, the family that had owned the farm since the 1840s decided to sell most of the land to Pulte Homes which built more than 200 new homes on the farmland. That increased the traffic on Stow Road and the summer evenings were not as quiet as before.

However, one small remnant of the farm remains directly across the road from the entrance to our subdivision. There is a Victorian style two-story farmhouse built in 1915 along with another small building that has room for two vehicles and a small apartment. A couple of years ago, a younger couple (who we have not met) bought the house and outbuilding. They put  in a swimming pool and fixed up a small hen house and shed put up a new wire fence on a quarter-acre lot next to the house.

There are now about a dozen chickens, four goats and a miniature donkey in this barnyard. A year or so ago I wrote an article for a chain of suburban newspapers about people raising chickens in urban and suburban areas for eggs and I suspect that’s what this couple is doing. Also, the four goats could be providing milk and the donkey is probably there just for show.

I pass by this barnyard a couple of times a day on my way to and from my house and I wonder about the social dynamic among the animals. Most of the time the chickens have their heads down on the ground looking for food. The goats seem more sociable and often two or three of them are standing together. Occasionally, I will see one or two of the goats standing next to the donkey, but the donkey spends most of its time alone.

Can these animals really communicate with each other? Do the goats understand the chickens or the donkey? There have been many stories personifying animals. The one I remember best is “Animal Farm” by George Orwell. He said this was a satire of the 1917 revolution that overthrew the Czar and his family in Russia and led to the creation of the Soviet Union by the ruthless dictator Josef Stalin. In Orwell’s book, the animals united to rebel against and overthrow their inept human owner.

The revolution was led by two pigs and one of them eventually killed the other to take complete dictatorial control of the barnyard.

I haven’t seen any signs of the animals rebelling against their human owner. There is usually a sizable bale of hay hanging on the fence for the donkey and goats to feed upon and the chickens seem to be well fed too. The sturdy newer fence ensures that none of them are likely to escape. Although, before the new fence was installed, I did see one chicken on the loose very close to the road.

I wonder if she was thinking about crossing the road.