This is Miss Delaware (the white one). She’s my alpha hen — a funny, bossy, curious hen. She likes to be right up in everyone’s business. Which is fine, most of the time, but this morning she and my younger dog, Owen, had a little altercation.

This is Owen (taken by our friend William Campbell last winter). Owie is the center of Owie’s universe — I’ve spoiled him, mostly because I think he’s hilarious.

So, last night, we had a little rib eye on the grill, and this morning I tossed the bone out in the yard for whichever dog would find it. Guess who? Mr. MINE. So, Owie is out there with his nice, grilled rib eye bone (we split one steak, so there was only one bone). Raymond was sad, but he’s sort of used to Owen being a brat and hogging things.

The chickens were out for their morning constitutional — they get about an hour in the yard in the morning to peck around, eat bugs, and just sort of be chickens.

Well, Miss Delaware was really interested in Owen’s bone. I was doing dishes when I heard someone scrapping — when I peeked, it was Owie, growling at Miss Delaware. He’d growl. She’d back off. She’d come back to see what this thing was, he’d growl, then snap at her. She’d back off and it would start all over again. Finally he went at her. Luckily all he got was a mouthful of feathers and she ran squawking back to the coop. She seems mostly unhurt. A little freaked out. I fed them all and locked them back up.

You can’t really get mad at the poor dog. He didn’t kill her. And she really was in his face. Hope she’s okay …

Drama! Backyard drama!