Thank you, everybody! I do think it's the bathroom light which awakens Carl, so I'm going to put some of my battery & timer-controlled "Flameless candles" in the bathroom for low light all night long. (Although I do love a dark house at night when I sleep, I think I can get used to the gentle illumination of those candles.)
Today whilst John and I were working on the deck project, he asked which roosters get to stay. It's kind of a changeable list, as I work through the emotional issue of giving some up. He wished he still had a ranch because he'd love to take George, but where he lives is a "no chicken" community. I'll be working on a "Bantam Roosters need good homes!" flyer to disseminate.
Not sure when the Environmental Health inspector showed up, as he didn't contact me, but he did call my number just before 1 p.m. to leave a message on my voice mail. Either he showed up before 10:30 a.m. or John and I didn't notice anybody while we were working on mixing concrete and setting posts. Anyway, he said he hadn't needed to come onto the property; he had walked the front fence line three times to assess the situation. He found absolutely no problem, had seen the chickens, geese and ducks ranging freely in the yard, they are healthy and there was no environmental issue. He will be closing the complaint as unfounded.
John exulted when I told him what the message had been. "Linda - two, [butt]hole neighbors - zero! In every war, there is more than one battle - whoever wins the battles wins the war."
Before John showed up at quarter to noon, Mr. Retiree from next door called to me from his truck in front of my gate (he has to pass it to enter or leave his property) to say he was on his way over to pick up "that stray cat" and bring her to me. The lady who had been feeding her returned with him, delivering the cat in a carrier, plus a new bag of cat food, two dishes and toy she'd brought for "Faith." I get to keep the blanket inside the carrier, too. I gave her an 18-count carton of eggs. She said she'd wanted to buy eggs from me, anyway, so I told her these were to thank her for bringing me the cat. "Besides, first cartons are always free." She used to keep chickens so she understood about the eggs not being washed ahead of time. She confirmed it by looking inside the carton and saying, "Oh, Araucanas - and I see Barred Rock eggs, too. Thank you! " She wanted me to be sure to call her if "Faith" didn't work out, and she'd find her another home.
I never tipped to having had the cat previously or that I'd named her Lizbeth. She's in my guest room right now, still in the carrier, even though the door to it is open.
While we were working on the deck, Mr. Retiree walked over along my back fence to ask if we would be bothered by the smoke from the burn pile he was starting. I'd just put out a cigarette, so I said, "John would probably prefer that to my smoking - no problem!" (Yesterday, he'd been out there dumping some crackers over the fence "for the chickens." )
Late this afternoon, one of the two couples with property behind mine were working on clearing brush, so we said howdy. The woman of the house came up to the fence to admire the deck work. We chatted a bit and she commented, "I understand you have a new cat." Apparently Laura had called Rosemary with the news.
On one of his passes by his work van, John reached into the cab to get something. He held out a can of peanuts, asking if I wanted "some of these." No, thanks, anyway. "Are you sure? You may miss out on something good."
Inside the can were a whole bunch of rooster drawer pulls! "You can thank Dave, my painter, for them." He looked through his phone directory for Dave's business and cell phone numbers so I could call him myself. "People like hearing all that "Oh, how wonderful, they're perfect, you're so thoughtful!" stuff," John said.
I am compiling an ever-growing list of local folks' phone numbers. What a nice feeling it is!
