The cover-up caper

I was wishing I had started seeds this year, wondering if it was too late. I guess I really should, seeing as how it was a real battle to reclaim the plastic cover for my seed-starting box. This is a journal entry from the recovery operation:
1-24-04

Poor old Sam! You should have heard him-- trying to crow, but so upset he sounded like he was crowing with the hiccups. And of course, that got the girls all excited, so they were running around making clucking sounds that sounded like they had the hiccups, too. And then they all decided to take cover on the deck and refused to get off. I was trying to get ‘em off, but that upset ‘em even more, so they got an attack of … well, we won’t say, but it made a humongous mess all over the deck, but there's a lot more fertilizer for the compost pile now!
See, what happened was- I have been using a piece of clear rigid plastic stuff on the top of their run to keep the rain from getting into their feed. Trouble is, it’s the same piece of plastic I use to cover my seed starting box in the greenhouse. Since it’s time to start seeds, I decided to reclaim it. Mr. G. said we had a corrugated panel left over from when he built the greenhouse and if we sawed it in half, it would be wide enough to cover the run halfway. So we hauled out the panel and plopped it up there to measure it (it made a real LOUD noise on account of we plopped it kind of clumsily), then commenced to sawing. Sam must have thought we were tearing up his house, because he started flapping his wings, and flying all over, making these weird hiccuppy crowing noises- and he would NOT stop. So there was Mr. G., sawing away, with Sam running around with his hackles out, like he was going to tear Mr. G to shreds. I shooed him away from Mr. G, which is when he ran towards the house and decided to strut and crow from the safety of the deck. So there I was trying to chase Sam and the girls off the deck with a broom, and them just fertilizing left and right. Now remember, this is all happening just at sundown when all the neighbors are at home- and my goodness, the noise level was horrible! We may have to move waaaay out in the country if these critters don’t learn to be a little quieter! Anyway, they finally calmed down, and went to roost, but I bet there won’t be any eggs tomorrow, what with the girls being so upset and all.