Why did the chicken cross the road?

On the way to Afton this morning, I encountered a flock of chickens crossing the road 5 miles west of Vinita. That, of course, brings up the age-old question of WHY? Sorry, but I have no answer for that, despite the fact that they were so close to me as I slowed down to avoid a disaster that I could have grabbed one and had a chicken dinner tonight. I should have asked them why they were crossing, but I allowed the opportunity to pass me by. Oh well.....probably just to get to the other side.

On my drive this morning, I was moved by the desolation of the landscape. It's a landscape I know so well, and yet winter has bathed everything in a different quality of light. The fields are bronze, seemingly have gone from green to brown overnight. The cows don't seem to mind that their food is now a different color. Nor, on this morning, do they appear to mind the gray skies and the cold drizzle that's falling on their backs. They just continue to graze. I did mind, however, because I was having a premonition of a day, a week, maybe several months without visitors to Afton Station.

Today I took the Hours of Operation sign off the door and replaced it with one which reads "Winter Hours: Sat. and Sun. 10 - 3, Others by Appointment or Chance". It's sad but inevitable. The crowd at Afton Station will surely be slim pickins between now and March, I'm afraid.

I did have five visitors today, a family from Springfield, MO who took to the road today after watching "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" last night on the Food Channel. Their destination was Clanton's Cafe in Vinita, which was featured on the show, but they also made a few stops along the way. I was glad Afton Station was one of them. Betty came in and stayed for an hour or so, but otherwise it was pretty lonely at the Station today. Winter also means that I don't sell much, therefore I don't have any ordering to do, and without a steady stream of guests the place doesn't get dirty (and besides I was too lazy today to clean anyway), so in anticipation of the slow day, I took my Christmas cards and started to address them.

There weren't even very many cars on the road today. Here in Oklahoma, everyone is gearing up for the big state football rivalry between OU and OSU this evening. I'm neither a football fan nor a lifelong Okie, so I'm not interested in that. Others are using the weekend to shop, shop, shop. I wouldn't be caught dead in a store this weekend! So, I guess it was, despite the loneliness, a good day to be at Afton Station.

The sky on the way home this evening.