Cowmomma's Cupboard

The American experience is unique in that it is possible to connect such disparate things as the NCAA March basketball tournament and chickens on a Northern Michigan ranch.This is that ranch, and here is the story:

We do not have time to watch much television at Bluewater Bay Bucking Bulls especially in the spring but we always manage to fit in the NCAA college basketball tournaments.Both Dan and I used to be full-on basketball fans-we watched college and pros.Dan followed the Pistons and I the Chicago Bulls but in the post-Michael Jordan era we have both become disenchanted with the pro game since neither coaches or players stay with any one team for much beyond a season now.We still get fired up over March Madness though.

We each fill out our brackets each year ahead of the men’s and women’s tournaments and then root for what ever underdog teams catch our fancy, frequently against our own picks.This year has been no exception.This past Sunday we were engaged in cheering on the Michigan State University (MSU) Spartans for two reasons- they are a Big Ten team, and I am both alumni and teaching faculty at MSU.Coverage cut away from our game to the end of the game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

The latter game was close enough to be exciting.Ultimately the Buckeyes took the win.The crazy thing is what also happened simultaneously here at the 4B ranch.Just as the buzzer went off from inside our garage rang out an explosive “Cock-a-Doodle-Do!”Then another, and another.

That rooster had been quiet until that moment but the significance of his timing was immediately clear to me and Dan.You see, we raise a heritage breed of chickens that were established in northern Ohio for the colder climate. This is also the only American chicken breed founded by a woman.The name of this breed is the Buckeye! And this particular Buckeye rooster- Hopper, is apparently a big college Ohio State basketball fan.