The fact that people think it’s okay to help themselves to other people’s property is wrong

Cowboy said he was going to the new hardware store by Food City if I wanted to tag along. 
I jumped at the chance, and since we’d be right there, I told Badger to come with us. 
We had chili yesterday, so I figured I’d grab some hot dogs and we’d have chili and hot dogs today.

The new store was really nice, just pricey. 
But Cowboy still ordered a saw. 
I honestly don’t know why he thought he needed one or why he didn’t just go to Lowe’s.

While he was finishing up, Badger and I walked on to Food City.
Holy cow. 
Since when did hot dogs become nine dollars? 
Total sticker shock. 
The last time I bought any, the good ones were around two dollars.
Hot dogs used to be what poor people lived on because they were cheap. 
I didn’t get the good kind this time, and the not‑so‑tasty kind wasn’t much better. 
They used to be ninety‑nine cents, and now they’re nearly three dollars. 
We had our hot dogs and chili, but that’s a meal we probably won’t repeat.

I told Badger we’d check Walmart next time we’re out. 
Hot dogs can’t really be nine dollars a pack. 
Food City is always higher, and Knoxville is even more expensive than Jefferson City. 
We were only in Knoxville today because it was closer to the house

Once Cowboy headed off to work and the school traffic died down, Badger and I went out for a little walk.
 She glanced over at the spot where my five‑foot‑tall metal rooster stands, looked again, and said, “Someone stole Chanticleer.”
I’ll be doggone if my five‑foot‑tall metal rooster isn’t gone.
Well, his body is gone. 
They couldn’t get his legs out of the ground. 
Cowboy made sure he wasn’t going anywhere. 
Who steals a five‑foot‑tall metal rooster?
And the bigger question might be when it even happened

We hurried back inside, and I checked the cameras, but Cowboy’s junk car blocks the whole area where the rooster stood.
If he hadn’t parked it in the front yard, I would have had a perfect view of my poor rooster. 
I keep telling him that car needs to go. 
It’s never going to run, and I’m tired of it sitting there in my way. 
Let me jump ahead a bit.

After Cowboy called, I checked with him and confirmed he didn’t take the rooster down. 
He took our big windmill down for repairs last week, so I was hoping maybe he thought Chanticleer needed work too. 
But no. 
Someone actually walked off with my rooster.

Badger and I got our little walk in, and I watched all the usual places where someone might toss a big metal rooster. 
No sign of Chanticleer anywhere. 
Badger even walked through the woods behind Farmer’s Daughter’s field. 
We always find things people have stolen and dumped back there, from Nerf guns to tricycles. 
But no rooster.
I may go back and look more carefully now that it’s confirmed he was actually stolen

Well, there’s nothing I can do now. 
He’s gone, and he’s not getting replaced. 
I’ll move the bird bath closer to the house and check on the rusty flamingos to make sure mom and baby are still standing. 
They can stay where they are. 
They’re so rusted at this point that if someone wants them, they’re welcome to them.

We’ve had Chanticleer for five years, and for at least three of those he stood guard by the front yard flower bed. 
He was close to the road, but still far enough back that anyone could see he was in my yard. 
With all my decorations around him, he was clearly not trash. 
And if the two railroad spikes holding his legs in the ground didn’t make that obvious, I don’t know what would. 
It just boggles the mind. 
Who steals a very large, very metal rooster?

We came home and settled into a full TV night. 
After our episode ended, we gave my desk area a quick cleaning.
KUB is coming at the crack of dawn to install our internet, so I’ll probably need to be up around 6:30 a.m.
It took both of us, but the desk area is completely cleaned now, and it didn’t take long at all. 

I think I’ll be heading to bed soon.