The 30 Day Photo Challenge Day Twelve

Well, for those of you who don't know, our husky, Kiya, had a nice chicken dinner yesterday.  Kiya, who has never been off of her leash when we go for a walk because of her immense desire to run away; Kiya, who remains in the backyard with Lexi surrounded by a sturdy 6-foot-fence...yeah, Kiya got out yesterday because the ferocious winds blew our fence open.  I was home alone doing homework.  I could hear the wind howling, but never knew anything was wrong.  When Christopher got home, he noticed the gate was open.  Lexi was just hanging around, so we were able to put her back in the yard.  However, we had to get in the car to start a husky search.  Drove around the neighborhood; no luck.  Drove into the next subdivision; no luck.  Drove down the road and passed a house with beautiful chickens running around in the yard.  I made an ominous statement: "I hope Kiya doesn't find these chickens".  Christopher replied:  "Yeah, we will be asked why Kiya isn't on a leash".  No sign of Kiya, though, so we drove on.  Half an hour later, we arrived back home with no dog.  We leashed Lexi and decided to see if she would "track" Kiya.  We made it to the edge of the driveway and Lexi just sat down and looked at us. 

About that time, Christopher's dad called him.  I heard Christopher ask something about Kiya having a chicken buffet for lunch.  Immediately, my stomach dropped; I knew already that she had been up to no good.  A phone call and a few minutes later, we arrived at the scene of the crime.  A lovely family, who raises chickens of all breeds, had managed to catch Kiya and pen her up.  However, damage had already been done; at that point in time yesterday, they knew at least 7 chickens had died (most of them from shock).  It was so sad, standing in their yard with these georgeous chickens pecking the ground around us, and out of my peripheral vision, I could see some of the "victims" lying by the porch.  The family was nicer than they should've been; the chickens cost about $15.00 a piece, but they only asked for money to buy more chicks, which are only $5.00 a piece.  We gave them $40.00, but we still feel terrible knowing that it wasn't enough.  Also, as of today, three more chickens died.

How do I know this?  Because, thanks to Facebook (watched The Social Network last night, by the way...great movie) the woman who owns the chickens and I are now friends.  Ironically, she, like me, graduated from King College with a degree in English.  Amazing, huh?  Such a nice family.  I am so sorry our ridiculous dog had to senselessly kill their precious chickens.

What a weekend. 

Anyway, onto today's photo challenge: 

A photo of something you love.

I thought about this one for a long time.  There are so many things I love that almost made the list:  flamingos, outdoor volleyball, chocolate milk, animals, Harry Potter, running, summer, cookouts, fireworks, starry nights, etc.  But then, I went with:

Traveling.  And Italy, as well, could be on a list of things I love.  I do love to travel, but I am hindered by a debilitating phobia of flying.  Seriously, I don't use the term "phobia" lightly.  I really can't handle it, even when I am highly medicated.  The picture above was taken in Rome in May 2007.  I spent almost a month in Europe (most of that time was spent in Italy before going to France and Switzerland).  Flying to Europe at 21-years-old was really my first time on a plane (previously, I had been a toddler), and it really wasn't that terrible.   I slept a lot of the time and was surrounded by people who fly often.  Two years later, my husband and I went to the Dominican Republic on our honeymoon.  We had an extremely frightening flight on a small plane from Atlanta to Tri-Cities in a thunderstorm.  I have never been more scared in my life (except when a man entered our school with a gun).  Somehow, last year I got the guts to fly to Florida and back and it was a very miserable experience.  There are so many things I am scared of about flying, and it makes me sad, because I want to go to more countries.  However, I still love traveling around the United States.  Last summer, Christopher and I took a road trip up through the eastern U.S., stopping in D.C., Providence, NYC, and Boston.  There are so many places in the country I would still like to visit.  It takes money though...and thanks to our husky, we may not have very much left!