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REMEMBER the war waged at our place a while back over ownership rights to the dog kennel?
The chooks tried to move in.
The cats thought the kennel was their domain.
The dogs would have nothing to do with such rebellious behaviour.
Well, the battlegrounds have moved somewhat but rest assured things are far from calm in our household where those chooks and their canine friend is concerned.
Regular readers will remember one of the great traits of these chookies is that no matter how big the bribe on offer, they simply refuse to go to bed until they're good and ready.
So as the days are now long, it's common for them to hang around at feeding time for our dog and cats.
Truth be told, even if they're not hanging around, one of their other great traits is that ESP that alerts them to offerings of food, no matter where they are on the property.
So feeding time plays out like this.
Molly the dog, carrying on as usual like she's never been fed in her life, buries her face in the bowl of food.
Chook A moves in from the left to pinch a few scraps while Chook B waits patiently for the dog to chase her friend away amid a flurry of snarls and gnashing teeth.
Chook B then darts in, scoffing as much food as possible before Molly becomes aware of her thieving ways and comes screaming back to drive this new thief away from that tea.
Sensing the opportunity, Chook A then takes the place of Chook B at the dog bowl.
And so the scenario plays out.
This double teaming attack on Molly's tea is genius, as is the ability of these chooks to escape the jaws of death by the tip of a feather.
They are both courageous and determined - happy to keep coming despite Molly's growls of discontent.
But there have been repercussions.
You see the chooks have stumbled across the perfect place to survive these piping hot days we've been having.
As the mercury rises on a sweltering afternoon, you can find them happily nestled down in a wet muddy patch created by the run off from the airconditioner.
As an added bonus, this wet patch just happens to sit in the shade of the house.
Life was perfect until Molly decided that was a pretty good spot - kicking them out and taking ownership of the 'wet patch'.
This week the chooks had also found shade under the carport but decided to head out for some scratching and foraging.
Unfortunately, Molly had nestled down for a sleep on their escape route between the woodbox and the barbecue, so they were forced to pace back and forwards for a few hours until she decided to move.
Perhaps Molly is getting the upper hand in this turf fued.
The battlegrounds have moved somewhat but rest assured things are far from calm
Seems they're growing a little chicken to take her on... sorry!