Romeo Rooster

Goodbye Romeo

2013-04-27T06:37:00.001-04:00

After Romeo's last post, I would occasionally see him living the good life across the street. Sometimes he would even acknowledge that he knew me. After a month or so he just disappeared. For awhile, every time I would be in the area, I would look for him, to no avail. I was hoping he would come back on his own but after over six months I think it is time to move on and end this blog.

If you are out there Romeo, we miss you.

If anyone is interested in reading my other blogs, check them out here: http://badcatchris.com, http://charleshuss.com and http://justfurlaughs.com.

Goodbye Romeo

2013-04-27T06:37:00.000-04:00

Living the Good Life

2012-08-31T17:21:00.000-04:00

I know many of you at The Abbey miss me and are waiting for my return but I am sorry to tell you I will be staying across the street for awhile longer, perhaps indefinitely.

The truth is, there is a restaurant here that gives us food. Honestly, I have always worked hard for my food and never minded it, but then I discovered that I could do nothing and people will give me a handout. How can you beat that. Why should I ever work again.

You humans probably don't have anything like that because I see plenty of people working. Come to think of it, I do see some people who never work, perhaps they are the smart ones and have discovered what I have discovered.

Perhaps you humans should get together and form a political party that is dedicated to providing handouts to people, then, once they are in power, nobody will have to work and the world will be a utopia.

Just remember it was my idea.

Will Romeo Return?

2012-08-22T20:36:00.002-04:00

Before everyone gets their shorts in a wad, I haven't disappeared. I am just staying across the street for awhile. One of my flock had new chicks, er...ducklings, and needed protection from the hawks on the property, so naturally, being the responsible guardian of my flock, I offered to help. I took her and her chicks away until they are big enough to be out of danger, or until I get bored, whichever comes first.

I also want to set the record straight. Despite what you may have heard, those are not my chicks. Roosters do not mate with ducks, however, I can understand why you might think that. They don't call me Romeo for nothing.

As far as weather or not I will return to The Abbey. We'll see...

Romeo Rooster with Duck and her Ducklings

The Report of My Demise is Greatly Exaggerated

2012-08-03T06:48:00.000-04:00

I know that there has been talk that the reason I haven't been around for awhile is because I didn't make it across the road. That is simply not the case. I happen to know how to look both ways before crossing the street, unlike some armadillos I used to know.

The truth is, I have things going on over here on this side of the road and I am not sure I want to go back. I mean, what is there for me? I never got that banner with my picture on it, nobody invited me to the pool party, and everyone thinks I don't know how to cross the street.

Over here I have met new friends, including the intruded I spoke of in one of my previous posts (The Wild Duck Incident). It turns out this duck is a female. I'm a rooster, what do I know about ducks? This one had a male sounding quack. In any case, she recently had some chicks and moved them over here because of the hawk that is living on the property now. It turns out she is fun to hang out with. The little ones...not so much.

Before you ask, the answer is no! Those are not my chicks. I have fathered a few dozen chicks in my day. Haven't seen any of them since...well...since that colonel came to visit. He said he was from Kentucky or something like that. Wasn't paying much attention but the next thing I know, he's gone and so are all my chicks. Never trust a man in a white suit!

O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

2012-07-27T07:03:00.001-04:00

This is Chuck, Romeo's writer. I am a bit concerned about him since he has not dictated a new blog to me in over two weeks. In fact, I have only seen him twice since then, from a distance, and not at all since last week. In both cases that I did see him, he was standing across the street at Suncoast Surveying. I don't know what he was doing but he was standing alone in front of the building, like he was waiting for someone.

That was last week. This week...nothing. I don't think he was hit by a car or we would have heard about it. It has been suggested that his hens live somewhere behind that building, but I have been back there and have never seen them. It has also been suggested that someone may have captured Romeo and is now holding him captive with the hens. If Wilma is among them it may be a fate worse than death.

Of course, this is just speculation. If anyone has seen Romeo in the last few days, please let me know. Also, please don't point out that wherefore means "why." In this case, it does not.

A shell of a big deal over nothing!

2012-07-09T20:30:00.000-04:00

Everyone at the Abbey office was so excited today about the large tortoise that was found on the property. With all the cooing that was going on, you would think they found a baby chick.

I just don't see what the big deal is. It's just some big lumbering creature that sits in one spot and eats leaves. How boring! Can it jump on top the fence and wake you up for work? Can it entertain you by chasing the ducks around? Does it have a beautiful and colorful coat of feathers? No, no and no!

I suppose humans just like things that are different. You might as well coo over a swarm of locust. At least that would be exciting.

Romeo's a Poet, and Didn't Know it

2012-07-02T18:59:00.001-04:00

Not much has been happining lately so I thought in my spare time I would grace you with a poem. It goes like this:

Romeo is a rooster that lives at The Abbey
The place is so big that nobodys flabby (It's a poem, not non-fiction)
He hangs out with the ducks
Who enjoy his good luck
But still, they always seem crabby

William Shakespear, eat your heart out. Maybe next time I will try finger painting.

Welcome Back Sunshine

2012-06-30T13:15:00.001-04:00

Now that the rain has stopped and the flood water has receded, the ducks are sulking. I think they forgot they are living in The Sunshine State. They must have thought they died and went to Seattle. I don't know what their problem is. They still have their ponds.

Since I wasn't born with web feet, I am perfectly happy to be able to walk around on dry land again. Perhaps I'll walk over to the center pond to see what the mallard chicks are doing...and the ducklings too.

Now we have mallards too!

2012-06-26T22:15:00.002-04:00

I was just writing about the lack of new ducklings this season and suddenly four mallard ducks show up, two with ducklings. One of the four is a male and the females here can't stop quacking about how good looking he is. I must admit, he is almost as handsome as me and the hens he is with aren't bad either, relatively speaking.

Before any of you get the idea that I am jealous, think again. I like to hang around with the ducks because they don't give me grief but romantically speaking, I am more of a "birds of a feather" type guy.

It is the female ducks that are jealous. A handsome drake flies in with three lovely chicks (I can call them that) and what do you think these hens are thinking. They are thinking they don't have a chance because they look like they were standing inside an ugly factory when it exploded. Okay...maybe they weren't thinking exactly that...but something close, I'm sure.

When will it stop raining?

2012-06-24T20:56:00.001-04:00

The weather is one area where the ducks and I don't agree. It has been raining here for three or four days now and I am ready for some sunshine. The ducks are happier than pigs in... Well, they just love swimming through the parking lot.

I, on the other foot, just want to be dry for a change. I am almost ready to go visit the hen house...almost. If that happens somebody just shoot me. I said if. Don't you people get all excited now. I know some of you would do it. I don't plan on giving in to the rain.

Where are ducklings?

2012-06-22T07:03:00.000-04:00

I keep hearing that there should be a bunch of ducklings around here this time of year and people ask me where they are. Don't you people see that I am a rooster! What do I know about ducklings? Or care? Ask me about little chicks. Actually don't. I will plead the fifth.

Anyway, I was not here last year so I don't know what happened last season or the one before. There were a few ducklings here about three months ago. Does nobody remember that. I don't know what happened to them. They probably got eaten by the alligator...just kidding. It was probably the coyote...kidding again.

But seriously, someone suggested that I was interfering with the mating habits of these ducks. That's ridiculous! I may be their boss but I don't tell them who they can date. although, perhaps my incredible good looks have affected the females. If so, it was purely unintentional.

Romeo Returns

2012-06-18T18:16:00.000-04:00

I would like to start out by saying something to Chuck, my secretary (he hates being called that). Chuck, you are not my mother! Don't worry about where I am or what I am doing. I'm a big bird now. I can take care of myself.

You should worry more about what that crazy cat of yours is doing. I don't like coming to your apartment because I always feel like I'm on the lunch menu. Anyway, if you must know where I was and what I was doing, I will tell you...It's none of your business!

I will say that later, the ducks and I went on patrol and I can report that this end of the property is just fine. Next time, don't wait for me. I'll come when I'm good and ready.

Where's Romeo?

2012-06-15T18:39:00.000-04:00

This is Chuck, Romeo's writing assistant. I was expecting him this afternoon to come by and dictate the next blog post but he never showed up. I'm afraid he's been crossing the road again.

I worry about him getting back and forth accross the road, and who knows what goes on over there. I can imagine but this is a family blog. Hopefully whatever he is doing is legal. I don't want to have to get him out of the coop again.

If anyone sees him, please tell him we need his next post. Thanks

The Wild Duck Incident

2012-06-13T18:54:00.001-04:00

Many of you are wondering why I did not come to the pool party. I keep hearing, "Hey Romeo, Where were you? The party was great!" I have said it before but just to make it clear, I do NOT like water. Oh sure, I'll drink it, but don't ask me to go for a swim.

Another reason is that I had some problems with an intruder that I needed to take care of. Some duck flew in here from who knows where about a week or so ago and lately he has been trying to take over the flock. I said, "Excuse me! What are you doing? I'm in charge here!" You should have seen the look on his face. Well, actually, ducks only have one look but if they had more his would have been the look of shock. He couldn't believe a rooster could be in charge of a flock of ducks. I really didn't care what he believed. I just chased him into the water so he would know who was boss. Haven't had any trouble with him since then.

This is the culprit - Don't feed him. Maybe he'll go away.

Plan B

2012-06-10T18:01:00.000-04:00

Well, it looks like Romeoville is not going to happen. They tell me it would be too expensive to change all the signs and such. I think they are being short sighted because they are not considering the value of having a property named after me. I'll bet they could get at least 20% more rent because who wouldn't want to live at The Abbey at Romeoville?

If I am going to be the mascot here there has to be some benifit to me. Fourtunately I have a plan B. I'm thinking they could put up a big banner with my picture on it. It could say something like "The Abbey at Forest Lakes, home of the great Romeo Rooster." Wilma would lay an egg if she saw that. Not that I have an alterier motive or anything.

If I am going to convince them to put me on a banner, I've got to pick out a good picture. I've been going over some that my assistant Chuck took and I'm not sure if my left side looks better or my right. Somebody tell me what they think.

Also, do you like the "casual stroll" look or the "Get out of my way, I have feathers to ruffle" look?

The Abbey at Romeoville?

2012-06-07T06:37:00.000-04:00

I had a chat yesterday with Rose, the property manager here about becoming the official property mascot. Frankly, I don't know weather I should be flattered or insulted. I mean, aren't mascots usually some kind of animal or something? Okay...I know. I'm a rooster. It just seems like such a mindless job. I think my talents would be more suited for security officer. Unfortunately, that job is taken, and by someone who is not doing a good job in my opinion. He seems very concerned about what people are doing on the property but does he pay any attention to the non human population? I'll answer that. No! The other day a wild duck flew onto the property and started taking bread handouts that were rightfully ours, and nobody cared!

But I digress. Getting back to the mascot job, I asked the very important question, "What's in it for me?" She asked me what I wanted and I had to think about it for a minute. I have everything I need here and money won't do me any good, especially since I don't carry a wallet.

I thought about it a bit and then decided it would be nice if they changed the name of this place from The Abbey at Forest Lakes to Romeoville. Nobody knows what an Abbey is anyway. I thought it was a monastery but I see no monks living here. "That's a problem," Rose said, "because the company name is Abbey Residential." She said the best I could hope for was The Abbey at Romeoville, and that was a longshot. I quess we will see what happens. Perhaps I should call the corporate office and squack at them. I'm sure that has never happened before.

Pool Party

2012-06-04T21:03:00.000-04:00

People have been asking me if I am going to the pool party this Saturday. Pool party? How can there be a pool party if no one has invited me. I'm sure there was an oversight or something.

This kind of thing has happened before. Whenever something important happens around here, everyone gets a notice on their door. The problem is, not all of us have doors. The people in the Abbey office need to remember that people are not the only residents here. Us animals live here too and we have rights! At least I think we have rights. I was never very good at law. Anyway, surely we have the right to know about upcoming parties. Many of us are party animals, literally.

As for the pool party, I think I'll skip it. I'm not really one of the party animals. I prefer to just be my own bird and do my own thing. Maybe I'll stop by later if someone wants a cock-tail...get it? Sometimes I just crack myself up.

Protest

2012-06-02T21:13:00.000-04:00

I just want everybody to know I finally tried apples and I am not crazy about them. So thanks, but no thanks.

Getting down to business. I have decided I am not going to cower in fear just because there is a Chick-Fil-A next door. I am going to stand up to them and show them we are not just mindless animals. Some of us even have blogs.

I have been working all day on organizing a protest. I got the ducks together to help me make signs. Unfortunately, they spent most of the afternoon staring at the grass looking for bugs or something. It doesn't matter. I got my sign made and I am ready to go picket. Who's with me?

Rooster Beware

2012-06-01T21:34:00.000-04:00

I just found out there is a Chick-Fil-A just a few hundred feet from where I am living. This is horrible. Why didn't anybody tell me? I have been going about my days like there is nothing wrong and just on the other side of the fence, innocent chickens are being eaten. What's worse, people that live here at the Abbey think it is a great convenience that it is there.

I am very worried. I have become pretty well known around here. Maybe too well known. What's going to happen if this restaurant runs out of wings just before dinner time? They're going to send the kid with the pimples and silly visor out looking for me.

I may need to move. Building 3 with the crazy ducks is looking better all the time. If I stay here, I will need everybody's help to be my eyes and ears. For now, maybe I will just lay low until Sunday.

Roosters Can Fly

2012-05-31T18:49:00.001-04:00

Someone had made a comment the other day that I can't fly. I don't want to embarrass that person for making such a ridiculous statement so I won't mention his name is Sarge. I will say he is wrong and I have proof. Please take a look at exhibit A below.

You can clearly see that is me in the tree along with one of my flock and I certainly didn't climb the tree. Hey, I bet you didn't know those Muscovy ducks could fly either. Well, they can, especially when being chased...At least, that is what I heard.

Favorite Foods

2012-05-30T16:30:00.000-04:00

I see people from time to time that come down here with their old, stale bread and think they are doing a good deed by throwing it to the ducks and I. Just so you know, I appreciate the gesture, but these ducks will eat anything and I am the one who has to listen to them moaning about their belly ache two hours later.

You might be asking yourself, "what is your favorite food Romeo?" Well, I'm glad you asked, because the truth is, I don't know. There is so much that I haven't tried. I've been living mostly on bugs and worms, which aren't bad, but I would love to try some fresh fruit, which doesn't exactly grow on trees where I live...get the pun?

Anyway, I have heard apples are pretty good, hint, hint. I also found out recently that raw, shelled, sunflower seeds are very good. The ducks like those too. Sometimes, they embarrass me because they act like animals around food. For example, watch the two videos below and tell me who is more composed and dignified when food is around. Actually, you don't even need to watch. It's me. Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!

See, I told you!

Leadership Training

2012-05-29T18:24:00.000-04:00

I wanted to take a moment to talk about what makes a good leader. This is going to be a short post because it is so simple, yet so many of you humans don't get it. Here are the three simple rules:

1) Be fair.
2) Show confidence.
3) Always make sure they know who's boss.

The first two are easy but occasionally your flock may forget you're the boss. So what do you do to remind them? Watch and learn...

That, my friends, is how its done.

Morning Wake-up Call

2012-05-28T10:00:00.001-04:00

I must say that I am surprised that people are complaining about the crowing I do in the morning. First of all, I am a rooster, it's what I do. Second, I wait until it has been light for almost an hour before I start. Third...where was I? Oh yeah, what is wrong with you lazy people? You obviously don't know the secret to happiness: Sleep when it's dark, rise when it's light and crow like there is no tomorrow.

I can help. Just watch the video below and do what I do. Just ignore the poor quality. My assistant is a photographer, not a vidiographer. Anyway, just crow till your heart's content. You don't have to use my words. Ad-lib all you want, and ignore the woman in 4823, she's crabby.

Where I am

2012-05-25T17:06:00.000-04:00

It has come to my attention that some of my fans would like to meet me in person, so to speak. Well, I live in a town called Oldsmar, Florida at an apartment complex called The Abbey at Forest Lakes. Don't ask me for an address because us birds don't concern ourselves with silly things like that, but if you must know, there is this cool new invention called Gaggle. No, actually I have geese on my mind. It is called Google. Give it a try.

If you do come to see me, I am usually hanging out with the ducks by the water. My assistant, Chuck, has provided a map so you can find me. If I am not there I am probably off taking care of personal business. Oh, and if I act indifferent towards you, it is only because I don't want the ducks to be jealous of all the attention I am getting.