Photo Prompt: Hornets, Broody Hens

Mary waited for a day warm enough to apply paint but cold enough to discourage hornets. She couldn’t control the impulse to dodge a hornet, any more than she could control the impulse to strangle the broody hen after getting a good peck when reaching in to collect eggs. Next time the hen would remember, and peck harder. Hornets had memory so she changed her scarf every time she painted. The oversize shoes were her dad’s…he no longer used them so she could afford to get paint spatters on them . His bedridden condition brought out the meanness in her.

Photo credit: Jim Toohey