When the invisible chickens come home to roost

I stood on a streetcorner in Louisville wondering why I wasn't seeing chickens. "They ought to be right around here," I told my new  acquaintance.

"Sure," she said. "A flock of chickens in the middle of the city. I believe you." 

"I swear I saw them last year, right in this corner of the park" I insisted. "A flock of colorful steel folk-art birds, geese and flamingos and ducks and chickens."

"Regular or extra-crispy?"

My companion had asked me to show her the way to the new pedestrian bridge across the Ohio River, and since it's a gorgeous evening for a walk, I was happy to oblige--"And we can swing by the chicken park on the way back." She was disinclined to believe in the chicken park, but I know I posted photos two years ago (sure enough, here they are!) and I can't imagine that a big flock of colorful steel birds would just vanish.

"Maybe they've flown south," she suggested, but then I spotted the chicken park--but no chickens. No birds of any kind. We looked at the sign referring to "The 28 colorful steel sculptures before you," but behind the sign was a vacant lot with no sign of chickens or any other kind of birds.

"Did I mention that they were invisible chickens?" I asked.

She laughed and said, "At least now I know you weren't making them up." 

Have the chickens flown the coop or is this mysterious disappearance part of a massive anti-avian conspiracy? A little research (read it here) reveals that the steel sculptures recently traveled to Oberlin, Ohio, for restoration, but they're posting regular photos and updates on their progress. Yes: the birds are tweeting (here).

So the birds flew north while I was preparing to come south to see them. Next time I'll stay home and let the chickens visit me!