Rest In Peace, Mimi

Not every hen gets a eulogy but every so often, a special one dies and deserves to have her life mentioned.
Our oldest hen, Mimi, a Lace Wyandotte, was dead when Dwayne went out to the coop this morning. Her death was expected, and actually, it was expected a day or two earlier. Given the shape she was in early Sunday morning  -- face first in one of the lower nest boxes (where the hens lay their eggs) and breathing heavily -- I figured she'd be dead when I returned home from church.
But I was eating my lunch when I looked out the front window and there she was! Walking across the front lawn, one wing hanging low and her head tilted to one side. She ate all the pieces of homemade whole wheat bread I threw on the ground in front of her then meandered her way around the end of the house and across the back yard to this little spot in the sunshine along the south side of the coop.
She was still alive when I picked her up to place her in the coop at bedtime but she died during the cold night.
Two things made Mimi special: First of all, she was a pretty and docile bird who reminded me of Queen Victoria - the unsmiling look on her face (she had a baleful eye) and all the lacy feathers, like the black and white photos of the old queen. Secondly, five or six years ago, she and Brewster, our late rooster, were models for an art class!
I'm grateful Mimi had one last tour around the property she's lived on for seven years and that the sun came out to warm her during her final hours on earth. And I'm grateful that she lived out her entire life and died peacefully at home.
God save the queen.