No, really, I have not become a chicken farmer! (For one thing, that would be one tough job: working 'round the clock to make many chickens happy.) But my visual orbit remains small and without question, the most colorful, playful, indeed social minutes are going to be ones I spend looking in on our foursome.
I am again the one who opens the coop in the morning. (Wait a minute, Ed! Is this becoming a pattern??)
It's cold, but we know how relative it all is out there. 15F/-9C feels a lot friendlier than what's coming tonight, for example.
In any case, the brood steps out and I can tell they, too, feel like the day is going to do them the favor of producing some warmer moments!
Well okay! I like the sunshine too!
It becomes a rather irregular day for us: both Ed and I lose ourselves in our various projects and before you know it, it's after 11 and we have yet to eat breakfast! That is a marker of a good day -- when we are that distracted!
And the afternoon is no different. I revisit not one, but four separate writing projects, all in various stages of completion. I am really full of words all day long.
When the sensor bell rings, announcing someone at the front door, I almost cannot believe my eyes! Two of the hens have made it all the way across our frozen paths, recalling the many happy treats they used to get from me here at the farmhouse in warmer times.
I remind them that it's barely 20F/-7C outside, but they do not seem to mind today. It's the sunshine I tell you!
I usher them back to the barn area, where the others are tentatively poking about.
And they all hang out by the sheep shed and it all seems so retro, so "of another era!"
(I choose not to tell them that tonight will be the coldest yet. Let's just enjoy this afternoon of sunshine and great hope for a better future!)
We are so distracted today, that I put up my hand and select this evening as the one this week when I do not cook dinner. Take out pizza may not sound terrifically exciting to you, but with a homemade salad (we're getting Wisconsin winter spinach now and it is sublime!), it really is a fantastic meal. And a good cap to a full day.
I am again the one who opens the coop in the morning. (Wait a minute, Ed! Is this becoming a pattern??)
It's cold, but we know how relative it all is out there. 15F/-9C feels a lot friendlier than what's coming tonight, for example.
In any case, the brood steps out and I can tell they, too, feel like the day is going to do them the favor of producing some warmer moments!
Well okay! I like the sunshine too!
It becomes a rather irregular day for us: both Ed and I lose ourselves in our various projects and before you know it, it's after 11 and we have yet to eat breakfast! That is a marker of a good day -- when we are that distracted!
And the afternoon is no different. I revisit not one, but four separate writing projects, all in various stages of completion. I am really full of words all day long.
When the sensor bell rings, announcing someone at the front door, I almost cannot believe my eyes! Two of the hens have made it all the way across our frozen paths, recalling the many happy treats they used to get from me here at the farmhouse in warmer times.
I remind them that it's barely 20F/-7C outside, but they do not seem to mind today. It's the sunshine I tell you!
I usher them back to the barn area, where the others are tentatively poking about.
And they all hang out by the sheep shed and it all seems so retro, so "of another era!"
(I choose not to tell them that tonight will be the coldest yet. Let's just enjoy this afternoon of sunshine and great hope for a better future!)
We are so distracted today, that I put up my hand and select this evening as the one this week when I do not cook dinner. Take out pizza may not sound terrifically exciting to you, but with a homemade salad (we're getting Wisconsin winter spinach now and it is sublime!), it really is a fantastic meal. And a good cap to a full day.
ReplyDeleteIt is a balmy 27 in Ohio this afternoon. It really does feel pleasant with the bright sun and no wind today.
We humans adjust quickly. Chickens too?
We are about to get busy in the kitchen this weekend. I like it to set the table the weekend before Thanksgiving, with my Mother's china and Grandmother's crystal. It's an opulent table! and too fancy for me, but I get it all out once a year and Mom is happy, because one of the aspects of advanced age that I see in her - is her wish to be remembered, and the keeping of these traditions is symbolic of the continuity of our family.
There are two tiny Czech goblets, at my place setting and my brother's, from our childhood. It is just so sweet. :) We remember well how grown up we felt with our sip of wine.
Many years ago, I used to set the table an hour before the thanksgiving feast, same as with any meal, and how harried I sometimes felt as I looked for enough forks and glasses! I have learned that "slow and steady" works best for me!
I look forward to hearing about your holidays!
My Thanksgiving -- the story of the most recent article! :) You'll surely be reading about it!
DeleteMy mom doesn't feel that way -- remembrance through passed on items or traditions? No, not her. But she does want me to remember certain things. Today I received in the mail from her copies of letters my dad once wrote. The package came with her own notes and commentary, in case i couldn't see through my father's lines.
Setting the table ahead of time: I wouldn't have been able to do it. In addition to serving a big Thanksgiving dinner, there always was the matter of serving a yummy breakfast and lunch before it -- all at that same table...
Calendar chickens - came in the mail today! Thanks for doing this, it is lovely. xxx
ReplyDeleteThank YOU, Bex!
DeleteMy calendar may have arrived today but I only get to the main road to pick up mail a couple of times each week - unless Joan happens to swing by. I'm so looking forward to receiving it!
ReplyDeleteI keep on meaning to mention that this summer I pulled out a lot of board games my 40+ children as well as younger David played when they were young. Over the years, many of the game boxes had been preserved with tape and string. A favorite was Uncle Wiggily. One of the stops on the board is the Cluck Cluck Chicken House. OMG. I think of that all the time when I visit with your cheepers. We'll be pulling the games out again over Thanksgiving - Chutes & Ladders, Sorry, Candyland, and more!
ReplyDeleteUm, I should make perfectly clear that I haven't had 40+ children. Good heavens. Though there were days.
DeleteThe coop now in my mind will appear as the Cluck Cluck Chicken House!
DeleteNice photos Nina. I like the light streaming through the orchid flowers. Are the chickens still laying? They look so healthy.
ReplyDeleteThey are laying, but not with great regularity. Yes, we have a new issue there === taken up in today's post.
Delete"If" she is calcium deficient she can become egg bound (almost always fatal) and/or lay eggs that do not have hard enough shells. I would think if this continues to happen you may need to supply supplemental calcium to her. I had to do it for my female cockatiels.
DeleteNo, not her issue: she lays more often than most winter hens would lay and all their shells are very tough. Or have been... SIgh... Hard to read a chicken mind!
DeleteAnd you know I have had my calendars and cards in Australia already. I'd love any of today's chook photos as cards too! Jean
ReplyDeleteAmazing how brilliantly our world functions! Thank you, Jayview!
DeleteWe used to play a card game called Chook Chook. You could chose your type of hen and calculate value of eggs (all pre decimal currency in Australia so that really dates it!) The worst card to get was 'Hen dies' when someone else would draw one of your cards to discard.
ReplyDeleteFor real? Am I the only one who had no chickens in her childhood play? Though we did have chickens as neighbors. My grandpa hated them -- they tore up fields and meadows around us.
Delete