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Recent Posts
- Life is Full of Mystery February 27, 2021
- Walking Through a Poem February 14, 2021
- The Trip Home February 9, 2021
- Pandemic Skies February 3, 2021
- Never a Dry Moment January 30, 2021
- Red Sky at Dawn and Dusk January 20, 2021
- More Marvelous Than Fairy Tales January 18, 2021
- Red Dawn January 14, 2021
- Is It Still Winter? January 12, 2021
- Winter Skies January 4, 2021
- Happy New Year! January 1, 2021
- Stories Untold December 28, 2020
- Blink and You’ve Missed It December 22, 2020
- Chatty Mud Birds December 20, 2020
- Getting the Mail December 10, 2020
- Soothing is Good December 5, 2020
- When Life Returns to Normal, I’ll Miss Blue Skies December 1, 2020
- Blue Skies in November November 21, 2020
- Sunshine Is Just Beyond the Clouds November 17, 2020
- Winter Returns to the Hills November 14, 2020
- A Squirrel’s Fate November 8, 2020
- November at Last November 3, 2020
- November 1 and No Swans November 1, 2020
- First Frost October 23, 2020
- Too Wet to Burn October 18, 2020
- Eyes Wide Shut October 13, 2020
- The End of Flowers October 11, 2020
- 20201010 October 10, 2020
- Am I Growing the Wrong Grapes? October 6, 2020
- Fog and Less Fog October 5, 2020
- First Blush of Fall September 29, 2020
- A Perfect Fall Day September 27, 2020
- Blue Sky to Rain to Shaggy Parasol September 26, 2020
- Six Short Weeks September 24, 2020
- 317 Days for a Miracle September 23, 2020
- We Can Breathe Again September 22, 2020
- You Can’t Help But Be Sad September 13, 2020
- Duck Serenity September 6, 2020
- August is Coming to an End August 28, 2020
- It’s Easier with Another August 21, 2020
- Hottest Day of the Year August 16, 2020
- Morning Surprise August 12, 2020
- After the Rains August 8, 2020
- An August Morning August 2, 2020
- August Evening August 1, 2020
- When You Are Insane July 21, 2020
- Summer Is Here July 18, 2020
- It Blooms, It Dies July 15, 2020
- A Cool Start to Summer July 7, 2020
- Each Flower Has Its Own Strategy June 29, 2020
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Monthly Archives: March 2016
Not in Her Usual Nest
I can hear Special. She’s not in her usual nest. She’s decided to try a new nest for a change. It’s something hens often do. They get bored seeing the same things, gossiping with the same hens when they settle … Continue reading
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It’s a Beautiful Morning … But
It’s a beautiful morning, the cherry trees are ecstatic, Special is on her nest, I saw the first swallow of the year, who could possibly be cranky today? Midge is cranky, that’s who. Pepper is on her nest, never mind … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, How Things Grow
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You Can’t Have Too Many Tulips
Each year I keep planting more tulips. You can’t have too many tulips, can you? When you have free roaming chickens, you need two to three times as many tulips because they like nibbling on tulips when they start pushing … Continue reading
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Tread Lightly Like Deer
I love the forest floor this time of year. It is green with false lily-of-the-valley and bleeding hearts. I lived once in a desert and learned that I can’t live where it’s not green and moist. Every day, just a … Continue reading
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Size Doesn’t Matter
You never hear people say, “I can’t wait for the maples to bloom.” I never thought much about blooming maples either, until I saw these scarlet blossoms on a Japanese maple. They’re rather stunning. They’re as pretty as the cherry … Continue reading
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No Dressing Needed
The greens this time of year have so much flavor, adding dressing would desecrate them. After going through a winter, the kale is tender and sweet. The ruby streaks are so mustardy, they clear your nose. When you eat an … Continue reading
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The Aliens Have Landed
Oooo! What is that? This is why walking in the woods is important. You get to see the alien life forms that live among us. I guess this is what happens when all you eat is wood. You turn into … Continue reading
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So Fleeting, There’s No Time to be Sad
A gust of wind this morning filled the air with swirling petals … a blizzard on a spring morning. Petal blizzards. No need to bundle up, and put on a coat, and a scarf, and a hat. Cherry blossoms are … Continue reading
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On This Solstice Day
On this solstice day, the pears open their flowers. On this solstice day, Tangerine checks to see if the old doghouse is good for laying eggs. On this solstice day, a potato wakes from its long winter’s sleep. It’s a … Continue reading
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So Much Happens in Just One Day
So much happens in just one day, it’s enough to make your head spin around. Biking home, I noticed a “No Trespassing” in the middle of a flooded field. Is trespassing really a problem in this case? Maybe people are … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow, Reflections
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How Much Does a Chicken Poop in a Night?
How much does a chicken poop in a night? I know it’s a question that has crossed your mind many times. Here’s the answer: A Handful. The picture above is proof. There is a single chicken who spends its nights, … Continue reading
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And Then We Die … or Not
We do all this work, and then we die. At times you wonder what the point is. We might as well die now and be done with it. But then the plum tree blooms, and the bees fly onto the … Continue reading
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More Than I Can Count
All the blossoms on the cherry tree are now open. On a sunny day like today, it’s a favorite spot for the bees. It would take one bee days to visit every flower on a tree like this. It makes … Continue reading
Posted in How Things Grow
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Mother and Daughter
Mother and daughter, Hazel and Special, shared breakfast together this morning. Hazel, the dark hen, raised a clutche last year. She was an outstanding mother, and I hope she raises a clutch or two this year too. Special will be … Continue reading
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Something New to Be Happy
The thimbleberry’s are unfolding their new leaves. This time of year, there’s something new to see everywhere you look. If you have a flock of hens, don’t forget to give them new nests from time to time. It’s not enough … Continue reading
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Down Her Hatch
The cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Add a little blue to the sky, and it takes your breath away. If you’re outside, it’s impossible not to be entertained. One moment, it’s the cherry blossoms dancing their hearts out in … Continue reading
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No Shame
The bleeding hearts are spreading their lacy leaves. This morning their leaves are jeweled with yesterday’s raindrops. Before long, their pink flowers will dangle gracefully. Back in 2006, when we brought BB and Echo to live with us, Echo had … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Reflections
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Eggs in a Cap
A cap comes in handy if you leave the egg basket in the house. You can get a lot of eggs in a cap. I brought in fifteen this afternoon in my cap.
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Do Nothing for a Change
Rosemary blossoms are among my favorite flowers. Small and whimsical, clown-like really, they must attract insects with a sense of humor. The white Satsuma plum blossoms are far more formal. The serious insects pollinate them. You’d want to put on … Continue reading
Posted in Reflections
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Spring’s Green Illicit Sweetness
The best vegetables never find their way onto store shelves. I left some cabbage grow after plucking their heads last fall. This spring, tender shoots of cabbage greens sprouted from their stalks. So green and mild, they make the sweetest … Continue reading
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