- Every chick deserves a mother: one man’s crazy dream for how chickens deserve to be raised.
Follow "A Man and His Hoe" via Email
Sections
- About My Chickens (566)
- Cooking-Roasting Tips (18)
- Happiness (128)
- How Things Grow (507)
- Purchasing Chickens (5)
- Raising Chicks (138)
- Recipes (19)
- Reflections (460)
-
Recent Posts
- The Last Freeze April 17, 2021
- Surprises Every Day April 8, 2021
- Cherry Blossom Blizzard April 4, 2021
- Trivial Events Lead to the Spectacular April 1, 2021
- Frosty Cherry Blossoms March 31, 2021
- All Shapes and Sizes March 25, 2021
- What It Looks Like on the Other Side March 22, 2021
- March is Pink and Yellow March 21, 2021
- I Could Watch Clouds All Day March 12, 2021
- Happy and Sad at the Same Time March 5, 2021
- 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
Recent Comments
leo green on March is Pink and Yellow amanandhishoe on Happy and Sad at the Same Time SHIRLEY CLIFT on Happy and Sad at the Same Time amanandhishoe on Life is Full of Mystery Kimberly S. on Life is Full of Mystery Archives
- April 2021 (4)
- March 2021 (6)
- February 2021 (4)
- January 2021 (7)
- December 2020 (6)
- November 2020 (6)
- October 2020 (7)
- September 2020 (8)
- August 2020 (7)
- July 2020 (4)
- June 2020 (3)
- May 2020 (4)
- April 2020 (4)
- March 2020 (6)
- February 2020 (5)
- January 2020 (7)
- December 2019 (7)
- November 2019 (4)
- October 2019 (7)
- September 2019 (8)
- August 2019 (6)
- July 2019 (6)
- June 2019 (7)
- May 2019 (5)
- April 2019 (9)
- March 2019 (8)
- February 2019 (13)
- January 2019 (15)
- December 2018 (10)
- November 2018 (9)
- October 2018 (13)
- September 2018 (8)
- August 2018 (9)
- July 2018 (8)
- June 2018 (8)
- May 2018 (8)
- April 2018 (10)
- March 2018 (9)
- February 2018 (8)
- January 2018 (9)
- December 2017 (10)
- November 2017 (10)
- October 2017 (17)
- September 2017 (12)
- August 2017 (11)
- July 2017 (8)
- June 2017 (11)
- May 2017 (10)
- April 2017 (12)
- March 2017 (11)
- February 2017 (11)
- January 2017 (15)
- December 2016 (20)
- November 2016 (15)
- October 2016 (14)
- September 2016 (17)
- August 2016 (20)
- July 2016 (20)
- June 2016 (23)
- May 2016 (19)
- April 2016 (19)
- March 2016 (24)
- February 2016 (22)
- January 2016 (24)
- December 2015 (19)
- November 2015 (19)
- October 2015 (24)
- September 2015 (22)
- August 2015 (26)
- July 2015 (26)
- June 2015 (23)
- May 2015 (30)
- April 2015 (35)
- March 2015 (36)
- February 2015 (31)
- January 2015 (35)
- December 2014 (31)
- November 2014 (34)
- October 2014 (37)
- September 2014 (35)
- August 2014 (52)
- July 2014 (54)
- June 2014 (50)
- May 2014 (67)
- April 2014 (55)
- March 2014 (34)
- February 2014 (23)
- January 2014 (33)
- December 2013 (20)
- November 2013 (3)
Category Archives: Happiness
Cherry Blossom Blizzard
Each year, the blooming cherry puts on a different show. Some years the tree is a cloud of white flowers. Other years the rains knock so many blossoms off, it looks bedraggled. This year it is blooming with a thick … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
Leave a comment
Edison Chicken Parade 2020
The 2020 Edison Chicken Parade was yesterday, Sunday, February 23. The parade happens every year at noon on the last Sunday of February. Which means next year’s parade will be on February 28, 2021. The parade this year was eight … Continue reading
A Question No More
Until a short time ago the question was, “Will it snow this winter?” That question is now answered. It snowed this winter, a soft, gentle, beautiful snow. I can go ponder other things. Many of the better things in life … Continue reading
Another Handy Phone Trick – Egg Candling
This probably wasn’t in any Silicon Valley developer’s mind when they added an LED flash to a phone, but an LED flash on a cell phone works great to candle an egg. The case on my iPhone has a cutout … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
Leave a comment
The Secret to Happiness: Who Knew?
The flowering cherry may have scattered its blossoms, but the Rainier cherries are just opening up. The pear trees are in full bloom too. And under the blooming pears, I’ve found the secret to happiness: ducks. All it takes is … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness, How Things Grow
Leave a comment
Happiness Is …
Happiness is watching red wing black birds gathering cattail fluff for their nest. Happiness is freeing Daisy from her nursery. Her chicks are a week old today and ready to explore the wide world. Five of them are actually Buff … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
Leave a comment
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! or Do You Love Me Now?
Fresh out of the oven, dog treats made from okara, whole wheat flour, grated parmesan, and bacon. Takuma and Ena are asking, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” before they are even cooled. The nice thing about making your own dog treats is … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
Leave a comment
Royalty on Display
The Prunus subhirtella is in bloom … delicately. From fall into early spring, this cherry is a pleasant reminder of what spring will bring. On a warm, sunny, December day, King Richard struts his stuff. Have a few roosters, and … Continue reading
Posted in About My Chickens, Happiness
Leave a comment
All the Way from Umingmak Nuna
A carpet of fallen leaves greeted me when I went out to the cabin to make tofu this morning. “Whoa!” I said when I stepped through the gate and saw all the leaves, wheelbarrows and wheelbarrows of leaves for the … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness, Reflections
Leave a comment
Leaves of Peace
Raking leaves is so peaceful. Nothing says peace like a pile of fall leaves. We saw two swans flying over the fields today. Perhaps they arrived this morning. Perhaps they had just flown in off the sea and were looking … Continue reading
First Frost
Frost left a light touch this morning, fringing leaves on the ground with a delicate white fleece. It was winter’s first soft walk through the garden. All the garlic is planted. Some tulips and shallots remain for me to safely … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
Leave a comment
Slurpling and Mooffling
On a misty morning, I hear the snow geese flying overhead. When I’m lucky, the mist parts, and the snow geese flutter across the blue sky. A generous gift of pine needles from friends makes for nice, soft foot paths … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
Leave a comment
Spring in Fall, or How to Sleep Like a Log
It feels like a spring day, not the middle of fall. 124 days from the summer solstice, the sun is as bright as a day in late February. Just two more months and the days start getting longer. The ducks … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
Leave a comment
Whole Wheat Sour
The days are woolly and windy. Leaves are everywhere. Branches, whole trunks at times litter the ground. “Go inside, you old fool,” they yell. “You can sweep us up when the sun comes out.” Inside, it’s a chance to experiment. … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
Leave a comment
Golden Fall Day
How many people get to pedal past scenery like this on their way to the post office? Chuckanut Mountain is so serene on a day like this. Maples along the way are on fire. Trees have it all figured out. … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
Leave a comment
It’s a Good Day in October
It’s a good day in October that starts with fluffy clouds drifting across a blue sky, and ducklings who come scurrying out of the hoop house to greet you when you open their door. The compost pile is breakfast for … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
Leave a comment
End Times, Beginning Times
It is the end times for the tomatoes. A week or two and they will be all gone. The next Sungolds I pop in my mouth, I need to close my eyes so I can remember all winter long how … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness, How Things Grow
4 Comments
Pure Soy Milk
I received the OK from the Washington State Department of Agriculture to sell my soy milk. I’ve looked at the soy milks sold in grocery stores including stores like the Skagit Valley Food Coop and Community Food Co-op in Bellingham, … Continue reading
Tea for You and Your Cat
Along the path out to the tofu house catmint blooms. Its leaves have such a delightful fragrance, I couldn’t resist making tea from them. The tea they made was so refined and soothing. It’s the type of tea a delicate … Continue reading