December 5, 2010
Sunday, 12:02 PM
We had a gorgeous “first snow” yesterday afternoon. It’s a misnomer when I say; “first snow” because most of the time we never even get a first snow here in N.C. So it was magical and very early in the season.
The chickens’ first snow!!!! LOL You’d think I was getting an ornament for them like a child’s first Christmas.... They were a bit perplexed and probably thinking, “What the H is this?” They were supposed to be in their third day lay cycle, but I have a feeling they sense weather changes much better than we do, and so neither Hawkeye or Farrah laid. Figures....I had just given the six eggs I had to the neighbor because she gave us her leftover pumpkins from Halloween to give to the chickens and I wanted to make some honey wheat bread which called for one egg and nary an egg was to be found. No biggie, two pretty eggs this morning were waiting for me so I’ll make the bread today instead.
Farrah’s new eggs are more olive colored than Hawkeye’s. I guess I was hoping for blue. Hawkeye’s are a light green. Farrah’s are large too, more round and substantial and um...messier. I’m hoping Farrah will work on that!!!! All the others rarely lay a messy egg. She’s only on her third egg, I think I am becoming demanding!!!!
Sarah the Terror Coker Cat is laying on the top part of the couch next to me as I type this. She is my constant companion, especially in Winter when we share that precious commodity - each other’s warmth. Like reptiles, we both follow the sun and activities move to the front sitting room where the most sun can be had. I open the blinds and sometimes the door, so sun and heat can stream through the glass.
My husband has begun to tease about my antics that all involve comfort; comfort food, comfort clothes, comfort warmth, etc. and has nicknamed me “Comfy Kitty Cat”. So, the two Comfy Kitty Cat’s sit in the front room during the Winter to bask in the precious sun.
I went out to check for predator prints this morning near the hole in the fence but didn’t see anything amongst the now-melting snow. I did see some near the deck which looked rather large for Pip Squeek (the neighbor’s cat who thinks he is OUR cat), but snow distorts things so I can’t be sure.
Right as it began to snow yesterday, I made a trip to Whole Foods to pick up a few things I can’t get anywhere else, wanted more seeds/nuts for the birds since the weather has dropped into the 20’s at night. Read they help the birds stay warm. It was a melee. Tons of people were there acting as if we were having a blizzard. I bought some barley and some millet and decided I was going to make a pot of chili, but there were so many people standing in line at the meat counter, I gave up on that. Did however wrangle out some decent chili with what was already at home, so no great loss.
I’ve been experimenting feeding the birds quinoa (supposedly the only grain that is a complete protein), millet, oats and barley. They seem to really like the millet. Can’t tell yet on the quinoa, it has a bitter coating that has to be rinsed off for humans but I am not sure about the birds. I worry about the grains swelling in their crops, but then again, don’t all seeds swell? All in all, they still favor fresh picked weeds and grass over everything. I read that Laura Ingalls Wilder from Little House on the Prairie had a knack for getting production out of her hens during the harsh Winters so now I am on the hunt for her books. (And I thought that it was just a t.v. show – didn’t know there was a real Laura Ingalls Wilder.) Part of me is inclined to let Nature take it’s course though, there is a reason they need to rest from egg production during the colder months. Still, I am interested in learning the wisdom out there that is waiting to be found.
Speaking of wisdom, I wonder how wise it is for the kid who just road his bike down the street to also be talking on his cell phone? This sight struck me as so odd, I suppose because when I was a kid, the thought of riding one’s bike AND talking on the phone was the farthest thing from reality. How things change....
Something else I thought of yesterday and posted on my FB page; “If we lose compassion for other’s, we lose ourselves.” The thought popped into my head as I was driving to Whole Foods and here was this man out begging in the snow with no coat and no gloves and it was very cold. So many are now in this position because of the economy and sometimes, it just takes a little from each person to make a difference, a coat that is no longer used or a pair of gloves, a fast food meal purchased and given, etc. Compassion in the larger sense as well for each other – everyone is often in such a rush that they have formed a sort of invisible bubble around themselves that insulates them from other’s suffering. Okay, there is my little soap box lecture....just an observation of late, made more keen by my own circumstances of being “discarded” (laid off) when my knee was injured at work and wondering for the first time in my life if I will be able to find a job again before it is too late. We tried to plan and be cautious in what we did, but nothing lasts forever and I think of the phrase, “the best laid plans of mice and men....” So often those best laid plans can be foiled by unexpected things. Lately I have taken to reminding myself how lucky I am though – I still have a roof over my head, clothes on my back and food in my belly. A friend called the other day and took me to see a movie I had wanted to see but could not justify spending money on. It was nice to get out and socialize and forget for awhile all of the other things. This friend has more compassion than anyone else I know and I have often told her that when she dies, she is going straight to Heaven. She always laughs it off and tells me she doubts that. In the end, I think it is the little things that count, all those myriad little things you did that no one knew about except the person who is able to see it all and make the call!!!! Okay, I’m getting a little hokey here, but you get the drift.
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