work

I am so darn proud of myself today.

I single-handedly moved the chicken run and got everybody settled in on a fresh run of grass and there's fresh bedding in the shelter. If you have ever worked with chicken wire you know it is like wrestling with briars. This run is for my younger chickens. The first hatch are already loving life, free roaming. Free Bird-s! They have chosen to not use the coop, and instead use the small barn at night. They are a happy little young flock.

My dogs are pretty much oblivious to the free roamers, but they are not oblivious to any animal or person who steps foot on the property. Right now I have Odin, the foxhound, and Bella the beagle free roaming. They pretty much secure the perimeter. They can smell something, before they can see it. Therefor, any foxes, racoons, coyotes, racoons, weasels, or other would-be predators are scared away. Odin has marked anything and everything vertical on our property. A strange dog gets the same treatment as a wild intruder. Bella is the alarm, and Odin is the deterrent.

I now have a day pen for my ducklings. I think they are about 3 weeks old. They got a full day out in the sun and a dip in the pool. Clean duckies. Ducks are not in the least like raising chickens. They take more time and maintenance, but are so worth it! The names we have so far is Cloud, (Sophia's duckling) Storm, Sunshine and Pinky. There are two pekins that I keep getting confused with each other, so I will have to wait on them to show some personality. Brittany has now "called" the duckling with the bib and will be naming it.

Also today, I seeded cucumbers and more romaine. My other plants are lined up on my patio tables with an old barn door connecting them. I am always busy seeding, repotting and planting. The garden has sprung to life. My three rows of bush beans are way up!

Tomorrow Rusty is home. YES! We will till more space for the corn, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, squash pole beans and the sunflowers. Oh and the rubarb patch too. Yikes.

My knees are hurting and they better heal quick. I have no time for ailments. Too much to do!

I will leave you now with a view of Rapture Day from a duckling's point of view.

pekin and indian runner ducklings

pekin and indian runner ducklings

Tomorrow is picture day!

~crow

god and jesus and zombies

What the heck is a rapture? I have read all about it, trying to get it. But I just cannot get it .It sounds all hell, fire and brimstone-ish to me. Something way out of my scope of thought and belief.

The God I know loves every person, place and thing. The God I know is a loving God, the Great Spirit from all things flow. God doesn't favor a country, a faith or a group of individualized people or a person.

I am sure if Jesus came back, he would be back because he had to straighten how badly us mortals have screwed  things up in the name of religion.

That is what I think.
~crow

And zombies, really?

Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

stuck

I so wished I had my camera today to show you how bad I got my truck stuck. Bottomed out right at the base of the mountain in a five foot ditch. Tilted sideways with the back tire still gripping the road looking painfully wrenched. I was being nice and letting somebody come down the hill as the road is narrow with a straight drop off the mountain on one side of the road, and a ditch on the other. Actually, I think it is a roadside stream.

I am nice. Like to the guy in the tan sedan who I drove off the road earlier today, and I smiled and waved. Nothing back. I know that the truck is not all shiny, new and respectable, but I am. Well, then again, looking at all three of those words I guess I am only shiny.

The one of speeding truck guys did stop and tried for a few minutes to help me, but his friend, the driver did not seem interested in helping me. So, they took off, the driver looking relieved that I said it was OK, and we would walk home. Maybe he had somewhere to go. Maybe the other guy in the sedan was feeling sick. Maybe so many things. Why be mad? I chose to be nice. I shouldn't expect an instant return, or a parade with balloons and confetti, or even a medal, or a cookie, or a chest to pin it on. Wait, I do have a chest. Medal please!

After they left I had to push the driver side door open with the strength of my whole leg. We were that tilted. I climbed out and Bella, the beagle hopped out next, happy to be let out of the truck in a new place scented with rabbits. Then my poor sweet Sophie crawled up and out. She was worried. But I told her that it was no problem. Daddy would come pull the truck out when he got home and we would have a nice walk home. On our way up the road this guy stopped. A young kid, well maybe like 20-ish. A kid to me. But he stopped and asked us if we were ok. Nice kid. I told him we were fine, but I was a bit embarrassed. He told me that he has seen lots of people stuck there. Nice kid. He asked us if we wanted a ride home. Nice kid. I told him I needed to walk off my embarrassment. Plus, it was just so nice and cool out for walking and Bella was enjoying her smells. We chatted for a little bit. He was a little shy, and I was asking him questions about his house. (It used to be the hospital here in the 1800's.) It occurred to me he looked familiar. Yes, the day Earl hauled ass down the hill, this nice kid was the one who jumped in his car when he saw a donkey running full gait down the road, tie-out attached and caught him. I thanked him profusely for that. I could see he was getting a sense of return, you know a return for the kindness. Not a parade or balloons, but a genuine shiny beam of gratitude.  I told him how much my donkey meant to me, and that I have just got him for Mother's Day and I was not sure everybody would do the same. He was a bit red faced, but beaming. I asked him his name. Darren. I told him mine and asked him if he knew where we lived. Yes. He told me it was nice to meet me and if we couldn't get the truck out that he would borrow a relative's deisel truck to yank it right out. Again I expressed my appreciation. Nice kid. I hope to meet his Mother and tell her what a good son she has.

So we continued our walk. Another truck went zooming by. I was really thankful we were walking. The air was crisp and clean and I took a bit breath, knowing there are some good kids coming up in this world. Like my daughter, walking next to me. I said to her, isn't this just so beautiful here. She said yes, it is. We looked at a little stream running and chatted about school. My truck being sideways on the side of the road, didn't really matter anymore.

I came home energized and decided I would love on my donkey a little bit. Hearing about how close it was that I might have lost him made me want to give him a big donkey hugs. I scratched all the places he loves. I noticed he is looking a little big in the girth. So I took him out for a walk. I made him run with me too. He is suck a great living being. There is something about him that stirs up a certain bit of melancholy. I had horses growing up, and the energy is similar. I love him and I told him so. I am going to train him to carry a pack. He is a bit green, but Sophia wants me to walk him down to the bus stop, and I thought it would be neat if he would start learning how to carry a pack. I could work with him and give him a sense of being my wing man. He is gentle on the rear quarter. He doesn't kick. Not people. He kicks a pesky pig and a downright rude buck goat. My nanny goat stays clear from him. She is such a smart girl. I hope someday they can be friends though.

I emailed Rusty and told him about the truck, but he missed the notification and drove up on the scene. He went and yanked that baby right out. No problem. Nice Husband.

Some situations might seem terrible at the time. But today I remembered I could take a big breath and start over. Begin again and stop and smell the roses or wild rabbits along the way home to your donkey. :-)

Life is good. I will seek out the good, even when I find myself in a hole, it can be disguised as a  blessing. I got to know a little bit more about my daughter's day at school. I met a neighbor. I exercised and breathed in fresh air, and I got a sense of the connection I have with Earl my donkey. I thought I was stuck, when in fact it was the universe getting me un-stuck.


wild and wonderful, and shiny...
~crow

PS, A Shout Out to the people who have come along and added me to their blog follow list. Also, to those who come from facebook, and read and leave me messages there. It feels like it is a shiny imaginary medal that I can pin on my chest. ;-) Thanks for reading.
Welcome to crow.

the forgiven

You are forgiven, beautiful little girl, for all of the things that hurt you and scared you. 

You are forgiven, young and blossoming lady, for holding yourself back in fear and for numbing your pain. 
You are forgiven, struggling mother, for missing the mark of perfection you had been blindly leaping at. 
You are forgiven for the wounds you never realized you were making on yourself. 

You are forgiven, tired slave, for never being able to please your unjust taskmaster. 

You are forgiven for the boiling rage that you held inside. 

The Universe is large enough, broad enough, soft and loving enough, the Goddess spreads her arms wide to pull you close, to caress your brow and whisper like the Great Mother She is - "My Child, My Right Hand, My Love, My Creation, rest now and soon you will see the beauty radiating from within."

And God is there, too, Proud and Beaming in the softened way of a warrior who knows no battles last forever, in the lump-in-the-throat way of the heroes of myths and legends, he sees that your victories have been noble, and that your scars have shaped and honed your skills and that as the scars fade you will no longer need to fight those battles again. He is proud and loving... 

I see you up close, and see the Goddess within you, the fern-covered forest floor of your wondrous and growing Soul, the handiwork of faeries and angels that have loved you for forever.

2009 

grounded

 

 ~crow