2016, It's a strange New Year

Pink flowering Quince, Rugby Rd, Cville.

As I drove downtown in Charlottesville, Virginia yesterday, I was amazed at the dots of color on many of our early blooming plants. I do not ever recall my New Year being welcomed by waving pink and yellow flowers. It's a nice contrast between the dead blossoms and the early flush of Spring color. But wait a minute, it's not Spring! Sadly the pretty buds will be crushed by the anticipated January and February chill but a good freeze will kill off many insect pest populations.

Forsythia in bloom on Forsythia Hill

A few years ago in Cville we had a really early Spring in February. I didn't like it much because every plant in the yard exploded at once, leading into a lull of no bloom activity. YAWN. I prefer a gradual opening of plants, a daily treasure hunt to see what has decided to open its sleepy eyes. With the cold air pumping in from the North this week, I'm afraid this oddity is nearly over. We can only hope that Spring will stay put until its normal arrival come late March to early April in Virginia.

Dried Hydrangea blossom on Forsythia Hill

A few weeks ago while dashing around madly trying to tie loose Christmas shopping ends, a woman with Florida plates tossed a wad of gum out her car window in front of me. I was so angry, waving and pointing, and kept thinking about it for a good hour. This led me to question my reaction and ask myself why in the world would my thoughts be occupied for so long concerning such a trivial event. People over the world have bombs being dropped on their heads, are fighting back Ebola, and are starving. I remember when I was growing up my mother always said, eat your greens, little children in Africa are starving and they really ARE!

Jethro, a rooster with a good attitude.

In trying to analyze what has happened in our society, I decided that people are too quick to judge. Shooting down crowds of people they dislike because of their frustration. We have become an intolerant society. Possibly due to the use of all the electronics. You can google and find an answer to any question in 2 seconds. We just don't have the patience to deal with society that can not satisfy us quickly. Nothing seems to be right and by God if its not right then you are gonna hear about it. Face to face or through an online review.

Finding beauty in the madness.

The looming Presidential Election might just be more entertaining than enlightening depending upon who is nominated to run. The political climate in the US falls into the category of intolerance generating feelings of hatred and madness. What should be look for in a President? In looking back, the top 3 President's ever were Abe, Washington, and Franklin Roosevelt. This is an interesting list and not surprisingly, recent presidents are ranked as some of the worst in history (personally I think Jimmy should receive a better ranking but it's not based on his performance after his stay in the White House). Franklin Roosevelt served longer than any other President (4 terms). No wonder he died in office. If he were living now, he probably would have died after term 2! He ended Prohibition and got right to work when elected, making his campaign promises good.

I said no to Starbuck's red cup all together!

Nothing too strange is slated for me personally. I'll continue to sell my vintage wares, develop my garden for the bugs and birds, and try my best to remove intolerance from my thoughts leaving compassion, and curiosity in its place. Some of the most fun I had last year was from unexpected events.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Echinacea

Butterfly watching, exploration of local Wineries with the girls, and the surprise transformation of Janie the hen into Jethro the rooster! Continuing my desire to tread lightly on Mother Earth, last year I only accepted one plastic bag from a store, using my cloth bag all other times. I always carry a cup with me for those Coffee Shop trips and rarely used their paper cups. I'm planting more native plants, swapping and trading with fellow plant lovers.

Set achievable goals for yourself and stick to them! If you forget your cloth bag, just put your items in your cart and wheel to your car. You will be sure to not forget it the next time!

Wishing you a Happy 2016.

-Rebecca

Chicken Transport 2011

Finally we have relocated our neighbors chickens to our new coop!  It's so exciting.  I've always wanted a little flock of hennies.  There is nothing cuter than baby chicks but I wanted to rescue some chickens instead of breeding more so it worked out perfectly that my neighbors were in need of a nice spot for their six 2-year old chickens. Terri and her husband Evan and three children were transferred by the Army to Hawaii.  Terri will be in charge of a Nursing Hospital of over 300 nurses.

 I scoured the internet for chicken coop designs and ended up finding an exterior design that I liked and my husband, Anthony, took it from there.  He can build anything, and the coop is no exception.  My friend, Cindy, had a great idea to build a little porch on one end and I came up with a celestial theme based on a ceramic sun that I just moved from our old homeplace.  We still have to install one more window, hook up the gutter to a rain barrel and then I think we're finished.  The actual building of the coop began a month ago and was pretty involved but fun.  Anthony lost 7 pounds building the coop from the time he came home from work to night fall and on weekends in the blazing sun.

Given the hens were raised by children that held them and loved on them, they are very tame and accept petting and handling.  In order to not scare the chickens and to make the transport as stressless as possible, we decided to herd them into a wire dog crate luring them with blueberries.  Chickens LOVE blueberries.  We ended up making three trips, coaxing three chickens into the cage, then one, then the final two.  They all went right into their new coop and checked it out.  It took about an hour for them to figure out the ramp up to the main roosting area of the coop.  Two chickens could not figure out the second hole into the coop and remained out on the screened porch the first night.  There were no problems the second night, all went into the coop.  It's like clockwork, when the sun starts going down, the chickens make their trek to their roosts and stay there until the break of dawn.

We've had two chickens escape from their fenced area but they willingly go back in and do not stray far from their buddies and food source.  They seem to recognize me and run up to the fence gate to greet me (may be it's because of my daily lunch time food buffet tray that I take out.  A mix of chopped tomatoes and apples with a dash of ground flax, aloe vera and fresh comfrey leaves).

Our finished coop!

My desire is to treat the chickens as humanely as possible, giving them treats each day, shoveling up their poo, providing lots of dried grass and bedding in their coop, and ensuring their security from predators.  Their reward to me is to provide a little egg each day - how cool is that!  It's said that chickens are easy, well so far it's been a lot of work, but only "fun work".  With any pet, you need the time to commit to quality care, for their well being as well as yours.

-Rebecca

Life Pledge #1

The Proud Rooster in all his glory.

Today I formally pledge to purchase only Pasture Raised Chicken Eggs for the rest of my life.  I take this pledge seriously and have given it consideration over the last year.  A life pledge commitment can not be frivolous nor can it be spur of the moment.  It sounds like a relatively simple proposition given the current economic situation and the popularity of caring for your own chicken flock.  My only provision out is if some disaster happens and there is nothing else to eat to get protein or if I am put into a position where economically I have to buy the .79 a dozen carton.  Let's face it, some people have no other alternative or just go without - which is also a viable option.  Personally, I think it might be cheaper to just raise your own flock (and more fun for sure).
 

Ok, more lovely Roosters.

There are several "fancy" types of eggs sold now in groceries and most you pay a premium.  The true humane "stamp" on that carton of eggs is the "pasture raised" stamp.  There are a host of other marketing ploys that make you think your premium carton has been produced by chickens treated humanely.  Such terms as "cage free" and "free range".  Be wary - "cage free" can mean they chickens are still crammed together inside a massive chicken house, never seeing the light of day and that the industry definition of "free range" has no actual "time outside" measure.  The "all natural" stamp is a good thing as is the "organic" both indicators that no slaughter house by-products are fed to the chickens (which is just plain nasty).  "Organic" being the premium and farther encompassing term.

All and all, the stamp that I'm seeking is "Pasture Raised".  I take real issue with millions of chickens living their entire lives in a cage in a dark, dusty, feces laden hen house smashed into an area the size of a piece of paper.  I hope you do to.  It's unhealthy for the chickens and ultimately the product you are digesting.  Apparently improvements have been made in some of the factory farm hen houses to reduce Salmonella bacteria but I am just now reading that our FDA has not even re-inspected ANY of the IOWA farms that were involved in the 2010 outbreak where nearly 2,000 became ill.  Doesn't that make you just want to go buy a pack of factory farm eggs?

Finally, a hen - lovely.

Currently I am spoiled to death by getting free eggs from my lovely neighbors that have a hen house.  Their chickens are pets.  I visited the other day and hear this noise in the leaves.  I thought it was their kids playing but it was the chickens foraging in the leaves under the majestic Oaks having the best time being just what they were born to be... FREE BIRDS.

Do you have a life pledge or would you like to make, please share - leave a comment!

-Rebecca