hope – Under A Hen's Wing

The Turning of the Year

January 3, 2022 chickenmomma1 Comment

It is with some trepidation and a lot of hope that I welcome the new year of 2022. As I look out my window, the world is awash in gray: skies, winter bark on maple trees, relentless rain which forms puddles in every hollow, and the gray-winged birds which flock to our feeders. The world is seeming to pause, somehow, as if waiting for what will happen next. As I wait too, wondering if I am ready for whatever comes next.

It’s been a long year, folks. The pandemic did not go away with vaccinations as most of us hoped. We have had to soldier on through surge after surge. Masking has become commonplace in our household, as is testing to make sure we are not passing COVID on to our loved ones before any gathering. Severe weather events are becoming more common. The climate summit in Glasgow did not accomplish much. Politicians are still fighting. You know all this stuff. It gets OLD. I long to see a new change, while realizing that the only change that can and indeed must occur is change within myself. So at the turning of the year, I have a lot of reflecting to do. Do you?

I do not wish to recreate my old list of resolutions, which begin in hope only to get ditched about three weeks in. This year I hope to live in more grateful awareness of what is already around me, and inside me. I would like to focus on abundance rather than lack. I would like to notice the smallest of precious moments. I would like to hold them as candles in these dark winter days to illuminate what is good in my small world.

I present to you a few bright moments, beginning with this example: ( my husband noticed this first – he is my best teacher) I did not bother to put a quilt around the base of our live Christmas tree as has been my habit in years past. Be it pure laziness, it did lead our cat, Thomasina, to use the water in the tree stand as a personal fountain. Each day she goes to the tree stand and daintily dips her paws into the water (this is the coon part of her Maine coon heritage) to wash her face. If I had covered the base she would not have had access to the water.

The chickens are some of my greatest teachers, as you might well know. I daily admire the courage and tenacity of our oldest hen, Buffy, as she hangs on to her place in the flock despite suffering injury from one of our more aggressive hens. Buffy shows up every day to forage, dust bathe, and nibble at treats. She waits in the evening until the other seven are ensconced on the roost upstairs. She slowly makes her way up the rather steep ramp, speaking softly to them all the while, and then settles herself at the top of the ramp as guardian of the flock.

I am blessed every day by our newest four hens, the Dream Team. They have never had a pecking order squabble. They hang together and help each other out. As a bonus, they present us with beautiful brown eggs every day without fail. They patiently wait their turn at any treats I provide and snuggle together each night on about one foot of space on the roost. I wish the whole world could get along like the Dream Team.

What about so many other small and large treasures? The new calendars hung, full of possibility, the Christmas cards gathered on the side of our fridge waiting to be taken down and wreathed in a whispered blessing for the thoughtfulness of friends and family, the anticipation of a new cup of tea, a warm bath in glowing candlelight, a brilliant sunset seen especially vividly through the bare branches of trees, the garden, now dormant, resting under its blanket of compost and leaves, the fact that even though I am rather isolated by the pandemic I still have my meditation companions, my life companion (no small treasure, but a HUGE one), our golden retrievers who are the best at cuddles and companionship, the marvel of children and grandchildren who finally get to visit and the fact that I play some small part in their lives and abilities. Wow. Just wow. May the actions I take this year serve to nurture, and protect these small and large treasures.

It is my hope that in reading this, you are perhaps reminded of the treasures large and small that your life holds. The most wondrous gift of all is the light and life inside each one of us. May we nurture our light and extend it in love and compassion to the rest of the world.

Please comment below if you have a thought or a treasure to share!

Welcome March!

March 4, 2020 chickenmomma1 Comment

Today I sit at my desk overlooking gray skies and bare trees. From this vantage point it would seem that we are still caught in winter’s chill embrace. But from the ground level I know better. Buds are swelling on the branches of my lilacs, roses, and honeysuckles. My primroses are putting on a blush of green. Spiked daffodil leaves are pushing their sword like foliage straight up from their underground slumber as if their sole destination was to pierce the sky. Soon the maples will wear a flush of red on the tips of their branches. I am awakened in the morning by birdsong again. I feel I am riding a wave of energy as the earth around me begins its process of rejuvenation – rebirth. It holds so much hope, even in these somewhat discouraging times. I invite you to keep an eye out for signs of hope! Here are some examples from my world of Windy Hill Farm: the unfurling petals of a purple crocus, a prancing young puppy full of curiosity, my Maine coon cat sitting alert at our French doors, face to face with a racoon on the deck; each calmly regarding the other. Perhaps best of all are my chickens’ warm brown eggs nestled in my coat pocket on a chilly morning. These are all reasons I am feeling hopeful.

My three young girls are happily laying now, gifting me with eggs every day. They run happily to greet me each morning pausing to allow me to pet their soft feathers, and begging for sunflower treats. My three older ladies are much more dignified and reserved! I delight in having chickens. Each morning I hurry out to see how they are doing.

As for the garden, I have ordered all my seeds. I need to lay all the colorful packets out and photograph the array for you! I am planting more flowers among the vegetables this year, but I have not planned how I will arrange my garden just yet. More to come!

This year I made several attempts at bath bombs. And failed miserably! Finally, success! Thanks to a recipe from my daughter-in-law, who has made them with my granddaughter and her elementary school class. Practice makes perfect, and these are absolute heaven for a soak in the tub. The recipe comes from this source: https://www.busybliss.com/bath-bombs-kids/

March is the perfect time for looking for rainbows. I saw a brilliant rainbow just yesterday during a brief moment of sunshine right in the middle of a terrific downpour. Another reason to hope and believe there will be a better tomorrow. Wishing many rainbows to YOU!

Winter Thoughts

January 30, 2019January 31, 2019 chickenmomma2 Comments

We are in the midst of another polar vortex rolling across the U.S. Two days ago the temperatures almost reached the sixties. The sky was deep blue, the river which flows around our little town was a deeper green, and the clouds at sunset were cotton candy puffs of pink. One could really sense the promise of Spring. My first snowdrops have bloomed and on the way home from town I spotted an entire yard full of red breasted robins. My daffodils have pushed their first green tips up along the path to the garden shed.

These are small signs of hope. The promise that the season WILL turn, the warmth of the sun will again call forth the greening of our world. Yet today we are sheathed in winter’s cold embrace as the temperatures plummet and snow again piles on the deck and lines the branches of the crabapple tree which hugs the deck corner. A kaleidoscope of birds swirl and dip in a gay dance around the feeders.

My chickens eagerly peck through a pan of chopped kale, sprouts and microgreens to find the treasure of a small handful of scratch hidden below by the more nutricious greens. Buttercup hops up on a stump to chatter away at me, hoping for a little extra treat, which I supply because she is at the bottom of the pecking order and is not apt to get her fair share.

My husband is delighting in baking a pan of doughnuts, which he places warm and fragrant, in a brown paper bag, to run out and give to the waste collection guys when they come by. He recalls small kindnesses like this on past winter days in town when a few citizens had warm baked goods ready to hand out to chilled city workers.

Signs of hope. Small kindnesses we can do for the critters around us, and the people who serve, often getting little notice. A smile, a hand up, a warm treat fresh from the oven, a gesture of our shared humanity and common spirit. A small thaw in the heart of winter.

Hope. Pass it on.