I have not posted lately mainly because there has been little new to say. These days mostly blend into each other and it becomes difficult to recall what day of the week it is. My daughter and I started an “isolation journal” on Google docs and we eventually abandoned it in early May because all our entries started sounding alike. We have been self isolating almost four months. I have been nowhere except for an occasional foray into curbside pickup at Tractor Supply or the grocery store. Health issues and an extended course of antibiotics lowered my immune system so doing more than that seemed and still seems risky.
I have been taking delight in my garden because in spite of everything, it has been a delightful Spring. Sometimes I could blink my eyes and swear I was back in Scotland where the weather persists in mists, rain and cool temperatures. My roses have been loving this extended moist spring. They usually struggle in early scorching heat but this year they have bloomed beautifully! I even have larkspur which seeded itself in my flower bed and in the coolness grew to heights over my head, and shouted glory to the sky.
Sadly, I lost a hen at the end of May. My Nellie, died suddenly and mysteriously. She was perfectly fine one minute and the next my husband found her dead in the run. She was just one year old. I cried. We buried her in my rose/daylily garden beside dear Henrietta. We repurposed an old bench from our basement family room and placed it in the garden among the roses and day lilies which are just now in full bloom. I sit there on sunny mornings with my tea and feel grateful that I have had the companionship of my hens over the years. I feel they are with me still in the spirit world which is so closely intermeshed with this one which we think is real.
Buffy Orpington decided to go broody in April, and because it was cool and she is over seven years old, I thought, “Why not? Just let her stay in the nest.” Stay she did. For way past time to be over broody. For over thirty days I had to go out three times a day and lift her off the nest so she could go down to eat and drink. When she finally stopped being broody, she started sitting at the top of the ramp into the henhouse each night near dark and preventing the other hens from going up to roost. So I had to go out at dark each night and remove her from the ramp so the others could go up to roost. To say she is a difficult personality is an understatement! About two weeks ago, just when summer heat was starting, she went broody again. This time I put her in a crate below the nest boxes where she could stay cool and protected from the weather. Day after day, Buffy held court from her crate as her flockmates kept her company, dust bathing near her or just quietly talking. This time she kept the broodiness up for about a week before she abandoned it. She probably figured it was not worth the effort to stay broody in the heat.
I have been working in the garden in the morning while it is still cool and resting in the afternoons. I am usually busy all through the day, but lately I have been using my rest time to absorb the vibrant beauty around me. The chickens seemed happy to have Buffy back to normal. There is real tension in the flock when one chicken is “off” for some reason. So I watched them do everything together as a flock. First they gathered in the big run for a dust bathing session. Each hen rolled about in ecstatic delight, thoroughly coated in dust. After that they all paraded out into a grassy area to preen, thus cleaning and polishing their feathers much like I might blow dry and style my hair. All that effort called for an afternoon snack, so I treated them to a pan of chopped apple. They dug into that with little squeals of excitement. Once the apple was devoured, one of the hens jumped on a stool at the side of the coop and began to sing. One by one the other four joined in and the whole flock was singing in glorious cacophony. Now I can’t say it was lovely. Chickens only know one song: their egg song. And it is not exactly melodic. But it is JOYFUL. And to observe these five hens all singing together so joyfully touched my heart. They only rarely do this. The last time it happened was over a year ago when Henrietta was still the flock leader.
I have said before, these chickens are a part of my spiritual practice. They have taught me so much! Yesterday they reminded me to take joy in simple everyday routines. So much of the time we are burdened down these days with concern about the growing pandemic, the seeming unwillingness of community members to do something as simple as wear a mask to protect their neighbors, the ignorance and even spitefulness of our elected leaders, and fear for the future as this world struggles to recreate itself between two polarized points. One can feel pretty helpless and hopeless. It was good for me to be reminded that I have very little control over these big issues, but I can control my JOY by focusing on simple daily routines, much like my chickens. And when I am right here, right now, I can be surprised by joy. So TAKE JOY!!!
Under A Hen's Wing 