I am married. I am a wife. I have a husband. We have a home. And it was like the dog even new today that something was different – she greeted him still first, but then lovingly greeted me, too, with intensity she never had had for me.
Also, it keeps raining, and the poor chickens were already surrounded by a river yesterday from the rain…
God, keep us all safe, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.
My mom came across a load of milk crates being thrown away, and brought us five or so of them. We don’t have an official use for them, of course, but we both grew up using them for any and all outside applicable uses, and two that we had recently had broken. No, I don’t remember why we use them beyond as step-stools and seats, but I know we have been a bit hassled at not having those two anymore lately.
So, we got new crates.
Tonight, we used a few of them for the first time. ‘How?’ you may wonder. For the chickens.
Yes, one was a stool inside the coop for my man to sit upon while administering the medicine (for the mites, recall, second round of treatment). Two others, however, I used to catch chickens. It’s much easier than grabbing them with hands, when they decide they want to run instead of submit, that is. Funnily enough, one got trapped immediately, right by the coop door, and we actually forgot all about it for a bit, because it sat so quietly under the black crate at night, with no light on it. My man trapped the very skittish chicken under a crate, only for me to see the chicken walking around casually a minute and a half later.
‘Honey, who is Blackie walking around?’ Because it was one of the old crates, and it had a massive hole in one side. She had merely walked right out after he’d set it on top of her. 😛
But we got it right for the others. Drop the crate over one, and then nab the one next to it that submitted. Administer medicine. Return them to their sleeping quarters. It actually went on rather well, despite the debacle it was to start, wings flapping like crazy and diatomaceous earth poofing all about. In the end, we got them all treated and back I to their sleeping area, and we didn’t forget any under crates in the dark.
Well, I got some sleep last night, but it don’t work out too well after I was informed that a chicken had wound up dead. And we don’t even know why. So, that’s sad. It wasn’t even the chicken who had been acting weirdly, like she might have been sick. It was one that had seemed totally fine. Again, so, that’s sad.
My man had found it before he went to bed for the night, and he told me later that he put it in a Target bag, then that in another Target bag, then that into a kitchen trash bag… and then he went and put it in a public trash bin somewhere nearby, so it would get picked up sooner than if it had gone into our trash bin, which doesn’t pick up for several days… anyway, it was weird to hear and to know. I guess all dying can be hard like that. It was also sad to lose that life. I liked that chicken. Sure, they’re somewhat unintelligent fat-like birds. But I still like them. And I am grateful for them for more than just the eggs they produce (though haven’t produced in a few days now). It’s just sad knowing that that life has ended.
Turns out that they have mites. That combined with the intense heat the past couple weeks or so plus the fact that they were drinking water from the AC drip likely is the combination reason why she died. I am hoping resolving the water source issue will help, as well as that all the work my man put in today to clean out the coop and having given the birds a sandbox that also has diatomaceous earth in it, and then the spray treatment for the coop tomorrow will help to clear of the mites issue and help to clear the struggle others may presently be facing with it all. They already got electrolyte stuff in their water today and will get some apple cider vinegar, too, soon.
And, boy(!), did we get loads accomplished in the yard today! I had an amazing time today, taking it easy while using my physical energy to make improvements to our backyard. We added so much beauty today, it was such a blessing to be able to do it all. And it was even more of a blessing not to have to check the clock… at all. We just got to take care of things, have fun together, argue a lot about what way to do certain things (especially when one of us already had a way we were going to do it, and the other didn’t realize that), and learn to let it go and continue onward together, even when we did separate things from one another. It was just a beautiful day making beautiful things.
And, oh, yeah, it was extremely hot. One neighbor mentioned that there may even have been a heat warning… so, there’s that.
But today was such a blessing and a meditation and a working out of kinks, it was perfect.
Thank you, God, for this day. We tidied so much more than just the yard today. Thank you for all of it. Help us always to see clearly our next step to fulfill your will. In your name, I pray. Amen.
I have already felt like out chicken coop doesn’t quite have enough space for the chickens to stay locked up together during the daytime. Them’s chickens ‘s bigger th’n I ‘spected!
Yet, today, we were offered a few free chickens to add to our collection. And, of course, they are a breed that looks really cool, and of course I want them now… (Barred Rock is the breed, in case you want to Google them).
Not only does the coop not have enough grass area for them to stay locked up daytime already, but these new ones supposedly end up even bigger than most chickens, making them need even more space per chicken…
So, more money and more project time for my man to expand that coop, if we’re going to accept the chickens…
And I have a very strong feeling that we are…
The next days shall reveal!
Help us to see clearly, God. Please. Amen.
Post-a-day 2023
Please, enjoy the message I sent to my cousin for his birthday today:
Cousin. I believe today has been your birthday. I have a mild case of food poisoning/intense case of indigestion and a fever, so I let it get away from me. If you can, imagine a phone call from me, in which my mom and P—— and I all sing “Happy Birthday” – remember that my mom will be off-sync, due to being on a different phone, and P—— will be in and out with the vocals due to what’s next in the sentence – while P—— gives his honest but digressing attempts, due to a lack of practicing, at playing the melody of the song on piano while also keeping normal time, and I do my best to follow his lead for the base chords, since he’s the melody and the melody is in charge. Likely, I also, chime in and out with the vocals, because, no matter how many times we practice, when it starts to go poorly, I can’t stop laughing hysterically and mostly silently. We might even have thrown in there “Las Mañanitas” for you, sung by my mom, in which case, you have almost no vocals for the English “Happy Birthday,” because P—— is concentrating so hard on playing notes and keeping in time and I’m too busy holding my gut as I keel over laughing but still diligently playing the piano part correctly. Hope that brightens your day! Happy, Happy Birthday, Cousin!!
Also, enjoy photos of our real life egg hunt today
This last one is the one we never found at Easter. I guess a raccoon got it and ate the candy inside… and, possibly, the other half, too?One of the eight possible candidates for the real eggs
Happy Birthday! Chickens laid eggs today for your birthday!
I’d say it’s a darn solid birthday message, especially considering my being somewhat sick and all. Decently done, Nanner! Decently done! Haha 😛
Dear God, please, gran my cousin safety and success in his endeavours to do your will. Thank you for such a wonderful cousin and friend. In your name, I pray. Amen.
Well, today was an adventure. Not only did the chickens not like and squawk at and run away from the lawnmower this evening, but one of them got chased big time by the dog this afternoon. The dog snuck around the edge of the temporary fencing, and went after the single chicken that was walking around in its own while I watched over the little one they all keep picking on (I was making sure it could eat some of the feed, which the others tend to block it from having.).
Fortunately, the dog stopped the moment I hollered at her, as though she’d been smacked with a broomstick, and I knew the struggle had ended – she submitted fully to me, and it was easy to grab her collar and hand her off to my man, who had come storming outside at my shout. 😛
You’ll have to forgive the camera positioning, as I can’t change that after the fact. However, the expletives and shouting that followed were removed quite easily from the video. 😛 However, by removing those, I also removed the footage that showed the chicken very easily walking around afterward, totally alive and physically well, if somewhat emotionally traumatized.
Today was a success! Yay! Sure, there were definitely some moments of awkwardness, and I also had to sit around and wait for an hour and a half, simply because certain people did not communicate a schedule change to others. However, it all worked out okay, and I even got to walk around the festival for a while with my mom. I also got to sit in a shaded VIP area for a while with my mom and just hang out and rest somewhat. Both opportunities were great and greatly appreciated.
What’s more, my man built almost the whole chicken coop today!! ** So, an extra yay!! Yay!!
Thank you, God, for a successful day for us all. Grant us peace and purpose always, and heal all of us, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.
**I only just a few days ago re-learned – because I definitely knew this before – that it is a “chicken coop,” and not a “chicken coupe.” To be fair, I once read a joke, after having already heard my cousin tell it, that kind of made me mess up my spelling of the word.
Relevant joke that is meant to be said and not written: Why doesn’t a chicken coop have four doors? Because then it would be called a chicken sedan.
Though, the written joke had “coop” spelled already as “coupe,” which really messed me up. Also, I never understood the joke, because it was also worded poorly, instead saying something like, ‘Why does a chicken coupe only have two doors? Because otherwise it would be called a chicken sedan.’ I massively struggled with this version of the joke, because I only knew of chicken coops that had just one door. So, the premise alone didn’t make sense to me. Nonetheless, the idea of the joke is cute and comical. Imagining a “chicken sedan,” whatever that is, as well as a “chicken coupe,” is quite a fun game to play in the brain. Give it a go! Vroom-vroom!
hannah ananas 