Today marks the one year anniversary that I began writing this blog. In 2007, my sister had suggested that I start blogging, but at the time, I did not have the necessary computer skills. When I began writing it, it crossed my mind that I might one day run out of words; but as long as I have animals, and birds and chickens and a garden, it is doubtful. They are the ever present source of my inspiration and I cannot imagine life without them.
My chickens are becoming acclimated to the shed where I have moved their brooder and I am slowly, but surely, making it into a cozy home for them. They still come up on the back steps in the evening when it is time for bed, huddling together next to my magnetic screen and clamoring for the most desirable position. Last night I sat on the floor just inside the door and fed them mealworms from my hands. I set Ivy in my lap and began to pet her softly. She was so relaxed that she probably would have slept there all night, if I had let her. The other chickens mellowed out and allowed me to pet them, as well. Buttercup will come over to me often, when I am working in the garden and she makes a kind of warbling sound. Chickens have a vocabulary of somewhere between 24 and 30 different sounds. Most of the time I can distinguish their calls from the many wild birds at my bird feeders – especially the distress calls.
My baby chicks are nine weeks old now, although they have grown so big that most people would not know the difference between them and a full grown chicken. Technically, they are chicks until just before they reach laying age (20 to 22 weeks) at which time they are referred to as pullets. After they are a year old, they are officially laying chickens, unless they are broilers (grown to become meat). Most chickens do not lay eggs during the winter months, due to decreased daylight hours, so mine will probably not lay any eggs until next spring.
We have been blessed for the past couple of days with copious amounts of rain. It rained on and off during the night and this pattern will continue for most of today. It is cool and damp so I am grateful that the chickens can stay warm and dry in their almost chicken coop. This morning, I took a warm bowl of oatmeal with a touch of cinnamon to them. I am grateful for the rain, for the increased humidity, and for the respite from the 95ᐤF. + days that we have been having. I am grateful for a chance to slow the pace for a day or two from the ongoing gardening tasks and for the contemplative state of mind that I find myself in, in this moment. I am simply – grateful.
