Today has been an absolutely magical day for me. It has been the sort of day which restoreth my soul. That walk, the beautiful cards I received in the mail, the laugh I got when I read a newsletter from an old friend who is Catholic and is on his third marriage and finally, this marriage is sanctified because he got an annulment from his last wife even though they had four sons. Which seems ridiculous to me. A divorce is one thing but to say the marriage never really existed in the eyes of a god EVEN THOUGH HE HAD GOTTEN AN ANNULMENT FROM HIS FIRST WIFE TO MARRY THAT WOMAN just makes me laugh. Reminds me of all of the machinations of Henry VIII.
But I practiced my religion today which was to spend time tending my house and my yard and my animals and thus, tending to my soul. I tidied the house and put away all the wrapping paper and tape. I contemplated taking the tree and the nativity down which I have frequently done on Christmas day itself, but this year I am still enjoying lighting it all up in the evening and so I did not.
When I was upstairs to put the paper and ribbons and tags away, I went into the spare bedroom and cleaned up the old ornaments a bit, threw some things away, and then went through a bag of Owen's old clothes which we completely missed using for Gibson as the largest size represented was 24 months. Well, there will be another baby at some point. There is no doubt of that. I refolded each little garment and remembered Owen wearing them. The elephant shirt, the "My Daddy Rocks!" shirt, the little jeans and corduroy britches. I smoothed them and folded them and stacked them all nicely, sighing that Owen was ever that small.
I gave the ducks some more water in their little tub and one of them went paddling about by herself but the other one did not join her. That one, however, stood by the tub and repeatedly ducked her head into the water and beaked herself wet. After that, they both stood in one spot and fluffed and preened themselves. They pecked at their feathers and rubbed the backs of their heads as far down their bodies as they could, rubbing everywhere. They did all of this over and over and I sat and watched them for at least twenty minutes. At one point, Nicey came and stood on the little stump between the two chairs we have set up out there to use as a table to watch the ducks with me.
I know it's absurd but somehow, I feel so very blessed by the presence of these creatures which share my world. They are not here for me, nor even especially with me, but we share our spaces. We do things together and I only hope that they find my behavior as interesting as I find theirs although I seriously doubt that. I am quite aware that they view me as mostly a food dispensing creature which is true and is fine. But sometimes you know, we just hang out and no food is involved and it's such a companionable thing. They soothe me. They entertain me. They give my nurturing ways a channel which is undemanding and yet satisfying.
I got out the Rubbermaid cart and picked up so many downed branches and limbs and hauled them to the burn pile. I swept the porches clean of leaves and watered the porch plants which are still outside, not overwintering inside. I made the bed, I washed dishes. I hung my beautiful cards up, I gathered the chicken's eggs, I fed the chickens grapes and the ducks a few greens from the garden which they loved.
Some of you have commented that duck eggs have made you sick in the past which rather alarmed me. I knew that Kathleen could eat them, even in her last weeks when she was tolerating very little. But...
So I did massive research, meaning of course that I goggled the situation and according to everything I've read, duck eggs are more nutritious than hen eggs and are prized by bakers for their creamier textures, especially in pastries and custards. That some people find them richer-tasting, some eggier-tasting, and some lighter-tasting. Even that some folks who are allergic to chicken eggs can safely eat duck eggs.
I am wondering if those of you who got sick from them ate eggs that were old. I do not know. But I am going to make a quiche tonight and use the two I got today. I already have the pastry crust chilling in the refrigerator. I picked some kale to use in it and have a lovely sharp cheddar.
And so it has gone today. I have been alone, had time to think and to observe and to move about inside and outside. A day of peace and solitude after the craziness of Christmas, as much as I did enjoy it this year.
I need to go roll out my dough and make my quiche. My husband has texted me that he is back to his room, safe from the woods. My chickens and the ducks are all safe in their shelters. I have had a day wherein I have truly loved my life.
I will leave you with a quote from an audio book I'm listening to. The name of the book is "The Dinosaur Hunter" and it's by Homer Hickam which is a fantastic name, if you ask me. The narrator is Michael Kramer and if you ever want to know the definition of "laconic" just listen to his voice.
Okay. Here's the quote:
"There's nothing in the world as sexy as an intelligent, dirty woman."
Or something very close to that.
I don't know how intelligent I am but I sure do need a shower.
Love...Ms. Moon
I had never heard that people can get sick from duck eggs..? Oh well! More for others. My present to myself for this season of light and inner reflection was a trip to the eye doctor in a 'walfart' vision center! I haven't been to a doctor since my arm was broken 11 years ago. So I need glasses, and they should be here in the first week of the New Year...woop woop! I will be pleased to be able to focus in the distnce once again. I keep trying to and my eyes don't like it. I got a new string of fairy lights for the living room so we won't miss them when we take the tree down...
ReplyDeleteYour happy Christmas continues to make me smile.
ReplyDeleteBigmamabird- Oh! New glasses are the best! And fairy lights hung all year are so wonderful.
ReplyDeleteJill- Me too! So odd. But I am loving it.
Good night dear Mary. I'm glad it was a good day with your animals.
ReplyDeleteDidn't mean to scare you about eating the eggs. I know that people do eat them and they are very nutritious and it didn't bother my husband at all. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a bad egg. I don't know what the deal was with me but my body rejected it. Wasn't sick at all once I threw it up.
ReplyDeleteI started doing the post Christmas tear down yesterday. I put away all my Santa Clauses so far and it's made my remaining decorations feel more palatable. I may leave them up for a few more days. Or tear it all down tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI need a day of solitude. Soon.
Oh, yeah, I didn't meant to make a warning either, just was interested to see the other comment - I think they're just too rich for me, or something? Also was swimming in the sea the day that happened, could have been some depressing sewage related issue either - my friend who was both swimming and provided the duck eggs (also grew up on duck eggs) wasn't remotely affected, so I think I just have a Weak Stomach, sadly.
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are a miracle. So beautiful.
Hmmm.....I have not eaten a duck egg to my knowledge. And rarely eat real eggs but get the egg white in a carton. I prefer not to think about the cloaca of a chicken laying an egg. Or a duck doing the same.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you are having a nice day and that Mr. Moon is safe from the woods. All is well.
Trying to think back to the days when we had ducks and I seem to remember that you must boil the eggs a bit longer because the shell is more porous, ie lets in duck's piss and whatever microbes/fungi/bacteria (life!) is or has been on the ground the egg was layed on.
ReplyDeleteI think it doesn't matter much when you use really fresh eggs but the older the egg, the higher the risk that whatever it is has settled down inside with all that rich yolk environment. We used to collect the eggs twice a day to make sure we had fresh ones and we labelled them. If we found an odd one in an odd place and couldn't tell how old, we boiled the living daylight out of it.
Angella- Sometimes I feel like I'm in the middle of a fucking Disney movie over here. I swear.
ReplyDeleteEllen Abbott- We are all different, aren't we? The ones I ate in the quiche agreed just fine with me.
heartinhand- Solitude is soul balm for me.
For you too, I think.
Jo- One never knows. And you might have gotten a bit of sewage your friend did not. But if I were you, I would avoid duck eggs.
Syd- Haha! The word "cloaca" is not a pleasant one, is it?
Sabine- I read that the shell is LESS porous and therefore, duck eggs will last longer. How odd! Did you ever do the float test to see if an egg was fresh enough to eat? I've done that before.
I enjoyed this post so much, Mary, and it just kept getting better and better and more and more interesting and amusing. I love the Homer Hickam quote and hope that it might pertain to me as I take showers less and less and consider myself to be mildly intelligent.
ReplyDelete"I have had a day wherein I have truly loved my life." It is a lucky person who can say this.
ReplyDeleteI've never been made sick by a duck egg. They are richer than chicken eggs, supposedly.
ReplyDelete