Friday, September 2, 2022

Cheerful Things

Well, here are the last three standing. Bless their hearts. I suppose I should name the young'un. It could be Dr. Pansaloony but I think perhaps we should just call him Lucky, at least for now. And I am certain he's a rooster. Those three have cheered me all day and it is wonderful to have them roaming about again. Every time I see them I smile. Ms. Gracie even left me an egg in the pump house which I found when I went to collect my clothespin bag. 

Thank all of you so very, very much for your sweet messages of condolence. Some of you have been with me for my entire journey in chicken-tending which is a sort of comfort in itself. Glen and I have both been despondent over the horrible deaths of our hens. And we keep asking ourselves- why now? After all of these years. As Ellen said in her comment, we have lost a few over the years to predators but nothing like this. And I don't think that the raccoons and foxes and possums are starving- it's been a good summer with plenty of rain and I'm sure there are rats and rabbits and other small animals galore for them to satisfy their hunger. Have they all just become aware of the tasty chickens here on the Moon property? 
Doubtful. 
I have no idea. 
And we've had the same set-up forever. Same coop, same hen house, same doors. 
I don't think we'll ever really know although I do feel certain that there may be at least two foxes who have made a home in the back of the property by the railroad tracks. Probably with a family. Across the tracks there's a large piece of land that is swamp and woods. There's no way we can control what comes from there. 
So for now, we go on. And perhaps we will figure something out before next spring when it's time to buy new chicks. I just don't know. 

I took a walk this morning. I knew I had to for all the right reasons. It wasn't a long walk but I wasn't looking for a way to torture myself. I just needed to move and I did. I hung out the laundry and I worked on the dress I've been trying to make for Lisi. After a couple of hours on it I decided it was completely FUBAR and set it aside and put the sewing machine and my pins and scissors away and put a tablecloth on the table. Gibson is coming tonight for his turn at Mer and Bop's and perhaps we'll eat dinner in the actual room we have dedicated to that activity although we so rarely eat in it. 

So it's been a quiet day, not and humid, although it started raining awhile ago and is still drizzling. I want so badly to get back into the garden and I will do that this weekend. I swear it! There are weeds to pull and sweet potatoes to find. 

I got a text from Rachel yesterday asking me if I'd like her grandmother's doll which she has been keeping, wrapped in bubblewrap for a long time. She sent me this picture and reassured me that if I did not want it, that would be fine but she thought she'd offer. 


I texted back that I would very much love to adopt this baby and I am excited to think that Dorothy Anne will get a sister. They are very similar, made of the same things- cloth and composition. She was made by a different company but obviously of the same era. 


This one even has head damage like Dorothy Anne's. I am looking forward to getting her, washing her clothes, and tucking her up beside Dorothy Anne. I am sure they will have a lot to talk about. 

I told Mr. Moon that we would be getting a new doll child and instead of laughing at me, he said, "Well, you should be able to have as many dolls as I have deer heads," which I thought was very sweet of him. Not that he's "allowing" me to keep old dolls on our bed or in our room, but because he understands that these old babies mean something to me. He knows he doesn't need to understand what they mean to me, which is good because I don't really understand it myself, just as I have no concept of why he would want deer heads on the wall or why he would want to shoot a deer in the first place but that is not important. We just recognize and respect the things that are important to each other and accept that they are. 
In this case, I have a feeling that both deer heads and dolls represent something very primal in each of us. 
Oh, humans are funny and mysterious beings, aren't we? 

I better go make some meat loaf (out of venison, by the way) because that is what our Gibson wants tonight. Also, boiled potatoes. I can do that. It will be good to have that sweet boy here tonight. 

And here's one last picture. Jessie sent it to us all and called it "the Cherry picture of the day."


Okay, okay. She sent two pictures. Hell, let's post the other one too. 


Would you look at that sweet baby tummy with its spots? She is such a lovely kitten. 

Happy Friday, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon

 

41 comments:

  1. Oh dear, now I'm developing kitten hunger! I'm happy about the new doll arriving. You'll have a lovely time with them. I'm wondering if they'll come with you on vacation..

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    1. Ha! I have to admit I've thought of that but I think they'll probably stay at home. They're pretty delicate to be traveling about.

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  2. I imagine there is a reason you want the dolls and you'll figure it out eventually. I've been collecting nesting pyrex bowls like my mum had. I found the last one on Vancouver Island and snatched it up for $13.00. I now have a complete set and they remind me of my mum everytime I use them or even open the drawer.
    I've also been collecting petit point, again, mum.
    I hope those chickens survive. I blame the deaths on the new dollar store.
    We had a wonderful weekend this morning only to get a text message this morning that Gracie and Jack are on their way to BC to visit Gracie's sister. Last September and October came flashing back to me and I couldn't stop crying. Liam's aunt will keep him safe but she's lied to me and the courts, so there is a lack of trust on my part.

    That kitten is cute as a button but I will not be fooled. All babies are so cute.

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    1. Oh, I'm pretty sure I've just about figured out the doll thing- loving something broken and abandoned. And, you know- babies.
      I don't think I'll be collecting the dolls. Just if one shows up and I think it needs a home, I'll take it in. It may never happen again.
      I love pyrex bowls too. Do you have the different colored ones? I have a green and a yellow one but from different eras.
      I don't know if the new store had anything to do with the new predators or not. I doubt I could prove it either way.
      May Jack be safe and healthy. It is no mystery that you cried.

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    2. There are four nesting bowls, yellow, green, red and blue. My mum only had the yellow one by the time I came along but the sets were sold very widely in North America post WW11.

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  3. I think Pixie has a point. This all started when the Dollar store opened. They have disturbed the natural order of things.
    Dorothy will be a great big sister. How lucky you are to have people who understand your passion.
    Kitten tummies are the cutest. Have they formally adopted her yet?

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    1. I broached the Dollar General theory with Glen and he doubts it. It seems a stretch but who knows?
      Jessie and her family at this point are still just fostering the little girl.

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    2. What the heck...i say blame the DG. Wildlife had to relocate...and they have. To your place. I am pretty sure that DG is also responsible for the new stray at my house and the fact that after such a dry summer, suddenly it is raining all the time. Probably the reason the tractor brake is froze too.

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  4. relieved to *feel* your psyche a bit gentler than yesterday....yesterday was rough for you. Doll.....gorgeous! Kitten.....OMG. Is there anything cuter? I think not. And your black *roo* young one is lovely........I keep hope these 3 will do well and survive your onslaught of varmint killers
    Susan M.
    PS....It's Martini Friday....... make it a double LOL

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    1. sorry.....I meant *chicken killers* not varmint killers. You got it
      Susan M

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    2. Today has been hard too. I'll write about it in my post.

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  5. Kitten raspberry toes- Oh my , Kittens, I want a basket full please! Great thing about composition/cloth babies is that they are well behaved. The worst that could happen looks like it already has , especially for Dorothy
    Anne. I would advise to get a dog to protect the chickens...I would advise that if I thought that you were insane...maybe a fake dog that barks and scatters scent around the coop. Real dogs are demanding I find.

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    1. Oh, Linda Sue- you made me laugh. "The worst that could happen already has, especially for Dorothy Anne." Exactly.
      We do know that a dog would be a good protector but yeah, no. First off, we'd have to fence the whole yard. Not going to happen. They should make robot watch dogs.

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  6. Well, I see everyone had the same thought as I. The new Dollar Store turned several acres of fine wild life living into a no animal zone. We talk about driving wildlife off their native ground and here is the example. All the easy picking ground birds, squirrels, chipmunks are gone and the meat eaters have to go further and work harder to find a meal. What has become of your neighbor's chickens?
    Any way, I like your new doll and what is her name?
    I will get a new cat, but not a kitten. At 80 I'm a bit too old for that. I need a semi-geriatric cat to sleep with me a night, and not across my legs.

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    1. https://petkeen.com/how-to-keep-raccoons-out-of-your-chicken-coop/#:~:text=Raccoons%20don't%20like%20the,with%20a%20homemade%20raccoon%20repellent.

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    2. Thanks for the article, Joanne. Some of that would apply to us and some not.
      My neighbor doesn't have any chickens anymore that I know of. Her flock has all died off and I don't know of what. She's not up to taking care of animals these days. She only has dogs and cats now. The new doll doesn't have a name yet. I am pondering that.
      And I am so excited that you're going to have a cat. Yes, you need a nice, older, well-mannered lazy cat who will happily nap on the window seat all day.

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  7. After reading yesterday's sad post it was nice to come right here and see so many joyful things. A new baby doll on the way. And that cute Cherry kitty.

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  8. Cherry is just too sweet for words! And Dorothy Anne's little sister too.
    I like meatloaf, but don't make it often for just myself. Is there a way to enlarge the current coop and fix the warped door to make it a bit more spacious and safer?

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    1. Yes. We could do that. I really have no interest in keeping cooped birds though. My job comes in seeing them scratch about the yard, taking their dirt naps in the sun, and hanging out together in the shade.

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  9. Cute kitten toes. My humans have gone all limp.... Mr T

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  10. 37paddington: I think what folks above said about the dollar store disturbing the natural order of things might have some truth. Oh how heartbreaking this has been. I can hardly fathom what has happened, how you’re bearing it. I am glad Dorothy Anne will have a sister. And that is a very cute kitten.

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    1. I guess all kittens are cute, just are most babies. I just don't know about the Dollar General. I do not know.

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  11. Both kitty and the doll are beauties aren't they!

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  12. And look at those adorable paws!

    You know, I was thinking about this chicken situation. Would it work to invest in another coop? Maybe something a less...permeable? I suppose no coop can be completely animal-proof but I see some online that seem to have pretty tight joints screening, and you could put more screening beneath it so nothing could dig in. I'm sure you've thought of this but...I dunno. Just wanted you to know I'm thinking too, I guess.

    So nice of Rachel to offer you her grandmother's doll. You're going to have a collection before you know it! (I suppose you already do!)

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    1. Jesus. I was not very careful typing up that comment. LOL

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    2. Glen sunk wire down into the ground around the coop so that part is done. We could definitely work on it but I really don't want to keep chickens cooped during the day. And the fox snatched some before they went to roost.

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    3. Yeah, I understand. Seeing them run free is part of the joy.

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  13. We were very tempted to let Cat have her kittens just because look at that sweet little thing. But kittens grow up into cats and we did not need a bunch of kittens soon to be cats we couldn't find homes for.

    It occured to me as well that the FDS might have sent predators your way but I thought it would be too far away. I guess not. Though it seems to me that it would have started when they started clearing the land. I can't see how it opening would be the catalyst.

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    1. Exactly- kittens grow into cats and there are already way too many of those.

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  14. Mr. Moon can build a chicken fort if you decide to get more chicks in the future. He is such a clever builder.
    You will have a collection of baby dolls filling up your home! Glad you cherish them so.
    Children and grandkids coming tomorrow - so looking forward to that! Have fun with Gibson!

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    1. I don't really want a doll collection. I certainly won't be looking for them! I have enough stuff in this house that someone is going to have to deal with when I die.
      I sure hope you've had a good time with your grands.

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  15. That kitten is so cute it hurts me. I agree with Steve on the possibility of a more secure coop. Our neighborhood backs up to a pine forest and there is a new house at the far end of the forest that has a chicken coop that appears to be very secure. Also has a chain link enclosure with a roof to keep the predators out. Just a thought.....

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    1. Well, as I keep saying, I do not want to keep chickens cooped. And thus- I really do not need to keep chickens.

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  16. It's possible that by the time you are seventy in 2024, you will have adopted dozens of vintage baby dolls and at night you may hear them whispering to each other. They will need their own bedroom

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    1. Oh god, I hope not. Two doll-children is enough!

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  17. Is anything any sweeter than a tiny kitten? Maybe a tiny puppy, buy not much else! Cherry is a darling. I'm hoping your chicken troubles are over for a long time, Mary. I know how much they mean to you.
    I'll bet Gibson had a wonderful time at Mer and Bop's! They're all so lucky in the grandparent department.

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    1. Thank you, Jennifer. Those chickens have meant a lot to both of us.
      I think Gibson had a good time. He's such a sweet, smart boy.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.