Saturday, September 3, 2022

No Title


I made Gibson pose so he made a funny face this morning as we were about to eat the standard spend-the-night breakfast. It was lovely having that boy here. He is so special, so loving, so damn smart. Last night he asked me to read to him- Professor Wormbog AND The Little Red Hen Makes A Pizza. And then he read me part of a book he is reading. He is also kind, our Gibson boy. His heart is huge. 

Y'all- Liberace got taken last night. 

Right now the black hen and the young rooster are back in the coop and we'll shut the sliding door when they go to roost so that even if something can get in the coop, they won't have access to the hen house. 

And so it goes. 

I thank all of you for your suggestions and theories. The Dollar General upsetting the local ecosystem is an interesting one and I am not about to say that's not what happened. This all began around the same time they started clearing that land. 
But. It doesn't seem quite reasonable. 
As to building a stronger coop- I'm not really interested in keeping chickens cooped up all day. We've never been in it for the meat or the eggs, either. I think I would have kept chickens just to watch them as they scratched about the yard all day even if they hadn't given me so many beautiful eggs. The sounds of a rooster crowing to call his hens, to send warnings, the clucking of the hens as they search for the flock after they've laid an egg, the way the rooster tid-bits when he's found something to share with the ladies, the way they have been free to make their dirt baths in the sandy parts of the yard and to stretch out in the sun like cover girls- these are the things I love. I have no real interest in having confined chickens. It may not even be that big of a deal to them. I don't know! But a free range chicken has to be a happier chicken, that's all there is to it. And they ranged all over these two acres. It even amused us when they would find a new place to lay- the surprise of finding a stash of eggs in a potted plant or a corner of the garage was testament to their slyness and their mysterious (to us) intuition that it was time to create a new nest. I loved the way they would come and keep me company when I was working in the garden, hoping for a stray bug or overripe tomato that I might toss to them. 

They had their routines and routes just as surely as I do. "The Stations of the Cross," I always called the way they went from one part of the yard to another.
They made their pilgrimages every day. Watching them do that brought me joy every day. I think it would only make my heart heavy to see them in a coop, listless and bored. 

Well. 

I dug up some more sweet potatoes this afternoon. Some of them even bigger than the ones I dug up last week. 



I pulled all of the vines and dug all the potatoes I could find. I am sure I left enough in the ground for next year's volunteers. I also pulled up the last of the field peas. All that's left to get the garden ready for the greens and carrots and the other fall/winter crop is to weed and pull the okra. We had air-fried okra last night and it was delicious. Something is eating all of the okra plants though and so it's time to let that go. 

This is the season of letting go, I suppose. 
Never easy but part of the yin-yang whole of it. And that's just the way it is. 

Love...Ms. Moon



37 comments:

  1. i am so so so sorry for your losses. xxalainaxx

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    1. And it DOES feel like a loss, dear Mrs. M. Thank you.

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  2. oh no! The gorgeous Liberace too? I am heartbroken for you, Ms. Moon. And heartsick. Animals being displaced by the FDG may have *some* bearing.....but I believe, sadly, you have been invaded........ and there is no one cause (IMO). I loved your telling of what brought you the most joy with your flock..... enjoying their *chicken-ness* antics...... I am so very sad for you- words don't help much, but I am pretty sure I feel your pain and sorrow.
    Susan M

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    1. Words do help. It means a lot that my chickens in bringing me so much pleasure have brought others pleasure too. Thank you.

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  3. So sorry. We can't always time our letting go. It seems to come upon us. I'm wondering if you've got something more deadly than usual. Are there any fishers in Florida? They're deadly predators. Also smart and athletic.

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    1. No. We have no fishers here. Just the human kind. The foxes and raccoons have been the culprits here. We have them on camera. And you are so right- we can't always time our letting go. That is part of our lives here on earth.

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  4. Having Gibson over must be a happy distraction from the heartache of the disappearing birds.That looks like a mighty fine breakfast he has in front of him.

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    1. It's always the same breakfast- pancakes, eggs, bacon. The pancakes do change though. Those were banana and peach with oat bran. Sturdy.

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  5. Being a rooster, I would imagine Liberace must have put up a fight! I would think there would be squawking and carrying on!
    Anyway, I am so sorry you lost him, too!

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    1. Liberace did put up a fight, I am sure. But in summer we have the house closed up, the air conditioner on, a fan by the bed. We hear nothing. Sigh.

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  6. Living with nature is beautiful.....and sad. I guess it eventually evens itself out. Nothing is forever, but we have our memories.
    Paranormal John

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    1. Yes. And Liberace will always stand in my memory as one of the best roosters of all.

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  7. I am so sorry you have lost yet another. I wonder if you waited a few months the predator would move on so you could get more.

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  8. Dear Liberace. And dear Gibson. I'm glad you have the one to balance the loss of the other. You have mighty fine grandkids, Ms. Moon.

    Chris from Boise

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    1. Thank you, Chris. They are very fine in my eyes. And heart.

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  9. Gibson's funny face had me laughing, then I read about Liberace and I am so sorry. I understand about not wanting a stronger coop, free ranging hens are such a delight to watch. In a previous home I lived near a house with an orchard at the side and I used to go there everyday just to watch the hens foraging there.

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    1. Really? That makes my heart happy, the idea of you watching hens that didn't even belong to you. They are such pleasant animals to hang out with.

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  10. I read your blog most mornings. I had tears when I read about Liberace.

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  11. Perhaps whatever the predator is, once all the chickens are gone it will move on. Poor Liberace. He must have felt like a failure unable to keep his hens safe.

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    1. Ellen, that thought has crossed my mind. I know he was depressed in the coop. He had no job, no function. And I felt that he was depressed before I shut them in because he was not keeping the hens safe.

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  12. Yeah, I can understand why you feel that way about the chickens. Seeing them move around the yard and live more natural lives would definitely feel more fulfilling than cooping them up all the time. I hope whatever has besieged your yard goes away eventually and you're able to try again some time in the future.

    That IS an interesting theory about the Dollar General.

    I can't believe how grown up Gibson is now. I was just looking back on that post when I met him and he was so small!

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    1. Oh, my, Steve! Yes, Gibson and Owen both were just littles when you were here that time. They do grow up.
      I would like to think that we could try having chickens again in the future. We'll just have to see.

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  13. NO!!! Not our favorite beautiful proud competent Liberace. Utterly heart breaking.

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    1. I know that my heart is broken. Now I'm actually hoping that Lucky is indeed a rooster which is silly but...

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  14. Liberace! Oh Mary, I cannot imagine the Moon kingdom without chickens. It is lovely how you describe the joy they brought you, roaming your property, making their lives alongside yours. I hope and pray these new predators move on and allow you to keep chickens in peace once more. If I am heartsick I can only imagine your grief. I’m so sorry.

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    1. These dang predators seem pretty happy here. And why wouldn't they? When the foxes aren't eating the chickens, they're probably eating the raccoons who also eat the chickens. Just...damn.

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  15. That was me, 37paddington btw. ^^^

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  16. Replies
    1. I think anyone who has kept chickens has been here.

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  17. I'm so sorry. I know Liberace was a good rooster and I imagine he died protecting his little flock and now I'm crying.
    Fuck, I know its nature's way but those chickens were your companions.

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  18. I read this while stuck in a traffic jam on the motorway coming home from visiting my father who is so obviously fading away towards the end of his life I and right now, I am more upset about the loss of your beautiful rooster and his hens.

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    1. Chickens are far less complex than humans, aren't they?

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  19. Sorry, the above comment was from me, motorways . . .

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