Monday, October 2, 2017

I Just Want To Talk About Chickens, Okay?

Well, I don't even know what to say tonight except that when people like Tom Petty die now, I just sort of think, well, he doesn't have to go through this crazy bullshit vale of tears anymore. 
Which is completely unfair because it's not a thing for me to judge or decree.
Tom Petty dead and at least fifty more. I don't even know what the blood count is now.

I don't want to talk about it. Talk is cheap and like you, I'm sure, I feel helpless in the face of it all. Or maybe you don't. Maybe you feel so angry that you're ready to do something about guns but like one thing I saw today said- when we accepted the slaughter of the children at Sandy Hook we gave up any pretense of trying to control the sale and distribution of guns and ammo.
Or something like that.
You know what I mean.

Let's talk some more about chickens. Endlessly fascinating subject and real and right as rain.
I heard a teenager crow today. A scratchy, tenor first attempt at a crow. Not Mick and not Joe Cocker or Dearie either. Had to be either Rose or Pearl and sure enough, those were the only two birds out in the kitchen bed where the sound had come from.
I think it was Rose, the little banty offspring of Mick and Violet's although I see no comb or even wattle. Still, it almost had to be.


I could be so wrong. Some young'un was crowing though and they're the only two.

Poor Camellia is going through her complete molt again. All of the chickens do it to some extent, though in the young ones it is hardly noticeable. Last year Camellia lost almost every feather on her body and looked ready for the pot and I felt so bad for her and she's doing it again this year. Feathers line her sleeping nest and she is already showing naked patches. 


After laying regularly all spring and summer, she has paused in her production. That last egg I got from her was a few days ago and it was a jelly-egg, the shell soft and wobbly. Bless her old heart. I don't know how old she is but she was Kathleen's so she has some years on her. When she comes on to the porch I can't help but giver her some cat food which she runs to peck at. She is such a sweet old girl. 

My next door neighbor called to me from her back yard a little while ago when I was outside. She was filling up her chickens' water containers and she wanted to tell me about the twenty new pullets she just got. Then she wanted to discuss Dearie who lives over at her house during the daytime, sneaking off to the back pasture with some of her hens. Also Jack whom she not only feeds canned cat food but also brushes which she claims he loves. I don't know why he doesn't just move in with her. Probably because she has about twenty dogs. 

And I guess that's all I have to say tonight. It serves no purpose whatsoever to discuss chickens except that for me they are a reminder of that which is good and grounded, no evil involved. 

And let me say that I just sneaked another peek at FB and it would appear that Tom Petty is still alive but not expected to live. 

I guess that could be said about all of us in terms of the long run. 

Let's live until we can't. 

Love...Ms. Moon


22 comments:

  1. Amen Ms Moon. We must remain grounded to what is good and true as it is the only way to carry on. I have been nauseated all day today since getting up and reading events..... it's all just too much to bear- the huge tragedy and sadness AND Tom Petty? I took the dog for a one hour hike in the hills and then spent all day cooking like it was the end of the world. It was therapeutic and I didn't even make the conscious decision to do it.......my body and mind just went *there*. I am beyond words..........but I also smile at waiting to find out which of your *teens* is crowing! Love and hugs
    Susan M

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    1. I am cooking comfort food tonight and spent some time ironing today. Simple, mindless, comforting, real.
      We do what we can to go on. That's all there is to it.

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  2. I like hearing about chickens and grand children. I felt sick all day - my stomach in knots. Is this our new normal? How many massacres can we tolerate before we stop the easy access to guns. Worst ever. They are all the worst ever. I am grateful to hear about your chickens and their eggs.

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    1. I don't think we will ever stop the easy access to guns. God. I hope I'm wrong.

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  3. I surprised myself and got choked up while watching the news tonight. I normally deal with tragedies by detaching emotionally but not today.

    It feels like no one is safe anywhere in this country anymore. What will it take for sensible gun laws to be passed? Is it even possible?

    And Tom Petty...! That just put the cherry on top of this shit sundae of a day.

    I'm going to bed. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

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    1. Eventually, even our coping methods lose their power. And then we cry.
      And we wonder why so many Americans are on medications for anxiety and depression. The miracle is that it's not every one of us.

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  4. I'm part of a gun violence prevention group and my husband woke me with the news saying we would be busy today. My heart sank, I read the early morning story and left it alone because none of the info was going to be correct this morning or afternoon. Instead I spent the day responding to people on social media with actions they could take today. Of course I was attacked as being ignorant, ill-informed, and insensitive to victims. I know several victims and survivors of other incidents of gun violence and saw the gamut of responses from them. I have cable news on now to see the stories of victims of this incident. I'm just so sad. I shed tears several times today. My heart hurts so badly.

    When my 7 year old boy got home from school we decided to have a movie night and play games on his tablet. I hugged him all evening and kept kissing his little head.

    I've decided to do my volunteer work with my group tomorrow but I will leave the TV off. I'm 37 and I'll be damned if I will allow this to continue to be normal. - Sarah from Columbus

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    1. Thank you, Sarah, for the work you do. If there are enough people like you, maybe things can be changed for your son, for my grandchildren, for all of us.
      Again- thank you. Don't be discouraged by what others say. You know the truth. Speak it.

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    2. Thank you. Now I'm crying again. It means a lot. Keep telling your chicken stories and showing your flowers. They are my daily respite even though I don't comment often

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  5. Dearest M-I let one day go by without a peek at the news and see what happens. I'm so sick of this shit I could spit. I grew up in a gun house because I grew up with hunters. I have respect for guns cuz of m dad. We NEVER pointed a gun at anyone, even unloaded. My poppa would be appalled at our national nightmare. And he was a proud NRA member. There is no more civility, none. We've all gone feral or rogue and I'm over it. And spare me the 'guns don't kill people' BS. YES THEY DO. Especially when we sell semiautomatics to lunatics.

    I'm gonna go feed the songbirds and walk my dog.

    Sick of it,

    Beth

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  6. Thank you for reminding me that I need to wash the hummingbird feeder and fill it with fresh nectar.
    My husband hunts and he is as pissed as anyone about this. There is nothing sane or reasonable about automatic weapons.
    I'd say "heaven help us" but I don't believe it will.

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  7. Today has felt like I have moved through a fog. The show closed last night and that's it's own little tragedy and then to wake up and read the news--a sock in my throat. A mouthful of nettles. So I've tried to just do the things I know how to do: make dinner for my family, pet the animals, hug my husband, my boy. Research chickens and coops. Cry. Cry and cry.

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    1. Get you some chickens. Your life will be enriched. I promise. And any time you need to be reminded of goodness, you will have them to observe.

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  8. I cried at a client’s this morning. We cried at my weight loss group tonight. I was supposed to do the program but I couldn’t so I just read a poem that, I hope, made us all feel a little closer.

    I am glad you wrote about your chickens. If I could knit, I would knit a chicken cardigan for Camellia. With little buttons and maybe even a pocket n

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    1. You are so sweet! Camellia would look precious in such a sweater. But honestly, it's still so hot here that she doesn't need one. By the time it gets cold, her new feathers will be growing in.

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  9. how can any nation be great that allows the murder of its citizens at the hands of its citizens at such an astonishing rate? I didn't cry. I'm beyond crying. I'm disgusted.

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    1. Disgusted, angry, disbelieving. That's me too.

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  10. It is sad that I no longer cry at such massacres. I no longer stop my day and sink into the news, trying to figure out what can be done. There is much that can be done, of course, but money talks, and money silences politicians, too. Fuck them for being so spineless. What on earth does a private citizen need with weapons of war. He's not hunting, sport shooting, or defending himself with those high magazine automatic rifles. So why is it legal to own them? Okay, I'm climbing down off my soap box now to day that even though I ranted in your comments, I am so glad to be able to come here and hear about your chickens.

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    1. No private citizen needs one of those weapons for anything related to good. Nothing. Why is it legal to own them? Because we have let the NRA buy our government. Why did we do that?
      I don't know.
      And I despair.

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  11. I feel a kind of exhausted resignation about it all. Not that I don't think we should stop fighting, but a belief that, unfortunately, the fighting will do no good. Newtown was the turning point for me, too. If that didn't convince people, nothing will.

    I HAVE wondered whether the fact that these victims are country music fans -- and let's face it, country music listeners and gun lovers often go hand-in-hand -- will make a difference. But I doubt it. It might be tasteless for me to even speculate about that.

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    1. Well, it may be tasteless but it is something to wonder about.
      I don't know, Steve. "Exhausted resignation" seems to sort of sum up how I feel too and I hate that. It's so damn wrong.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.