Wednesday, May 22, 2019

My Seven Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventeenth Post

I woke up this morning dreading going to check on the little one and my fears were justified. The poor thing died in the night. I buried her in the little garden bed beside the kitchen door where her kinfolk spend so much time, clucking over and pecking the kitchen scraps I throw out for them under the bananas.
It was sad, that sweet little body so still and lifeless but if one has chickens it's just not a good thing to get completely wrapped up in any one of them, newly hatched or older.
As we all know by now.
The rest of the chicks are fine with no more of the eggs showing signs of hatching. I am going to toss the remaining four out tomorrow if there is no activity tonight. Mr. Moon and I just went out to see them and I told Darla, "Well, you killed your child."
She was completely unconcerned.

So I did an odd thing today. For me. May's birthday is coming up in two days and I went to town to shop for her a present. And I actually rather enjoyed it. May asked for presents this year that will make her feel pretty. I sure do understand that. She also said that no one had to get her a present at all and it wouldn't hurt her feelings but hey! She's my baby. So I went to a place that sells pretty-making things and I won't go into it because she might read this but I literally spent an hour walking up and down aisles and I didn't get stressed out at all. I'd stopped into an Old Navy before that and ended up getting all my toddler grands each an outfit on major sale. Little shorts and shirts for all. Now THAT got sort of stressful. Do you KNOW how many different T-shirts Old Navy has for little kids?
Hundreds.
And after all of that I went to another store where I swear to god- I came THIS close to buying another purse. I am still in the honeymoon phase with the last purse I bought but this one was so soft. SO soft. And smooshy. My favorite. And it was a backpack bag. Which I have NO NEED OF WHATSOEVER and yet, how I wanted it. I could envision buying it, bringing it home and hiding it in my closet. Hiding it from myself because my husband certainly wouldn't mind. I imagined how I'd feel with a tiny spark of knowing that there was a brand new, completely squishy lovely bag in my closet, just waiting for me to determine it was the right time to use it. And it was on clearance!
Somehow, though, I managed not to buy it. And no, I didn't steal it either.
Sigh.
By the time I finished up all of this shopping, it was after three and I had not eaten lunch. I thought about going and getting a sandwich somewhere but I kept thinking about the tacos we had last night that I made with that fresh ham that I'd roasted in banana leaves. They may have been some of the best tacos I ever ate and I am not kidding. I marinated that meat for twenty four hours and then wrapped it and the marinade in banana leaves from one of my plants and then in aluminum foil and cooked it in a very slow oven for hours and hours and by the time I unwrapped it yesterday it was so tender that shredding it could have been done with spoons. It was completely unlike farm-raised pig in that it had almost no fat to it and yet, it was as juicy as could be. I mixed up the shredded meat with a sort of sauce I'd made with chili's and lime juice and tomatoes, cilantro, and a little vinegar and it looked like this.


I did a quick pickling of some finely sliced cabbage and red onions and heated up corn tortillas. The meat, the pickles, some avocados, and a little sour cream were the whole deal and we ate those tacos like we were in Mexico. 
Seriously, they could hardly have been better. 
And so I wanted more of them for my lunch and I came home and had some. It was worth the wait. 
And if you can't tell, I'm sort of proud of that meal. I am not sure I've ever used banana leaves in my cooking before but I'll be doing that again. 
And quite frankly- I'll take all the small wild pigs you bring me. In case you're wondering, there really is no such thing as a "wild" pig. Not around here, at least. They are actually ferals who have descended from escaped domestic pigs and they are considered to be a nuisance animal as they are not native and they do cause a lot of destruction to the native habitat of the indigenous animal population. 
Obviously, I have meat-eater guilt. At least I admit that. 

And one more thing- today is the 12th anniversary of the very first post of blessourhearts. I want to say that for twelve years now I have been so incredibly lucky to be able to write out my thoughts, to record births and birthdays and marriages and accomplishments and troubles and joys and gardens and chickens and insanities and Mexican sunsets and friendships and yes, even deaths of people whom I have loved tremendously. Not to mention recipes and household hints. This is a place where I've been allowed (by me!) to be profane and blasphemous and to share what is holy in my heart. 
And the community of YOU has sustained and comforted me, educated me and made me laugh for twelve years. 

Thanks, Hank! You told me to do it and I did. 
As always, my children are the boss of me and that usually turns out for the best. 

Thanks, y'all. Alla y'all. 

I love you dearly.

Ms. Moon




24 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you did it! Visiting adds so much to my day.
    Maybe shoplifting is the antidote to capitalism...

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  2. Condolences on the murdered chick and congratulations on your 12 years and 7,917th post! I don't comment much but I do enjoy reading your blog.

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  3. I am so sorry the baby chicken died.
    Congratulations on 12 years!

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  4. Congratulations on 12 years of your blog! What joys and sorrows and thoughts you have shared with us in that time! I started following your daily thoughts when Owen was a toddler......so that has been a while (although not quite 12 years?)....and my day is never complete without your daily journal.
    Sorry about the little chick.....yes, sad.....but some things just are meant to be the way they turn out.
    Much love
    Susan M
    Ps I would happily die in order to eat one of those ham taco's!

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  5. Good for you. I remember when Hank stepped in and fixed you up with your very own web site. Going on eight thousand! Wow. Love you, too.

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  6. We are the lucky ones, we get to read what you write!

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  7. Murdered child, how sad, and the little black rooster at that. I thought of you today because I finally watched Bruce Springsteen on Broadway- on netflix, it made me cry a bunch of times, and think about our rock and roll lives. And now I am reading something that also makes me think of you, a book by Robert Evans- " a (brief) history of vice". if yu have not bumped into it- DO bump!

    Well done, twelve years of your blogging skill! So glad to have found you.

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  8. Twelve years! I only found you a few years ago, but like others, my day is not complete without reading your post. I know the joy in life you show to us is sometimes a struggle, but that makes it even more real and inspiring. Thank you!

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  9. Happy blogoversary!!! Sad that the chick died even though nature is nature. I wish the Dipshit in Chief's mom would have pecked him to death when he was born.

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  10. Happy happy blogiversary my friend. I sure am glad I found you. ❤

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  11. I think I've read everyone of your posts. Congratulations on 12 years. So sorry about the chick. Gail

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  12. Congratulations and thanks for taking us all along for the ride! You create a magic in the telling of the ups and downs of a life and I love that about you!

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  13. God! Happy Blogaversary! I've been reading you since the get-go, I believe, or shortly thereafter. I have grown to LOVE all of you and am so grateful for what you've shared of your life here. What an amazing testament of love you've created. And my mouth is watering thinking about that meal you made --

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  14. Oh Mary...sigh...I cannot imagine my life without you and your words bringing laughter and love and seriousness and fun and music and truth and children and grandchildren and chickens and cats and truth and beauty and sadness and dealing with sadness and Keith and John Lennon and love and love and did I mention LOVE??? Thank you for each and every word you have written over the last twelve years and for every word you will write in the future!

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  15. Happy bloggiversary! I knew you'd take to it, but I didn't know how well. I love you!

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  16. Happy anniversary, Mrs moon. I'm late to the party but it's the first thing I read every morning. You should be available on the nhs. You'd do people more good than any pills.
    Thank you. Xx

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  17. Happy Anniversary!

    I'm glad you write and glad I got to know you. Sending hugs.

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  18. Happy Blogaversary! And yes, all praise to Hank for inspiring you. I'm so sorry to hear the news about Darla's chick, but I guess evolution works in weird ways. I remember being stunned when I read Jane Goodall's accounts of chimpanzee life in National Geographic many years ago at how wantonly chimps murder each other, and each other's children. Survival of the fittest! (Could you be the Jane Goodall of chickens?!)

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    1. And on that point, I guess that chick actually WASN'T Darla's, was it? And she knew it!

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  19. my 10 year blog anniversary was Jan 26. sad about the little chickie but I imagine Darla knew what we didn't and that is that the little chickie was doomed from the start and she was trying to put it out of its misery.

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  20. Happy 12 years of blogging. It's become a part fo my life. (Happy me for having found your blog.)

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  21. Mary your blog your writing has become a touchstone for my early evenings. Thank you for feeding us all.
    Love

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  22. Congrats to you.....and to all of us who have found you! Yours is the first blog I visit every day. It kind of gives me the courage to face the nonsense CheetoMan is shoving down our throats.

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  23. Happy blogoversary, dear Mary. You are such a central part of my life now. I am so glad to have found you.

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