Friday, November 13, 2020

The Most Prosaic Of Days


This is the sight that greeted me this morning when I went to let the chickens out of the coop. It delighted me- I rarely see them all that close together in one big gathering. But there they are. Miss Darla was actually on a nest so she's not represented there but her sister Dottie is. She's the white one on the ground. I have no idea why they decided to all clump together on that baby coop but then again, there is so much that is still quite mysterious to me about chickens and their behaviors and society. 

I've been pretty good about my walking this week and I walked again today. Instead of the usual route I take for my middle mile down to the Rancho across from Emma and Jacob's, I went down a little dirt road called Sandy Acres that is almost exactly a half mile in length and it was nice to take a different path. And I met this guy. 


Dogs are not always walkers' friends. I have been bitten once by an unrestrained dog on my walks and threatened many times. I have had to change my routes due to dogs and I understand fully that walking in rural areas carries with it the threat of overly territorial dogs. It's one of the reasons I carry a light walking stick. So when this doggo started wuffing at me this morning I was, for a second, a little worried but then I immediately sensed that he was a darling, a sweetheart, a big old cement-block-headed bull dog with nothing but love on his mind. He trotted out into the road and wagged his whole body and I scratched his head. He lay down and showed me his belly to make sure I knew he was a friend and I petted and scratched him some more and baby-talked to him which he seemed to love. I've had bull dogs before and although they can turn without warning into fighting machines, 99.9% of the time they are the sweetest. They're one big muscle and almost vibrate with happiness when paid attention and affection to. I was sorry to say good-bye to him. 

The rest of the day has been slow. I hung laundry on the line and made black bean soup and a loaf of sourdough which is about to go into the oven. I made up the dough for the bread last night and started soaking the beans then too. Black beans take forever to cook and even with the soaking I had to put them into the pressure cooker for half an hour to ensure that they'd be done for supper. I am still not used to the way time halts and then speeds these days. I had planned to get the soup going early but by the time I got to it, it was after two. 

It's going to be cool tonight. The air conditioner is off, blessedly silent, not needed. The doors and windows are open. I'm sipping a martini, I'm going to make a salad, slice avocados and chop cilantro to go on the soup. I have onions quick-pickled in lime juice and salt, rice wine and a tiny bit of sugar. 

For some reason, although it is Friday night, the church next door is dark and the dirt parking lot is empty. Birds are tweeting their good-night calls, the sky to the west shows pink in the gloaming. This is what it's like on earth, right now in the year of the Covid pandemic, in the last days of the Trump plague, at least in Lloyd, Florida. I think of all of you and where you are, some far across the country, some farther across the globe and I take a deep breath and I wish us all well and know that time and distance are not really that much of a barrier. We all want the same things, don't we? 

Be safe. Keep living. 

Happy Friday. 

Love...Ms. Moon

16 comments:

  1. good for you and your walking...always (almost) cathartic! I also not only met a friend at market for a scheduled *parking lot* visit.....but also met a dog.....that was tied up at door or market patiently waiting for it's human..... a chihuahua mix of all things.....but the sweetest and friendliest little thing that I spent a few moments petting and enjoying! After that....stowing groceries (yes, I did some *pre hoarding* shopping).......it's been cooking in prep for dinner and building a nice fire in woodstove....... soothing tasks. No martini Friday here, but wine on tap! I hope we can all survive and tackle this next wave? of virus (here too)..... we are expected to have to lock down again next week...as are many other areas and states, but we've done it before and I hope we can just do it again. Not a happy thought....but it's reality at this point
    Susan M

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  2. Ps. That is one lovely flock of chickens!

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  3. That dog is adorable. Happy weekend.

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  4. Went to see my tattoo artist today but we'll have to wait and see if we're shut in again...

    And yes, we all want the same things. Love, happiness, friends and family, black bean soup. I made some yesterday...

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  5. Yes, we, most of us, want the same things. But we only admit that at Easter or Christmas. The rest of the time the minority of us think the majority want to be socialists or something. Jeeze!
    I have a dog story. Once I had a temporary job, delivering samples. I went from door to door, hanging samples on doorknobs. Remember that? Sometimes I met dogs. I'm not a dog fan, but I managed. One time I "acquired" a dog companion with a mind of its own. Instead of every porch, I was nudged away from several, and had difficulty delivering. Eventually it realized I intended to visit every house, and it would block my access to the walk to the porch. The bugger. I eventually got the neighborhood covered, and thinking it over on the way home decided the dog had a paper route, and I was one stubborn paper boy.

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  6. A quiet day at home, no chickens, just dogs here. And a cat.

    Stay safe my friend.

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  7. That dog face is very nearly kissable, i would...Just saw the rump in the rose garden , he got a haircut and changed the color to the all fashionable arctic grey!

    Your chickens are silly and lovely! They are all so pretty, good care, makes a beautiful chicken.

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  8. I love the chicken photo, aren't they beauties?
    It seems odd to read about you being pleased that the air con is off while here we have the heating on nearly all day, and especially in the evening while sitting!! We have a day of rain to look forward to today... daytime temperatures of around 13c. ( 55F)

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  9. I wouldn't have a pitbull, I'm not the right owner for one, but GAH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. Look at that sweet face.

    Beautiful chicken photo, is it a new coop? I feel like I haven't seen that view before.

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  10. Adorable dog! Look at those eyes! That's an Olga-type creature for sure.

    And yes, I love that photo of the chickens all clumped together. Do you think they felt threatened by something or were they just enjoying each other's company?! Staying warm, maybe?

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  11. I am very wary of dogs when I'm out walking and carry a stick when I remember to do so. I happen to love dogs but I don't like being jumped at. There is one nasty bugger in a home near here and I actually stopped walking up that way because of him. He is only kept in by his electric collar and he scares the beejeezers out of me.

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  12. yes, we all want the same things. we all smile in the same language. and what a sweetie of a dog. my daughter has a pit bull who is the biggest lunk on the planet. thinks he's a lap dog. his head is huge and his mouth is even bigger. there's a family at the other end of my street that was not good about restraining their dogs, Minnie and I have been charged at several times with their barking unfriendly looking dogs as have the grandkids of their next door neighbor and other nearby neighbors. Rocky had to threaten to shoot their dogs and I have yelled at them plenty to call their damn dogs. they have finally kept them in a fenced yard but the other day one of them was out and I didn't see it (we always turn around right before their property line) and it charged at us from behind. didn't even see it until it was right there and I snatched Minnie up and yelled at the dog and turned to see the woman just standing in the yard. then I yelled at her. I have an old sturdy mop handle I carry sometimes.

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  13. Yes. We do indeed want the same things. Simple, basic things like good health and kindness. And those of us who are walkers do not want to encounter dogs running free. Wake up dog owners and keep your dogs under proper control. You were lucky with that happy mutt you met down Sandy Acres. Good boy!

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  14. I do not like to see loose dogs when I am out walking. Makes me nervous. Since I do not have pets, I think it makes me more cautious around them.
    Yes, I think all of us in the whole wide world want the same things: good health, happy families, and peace.

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  15. Yes indeed we do want the same things-although I think we might take some things for granted-until they are no longer there- good health,a warm bed,enough food -a home,children and animals,good weather..love and caring- the simple things.

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  16. Not sure all want the same things, but most do, there are some basic Human needs that nobody should be deprived of and most of that involves being Loved, Acknowledged and Valued. I Loved the Chicken gathering, but didn't know it's unusual for them to do that. Glad the Dog was one of the Friendly type since it was loose. When they're in packs loose it is unsettling, pack Nature just being what it is.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.